In addition to providing a fun and safe environment for our children to play soccer, we are also committed to helping each child further develop their soccer skills and performance. Although your coach can play a significant part in this development, the more involved you are as a parent can have a significant part in their development. The more time you spend playing with your child the better they will become as a soccer player. More importantly, the better the relationship you will have with one another.

The Wenatchee Soccer Club along with The Wenatchee Valley Youth Soccer Association has partnered with Total Player Sports to create a Player Development Program (PDP). The PDP is designed to better prepare U10 and U11 players who want to further develop their skills. To register for this program, email Mike Osborn at mike@wvsportsplex.com.

We also want to encourage you or your teams to attend camps throughout the summer. We recommend the following soccer camps:

• Total Player Sports Soccer Camps http://www.wvsportsplex.com/programs/summercamps.html
• Wenatchee High School Jr Panther Camp for additional information email coach Nigel Hunter at hunter.nigel@mail.wsd.wednet.edu

Below are some helpful coaching tools that will make your coaching experience much more enjoyable and rewarding because you'll have a much better understanding of the game.

Helpful Websites:

• grassrootscoaching.com: Grassrootscoaching.com is a unique online and interactive soccer coaching resource. Realistic 3D animations and graphics visually demonstrate soccer coaching drills and football training sessions. The football training drills are searchable by soccer skill requirement and are age group specific.
• expertfootball.com: A well-prepared football or soccer practice is conducted with a progressively perplexing flow. Rather than mixing soccer drills at random, a training session must be targeted towards a specific part of the game like finishing or passing. The best way to conduct a soccer practice is by starting with simple technical exercises and building up to group tactical situations. Check out their youth soccer drills w/pictures to explain.
• www.soccerhelp.com: This website is a wealth of information. There are 62 soccer drills and practice games. Their soccer games are fun, maximize activity, minimize lines, are easy to set up and teach players to play soccer. Coaches will achieve more in less time.
• www.finesoccer.com: The drill archive has 328 drills you can use at your next practice.
• www.soccerpracticebooks.com: Our soccer drills and practice books have 70 pages.
  We have a book for kids soccer (4-9) and youth coaching (10-13), both ideally suited for rookie coaches. Each soccer practice book has 10 completely worked out practice plans, each with 80 drills, following the sequence of warm-up, technical (skill) drill, fitness drill, tactical drill and scrimmage. Each soccer drill and practice plan is on a single page that fits on your clipboard.
• www.soccer.com: Not only will you find everything you'll need to outfit your future soccer star, you will also find numerous coaching and player development books, dvds, and videos.
• www.worldsoccershop.com: Very similar to the previously recommended website, this website too contains a wealth of helpful products, training tools, and training equipment to help your team improve their play.

Helpful Videos

• Super Soccer Skills: This is one of the best videos for learning how to teach basic moves and footwork. It is recommended for players 10 and under, however most of the recreational players we've observed aren't proficient with these skills as well. We recommend getting the 3 DVD set.
• GOL! (Brazilian Soccer Foot Skills and Ball Control Training) DVD: This DVD is excellent for developing your footwork. It is more advanced that the Super Soccer Skills DVD, but it is a great tool to develop your player(s).
• Footability: Another excellent training tool to help you advance your level of play. This program will teach you how to properly execute proven moves, and improve your confidence on the ball. Once again we recommend your get the 2 DVD set.