Youth Soccer Drills-2nd Edition

224 Pages. Published 2003

About the Book

As a youth soccer coach you have a limited amount of time to teach an enthusiastic group of kids how to play the game—and have fun doing it. That’s why you need Youth Soccer Drills. It helps you develop fundamentally sound players by providing 84 of the game’s best drills for teaching basic spacing and movement concepts, dribbling, passing, and shooting skills to beginning- and intermediate-level players ages 5 to 12.

The book features a comprehensive, well-organized drill finder that categorizes drills according to the specific skill that is being taught as well as the age group for which the drill is appropriate. This helps you deliver organized instruction that is specific to the age group you teach, including

-16 movement drills, -14 dribbling drills, -30 passing and collecting drills, -7 heading drills, and -17 shooting drills.

You will create better practice sessions with new material on preparing effective practice plans (including sample practice plans for 5- to 6-year-olds, 7- to 8-year-olds, 9- to 10-year-olds, and 11- to 12-year-olds) and implementing progressions for 4-versus-4, 5-versus-5, 8-versus-8, and 11-versus-11.

With Youth Soccer Drills, you have a logical order of teaching skills and concepts that will improve skills as well as safety on the field and help you develop a fundamentally sound soccer team.

About the Author

Jim Garland has worked with children ages 5 to 11 as an elementary physical educator for 33 years. He also has over 15 years’ experience coordinating summer soccer camps and clinics for Motion Concepts Summer Soccer Camps, and he has coached soccer teams from beginners to high school age.

As an undergraduate at Towson State University in Maryland, Garland earned Most Valuable Player awards for two consecutive years. In 1970, he was elected Senior Athlete of the Year. In 1985 he was inducted into the Towson State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Garland earned his master’s degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore in 1978. He earned his doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1999.

Garland is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. In his spare time Garland enjoys fishing and playing golf. He and his wife, Debra, live in Street, Maryland.

Words of Praise

"A helpful addition to the library of the beginning youth coach. I found the section on space and movement concepts most interesting." Jeffrey Tipping Director of coaching education National Soccer Coaches Association of America

"Jim Garland’s caring and experience in working with beginner soccer players shine through in this excellent manual for coaches and teachers. Highly recommended." Tony Waiters President, World of Soccer