Like many other aspects of our lives, the Internet is playing more of a predominant role in sport, specifically in the spreading of information.  With the collective knowledge of the entire coaching world at our finger tips, any person equipped with enough time, a keen interest and an internet connection can learn the intricacies of any sport with just a few clicks of a mouse.

With this enormous resource readily available, why is it that we have so many ill-prepared volunteer coaches teaching our youth the fundamentals of the sports we love?  And is it the responsibility of the moms and dads who are already balancing full-time jobs and families to properly train and prepare themselves?  Or should it be the associations’ responsibility to provide the necessary training and coaching (yes, our coaches need coaching as well) they need to effectively manage their teams?

This debate is one I’ve seen come up time and time again, with the conclusion unfortunately being determined by lack of time and budget.  Making sacrifices and trade-offs seem to be the name of the game in many amateur sports; but fortunately with the mass adoption of the Internet, much of this needed training is both easily accessible and CHEAP!

There are a multitude of services and tools out there designed specifically for the rookie coach and I have done my homework to compile a short list of my favorite tools out there for coaches.  Keep in mind that most of these are soccer specific, but with a little time spent on a search engine you can find similar websites for any sport.

http://www.saysoccer.org/pages - This useful website has many practice plan to browse and also plenty of skills and drills covering dribbling, passing, shooting and warm-up.  There is an interesting section with an interactive tactical quiz.

http://www.worldofsoccer.com - Is a site full of excellent soccer resources.  One very convenient feature of this website is the great section of free youth soccer books that you can order directly from them.

http://www.bettersoccercoaching.com - A free archive of coaching tips and advice.  You can also sign up for their weekly coaching tips newsletter.

http://www.completesoccercoach.com - Fairly new to the game, this website offers a plethora of drills, all explained through video demonstration.  They have also recently announced a coaching certificate program that will be available for the upcoming fall season.

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/andagain?forum=1 - This is an example of one of the many coaching forums out there; it’s amazing how many golden nuggets you can pull from an online discussion of coaches who may be a little more experienced than yourself.

If you have any favorites or find any more sites out there worth mentioning, I’m always on the lookout for something to share with our users, so please comment below and include links.

Happy coaching.