Coach Jesse

09/02/2026

⚽️ WEEKEND RECAP - Gettysburg Battlefield Blast: Liverpool U12 Boys

A great weekend in Gettysburg for Liverpool, finishing 2nd in their division!

The players competed hard, created opportunities going forward, and showed some really good soccer throughout the weekend. Just as importantly, each game provided opportunities to learn, grow, and develop together as a team.

A great start with plenty more to come. Way to go, Liverpool!

08/31/2026

I know some coaches don't like having parent team managers on the sideline with them, but I welcome the help.

There's a lot happening on a game day beyond just coaching the game. Having someone there to help set up our team bench, set up the VEO camera, aid a player who needs basic first aid attention, tie a shoe while I'm coaching during a live game, or handle any number of little things that come up is extremely helpful.

I also don't mind that these parents hear what I have to say to the players. It's never inappropriate. They're hearing me tell players what to do on the field, how to do it, when to do it, and why we're doing it.

And oftentimes, those directives and actions have to be repeated multiple times before they "stick." That's normal with anything, but especially at the youth playing levels.

I think this is what usually catches the attention of our parent team managers. They hear how many times we're talking about the same concepts throughout a game. Play outside. First look forward. Keep possession. Don't just kick it. Get compact defensively. Move off the ball. Lock your ankle. Better first touch. Scan the field. Check your shoulder. Stay onside.

We've talked about these things before. We've trained them before. And we'll talk about them and train them again.

Without that transparency and open dialogue, it's easy for parents to ask questions like, "Why don't you teach the players [insert any number of technical or tactical strategies here]?"

The answer is often: We do.

But explaining a technical or tactical moment is a lot easier than consistently executing it in a game.

Talking about something once doesn't make a player better at it. Running through something once at training doesn't make a team better at it. It requires repetition. And patience. Then more repetition.

When I open up the sideline to a team manager and communicate our players' development throughout the season with families, I've found that the dialogue becomes a lot more receptive—not only from the players, but from the parents as well.

They start to see the process.

The families and team managers I've had really start to respect the coaching process and the journey when they regularly hear and see these things being taught, reinforced, corrected, and then eventually executed by the players.

Development doesn't happen because we talked about it once. It happens over time.

08/31/2026

A coach's reflection:

A lot of good things to reflect on and a lot of opportunities to work on from the weekend. Overall, our players were primarily looking to go forward, as I asked of them, and they were hungry for goal. That's a great start!
Just a couple years older, I tell those players that these are some of the qualities I look for at the younger ages: desire for the ball, comfortability on the ball, and the soccer IQ to read the game. Without those qualities, as players get older, their game is too slow and players can become too predictable when trying to evade defenders. These things become more difficult to develop as players get older, so our players are in a great spot to start learning them now.
Speaking of comfortability on the ball, we'll be doing a lot more technical work at practice: passing and shooting fundamentals, and ball mastery.
Ball mastery doesn't mean trying to take on four defenders by yourself. It's having the confidence and ability to take on a player 1v1 when the opportunity is there, while also being able to combine with teammates and execute good one- and two-touch passes. It's knowing when to dribble and when to pass.
Additionally, soccer IQ isn't only about strategies and tactics. At this age, it's learning the positions on the field, knowing the basic rules of the game — keeping our feet down on throw-ins, for example — understanding where we are on the field, and recognizing what's happening around us. Are we attacking? Are we defending? Where is the ball? Where should I be to help my team?
Although these concepts may sound "simple" on paper, they challenge teenage players, too. That's why it's good to start introducing them now.
At the beginning of the tournament, I had players tell me, "I don't play [insert position]," or, "I only play [insert position]." At seven and eight years old, with the exception of the goalkeeper, no player should be pigeonholed into playing only one position. That does a disservice to their overall development.
Learning different positions teaches players to see the game from different perspectives. A player who learns to defend better understands what defenders are trying to do when they're attacking. A player who learns to attack better understands what they're defending against when they're playing in the back. It all connects.
I'm glad our players became open-minded about this throughout the weekend because, at first, it was starting to sound like we only had one or two players willing to play defense. We got over that little hurdle, and I'm excited that they're open to learning and growing into well-rounded soccer players.
It takes time. We're not going to learn everything overnight, and we don't need to.
It's going to be a rewarding season. Let's enjoy the journey!

08/28/2026

I coached Boaz 9 years ago when he was kicking around a size 3 ⚽ ball. He's now playing college ball for Coach Justin. Where do the years go!?

08/28/2026

Attention volunteer rec ⚽ coaches!

