Andrew Piotter

@coach_kevin_m I am currently coaching my daughter who is a U10. A player at this age is “good” when they can use both feet, beat a defender consistently 1v1 and begins to show they understand the concept of space.

How would you judge if a player is good at u10?

@coach_kevin_m Football

I just wrote my first book! And it is not for the faint-hearted. The Rise of the Dogmatic Football Coach Would you like to read an extract before it is publicly released? Comment "Football", and I'll DM you the link

@coach_kevin_m @SimonBrundish @cdavid15 Love following this conversation as I’m living it with my U10 daughter as a dad and coach. Totally agree main issues are getting coaches/parents on the same page, open communication as previously mentioned and then coaches who are in it for the right reasons. Thanks for sharing!

@SimonBrundish @cdavid15 We've both been doing this a while, and it is mad that it seems to be getting more difficult as the years go by. It should be straightforward, but the variables you cannot control as an individual make it 10x harder than it should be

Hits close to home…. “The strongest players in my squad were fine. They were playing every week, getting development time, and feeling valued. The ones who left were the ones who needed more support, more playing time, and more encouragement.”

This is not coaching. This is elitism. Under 8s. Year 3. Seven turning eight. And a child is getting 5 to 10 minutes a half. Then “released” for not being “good enough”. While being told they can still come to the end of season presentation. That is not standards. That is status. Grassroots is supposed to be the entry point. The foundation. Movement. Confidence. Belonging. Wellbeing. Sport for everyone. Not a trial. Not selection. Not a tiny minutes budget for a child who loves playing. The moment you keep a child for training numbers, then leave them out of friendlies and games, you are not building a team. You are teaching children where they rank. A coach talking about teamwork while excluding one child is performing values, not living them. This is how children quit. Not because they hate football. Because they start to hate what football feels like around adults. A child-centered and age-appropriate coach protects confidence first and then builds skill. At this age, different abilities is normal. That is the whole point of coaching. Find a club that includes. Find a coach who develops. Walk away from any environment that measures seven year olds like finished products.

Just introduced a new skill to the 9 yo continuing to focus on balance and coordination. Last week pulled off her first 1v1 full scissors to bottom corner finish in a game. Was most proud of her confidence to try it and the joy she had after. Thanks SSAH and @tomsan106!

If I had cancer, I would do this immediately…

This is exactly why kids (especially young boys) need PRESENT DADS. I played the worst basketball game of my life & after my mom said, "You tried hard Ty, I'm proud of you, you'll get them next time." My dad said, "you made one early mistake & hung your head. You let your team down, your coach down, & you let yourself down. If I was you I would be up early practicing tomorrow. I would apologize to your teammates & coach & take ownership. What are you going to do to ensure you don't let yourself down again?" The next morning I was up at 5am before school practicing. I did take full ownership & promised my team every second I got on the court they would get 100% effort & passion forever from here. I dropped 34 the next game & we won by 25 on route to winning 13/14 next games. Dads give us tough love. We need it. The world doesn't care about blaming others, victimhood, excuses or feelings. Present fathers change the world. Lock in men. ❤️🙏

“I find girls to be incredibly focused, they just need to be inspired and empowered.” As a sports med PT, HS girls soccer coach and father to an 8 yo daughter I couldn’t agree more with every word of this podcast. This is the one that needs to go viral @fitsoccerqueen!

Let’s stop teaching our kids that it’s okay to quit the moment something gets hard—or stops being “fun.” Sure, trying new things is important. But you know what’s even more valuable? Learning to follow through. If they signed up for the season, they finish the season. If they committed to a team, they show up—for the team and for themselves. Let's stop raising quitters. Let's raise people who understand that commitment matters—even when it’s inconvenient, challenging, or not as exciting as they expected. They don’t have to be the best. They don’t even have to do it again next year. But they do need to finish what they started. Because someday, life will throw things at them they can’t just walk away from—and this is how they learn to show up anyway.

Winning is not a good measurement for development in youth sports, especially pre HS age (pre secondary growth spurt) Later on? Winning becomes a byproduct of the whole team doing everything else right During my #collegesoccer coaching career, we did our best to steer the conversation away from winning & emphasized the entirety of the process that leads to the byproduct of winning As a result? We won A lot!

@AngrySoccerGuy I appreciate your content and as a coach have put into practice the idea kids should master 1v1s before team competition. With so much $ involved, how do we get the point across to other parents/coaches as to what really matters to keep their kids developing and engaged?

@Rev210c Hey Andrew! What insight would you like? I love the fact that she’s practicing at home. That’s the most important.

Update: here is sister, just turned 8, about 2 years later. Brother wanted to keep practicing basketball skills on the driveway which is fine by me. A joy to see their improvement from intentional time spent with the ball. @tomsan106 #skilldevelopment #footballstartsathome

@Don_K_Williams Love this. We need to focus on educating parents/coaches to know what “success” actually looks like within youth sports. So many are ingrained to believe it’s wins/losses vs great defense, dribbling, passing to teammates, getting back up again, celebrating other’s success, etc.

“The emphasis for a six-year-old should be on getting better, not winning soccer games. There’s coaches that I hear say ‘this coach we’re coaching against next week is our arch-nemesis, we have to win this game' and he’s coaching seven-year-olds. I’m thinking ‘what the hell is wrong with you?’” Landon Donovan

Engaging in difficult conversations with those you lead is never fun. But the best leaders know that things only get worse if they avoid hard conversations.

@PatMcAfeeShow @TheMayorsOffice New this year Iowa actually now has a shot clock for high school basketball - game changer for sure!

"I think the players are gonna love the pitch clock and MLB is already getting a great response from them" ~ @TheMayorsOffice #PMSLive

@BeastModeSoccer Seemingly impossible, we need to shift the metric of “success” at an early age from winning or scoring goals to elements of skill such as how many players they took on 1v1, how often they escaped pressure, etc. The majority of parents (and coaches) focus on short term results.

What are some common mistakes that parents make when supporting their child at soccer games and practices?

Just about 2 years later. Daughter 5 years old and son now 4. Note the eyes on his big sister, much improved balance/control and repetition with both feet. Both beginning to ask to play more to dad's delight! SSAH works for those who understand "there is no short cut". @tomsan106

💯

Get your sleep.