Miguel de Lima - ASET's Latest Interview

ASET is pleased to announce Miguel de Lima as the latest individual to show his commitment to continuing coaching education.  Miguel's playing career spanned stints in both Brazil and the United States. Currently, Miguel is the president and founder of Delima Soccer. 

Click Here to read about Delima Soccer and Miguel's thoughts on the similarities and differences between soccer in Brazil and the United States. 

U.S. Men's National Team Assistant coach Mike Sorber helps team prepare for World Cup

This article details Coach Sorber's involvement with the men's team, in particular with Benny Feilhaber, in helping to prepare them for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

Click Here to read the entire article

Sample Training Activities and Training Sessions

While soccer is played fielding a team of eleven players, it is very much an individual game.  At any given point during a match, individual battles are taking place, both offensively and defensively, that impact the outcome of the match.  It is critical, as coaches, we design training activities with this aspect in mind.  The golden years of learning take place between the ages of six and fourteen.  Below are training activities to implement at the given age levels.  ASET hopes you find these activities beneficial when training your teams.

Click Here for the sample ages 6-9 activities                 Click Here for the sample book review 

Click Here for the sample ages 10-13 activities             Click Here for the sample training session 

Click Here for the sample ages 14+ activities             

Not So Great Expectations: We need to demand more from our younger players

The above title is from an article written by Dr. Jay Martin, the editor of the NSCAA Soccer Journal and Head Men's Coach at Ohio Wesleyan University.  Within the article Dr. Martin believes that our expectations of U10 players are not as high as they are in Germany or other soccer playing countries.  Within the article Dr. Martin offers his reasons for this disparity as well as possible solutions. 

Several questions to ponder after reading this article include:
-- As a coach, ask yourself are you doing your absolute best to develop your players?
--Do you present challenges for your players in training that ensures they are improving to their full promise?
--Become an ASET member and have access to an organization that is truly for coaching development in all components of the game?

ASET hopes you find this article interesting.  Click Here to read the article.

ASET partners with leading sports psychologist

ASET has partnered with one of the premier sports psychologists in the country.  Dr. Jim Taylor will supply ASET members with up-to-date information regarding sport psychology and mental training of coaches and athletes.  In the weeks and months ahead, Dr. Taylor will regularly provide articles to ensure ASET members remain current in the area of sport psychology. To view more of Dr. Taylor's work you can visit his website at www.drjimtaylor.com

Click Here to view part one of Dr. Taylor’s interview.

Click Here to view part two of Dr. Taylor's interview.

The entire interview is available to ASET members under the Coaching Articles drop down menu above.  Then click on the articles and interview link.

If coaches at all levels are going to provide their players with a challenging training environment they must continually self-evaluate their teaching methods and strive to improve their ability to train players.  A coach should not be the same coach he or she was two years ago.  Coaches should be more knowledgeable regarding the training process.  The game is continually becoming faster and more technical and will continue to do so. 

As coaches we must look at our own soccer education and make efforts to upgrade and expand our teaching of soccer. A coach should make it a priority to attend certification courses organized by the state associations, the United States Soccer Federation or the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Coaches need to take advantage of opportunities to attend seminars and clinics in their area to help them become better coaches.  They should ask questions and have discussions with coaches that can provide them with information that will assist them in the technical, tactical, physical, and most importantly, the mental development of their players.

The top professional coaches in the world are constantly working to improve.  They  attend coaching seminars, visit clubs and read every article of information available to help them in their team's development. When people like Rafael Benitez, manager of Liverpool, and Arsene Wenger, manager of Arsenal, come out and say they think coaching education is an important part of their growth as coaches, we should all realize that we have room to grow as soccer coaches as well.

John Peacock of the English FA had this to say regarding coaching education; "I think having an educated, qualified work force is essential and I am pleased that the majority of our coaches want to obtain the necessary qualification and have a continued thirst for knowledge.  In my view, ex-players are never experienced enough or well enough prepared to go straight into coaching.  It is not sufficient to have experience on the field nowadays; coaches need to understand nutrition, fitness, psychology, communication and man-management skills.  Everyone is looking for the edge in soccer and I think that coaches who attend courses and get their coaching certifications generally are always striving to be better at their jobs.  If you pick up knowledge or information that could make a small difference this could prove to be the fine line between winning and losing."