New Assistant coach to High School Soccer

[John Behrenberg]

Hello, I am new to High School Soccer coaching. I coached rec for years. My son's school has started a "Soccer" program. Last year was the first year. It was intramural/inhouse. We split the players and played each other. We also played 1 public high school, 1 private high school, and a rec team.

We practiced 2 times a week. Practices started with 6 players in a line that dribbled out and around a cone, then back to the line and the next went (approximately 15 minutes worth). Did some passing, etc, then scrimmaged soccer with 12 or 13 players on a team.

We are having a "Soccer" meeting with players and parents next week to go over this falls season. It looks like we will have a Co-ed team this year. The head coach doesn't want to play 2 games in a week, that is too much soccer for the players?????

The school board wanted a 2nd year "intramural" program. We are allowed to play other High Schools. Possibly the following year we will be able to have a high school team.

So, my question is?? What should a High School Soccer program look like? How many practices a week, how long, what is covered? Anything else?

Any help would be Greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

John

[Tommy Stauter]

This is just my opinion but if the head coach doesn't want to play twice a week, he's not interested in soccer. I coach at a 4A public school in MS. We can play one game per week (Mon-Thu) but Friday and Saturday are not considered as part of the school week. Therefore, we usually play 2 times Mon-Sat and occasionally 3. Before the season, I practice Mon-Thu with 90 minute sessions. Occasionally, I will practice on Friday but no practices on weekends. Our season starts in October and goes through January. Other parts of the country play in the fall.
Are you guys private or public? Small or large school? Another year of intramurals might be a good idea but you still need to play some games. The kids will tire pretty quickly of just doing drills all the time. I would also encourage the kids to play in a local rec league. Hope this helps.

[John Behrenberg]

Thank you Tommy for your reply, it is appreciated!

We are a public school. There are 2 schools but 1 school district. One school has (9-12 grades) approximately 60-75 students per grade. The other school is larger, but not by much.

How is Friday and Saturday not part of the school week? It sounds interesting.

Thank you,
John

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[John Behrenberg]

Thank you Catherine for the information, it is appreciated!

[David Seevers]

"So, my question is?? What should a High School Soccer program look like? How many practices a week, how long, what is covered? Anything else?"


To be quite honest, John, you're really the only person who is going to be able to answer these questions, but here is a little guidance, if you will, on how to go about gaining the answers. I think the best high school programs recognize that each program has to be unique and meet the needs of the community of players that it serves. If I were in your situation, the first thing I would do is look at the pool of players I have. What is their background? Do they play club ball? If so, how many play club? Get an overall feel for what your players are doing out of the high school season first. Then based upon those answers you'll be able to better create a program that integrates into the larger soccer community of which your school is a part.

You may find that your players don't play much outside of school so your program has to emphasize technique more than others. Or maybe your players are very capable so you can focus more on tactics. Their ability dictates that.

I integrate a lot of off days into my schedule, and we don't play more than 18 games before going into the district tournament, but this is because all of my players are involved in club ball so that over the course of the year they have a very demanding training and playing schedule. I, therefore, try to do my part in ensuring that they don't suffer from burnout, physically or mentally. But, a friend of mine has only 1 or 2 club players on his team so he trains much more often and plays a few more games because his players need the repetitions on the ball and the game experience, if they're going to get better.

I know I didn't give you any solid answers there, but again, I stress that the answers to your questions depend on your situation. If you could give more feedback on that situation, I and others might be able to be more specific, but I also think that you'd probably come across the answers by yourself too.

Regards.

[John Behrenberg]

David,
Thank you for your response, it is appreciated.
The players- most recreation players the rest new. There are no travel or club players on the team.

Public High schools will not play us since we are not an "official" team, only a school club. The rec teams we know are younger then 9-12th graders. I would like for them to play a regular High school team so they will know what level of soccer to expect.

I just hope they are having fun at practices.

Thank you,

John