Springfield College has produced a number of outstanding soccer coaches. Tony DiCicco is the best. He has achieved success at every level ahd guiding the U.S. Women's Team to championships at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 1999 Women's World Cup, which was hosted by the United States. He now enjoys great success in youth soccer and is a member of the NSCAA Academy's National Staff and Director of the NSCAA Goalkeeping Institute. This article was published in September 2005.

What motivated you to become a coach?
Coaching was my second priority after playing. I wanted to continue playing as long as possible. When playing was over, I think the concept of being a lpart of "team" was important and therefore coaching was the obvious next step. For me, there is something special in being part of a team. The ability to influence young people in a team is a great challenge and very motivating. A coach has a real chance tp develop a person's soccer ability and to guide a person off the field.

Does that ability to inlufence young people apply to the Women's National Team?
Well, naturally coaching at the highest level is a bit different, but still at the level the coach can and does influence the development of the players on the field and as posiitive human beings off the field.

Who were the biggest influences on your development as a coach?
First and foremost the biggest influence was that of my parents. They instilled a value system that still works today. My father was known for his integrity all over Connecticut. He passed that on to me. I also was fortunate to have had many good coaches in my background. I had three outstanding high school coaches: Bob Landers in soccer, Mill Mason in basketball and Charlie Wrenn in baseball. The coaches/teachers were role models for me and lessons learned from them will be with me for life. My college coach was the legendary Irv Schmid at Springfield College. Irv's coaching was part of my Olympic and World Cup Championship teams.

What do you emphasize in a training session? Have training sessions changed over the years?
I try to identify where the team is and use that as a base for the training session. If the team needs work in the back, we will spend time with that. The challenge of coaching club soccer, which I am doing now, is that we don't have a lot of coaches. So, if we need work in the back, we will use the attack in the backs. That means I will not be able to do a lot of functional training with the players. In the national team program we can do very specific  functional training during sessions.

You must evaluate what the team needs and builld a session from there. That may change with U-9, U-10 and U-12 because these kids are just learning the game. The session must be technically based and slowly tactics will be added to the session. With senior teams you must identify exact problems and build the session from there. For example, my team needs better flank play, or coordination between the midfield and the forwards, etc.

Through the years my training sessions have become more focused and shorter. The team moves quickly through the session. I like to say the we imprint rather than perfect. That doesn't mean I don't want all play to be perfect, but that won't happen in one training session. So the coach must imprint the idea or the imprint the concept so everyone is on the same page. Then every time you revisit this in training the team moes closer to a total understanding. A perfect example is set plays. You can practice a corner kick 100 times until you are successful. It is perfect, but it will not happen on the next serve. I run it three or four times. I make sure that everyone nows their role. That is what I mean by imprinting. The session should be short, intense and fun.

How would you describe your style as coach?
I think I am very intense. I have to be concious of this and back off at times. I set up good practices where the kids enjoy playing and therefore look forward to coming to the training session. I have a good sense of the qualities that players have and where they will be most successful on the field. For example, Brandi Chastain was the top women's attacking player in college and played an attacking role in the first World Cup. On my team she was a defender and became the best attacking defender in the world.

What are the main qualities you look for in a young player?
I am looking for a "special quality" in a player. For example, Tiffany Roberts (an Olympic gold medalist and world champion) is considered by some to not be a great soccer player, but she has one ot two qualities that make her special. First, although she is one of the smallest players on the field, she is one of the toughest players on the field. Second, she is the best individual defender when it comes to marking a player out of the game. She marked the great Norwegian player Hege Riise in the 1996 Olympic semifinal game and we played 10 v. 10, but they played without their engine and we won.

I am always looking for a great quality in each player on the team. That quality might be leadership on the field, it may be great ball skills, it may be great athleticism or it may be a great header. Ususally the best players have three or four qualities. If I can get players with great qualities and put those players on the field where we can take advantage of those qualities. we have a team of players with great qualities. It is not always the best soccer players, but the players with the best qualities. 

If you could mandate two or three aspects of the game that every youth coach should detach or emphasize, what would they be?
Striking the ball. We are not good enough as a soccer culture at striking the ball. In fact we are weak. I have friends who were born in pther countries and their children are much better at striking the ball than our kids. We must get better at this at an early age. As our players grown older they get it, but they must learn earlier.

We need to be better at the basic tactics of the game and he most important tactic is support. The basic game I play with all age groups is 4 v. 2. It is better than 5 v. 2 because in a 5 v. 2 grid, the players do not always have to work hard to get into support positions. With 4 v. 2 the players must move with every pass to ensure the player on the ball has options. This game also works with passing, receving and defending. All players at all levels must understand this.

