Skyline Soccer Association Coaches

Becoming a Soccer Coach

Youth Soccer Coaches with Skyline Soccer Association

3U – 5U Grasshopper and Munchkin Volunteer Coaches

The Grasshopper and Munchkin Program will always have qualified Skyline Soccer staff coaches at each park to run or assist in running a practice. As part of the Grassroots soccer philosophy we feel that parent involvement at a young age is absolutely vital to player development. This is where you come in.

If you’re interested in coaching your child’s team this season, we’d love to have you! Each week you’ll play games and run activities to help your players develop their soccer skills. Skyline has on-site staff available if you need any help with your team or have any questions about coaching. We also provide supplemental coaching resources and weekly coach plans before the season starts.

As a coach, you’ll receive:

Weekly coaching lesson plans for the duration of the season
Weekly email updates prior to and throughout the season
A t-shirt that matches your team’s

Skyline also brings and sets up all the equipment you will need as a coach – goals, pinnies, cones, and even balls – so all you need to bring is yourself.

Be involved! We request at least one parent from each team be present each practice to help coach the team. Parent coaches greet the team and play soccer games to help players develop their soccer skills. Weekly coaching plans are provided to all parent volunteers to assist with this. We also setup and provide all the equipment you will need. Please note, if no one volunteers to coach and we are short staffed that day, we will ask parents to step in and coach that practice.And don’t worry – you won’t be alone! Skyline has on-site staff available if you need any help with your team or have any questions about coaching. We also provide lots of coaching resources before the season starts.

Participate in the warm-up! Each program starts with a group warm-up led by the Skyline staff. Your team will look to you as an example of how to loosen up, stretch, and get ready for a fun day of soccer!

Review the coach plan each week. Before each session, you will be emailed a weekly plan to use with your team. The activities we use in each plan are developmentally appropriate for the 2.5 – 5 year old age group. Different teams have different personalities, so you may derive from the plan a bit or not use every activity. While this is understandable, we strive to ensure that each player within our program gets a similar experience regardless of the team they are on.

Keep everyone on your team moving! We strive to teach children about the importance of staying active. As a coach, you have the ability to keep your players running, jumping, skipping and moving throughout the entire program. Please avoid drills that involve players waiting in lines, passing drills, or other activities where children have to stand around a lot or wait for their turn.

Ask for help. Each program has a number of Club Coaches on hand to assist you with whatever you need. If you’d like an extra set of hands on the field, an assistant coach, or help with a game or two – do not hesitate to call over a Club Coach to help. Just look for the folks wearing blue Skyline Club Coach shirts.

Set realistic expectations for yourself and your team. Whether your team is scrimmaging for the first time or playing a simple game like red-light/green-light, 2.5 – 5 year old players can loose their focus. Just remember that this experience is many kids first time being in an organized sport.

They are still figuring out how to follow instructions and listen! As long as you are trying your best, having fun, using positive reinforcement, and using the tips we provide you in the volunteer parent coach manual, you will keep your players engaged and ensure they have a positive experience.

Bring a smile to the field and have fun! Your team looks to you as their soccer role model. If you’re excited to play and happy to be at the field, they will be too!

Go to our online registration page.

Once you’ve selected a park for your player, you will then be asked if you would like to sign up as a Head coach or Assistant coach.

Select the position that you prefer and fill out the necessary fields.

You will be contacted via email afterwards to fill out information for a background check.

Once your registration is complete, you will receive a confirmation email.

*If you register your player and decide after the fact that you would like to coach, you can always login to your account anytime before the season starts, select the “Volunteer” tab on the left hand side and navigate your way to select which day and park you would like to coach.*

6U-8U Volunteer Coaches

The success of our program relies on dedicated volunteer parent coaches. Without these amazing contributions we would be unable to provide our families the service they deserve.

If you’re interested in coaching your son or daughter’s team this season, we’d love to have you! Each week, you’ll greet your team, lead them through warm-up, and play soccer games to help your players develop their soccer skill. Skyline has staff available if you need any help with your team or have any questions about coaching. We also provide supplemental coaching resources and weekly coach plans before the season starts.

As a coach, you’ll receive:

Coach plans for the entire season
Equipment such as cones, balls and pennies to help your practices run smoothly

Team Communication

As the coach, you are in charge of all team communication. You will be responsible for making sure your team understands when and where you practice, has a copy of the game schedule, is aware of any reschedules as well as any other information that comes up throughout the season.

