{"id":130189,"date":"2025-08-10T22:57:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T22:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/?p=130189"},"modified":"2025-08-10T22:57:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T22:57:25","slug":"u-s-soccer-coaching-licenses-are-they-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/?p=130189","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Soccer Coaching Licenses- Are They Worth it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  width=\"580\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FJ18xHTzE9E?rel=0&#038;modestbranding=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>In this insightful episode, Gary and Coach Rory O&#8217;Neill discuss the complexities and challenges of soccer coaching licenses in the U.S. and Europe. They explore the differences between the U.S. and UEFA coaching pathways, the perceived value (or lack thereof) of these licenses, and the practical issues faced by everyday youth coaches. They also touch upon broader topics such as the implications of a closed system on coach and player development and the importance of a merit-based approach. Rory shares his personal experiences, including anecdotes about his YouTube channel&#8217;s surprising growth and common hurdles in the coaching journey.<\/p>\n<p>00:09 Soccer Coaching Challenges<br \/>\n00:53 USL League One and Coaching Experiences<br \/>\n02:24 Medical and Coaching Licenses<br \/>\n04:50 Licensing Comparisons and Challenges<br \/>\n12:05 UEFA vs US Coaching Licenses<br \/>\n36:17 Full-Time Coaching Commitment<br \/>\n37:06 Direct Feedback from Scottish Instructors<br \/>\n38:52 Experience vs. Credentials in Coaching<br \/>\n39:55 Challenges in U.S. Soccer Licensing<br \/>\n43:52 Meritocracy in Coaching<br \/>\n47:11 Promotion and Relegation Debate<br \/>\n51:03 U.S. Soccer&#8217;s Structural Issues<br \/>\n56:30 Youth Development and Licensing<br \/>\n01:02:57 The Reality of Coaching Licenses<br \/>\n01:08:31 Modern Education and Proving Expertise<br \/>\n01:09:46 Questioning the Need for Licenses<br \/>\n01:10:29 The Role of Practical Demonstration<br \/>\n01:11:39 Challenges in the Soccer Ecosystem<br \/>\n01:12:29 Potential Changes in US Soccer<br \/>\n01:16:44 Licensing and Coaching Philosophy<br \/>\n01:31:07 Rory&#8217;s YouTube Success<br \/>\n01:34:05 Final Thoughts and Farewell<\/p>\n<p>You can find more of Coach Rory&#8217;s content here: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@UCxjqkVEAAQfWN2iW1oEaXTw <\/p>\n<p>* Coaches, immediately get a proper and proven training methodology directly from the people who helped pioneer a transformation in American soccer &#8211; from totally random kickball, towards the timeless global gold standard of a methodical possession-based football. You don&#8217;t have to continue wondering and endlessly stumbling on what to do in your training sessions.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"pT4KyIjcj5\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/343coaching.com\/\">Home<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Home&#8221; &#8212; 3four3\" src=\"https:\/\/343coaching.com\/embed\/#?secret=TA3hC8J3G5#?secret=pT4KyIjcj5\" data-secret=\"pT4KyIjcj5\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>* Parents, learn how to better guide and mentor your kids in football. You are a huge factor in fulfilling their potential:<br \/>\nhttp:\/\/343masterclass.com<\/p>\n<p>* 3four3 on X: https:\/\/twitter.com\/3four3<br \/>\n* 3four3&#8242; on IG: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/3four3\/<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FJ18xHTzE9E\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this insightful episode, Gary and Coach Rory O&#8217;Neill discuss the complexities and challenges of soccer coaching licenses in the U.S. and Europe. They explore the differences between the U.S&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7148,"featured_media":130190,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer-how-to-practices"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=130189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/130190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=130189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=130189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playinsoccer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=130189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}