What is the biggest obstacle to player development in the U.S. at the youth level?
The biggest problems are coaches, parents nad our soccer system. Most of our players play the game because they love to play. However, parents and coaches want to win. Playng to win and playing to develop players are two different things. If you lok around the world you will see that youth player development is different. The Dutch system, for example, is totally different than our system. Youth coaches there don't care about winning because they are evaluated on developing players who can advance to the professional leagues.

We have travel teams and select teams and super teams with the emphasis on winning and your team advancing and not the players developing. This has become very clear to me now that I am a youth coach and run a club. Yes, we want to win, but development is first. As an exmaple, when we bring our teams indoors we split the team into two teams so we don't have many subs and therefore each player is vital to the team's success. Often we play against teams that only use one team. Why? Because if you have all 18 of your players and if the teams is down a goal you can rely to that core of very good players to pull out the win.  When you splt your team up, all the players are forces to contribute in very tough situations. We may not won as much indoors, but the players really develop.

What tactical trends have you seen in the women's game over the past few years and what changes do you see on the horizon?
The tactics of the women's game mirror what is going on in the men's game, maybe just a little behind the men's game. In the men's game now everything has become central If you look at the systems of play, the all have players concentrated in the middle of the field. For example, a 4-4-2 no longer has two lines of four across the field. but usually there is a diamond shape that concentrates players in the middle. The reason for this is the high reliance on counterattacks. If you spread your team out there is just too much space for the counter. This means that wide defenders now must take on a playmaking role. Most wide defensive players are pretty good ball winners that have a lesser role in attack. As the players get older it is more important for the outside players --especially the backs-- to become playmakers. They have more time and more space to play than the inside players. If the wide players are not playmakers, the team struggles.

The other trends, because of the new emphasis in the offside call, the defenses are under pressure. In time we may see the return of the sweeper because the space behind the defense is more available.

Let me say that I am in favor of this change in the offside call. When I was commissioner of the WUSA I instructed referee's assistants to keep the flag down unless they are absolutely sure the play is offside.

Do you have certain coaching principles that you refuse to compromise?
Absolutely. One is to make sure the training is fun. I don't care wheat level player you are training. I know not every session will be fun -- there will be fitness sessions. But players must look forward to the training session. When that happens you get the passion, the effort, the enthusiasm and the intensity that aids player development. Another principle is "less is more." This means that if you do your training session right, if you are concise, if you are organized, if the sesssion is intense and fin, the players will respond. So I try to keep the session at 90 minutes. If you do that you will see that the players will stay after training and work on their own, and that's a key for player development. This gives responsibility to the players to improve on their own. My motto for coaching is "Play hard, play fair, play to win and have fun." That will never change.

When offering criticism do you speak to the team as a whole or privately to the player(s) involved?
Both. But let me say now that there are more similiarities in coaching men and women than there are differences. But with women it is important to criticize one on one. It is not that critical with boys. Sometimes you can make a statement like "our fitness is not what it should be." The girls' players will internalize that comment and think you are talking to them individually. However, with a boys team the players will think "coach is right, all the other guys need to work on fitness."

The important aspect of criticism is the ability to manipulate tone of voice, the body language and choice of words. You can be critical but keep the communication open and the players will absorb what you say or you can force the team to jump to the other side of the fence and turn you off. The delivery is as important as what you are saying.

Do you have a formation of choice? What is it? Why?
Yes, I prefer the 4-3-3 that used with the women's national team and use today with my youth teams. This formation is great for player development. You have three front runners who play with their back to goal, numbers down and under pressure. This forces them to be creative and combine. You also have four backs and the two outside backs have to be responsible as playmakers and midfielders. They have more responsibility and are forced to play the game. The attacking midfielders -- I play with two -- must read the game and work on spacing or they become forwards. They are always hunting and looking for the best position. The holding midfielder must be a central midfielder and sometimes must drop back to be a center back. The center backs must play right back or left back, so this system requires a lot of player decisions. You can easily move to 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 or 3-4-3.

If you believe in "team chemistry" how do you enhance it on the team?
I do believe in team chemistry. I think it is absolutely necessary. The first thing you must do is identify how you as coach want your team to be and you must let your players know that. From these statements and the leadership on the team a "team culture" will develop. You develop your coaching mantra and teh team takes that and creates a team culture. Then as you build your team, it is important for the coach -- and the hgher you go as a coach, the more important this is -- to know that the players on the bench are the key to team chemistry. The other players are playing and they are happy.