Set Up Practices

At this age, each team will have one practice each week. We will work with you to find a practice location and time that will work for your team each season.

Run A Weekly Practice

You will be in charge of running a weekly practice or find a substitute if you are unable to make a practice. We will provide coaching plans for you to use each week. If you ever have questions about practices or what your players should be learning please speak with the Skyline Staff! We would love to help you!

Handle Game Day Operations

Your team will have a game each week on Saturdays. You are responsible for running your team during the game. You will take care of substitutions, lineups and keeping the game fun for your players. We do not push winning at this age group so please help us keep the game fun and enjoyable for your players!

Here are some helpful tips to running a highly successful season no matter what your teams age group or ability level is.

Create a Team Focus

Find a few areas of the game that you want your players to be very skilled at and emphasize that during your training sessions. At 6U we encourage coaches to focus on coordination and familiarity with the ball while also working towards being more comfortable on the soccer ball. At 7U & 8U we encourage coaches to focus on ball control and technical ability. If you choose to focus on a different area we encourage you to still keep the above focus as a high priority to ensure players develop properly.

Keep Soccer Fun!

As a youth coach you should rate your success according to the number of players who return each season because the sport is fun. If practices are dull and overly difficult or if the games are stressful because the coach or a parent is giving a player more than they can handle, then they will drop the sport quickly for something more fun. As the coach you are the “Captain of Fun!”

Don’t Joystick Coach

Many coaches will fall into the trap of “joystick coaching.” This is where the coach tells the player every single thing they should do when they are on the field. Players will learn best by trying something, making mistakes and learning from the mistakes. Coaches should focus on creating an environment where players are encouraged to take risks and are not punished for failing. This will develop problem solvers and decision makers.

If you would like to coach your childs team this season, please indicate that you are interested when registering your child.

In an effort to create a comprehensive curriculum for the 6U-8U program, and to foster a strong coaching culture at Skyline, we’ve created a Coaching Plan index for you to use thought the season. The coaching plans are organized in a way that will hopefully direct you to the best coaching plan for your team! As you look at the plans on the right you will see several different categories available online.

6U Session Plans – These session plans are recommended for 6U teams. Players at this age group are still very uncoordinated and must work to build balance and coordination, are very egocentric as they cannot see the world through others eyes yet and are incredibly imaginative. By taking special care to develop sessions that would connect best with this age group players at the 6U age group are given the best opportunity to succeed. Ball control is very important at this age. The sooner players get more comfortable with the ball at their feet the better.

7U/8U Session Plans – These session plans are recommended for 7U & 8U teams. Players at this age are beginning to develop physical confidence and coordination, love to imitate their heroes (athletes, super heroes, etc.) and enjoy playing group activities with their friends. By taking special care to develop sessions that would connect best with this age group players at the 7U & 8U age group are given the best opportunity to succeed. Again, ball control and mastery is very important. You can start out with the 6U sessions on ball control to see where your players ball control ability is before moving on to more in depth or challenging dribbling activities.

Archived Session Plans – Skyline has been producing high quality session plans for our 6U-8U Coaches for years. In this section we have a list of some of the old session plans that were produced for our coaches in the past!

Please use these sessions to help give your players better training and improve overall development. Feel free to customize and tweak these sessions as needed for your team. Do not be afraid to repeat a session if it works well! Players will be able to master skills they learned if they go through a session again.

Dribbling Session Plans - Coming Soon!
Shooting and Ball Striking Session Plans - Coming Soon!
Passing Session Plans - Coming Soon!
Goalkeeper Session Plans - Coming Soon!
Archived Session Plans - Coming Soon!

9U – 10U Recreational, Developmental Rec & Elite Coaches

Skyline offers a Recreational, Developmental Rec and Elite Soccer program for players aged or turning 9-10 years old in a FUN and positive learning environment. Our coaches use the Play-Practice-Play coaching methodology established by U.S. Soccer, which creates a more holistic, player focused environment using small-sided game, open-ended questions, and guided discovery during training sessions and games.

The Recreational and Developmental Rec programs are for players looking to continue developing their skills and love for the game, but in a more social environment where the player isn’t necessarily looking to move on to the highest levels of the game. Coaches are usually parent volunteers who have a passion for the game and want to continue instilling this mentality with youth players.

