Developing Youth Football Players Paperback – July 27, 2007

This book is written by the man who has revolutionized the development of soccer training for children throughout the world. The author has trained coaches in 50+ countries, including working for the Royal Spanish Football Federation (defending World Cup champions). Anyone involved in youth soccer has been affected by his work - it was his insight that led to younger children playing smaller sided games than the traditional 11 v. 11 that predominated into the 1980s.Many of the insights contained in this book are known to anyone who has raised or been involved with young children - simply put, the child psychology is now applied to soccer. It's almost like Maria Montessori was now coaching soccer - his theories are promoting active participation, allowing children more control, and stimulating player's minds.To do this, Wein advocate's a "Football Development Model," consisting of 5 levels of progression:1. developmental games (a/k/a drills)2. mini-soccer games3. 7 v. 74. 8 v. 85. 11 v. 11Wein's insight is to simplify the game of soccer for small children, and then to gradually increase the complexity as the children master the technical and tactical components of the game. It sounds stunningly simple, yet this is the first book on youth soccer that I've read that creates such a logical progression rather than a mish-mash of drills.The exercises in Wein's book are also quite good. They are well illustrated an intuitive. I've tried several of these with my children and they are excellent.Before buying this book, I'd recommend considering your background and objectives. This book is not for beginners - it would help if you have played and ideally had some (continental) European coaches,as well as prior experience coaching younger players. I suspect that a novice coach or one who did not learn possession soccer would find this book either disagreeable or distasteful. Certainly, this is not a good book for someone who feels pressure to win right away by making sure the ball is handled by their best players, or who feels the need to play "kick and chase" soccer. This book is about developing competent players, not about how to use a player who happens to be physically dominant now but who might not be so dominant in the future.In all, this book and the Dutch Soccer Association coaching bookCoaching Soccer: The Official Coaching Book of the Dutch Soccer Association are my two "must reads." They complement each other nicely. Wein's book is a must read for any coach (or maybe a parent with multiple children) focused on long-term player development. Moreover, it is well-written and easily understandable, which is often unusual for books written by non-native speakers of English.

This book is a must for any football/soccer coach that works with kids. This brings us back to why kids enjoy playing soccer and makes us remember what we did as kids. Play on the street no pressure from parents nor coaches. The book adds that street soccer plus how to make the kids better. What questions to ask them and many more things.

I really like this book. I have read few books to teach my 7 and 9 year old and this was the best one. The drill was practical and explained well. Highly recommended.

I coach high school and club and I must say this book is fantastic. If you are new to coaching or a seasoned vet in the sport. This book is a must have. But keep in mind it's just knowledge. It only becomes beneficial if you apply what you learn. If not it's as good as any piece of paper.

I am still reading this book, but it is like a good knock to the head as it reorients your view of youth sports and soccer/futbol in particular. I have struggled with how to affect change in the organizations around me, but I will follow his recommendations for how I approach the sport and my coaching philosophy.

I coach my son's rec soccer team and when he moved up to the 6-7 age group I got this book and several others to improve as a coach. Overall, this was the least useful book out of the four. This book is beautifully produced, with lots nice diagrams and illustrations showing games for practice. It assumes a lot of soccer knowledge, however, an it not for relatively new soccer coaches. There is no discussion of rules or the field. There is also little to no explanation of the technical aspects of the game, such as different turns or passes.Another issue is that a big focus of the book is that we need to take into account child development when setting up soccer leagues and coaching kids. The first thirty-eight pages is arguing that the current system is wrong and we need to emphasize fun, creativity and small sided games for younger kids. I completely agree and did not need thirty-eight pages. What makes it more frustrating, and helps make the book less useful, is that it argues children 6 and under should be in "sport kindergarten", U8 should not play soccer games, U10 should only play 3v3, and U12 play 7v7. This may be the right system, but it is not the one in most rec leagues. My six year-old son plays 7v7, and that is actually an improvement from last year when it would have been 9v9. Thus the books development of soccer players does not match the reality of what children play. With USA Soccer recently advocating 7v7 for U10 that is going to be the reality for a long time.This book may be good for a league director or an advanced coach, but it is not the best for your average rec coach. Maybe it says more about me than the books, but I found Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Soccer (Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Sports Series) much more useful.

This book will open your eyes about how players are developed here and gives an alternative route that makes a lot of sense. Open your mind and consider what this man is saying, it may give you a new outlook on developing your child's athletic interests in a positive,fun way.

This book is very informative in training youth footballers. I highly recommend it, especially for the theory of player development.