Coaches: Here are educational opportunities to take your coaching journey further

CHARLESTON, S.C. (June 29, 2023) – US Club Soccer and its member organizations are hosting a number of coach education courses in the upcoming months. These courses fit into the U.S. Soccer Licensing Pathway or are considered supplemental courses by the Federation, with curriculum designed to develop leadership, tactical abilities, team periodization and game management.

One of these opportunities is a virtual Director of Coaching (DOC) course, Aug. 9-Nov. 17, which focuses on developing club leaders – such as DOC, age group DOC, girls DOC, boys DOC, etc. – working in youth clubs with players ages U-6 through U-19. Student DOCs participate in 15 weeks of U.S. Soccer curriculum and will complete modules related to leadership, club philosophy, club performance environment, club player development plan and club coaching staff. The first pre-course virtual meeting is Aug. 2. To view more information, including eligibility requirements and to register, please visit this web page.

This will be the third US Club Soccer-hosted DOC course in the past year. “The DOC license course was educational, informative and thought-provoking,” said Chris Panayiotou, Virginia Rush DOC and participant of last year’s DOC in-person course in Virginia. “The coach educators made it fun, engaging and challenging. It was a great course that made us all better directors of coaching and people.”

While the DOC course is considered a supplemental course by U.S. Soccer for coaches taking their development to the next level, there are numerous upcoming courses in the License Pathway, including ‘C,’ ‘D’ and Grassroots that are hosted by certified educators with US Club Soccer and its member organizations. Interested coaches can visit the U.S. Soccer Coach Education web page on usclubsoccer.org for more information and to find direct links to U.S. Soccer’s Learning Center, where registration is managed. In another step forward to making coach education more accessible, US Club Soccer and its member organizations will be able to host ‘B’ license courses in 2024; more details are coming soon.

In addition, US Club Soccer will also soon facilitate U.S. Soccer’s Continuing Professional Development program, of which Continuing Education Units (CEU) are necessary to maintain coach licensing. U.S. Soccer released preliminary information earlier this year, and US Club Soccer remains in discussions about how best to scale the program at local levels.

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A National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, US Club Soccer fosters the growth and development of soccer clubs in order to create the best possible environment for players of all ages.

Anchored by Players First and its pillars of Club Development, Coaching Development, Player Development, Referee Development, Parent Engagement and Player Health & Safety, US Club Soccer offers registration, league- and cup-based competition platforms, player identification and a variety of other programming, resources and services.

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