The bench players must know their roles on the team. They have to know when you will use them in a game, and then you must use them. For example, in the WC 1999 Tisha Venturini played in only two games. She played against North Korea and scored twice and then played in the final. Her role is to score goals. With the score 0-0 I put her in to the final against China to try and score a goal. You must be true to your players. If you tell them what their role is and go in another direction, you lose credibility.

In trying to define roles and sell the players on their roles, do you use goal-setting or other types of sport psychology?
We do use sport psychology. Now, I don't have a sports psychologist. But with the Women's National Team I used Colleen Hacker, who is one of the best in the business. I set goals for the team and players. She met with the players and used her magic to help players take ownership of the goals. She had the players write down all the goals and, more importantly, write down the plan to achieve that goal. If you want to be a better server of the ball maybe you stay after training every day and serve 20-30 balls to  a striker who tries to score. If everyone on the team can improve on a goal or two or even five percent, the whole team is better.

So you have to do this, even with youth teams. I like to ask my players what is your best qualitiy as a player and where do you want to improve. I want them to know what their best quality is because ultimately that is what will make them a great player. If you only concentrate on improving weaknesses you may eliminate the best quality. I have the young players write this down and this gives them a direction to focus on as they train. We evaluate all players in writing. Often players are adrift without a compass. You have to let players know where they stand. The expression we use is "Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions." You must provide feedback. Otherwise players are lost.

Let's stay with youth soccer for a moment. Is there is a right time for a player to focus only on soccer?
The simple answer is no. I have four sons. One is a soccer fanatic. All he did was play soccer. Soccer is right for him. One son played soccer only in the fall. The other two fell somewhere in between. You cannot mandate a sport to a young player. This will increase the chances of burnout. If a young person plays only one sport it can create an imbalance. The correction may be that the player quits. Some kids have an unbelievable capacity for the game. Others like to play other things.

If a kid wants to play only one sport, then the coach must help with the training program and the rest period, etc. If this doesn't happen it will lead to physical burnout. If you have a kid with other interests and they want to reach their goals in soccer then they must make soccer a priority at some point. That doesn't mean they can't play anything else, it means a priority, Cross training is a good thing. A player can learn a lot about soccer by playing basketball. Track can help anaerobic training. A key question is whose decision is this or whose goals are these. The parents? The coach? The key is to make sure these are the player's goals.

Let's talk about the WUSA. Do you think it will return? How important is the WUSA for the U.S. Women's National Team?
The WUSA will return. Maybe not as the WUSA, but we will see women's professional soccer again in the U.S. Here's why: First, there is ownership interest. I still get calls all the time that I forward on to the people who are trying to get women's soccer going. Second, there is sponsorship interest. There are sponsors who want to come on borad and see the business plan. Why? Because the product hits a unique demographic that is not duplicated anywhere else in sport, even other women's sports. Third, there is player interest. Players from all over the world are interested. Fourth, there is spectator interest. We proved that last year when we ran the sports festivals in Minnesota and Los Angeles. These are the four ingredients that are necessary to reestablish a women's league. All we need is a viable business plan.

How important is a new WUSA to National Team success?
That is an interesting question. When I was the Women's National Team coach I would have answered this differently. Now I think it is critical to the success of the National Team. What we saw from the WUSA in just three years was Abby Wambach, who I think is the best player in the world right now. She made the National Team because of the WUSA and its player development environment. It got to the point where Aprii Heinrichs had to bring her on to the team. Shannon Boxx is another great story. She plays in the WUSA and after three seasons and no National Team experience she ends up being selected for the U.S. World Cup team and to the Top IX team in the World Cup.

There are many success stories because of the WUSA, including Briana Scurry, whose career was revitalized in the WUSA. I think now the league is absolutely critical for the success of the National Team. Otherwise we are making a decision when players are 15 years old that will put a player on the National Team track and everyone else is eliminated. What we know is that players with the right environment and great coaching can flourish to become national team players even with the foundation offered by the youth national team structure.

In the absence of the WUSA, what can youth players do to watch high leel games and establish role models?
Well, without the WUSA you have college games. Although not professional leagues, these players are a step above the youth players. You have W-League or WPSL games that also offer valuable lessons for youth players. And you have the Women's National Team and international soccer, which is the highest level. Players develop by training and imitation of the sophistication offered by professional players.