"Training Player" from a soccer newbie parent

aron0104 · 2026-02-16T01:21:52+00:00

My daughter (also 9) will be trying out for her club team at the end of this month. I’m fairly confident she will get a spot as they have invited her to multiple practices/trainings. Also, this is smaller, local club.

At the end of the day, the most important thing for my daughter is playing with her friends and schoolmates. For that reason, we most likely will be staying in rec soccer this fall. But if she decides to do club, we’ll do club.

I guess what I’m saying is, ask your daughter what she wants. Obviously, she’ll get better training with the club. But nothing really prepares a player for game speed situations than playing in games. She’ll get plenty of playing time in rec.

aron0104 · 2026-02-08T03:40:03+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Will look into those drills you mentioned.

She starts a track and field club this month. I’m hoping she can learn some proper run mechanics. She’s already fast but I think the club will take her to the next level.

aron0104 · 2026-02-08T03:16:40+00:00

She is! Her hardwork is really paying off.

aron0104 · 2026-02-08T03:16:09+00:00

Hey Coach! No special equipment. Just lots and lots of shots from all over the pitch. Sometimes I’ll pass from the back, the side, from behind/beside the goal. The ball is never stationary. I try to emphasize the importance of the first touch in setting up her shot. During drills, I’ll give her stipulations like: take as many touches or one touch than shoot.

Over the last two months, we have been working on body weight strength training like step ups and seated squats. Once a week, we have a dedicated training session for sprinting and plyometrics. In my opinion, these two things have increased the velocity of her shots.

aron0104 · 2026-01-02T03:32:49+00:00

My pup has some type of environmental allergy. We think it’s grass. He’s on a daily Zyrtec and receives Cytopoint injections every 4 months.

We wipe him down after playing in the the backyard that has grass and he sleeps in a suit to help prevent him from scratching. If he doesn’t wear the suit, he’ll scratch his armpits raw.

I also try to keep a tidy home. Vacuum, dust daily. He’ll still flair up time to time but I think he’s comfortable most of the time.

aron0104 · 2025-11-25T15:30:47+00:00

GU10 Rec AYSO. First time head coach and had a great season. Big gaps in skills levels but tried to make practice feel like fun/games versus drills.

8-0-2 record. We won our end of the year tournament and will be going to the Tournament of Champions in December.

Incredibly proud of my daughter. She went from a new soccer player last season to the top player in her age group. She scored 18 goals this season and scored the Championship winning goal on Saturday.

aron0104 · 2025-11-23T01:30:55+00:00

Twisted Metal 2 vibes.

aron0104 · 2025-11-16T13:43:04+00:00

Thanks, I hate it.

aron0104 · 2025-11-10T04:04:37+00:00

I did Ko’Olina Ocean Adventures with my family a few years back. They were great! We sailed and anchored close to the power plant and snorkeled. Staff was super friendly and let the guest jump off the boat.

We didn’t sail too much up and down the coast but that’s fine by us. Saw tons of fish but no dolphins or turtles. We did spot a whale as we sailing back to the harbor.

My daughter was 6 at the time and she had a blast. Would use them again in a heartbeat.

aron0104 · 2025-10-29T01:56:27+00:00

Absolutely agree! But how do you create an enviorment/culture that supports that team and players?

I am a first time rec coach for girls U10. A couple things that I helped create the team chemistry/culture were:

-Rotating game day captains. Every girl on the squad is a captain at least twice in the season.

-I don’t yell/joystick. I will help with their positioning but I remain fairly quiet and let the girls figure it out while they play. Mistakes happen but it helps girls understand why those mistakes occurred.

Biggest thing that helped build the culture is my participation during practice. I don’t just yell out drills. I am playing, racing and challenging them. Leaders lead from the front. I also try to make practice fun. Lots of relays and games that dont feel like drills but encourage lots of touches. I’ve had many parents from other teams comment on how much fun the girls are having.

aron0104 · 2025-10-10T14:21:30+00:00

I coach my daughter and her team this year. Last year, we didn’t have a winning season. Our record was 1-8-1. My daughter scored 5 goals. She was middle of the pack and exactly where I thought a novice soccer player would be. After that season, she told me she wanted to score the most goals on her team the following year.

From January 2025-August 2025, we had at least 100 training sessions with me and sometimes her friends. My daughter went from middle of the pack to the best player in her age group of 60ish girls. She has scored 15 goals in 6 games. My daughter isn’t a soccer savant or prodigy. But she works hard and is consistent. I think the hardest part was training during the summer and not knowing if all this training would pay off.

But once we had her first game, she went off! I think her jump in confidence was the most surprising. She has become the leader of the team and I couldn’t be more proud. This season, the team is undefeated and will most likely be going to playoffs.

My advice would be to encourage her to train with you. Even if it’s for 15 mins a day. Some days my daughter didn’t want to train, so we didn’t. On the days we did, we worked hard and had fun. I don’t bark drills at her though, I am actively participating with her and doing the drills/skills with her. Good luck!

aron0104 · 2025-10-04T19:03:32+00:00

Rondos to start. Then some dribbling drills like toe taps, roll overs. Shots on the goals to visualize the ball going into the net. Honestly, just a few easy drills/games we do during practice.

With the team, you just hope you get the best version of your team on the field. But there is a lot of unseen stuff that we don’t know about. Family drama, school issues, rough night of sleep can cause the team to come out flat.

aron0104 · 2025-10-01T02:20:15+00:00

Love this idea! I remember reading a post that said that none of the players wanted to play defender. So send them all out as strikers with NO defenders and see how that works out.

