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[quote=Anonymous]A good youth soccer coach has to have a very specific skill set.
 He or she must first, of course, have a solid idea about how to develop players technically. More than that though, the coach must be able to translate that technique into tactics. That is a HUGE differentiating point in my opinion: how many coaches simply do technical drill after technical drill and end with a game of some sort that doesn't really relate to the technique? A really GOOD coach can take a technical point, create a progression that will allow the coach to see that technique in a playing environment, and then tailor both the technique and the tactics to suit his or her vision. Again, in my opinion, we live in an area where many coaches can do this, but we also live in an area where certain coaches are under the delusion that they are good without knowing enough to know their own deficiencies.
Within the subset of coaches who are on point with what I said above, there also has to be a lot of people skills, and those people skills have to be applicable to both kids and adults. A truly good coach must take an interest in each individual player and come to understand him or her to some degree. Of course, the coach must deal with the entire team in a fair manner, but a really good coach must know how to deal with individual players when they lose confidence, or when they are acting in a manner that negatively impacts the others, or when a player is injured and trying to play through it etc. He or she, especially with girls (IMO) must also be likable but be smart enough to not make that the priority. With adults, the coach must be quick to cut out or silence cancers and must NEVER engage in talking about his or her players with parents. A good coach understands that, try as they may, a parent cannot help but be subjective. It would be ludicrous to leave a parent's kid on the bench game after game because the team is functioning well or whatever an NOT expect blow back. This is especially true if the coach is paid. It takes a great deal of effort and understanding for a coach to navigate parental feelings, but he or she must do so with honesty yet also with compassion. 
I would say there are still a great deal of really good coaches in our area based on all of that, but it does thin the ranks. Just my forty cents.  [/quote]

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