The Elite program is for players looking to advance their game to higher levels, and train/play in more challenging soccer environments. Players are assigned to teams based on ability to maximize development opportunities. Coaches in this program are paid and licensed.

Players in the Recreational program can expect to participate in 7-8 games each season (there is a Fall and Spring season each year) and participate in training sessions 1-2x each week. Players are expected to commit to the season when registering for a team whether in the Fall or the Spring. Players in the Rec Plus program must commit to a full-year with 7-8 games per season.

The Elite program is a full-year commitment (Fall and Spring seasons) with players expecting 16-20 games, and also participating in at least two tournaments, usually in the preseason. Players will train 3x weekly during the season, beginning in late July for the Fall season until early November, and mid-February until mid-May for the Spring seasons. Players can also participate in a Winter indoor league.

Coaches in the 9U-10U program will be given the opportunity to participate in ongoing coaching education with the Director of Coaching through weekly Age-Group Training (AGT) sessions, Winter preseason training, and shadow another team/coach during the season.

Opportunities for external coaching education will also be provided through Colorado Soccer and U.S. Soccer.

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer coach of your son or daughter’s team this season, we’d love to have you! Each week, you’ll greet your team, lead them through warm-up, and play soccer games to help your players develop their soccer skill. Skyline has staff are available if you need any help with your team or have any questions about coaching. We also provide supplemental coaching resources and weekly coach plans before the season starts.

If you are interested in becoming a paid coach for the Elite Program we would also love to have you. Please contact the Technical Director or the age group Director of Coaching.

Technical Director George Pavlantos george@skylinesoccer.org

Skyline’s Coach Developmental Pathway

What Does Coach Development At Skyline Look Like

In order to become a coach with Skyline, BOTH volunteer and paid coaches must complete the following in order to be placed on the official game day roster and coach from the sidelines.

Background check
Concussion Certification
SafeSport Certification

Please reach out to your Club Admin if you need your Gotsoccer profile set up or if you need the reminder link with your Login.

Elite Coaches will also need to return a copy of their coaching contract.

We’ve provided several Play-Practice-Play session plans for you as you begin working with your team. You can always reach out to your 9U-10U Director of Coaching for additional ideas and help on certain topics.

Grassroots Session Plan - Coming Soon!

Technical Training and Ball Mastery - Coming Soon!

1v1 Attacking and Defending - Coming Soon!

Passing and Receiving 1 - Coming Soon!

Passing and Receiving 2 - Coming Soon!

Possession - Coming Soon!

Finishing - Coming Soon!

11U – 19U Competitive and Recreational Coaches

Skyline offers both a Recreational and Competitive Soccer program for players aged 11-19 years old in a FUN and positive learning environment. Our coaches use the Play-Practice-Play coaching methodology established by U.S. Soccer, which creates a more holistic, player-centric environment using small-sided game, open-ended questions, and guided discovery during training sessions and games.

The Recreational program is for players looking to continue developing their skills and love for the game, but in a more social environment where the player isn’t necessarily looking to move on to the highest levels of the game. Coaches are usually parent volunteers who have a passion for the game and want to continue instilling this mentality with youth players.

The Competitive program is for players looking to advance their game to higher levels, and train/play in more challenging soccer environments. Players are assigned to teams based on ability to maximize development opportunities. Coaches in this program are paid and licensed.

Players in the Recreational program can expect to participate in 7-8 games each season (there is a Fall and Spring season each year) and participate in training sessions 1-2x each week. Players are expected to commit to the full season when registering for a team beginning in May of each year for the Fall season beginning in September. The Spring season runs from late March until mid-May.

The Competitive program is a full-year commitment (Fall and Spring seasons) with players expecting 16-20 games, and also participating in at least two tournaments, usually in the preseason. Higher level teams may participate in multiple tournaments for additional play, including some out-of-state travel for the highest level team in each age-group. Players will train 3x weekly during the season, beginning in late July for the Fall season until early November, and mid-February until mid-May for the Spring seasons. Players will also participate in a Winter indoor or futsal league.

Coaches in 11U-19U program will be given the opportunity to participate in ongoing coaching education with the Director of Coaching through weekly Age-Group Training (AGT) sessions, Winter preseason training, and shadow another team/coach during the season. Opportunities for external coaching education will also be provided through Colorado Soccer and U.S. Soccer.

Interested in becoming a Coach for Skyline? Email our Technical Director George Pavlantos george@skylinesoccer.org