Let’s face it, as parents, sometimes things on soccer Saturday don’t go the way we want and selecting the right youth soccer coach can go a long way in getting through that adversity. If you have a good youth soccer coach, then you can trust that your player’s best interests are being protected. So, how should you go about figuring out if the coach is “good” or not? Often, when parents evaluate a youth soccer coach (or club), it’s tempting to focus on the league the team plays in, its standing, how many tournaments it is doing, or the club’s social media presence (FYI social media only shows the good and that is not reality). It is hard to know what makes a coach “good” for your player. After some experience in youth soccer, most families come to the same realization: the coach matters more than almost anything else.
At the youth level, the healthiest environments are built by coaches who understand that development and love of the game must come first, with competition woven throughout the developmental process. Competition matters in that it supports development and the love of the game; for a player, it should never replace those two things. This post explores five qualities that consistently show up in strong youth soccer coaches and if a coach has these qualities, you are getting off on the right foot.
1. A Genuine Commitment to Player Development
The primary job of a youth soccer coach is development. That means helping players become more confident, more capable, and more comfortable making decisions on the field over time. Parents can often spot this by looking beyond results and noticing whether all players are improving, not just the strongest ones. Players in development-focused environments are encouraged to try things, take risks, and learn from mistakes rather than playing it safe to protect a scoreline. Parents often ask, when does development end and winning as a priority begin? Not in youth soccer, and honestly, not ever, even at the highest levels, if a coach is not developing players, they won’t have success. For coaches, this requires patience and perspective. Winning can’t be the metric that drives decisions week to week. Improvement must be the measuring stick.2. Creating an Environment Where Kids Love Playing Soccer
Kids stay in soccer because they enjoy it. They leave when it becomes stressful, negative, or joyless. Good coaches understand that enjoyment and challenge are not opposites. They create environments that are positive, demanding, and emotionally safe at the same time. Players feel supported when they make mistakes and energized when they succeed. For parents, this often shows up in small ways: players who are excited to go to training, relaxed body language on the field, and resilience after errors. For coaches, it’s a reminder that the emotional tone they set—especially in difficult moments—shapes how players experience the game. A desire to win at all costs usually results in burnout and high player turnover. Creating that balance of knowing when the team needs the “win” to keep on the development track is an art and not a science, but there are certainly times in youth soccer where the coach needs to play the game to win it.
3. Teaching Players How the Game Works
Youth soccer development isn’t just about technical repetition. It’s about learning how to read the game, make decisions, and solve problems in real situations. Strong coaches design training environments that resemble the game itself. They use small-sided play, ask questions, and give players space to think rather than constantly telling them what to do. Mistakes are treated as information, not failures. As players progress, they can all kick, run, pass and shoot. It is the players who have high soccer IQ’s that continue playing. Parents watching training often notice this when practices look like soccer rather than exercise. Coaches who teach the game are building players who can adapt, not just follow instructions.4. Purposeful and Composed Game Management
Games matter, not because they define success, but because they are the most powerful learning environment soccer offers. Effective youth coaches manage games with intention. They compete seriously, make adjustments when needed, and help players navigate the emotional swings that come with competition. At the same time, they avoid panic, constant sideline control, or fear-based behavior when the scoreline isn’t favorable. Parents tend to recognize good game management when matches remain competitive and composed, regardless of the result. For coaches, it’s about balancing the desire to win with the responsibility to protect development and confidence, especially in tight or difficult games. Again, there may be times when a team “needs” to win a game for a greater purpose in their developmental cycle, but in regular play, the development that occurs from game play for all players is more important than the win.
