We stopped training like US Soccer told us to… and everything changed. After years of following the official U.S. Soccer model — Play-Practice-Play, 4 game moments, and all — I realized something was missing. The players weren’t thinking the game. So we ditched the cookie-cutter sessions and trained like Europe’s best academies — Barça, Ajax, and more.
In this video, I break down what happened when we focused on real ball mastery, scanning, decision-making, and awareness.
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Timestamps
00:00 – The US soccer coaching framework
00:21 – The problem with US youth soccer
00:50 – What U.S. soccer teaches
02:22 – What we changed
07:42 – The results of not doing it the US soccer way
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We changed our approach because “the standard” wasn’t developing players to the standard I thought to be as good as other countries or methods. Be honest — do you think the U.S. coaching model helps or limits player development? 👀 Let’s talk.
Yeah the concept is good on paper in practice theres so much more needed though. My friend brought me on as a trainer for his rec team that was going competitive i used some of U.S soccers methods specially game like practices n modified it with the tried and true method perfected around the world the hybrid was way better than either of the two. results by the end of their first season out of rec we scored 59 goals gave up 11 so we averaged 6.5 goals a game conceding just 1.22 per game most of the goals we gave up were because of our own mistakes n not the other teams creation.
THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TOUCHES ON THE BALL OUTSIDE OF STRUCTURED TRAINING. THIS IS WHY THEY DON'T DEVELOP AS PLAYERS DO OVERSEAS. IF THEY DON'T PLAY OUTSIDE OF TRAINING, THEY WON'T DEVELOP. YOU CAN'T DO IT FOR THEM.
ITS THAT SIMPLE. FUCK.
Great video!
I could care less if a kid plays organized soccer before the age of 12. I would rather all kids play Futsal, Panna (both 1v1 and 2v2), and street soccer and focus on ball mastery and dribbling, until 12. The more touches before 12 the better. In Brazil it is said that they play 5,000 hours of street soccer before 14. It is also very common for Brazilians not to play actual organized 11v11 until 14. At the under 14 level they play 15v15 on half a pitch.
Interesting points that I generally agree with, but there is an element that, in my opinion, will always be missing from soccer here in the United States, and that is that children in other countries very often learn the game in the streets (as I did in the Netherlands), in the neighborhood parks and on the grounds of their kindergartens and elementary schools, before they ever see any coaching. They are also, usually, exposed to soccer on a regular basis as viewers, not as players, on the sidelines as their parents or siblings or other families play, and certainly on TV. IOW they KNOW the game before they are ever introduced to a coach or formal training (Michael Jordon wasn't born the GOAT of basketball, he learned it by watching Dr. J and David Thompson). Here in the states, it seems to me, that most young soccer players play becomes "mom made me". They'll practice a few hours during the week and have a game on the weekend, but when they get home they'll shoot a few hoops in the driveway or watch an American football game with dad. That is difficult to overcome as a coach. In the US, for most players, soccer is still just something to do for a bit when they're young. In many other countries, as Dani Rojas of Richmond FC says, "football is life". Simple example, the last time I was in Amsterdam visiting my grandmother, the sound of thump, thump, thump was almost constant all day, the noise being the neighborhood kids playing soccer on the basketball court in between the apartment buildings (they had to hit the single support pole for the basket to score a goal, which they did with AMAZING regularity), or the sound of them kicking the ball against the brick walls of the building for hours on end, practicing first touches, different kicking techniques, proper planting foot positions (not stressed enough for my liking), one-on-one moves against invisible opponents, etc.. That's something that doesn't often happen here in the states and not something that coaching, no matter how good, can fully replicate. I admire your recognition of the limitations of the US Soc Feds coaching system and wish you success with your coaching career. Sorry for the length of this post.
It's weird but this is exactly how we practiced in the 80s from youth through college. Didn't know U.S. Soccer didn't do something similar. We lived it though, we played every day, always had a ball at our feet, small sided pick up games with T-shirts as goals.
The number one reason players don’t move up is because they cannot adapt to the speed of play of higher levels. They can do everything, but they can’t do it fast enough. That’s the difference between a great player and an average one. I can watch a kid hit a perfect long ball right to someone’s feet from 40 yards away. Put him in a game and he can only do it 2-10 times.
