What is CoachCraft?

I love soccer. I just love it. Ever since I was a child growing up in Northern Virginia, I've loved playing the game, watching the game, and imbibing as much of what it had to offer as my mind would allow. Soccer has served as a lens through which I've learned so much of what I know and shaped so much of how I look at the world. And it's also taught me a lot about myself.

When my son first started playing organized soccer in a preschool age soccer program here in Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston, I got involved in coaching and helping to run the program. That was the beginning of my journey as a coach, a journey that continues today 14 years on. What I've learned over those years has enriched my life and provided me with a wonderful connection to kids and families in my community that I never could have imagined.

The Power of Youth Sports Coaching

Coaching youth sports goes far beyond the playing field. The coaches in our youth sports programs play an incredibly valuable role in our communities, and their impact can be profound. The demand for excellent youth soccer coaches is limitless. The world will never have enough.

There are coaches, and then there are excellent coaches. Anyone who decides to coach should first and foremost be thanked for stepping up to serve in this vitally important role. But also, anyone who decides to coach should do so with intention and purpose.

Like anything, becoming a good coach — or better yet an excellent coach — requires learning a broad range of skills and effectively applying them on the field in the service of your players. Of course, you need to know how to teach the technical aspects of the game, but you also need to navigate other aspects: psychological, emotional, and cultural. You may need to be tuned into a player's family situation, a socio-economic consideration, or something going on in the classroom with a player. On this coaching journey, you will need to work, you will need to learn, and you will need to plan and prepare effectively for your time on the field with the kids.

It sounds like a lot, and it is, but with an appetite for learning, gaining experience over time, and truly practicing the craft of coaching, the reward of positively impacting young athletes can be profound.

Introducing CoachCraft

CoachCraft is born out of this passion for soccer and the transformative power of coaching. Through this resource, I aim to support and inspire coaches at all levels. I’ll share experiences, strategies, and insights to help you navigate the complexities of youth coaching. Whether you're just starting out or have years of experience, I hope this will be a resource for you in making a lasting, positive impact on the young athletes in your community.

What’s Behind the Name?

The term coach craft comes from my friend and coaching mentor, Dean Conway. Dean is a member of the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Hall of Honor, and for good reason. He was the Director of Coaching at the state level for ten years starting in 1992 and, closer to home, was the Director of Coaching at our grassroots program in Boston, Jamaica Plain Youth Soccer, which is where I met him. We had volunteer coaches to coach the kids, but it was Dean who coached the coaches.

I learned from Dean not just great training activities to do with the kids, but also the soft skills around coaching. The little things that can really make a difference. Learn the kids’ names immediately and provide encouraging feedback constantly. For smaller kids, take a knee and speak to them at their eye level. On a sunny day when talking to players, have them face you and you face the sun. These things, combined with running well-prepared and organized training sessions is what Dean called coach craft. Through all my years of coaching, it’s a concept I return to constantly, and I hope to impart the wisdom of that craft here at CoachCraft.

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