There are several qualities required to be a top coach. You must first find and acknowledge your niche. Are you better with girls or boys, younger or older, beginners or advanced players? They all require different personality traits, but a significant amount of knowledge if you want to be successful.

There are specific characteristics attached to age groups and genders. You must familiarize yourself with them if you wish to be an effective teacher of the game. If you are serious about your craft you will find time to acquire your coaching license through the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) or the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). This will help you with the organization of your practice sessions. It will teach you what players of certain age groups should be learning, as well as how to teach it.

This is just the beginning. The acquisition of a coaching license does not make you a good coach. There are many bad drivers with a valid driver’s license. There are many certified teachers, who cannot teach. You still have so much to learn through experience and observation of those who have been coaching longer than you. There will be good days and bad, but you must learn from them.

You are in the business of developing players, so you must do your homework. Do not show up to practice unprepared. It helps to have a practice session in writing, but have a backup plan. What you have in mind may not materialize, because of attendance, mood of players, field space or equipment issues. STP Soccer helps coaches and organizations looking to improve their coaching ability by critiquing your practice in key areas.

The STP Coaching Development Evaluation and Planning sessions starts by answering the following questions among others:

• Did the coach have a plan?
• Was the plan age appropriate?
• Was there a flow to the practice?
• Did the players sustain the required level of interest and enthusiasm?
• Did the coach's mood hinder or enhance the practice environment?
• Did the coach have a positive impact on the soccer behavior of the players?

Once the evaluation is completed, the STP Staff will sit down with the coaching staff and organization to develop a training program that fits within the boundaries of the organizational philosophy with a player centric emphasis.

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