Youth soccer coaches, are the drills you're conducting in practice maximizing your team's game potential? In this month's Coaching Education article, Gary R. Allen dives into poor practice habits overlooked by youth soccer coaches. According to Allen, coaches of teenage players would do well to create more practice environments where players are constantly making and receiving hard, accurate passes under the pressure of limited time and space, but maximum movement. Allen elaborates on this topic as well as the need for coaches to help their team(s) establish rhythm, use the ball as a decoy and tactfully use combination play from 40 yards out to isolate defenders and break attackers free.

Click here to read this month's coaching education article –Coaching Teenage American Players: Rhythm, Decoys and Combinations. US Youth Soccer Technical Department offers a number of programs to educate new youth coaches and enhance the skills of current coaches, continuing the progress of the game. Don't forget to check out the newest offering from US Youth Soccer - The Novice Coach: An Introduction to Coaching Youth Soccer DVD Two-Disc Set. Created by the US Youth Soccer Technical Department, it is designed for coaches that are new to coaching youth players regardless of previous experience. Get your copy today at US Youth Soccer's Online Store!

An additional program is the Coaches Connection, established to educate and further the flow of information between the coaches across the nation, the Connection connects you to the US Youth Soccer Coaching Education Network. Open to anyone, the Coaches Connection is for coaches, administrators…you. Click here to learn more.