A G/Y1 course will be held here in Oregon on April 3 - if interested in taking this class and having the cost covered by Oregon Soccer, contact Arthur Hallinan using the contact page HERE.

Links and articles on Youth Development and Coaching:

U10 Position Paper - NJ Youth Soccer

Is Winning Everything?

Coaching Comments and their Messages

Motivation of Young Athletes

Top Ten Issues For Sports Parents

Silent Saturday

From Claudio Reyna, US World Cup Captain "For some reason, adults - some who can't even kick a ball - think it's perfectly okay to scream at children while they're playing soccer. How normal would it seem if a mother gave a six-year-old some crayons and a coloring book and started screaming? "Use the red crayon! Stay in the lines! Don't use yellow!" You think that child would develop a passion for drawing? Most important, parents must realize that playing sports is a way for children to express themselves."

This spring season we will be having a Silent Saturday. May 6 has been declared the day that neither the fans nor the coaches speak at the U7, U8, U9 and U10 games. (The players will still need to talk to each other for it is a team sport.)

We all know how important your encouragement is to our players but just for one day, we will offer this encouragement and comments BEFORE & AFTER the game -not during.

When you are in the heat of a game, you are required to make your own split-second decisions. This skill is vital to a soccer player. Sideline distractions can take your attention away from the play. And don't forget that it is PLAY for the kids. It is not the MLS or World Cup Final! It is a game. Yes they all want to win but more important , they want to have FUN. I believe that some of their best game time is during recess at school. There, they play with very little if any adult involvement.

They make their own games and rules and solve their problems and disputes, so let's let them play on Saturday mornings also. For further information on this subject please email me at arthallinan@charter.net

For more on "why being silent sometimes is good", see these links:

Club Player Development Manual (see pp. 55-61

How Can Parents Help?