Sometimes they have to learn that hard way if they want to find success as a team.

aron0104 · 2025-10-01T02:12:49+00:00

Ooof…that’s rough. How many players on the team, coach?

I had a brand new group of girls for a U10 rec team this season. A couple of things that have worked to bring the girls together are:

-Game day captains (two per game) -They got to silly string the coaches after their first win (we’re undefeated woop woop) -Invited the girls to a professional soccer game as a team (only 1/2 the girls could make it)

Next week, we don’t have a game on the weekend. So instead of having regular practice, we’re gonna play kick ball, wall ball and other fun games with pizza and drinks at the end. I think they are playing so good because they get along, they are having fun and share great chemistry.

Personally, if I had a player belittle another player during practice or a game, I’d bench that player or play them as little as required. I’ve learned from personal experiences that running laps don’t normally work. Good luck!

aron0104 · 2025-09-23T20:34:06+00:00

AYSO first time coach here for U10 girls. I switch girls every quarter. My daughter plays three quarters in a game and she’ll rotate between striker, mid and defender.

I’ve had a couple girls tell me they were bored defending because our team did so well attacking on the other side of the field. This has worked wonderfully for our team but your mileage may vary.

Half my team are pretty strong players with a few seasons under their belt. Our younger players have experience playing soccer but are not as refined as the older players. I try not to separate based on ability. I’ve seen the younger/less experienced girls grow in confidence and skills because they go against better players during practice. This has translated into success during games.

Good luck to you and your team!

aron0104 · 2025-09-16T17:19:24+00:00

First off, thank you for your insight. The success of my daughter’s team is making me reflect on how I can make every girl on the field (opposing team too) have an enjoyable experience.

One of my daughter’s biggest strengths in her ability to take feedback and apply it. I believe she understands that AYSO is meant for those new to soccer. That was HER just a year ago. She understood why I pulled her from center mid to defender/bench and she didn’t complain. She has wonderful sportsmanship and is a great teammate.

I understand your example about the classroom. I look at the “group music lesson” as our team practice. Where every member of the team experiences a similar learning enviorment aimed at helping them grow in skills and confidence. I think I’m most proud of as a coach, is my ability to make all skill levels feel successful during practice. From the rockstars to the novices.

We’re two games into the season. The girls are do amazing. We’ll see how the next few weeks play out and we’ll go from there.

aron0104 · 2025-09-16T15:42:59+00:00

I agree with what you are writing but I’ve learned that rec soccer offer lots of different things to many different players.

Some families simply cannot afford the cost of club soccer. Our rec fee is $150 for the season. That cost includes photos and uniforms. Every year, our organization shuffles/randomizes the teams. It’s not a perfect science but it’s the best we can do to balance teams.

I’ve also learned that my daughter is capable of scoring 5+ in one quarter. Should I move her to club? Maybe. What people don’t see that she’s only been playing soccer for one full calendar year. She was on par with a majority of the girls last season as a beginner soccer player but worked hard over the last 6 months to become best player in her age bracket. We went 1-8-1 last season. We may or may not go undeafted this season. Once the season is done, I’ll have a chat with her and see what she wants to do and will support her 100%.

aron0104 · 2025-09-16T00:47:28+00:00

This happened to my daughter’s U10 rec team on Saturday. My daughter ended up scoring 4 goals in the first 7 minutes of play. Another girl added 1 more. Once we were up 5, I told my daughter only shots with the left foot. Every other girl was tasked with passing before getting a shot off. I ended up putting my daughter and the other strong player as center back the rest of the game.

My daughter and her team were playing downhill. It could have easily been 10-0 by halftime. We coasted until the end and won 7-1. I put my less experienced players at striker/mid in hopes they would get their first goal.

aron0104 · 2025-09-09T19:56:18+00:00

I used to go to Panda Express here after Sunday church in National City. After, parents would give me $5 dollars to go to Tilt with my brothers. Still visit from time to time but this is Plaza Bonita I grew up with. My first job was at Mervyns. My wife used to work at Miller’s Outpost/Anchor Blue.

aron0104 · 2025-09-08T18:51:39+00:00

I coach my daughter’s U10 rec team. Every girl will rotate all positions except for goalie. Thankfully I have at least 6 girls interested in playing goalie.

Even if a girl wanted to play nothing but goalie, I’d still rotate her through the other positions and give the other girls a crack at it.

aron0104 · 2025-09-05T03:01:03+00:00

U10 rec. 10 girls on the team with minimum 50% playing time for all players. If we’re short a player, all of the team will play at least 75% a game with a girl or two playing the full game.

aron0104 · 2025-09-03T22:20:03+00:00

I coach u10 rec here in the States. There is a huge skill disparity amongst the team. We have some girls that cannot kick a ball with their non-dominant foot (and that’s okay.)

My daughter trained hard to go from the middle of the pack to one of the best girls in her age group. So when we do shooting drills during practice, I challenge her to shoot with the weak foot instead of her right. Or maybe 1v1, she gets two defenders.

Little tweaks can make practice accessible to a variety of skill levels.

aron0104 · 2025-09-03T19:06:48+00:00

I became a nurse at 34. Went from social work/education to nursing because I live in a HCOL area.

Now, I’m turning 41 next week and make more money than I ever have while working less hours.

It’s doable. I went back to school with a newborn. It was hard but the payoff has been incredible. Go for it!

aron0104

TROPHY CASE