The game was and still is incredibly slow to me as player. It’s probably even slower now. I am 35 and still play with 18-21 year olds in college. They never understand how much time they actually have on the ball and the correct decisions to make. They think about A and A only. Not what B,C, and D. Division 1 players literally just booting the ball to no one for 0 reason.
I have some old school practice techniques that I use to do in 90s back when I played futsal in Spain for La Coruña that I don’t see being used in American soccer academies! Currently in the US work in Construction most of the kids paying all this money just to practice they will never make it if you have to pay in order to practice doesn’t make sense! what the US needs is lower divisions from 2nd division league down to district level and amateur leagues where all this kids should be playing in order to develop!
TOVO all day everyday
Too many tablet kids nowadays. The ball and a wall should be a players best friend. You learn everything from ball mastery to first touch. I agree with you 100%
Take a look at TOVO.
Rondo -> Position Play -> Training Game. This is Activation -> Train the Topic in context -> Apply/Refine the Topic in Context
one size does not fit all….what's your demographics? are you developing players to play at the collegiate level or is an area where you have more players where you compete with football/baseball/basketball for the best athletes? year round training weather? availability of indoor facilities? Parents who are hands on or hands off? What's the cost of your program, what's the dropout rate? and when? Do your neighbouring programs poach players or vice versa? The USA is an immense country with so many sub cultures, it so hard to have one size fits all approach. Your club needs to do it's own thing and develop programs to fit the needs your demographics. USSF is giving you a sanitized lawyer approved document that's a generic plan. It's designed to be a middle of the road, everyone plays, we all have fun, no one gets sued…not to create professional players or identify the best talent ala Barca and other big Euro clubs.
Great video. I’ve been trying to work out a path for player development and it’s not easy figuring out what is best to emphasize at what age but US soccer is way off. Like you say, striving for technical excellence, one vs one’s, awareness/scanning, helping with decision making are some of the most important elements to me for the youngest ages.
Why would anybody follow US soccer training. Europe has been playing this game at a high level for over 100 years. Learn from the best. Learn from the Europeans. US soccer is mickey mouse
We old school it. Develop the serious ball possession player, then using pattern choreography, teach them the dance.
As someone who’s been coaching for 20+ years and holds both USSF and UEFA A Licenses, I think it’s important to clarify something about the courses mentioned here. The grassroots and D-license courses are entry-level programs designed for recreational coaches whose experience and starting point can vary massively.
That’s why the Play–Practice–Play model exists: it gives kids the maximum amount of meaningful, game-like learning while protecting them from being over-coached with unnecessary technical fluff, which is something many newer coaches unintentionally fall into.
For context, the same idea exists in Europe at the grassroots level, it’s called Whole–Part–Whole. So this model isn’t new or uniquely American; it’s a well-established way to guide inexperienced coaches toward effective player development.
You can absolutely teach technique within Play–Practice–Play. The “Play” stage is not just a random scrimmage. A good coach conditions the game to bring out the exact technical moments they want, first touch, playing forward, breaking lines, finishing, whatever the focus is. The model works or fails based on the coach’s experience, not the format itself.
Once you progress to the higher badges (USSF B / A, UEFA B / A), you’re not required to use Play–Practice–Play. At that level, you’re expected to have the technical and tactical detail to design sessions in whatever structure is best for the players.
And importantly, there is no one “correct” way to coach. As you progress in your journey, your coaching toolkit should expand. Sometimes Play–Practice–Play is the right tool. Other times you need isolated technique work, progressing into complex technique, small-sided games, functional play, or full phases of play. Ultimately, our job as coaches is to facilitate positive habit change, not to worship any one session format.
Game realism + technical clarity = real development.
If young players don’t have coaches fixated on technical ball skills—including juggling— other aspects won’t matter as they get older. A player must have superior balls skills in order to have time to think and to be creative as the game becomes faster. Foot skills=speed of play. Speed without foot skills=missed opportunities.
