One of the key questions coaches must ask themselves is “Are the players transferring what we do in practice to the game?”

Winning is, without dispute, good for morale but if the wins come by just kicking the ball and running after it this is not going to be very effective, developmentally, in the long run.

Temecula FC, a California program best known for success in the NPSL, is now making waves in the youth soccer market thanks to the leadership of both Willie Donachie and Kurt Merrill.

Donachie, who serves as TFC’s Director of Football, has immense experience in the professional game.  

When I was the Director of Coaching for a Florida soccer club a player arrived late for practice and I asked him why he was late? He replied that he had just finished cross country practice. While I walked around observing the different practices I noticed he was leaving practice before the other players and I asked him why he was leaving practice early? He told me he was playing club lacrosse and had to attend lacrosse practice! I am not sure if he ever became a great lacrosse player or a great cross country runner but he, certainly, never became a top level soccer player.

Adam Grinwis of the Rochester Rhinos, one of the top young goalkeepers in the USL, has grown and developed as a player over the years.  Much of the credit for his success should go to the Michigan Bucks, a team he joined at the tender age of 18.

“We brought Adam into the team as an 18-year-old high school senior and did our best to help to develop him into a professional goalkeeper,” Michigan Bucks Director of Coaching Gary Parsons commented.  “He is one of the most athletic keepers we have ever coached and has all the tools to make it in the professional ranks.   We look forward to watching his continued development that will most likely have him playing goal in Major League Soccer in the very near future.”

The USL’s Austin Azex are a great organization on and off the field, one that is very committed to the community.  They proved this once again by auctioning off game-worn jerseys from two matches with proceeds benefitting local charities like Susan G. Komen® Austin and the Aztex Soccer Foundation. 

Susan G. Komen® Austin is an Austin-based nonprofit committed to saving lives locally and fighting breast cancer globally. Komen Austin is a local breast cancer organization attacking the disease on all fronts – education, screening, treatment, follow-up care, survivorship support, advocacy and research. The organization serves the women and men in the city’s five-county area battling breast cancer by removing barriers to care for the uninsured and underinsured.

Rhode Island Oceaneers standout Isaac “Nana” Addai is a special player, one that is certainly a hidden gem in the American Soccer League (ASL).  He is an unknown quantity in most soccer households, but that is sure to be temporary.  He is truly a star in the making, a gamechanger that can make a difference on the pitch.

Addai was a key player for the Liberia U-23 Men’s National Team in addition to playing professionally in Liberia and Ghana. He has been a star at every stop, but it hasn’t been easy.