This time of year, I often get questions from parents and coaches asking for help or looking for resources for their players and teams, and I'm more than happy to have that dialogue.

Even though I may not be physically available to coach your player or team, I'm still more than happy to have the conversation, answer questions, share ideas, and point you toward resources that might help.

Gratis. Free of charge, of course.

It's what we do. Coaches help coaches. We share ideas. We share resources. We learn from one another, and ultimately, we help grow the game and create better experiences for our players.

Welcome, Coach! Reach out anytime. Talk soon!

08/28/2026

🎯💪🏼

08/26/2026

I speak about this often because I lived it.
I played recreational soccer all the way through 8th grade. Back then, before we had all of the travel teams, clubs, leagues, and options that exist today, there was real value to rec soccer. There was a strong pool of players, competition, and an environment where kids could learn the game and develop before feeling like they had to move on to something bigger.
I didn't make my local travel team at U9, U10, or U11. And back then, we had both A and B teams at those age groups. That alone tells you how many players were coming out for travel teams and how deep the player pool was at the recreational level.
I eventually made the local travel team, and after a couple of seasons, I outgrew that environment and was invited to play in a much higher-level competitive environment. The timing worked out because my home travel team had reached that age where teams sometimes start to fold because of a lack of committed players.
At that point, my parents were driving nearly two hours to find the right environment for me. But that was after years of playing locally, learning the game, developing the basics, and building a genuine love for soccer.
Fast forward to today, and we're seeing 9- and 10-year-olds traveling two hours for games.
Somewhere along the way, many recreational organizations lost some of the value they once held. Instead of rec being a place where players can build their foundation, learn the basics, develop confidence, and most importantly, develop a pure enjoyment of the game, we're seeing players pushed into travel soccer before some of those foundations have even been established.
I'm certainly not against travel soccer. There is absolutely a time and place for higher levels of competition, and players should have opportunities to move into environments that challenge them when they're ready for it.
But travel soccer shouldn't have to replace quality recreational soccer.
We need to bring value back to the grassroots level so that families don't feel like their 9-year-old has to travel two hours away just to receive quality coaching, meaningful development, and a good soccer experience.

‘Travel sports,’ a term that has come to encompass all sorts of private teams, leagues, and clubs, used to be for the truly exceptional young athlete. Now, they’re for anyone willing to pay — an expensive, exhausting commitment that has become popular not necessarily because millions of parents want them for their children but because it can feel like there’s no other choice. Rec programs are underfunded and struggle to compete with for-profit leagues for prime field, rink, and court times. And the level of play is diluted, often very early, as travel teams are incentivized to enroll children at young ages.

Around 5 million children in the U.S. now compete on travel teams. Parents find themselves trapped. They know the benefits of sports and want that for their children, yet giving it to them often means buying into a sports ecosystem that’s inherently flawed. As the pay-to-play model increasingly takes hold, so does the idea that kids should start competing at younger and younger ages, risking their sense of self along with their shoulders and ACLs.

“I never want my kids to look back and say I didn’t do everything I could to help them live their dreams,” a mother of three soccer players said. She’s hired professional photographers to take action shots for her 12- and 13-year-olds’ Instagram accounts — the platform has become a recruiting tool — and they’ve both asked her to pay for personal trainers.

“I think the word isn’t ‘specialize’; you are ‘professionalizing’ your kid early. You are exposing them to everything professionals have to deal with — I’m talking injury, time, schedule, everything,” said John Van Benschoten, a former MLB player and travel-baseball coach.

It makes one ask: All this for what? And for whom? Read Caitlin Moscatello’s cover story on how travel leagues have made youth sports more expensive, hypercompetitive, and all-consuming — and the investors who are making a killing: https://nymag.visitlink.me/fEw_Lb

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

With school ball starting up, a lot of teams are conditioning for preseason, so I'm noticing some players coming into our trainings already fatigued and playing with rubber legs.
I told our players this evening that I will be empathetic to this because I don't want anyone getting injured. At the same time, we're still going to focus on and emphasize a good touch and proper soccer. Just because we're tired or playing with friends doesn't give us a free pass to lower our level of soccer. We have to stay on top of the little things at team trainings, even when our legs are tired.
Continue to take inventory of your bodies. Stretch, roll, and ice anything that needs attention. Players, if something is slowing down your game or affecting your ability to play comfortably, let your coaches and parents know. Don't try to push through something that could turn into an injury.
Let's continue to be proactive not only with our development on the field, but with taking care of our bodies and our health as well.
And stay hydrated!