In my experience, I disagree with the advice not to "over-coach." They CONSTANTLY need to be reminded not to clump.
can I get your set up for the specific positional training you run in your practice? I am always looking to learn as I run some positional drills as well but like to have more in library. Thanks
100% spot on. As an older coach who now works with high school players in the US, it is dreadful to see how many players don't understand the game and can't read the game. They don't make the right decisions with and (especially) without the ball. And having taken a couple US Soccer Coaching courses, I can absolutely agree that these courses – while TRYING to improve the grassroots in this country – lack focus on the fundamentals that will help young players improve not just their individual skills but(more importantly) their Soccer IQ, which SO MANY players I've seen just absolutely lack.
And sadly once these players are at the JV and Varsity levels, they do think they 'know it all' (i mean we all did at that age, right?) and it's difficult to retrain them to read the game and look for 'space' and relearn technical fundamentals (body position, receiving the ball , controlling it on the first touch, scanning for open teammates, finding the space to run into off the ball, etc) like you say in the video.
Glad to see you are trying to change that for the better with yourteam(s).
Great video, thank you. Love that you mentioned problem solving, I believe this is a larger nationwide challenge because our children are over supervised. In order to be “good parents” we wind up over involved and removing all the challenges that help them grow, so they don’t even understand the process of try/fail/adjust. Helping them learn that through football will help them for life, not just for sport.
I have a 4 and 5 year old and we have been focusing on ball mastery using playing mat training as well doing drills in our basement.
Click bate
I never knew this age group could be genuinely fun and entertaining to watch (newer soccer fan here). Great passing and skill.
100% spot on. From U9-U12 the emphasis should be mostly technical, high touches, 1v1/2v2/3v3, small spaces, high reps.
I just got my D, and it was nothing like you’re describing. Wondering if it’s a teacher issue or if you took it a while ago.
We need to follow Japan not Europe cuz look at their High schools
Too bad I still need the licensure
They think futsal is just some kind of fun activity for the off season.
They think rondos are “keep away games” (warm-ups)?
They think coaching in games is “over-coaching”
Pretty much everything is wrong. I ignored their directives from day-one. Futsal, rondos, and structured/coached scrimmaging is the foundation of everything I do…because it’s pretty obvious that it works. At every age group; teams that scrimmages 3-4 hrs a week and then play a game on the weekend vs a team that does about 45 mins per week total of scrimmaging without coaching typically ends in about 75% possession and a very convincing W. What’s worse is when my teams beat teams they’re not supposed to beat, the other team parents/coaches never seem to want to know how tf it’s happening. 🤷♂️
Not really arguing here. I went to the USSF B many years ago. I know some passed even when things were so difficult for them and even one lady just sunned herself every day. I know she passed. I didn't. (Yeah I'm bitter) My last session the evaluator walked to a different field before I started. My eval write up was completely stupid. The guy would have no idea what I said or even did. Anyway… You just need to take those USSF activities as basic tools to create opportunities to coach/correct/teach/enforce… All of those same games are probably able to be manipulated to create the theme you want to focus on. But, I'm going to give United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) some props. It's a coaching community that kicks around ideas and shares…. What I've always liked about USC and I've heard it said a few times is "This is not "THEE" way, but is "A" way. If you have another way that works, share it"…
High school coach here, when I was in the D license course I asked my instructor many times about where skill development lies in Play Practice Play. Where do players learn to receive off throw ins, how to shoot properly, how to head the ball effectively or win the second ball? When I didn't receive a proper answer to those questions I decided that I would only use this as guidance, not as a rule. The concept is correct- introduce your idea at a more base level, work it into game-like training, and then evaluate the acquisition of information in the second play phase. But to rigidly stick to that for every practice at any level is foolish. With my team, there are certain practices where we run a PPP format. There are many that we run in a different way. Some start with a technical drill such as a first touch circle, because sometimes the players just need to focus on that. PPP assumes that players have learned all the technical skills they will need, and the coach's duty is to guide them on how to use those skills in games. A vast majority of American players don't have the required technical standard to ignore it at practice. They don't practice at home, they don't go to camps growing up, they haven't been playing since birth.
The point of all of this is to say, drills are not a counterweight to your team's development. Players need to focus on technical development as well as physical and mental. Instead of rigidly sticking to Play Practice Play, you can use that as a guideline and work things into your practices that the players need. The coach knows more than the federation what your group needs, don't be afraid to break from the model to help their development.