Practice plans by age group, a game-day routine that runs itself, how to handle parents, and a few honest rules for the weeks when soccer is competing with the rest of your life.
Sun / Mon
Send one message with the week ahead: practice time, game time, arrival call.
Practice nights
Run the same session shape every week — warm-up, one skill, games. Repetition makes you faster to plan.
Night before games
Confirm jersey color, arrival time, and who is bringing snacks. Text the team parent, not the team.
Game day
Arrive 30 minutes early, warm up, play, then huddle for two positives and one focus.
After the weekend
Log any injuries or incidents, then take a night off from team admin.
U6–U8
1 evening · 60 min
Keep it moving. If a drill has a line longer than two players, change the drill.
U10–U12
2 evenings · 75 min
Teach one topic per session. Two half-taught topics beat nothing.
U14+
2 evenings · 90 min
Let the players solve problems out loud. Ask questions instead of giving answers.
Games are Friday nights and Saturdays at California Soccer Park. Run the same routine every week and the kids will show up knowing exactly what's next.
0 of 4 done
0 of 3 done
0 of 6 done
0 of 6 done
Half the team misses practice
Ask the team parent to run a weekly head count, and move practice to the night the most families can make. Don't chase individual no-shows every week.
A parent wants more playing time
Show them the rotation before the season. For Rec, playing time is balanced by design — if there's a real gap, fix it and say so.
A referee call goes against you
Say nothing from the bench beyond a captain asking a question. Report anything serious after the match through the club, never during it.
You're losing every game by a lot
Change the format, not the effort: smaller fields, extra touches, rotate positions, and set the team a goal that isn't the scoreboard.
A player gets hurt
Stop play, get the player off, and follow the club's incident protocol. Any suspected head injury means they're done for the day — no exceptions.
Extreme heat, smoke, or lightning
Check conditions before you leave home, follow the league thresholds, and tell families early. Shorten, move, or cancel — nobody argues with a cancel call.
Next Up
Last games for U6 and U8, the end-of-season tournament, parties, and closing out the season cleanly.