Lewistown Soccer Club Coaching Guidelines
Skill Curriculum by age level
(Work in progress by Zach Manning, Chuck Cloud & Jeff Friesen)
Player Evaluation
Coaches are encouraged to use the U.S. Soccer Curriculum “Style of Play: Four Key Components” to evaluate player development and skill level. The 4 major areas that players are evaluated on are: Technical, Tactical, Physical & Psychosocial
Technical: Passing & Receiving, Shooting, Ball Control and Turning
Tactical: Playing Out from the Back, Possession & Transition
Physical: Speed & Agility, Endurance, Strength & Power
Psychosocial: Respect & Discipline, Cooperation, Competitiveness
Playing Time in Games
The mission of the Lewistown Soccer Club (LSC) is to provide area youth, diverse in age, skill level and background, the opportunity to develop in the sport of soccer. As a member of the MYSA Classic League, LSC makes every effort to adjust rosters to allow ample playing time for all participants while still being competitive within their respective leagues. LSC coaches will make every effort to follow the playing time guidance as defined below to meet LSC’s mission and intent.
U-19/18/17/16/15 (11v11, 40-minute halves): Playing time is based on practice attendance, effort & behavior at practice/games and assessed skill level. It is recommended that players that travel to a game will play a minimum of 12 minutes per half (approximately 30% of the total game).
U-14/13 (11v11, 2x 35-minute halves): Playing time is based on practice attendance, effort & behavior at practice/games and assessed skill level. It is recommended that players that travel to a game will play a minimum of 14 minutes per half (approximately 40% of the total game).
U-12/11 (9v9, 2x 30-minute halves): Playing time is based on practice attendance, effort & behavior at practice/games and assessed skill level. It is recommended that players that travel to a game will play a minimum of 15 minutes per half (approximately 50% of the total game).
U-10/9 (7v7, 2x 25-minute halves): Playing time is mostly based on practice attendance and effort & behavior at practice/games and much less on assessed player skill level. Since this level of soccer is much more focused on development and less focused on competitive outcomes, it is recommended that players will play a minimum of 12 minutes per half (approximately 50% of the total game).
U-8 (5v5, 4x 10-minute quarters): Playing time is mostly based on practice attendance and effort & behavior at practice/games and very little on assessed player skill level. Since this level of soccer is much more focused on development, it is recommended that players will play a minimum of 50% of the total game, or 2 of the 4 10-minute quarters.
*guidelines assume a full roster
The mission of the club is to encourage competitiveness while nurturing the individual goals of each player. We recognize that some players may want to pursue soccer beyond their participation in LSC and others that simply enjoy playing soccer. While our goal is for every player to meet their full potential, there are factors (as outlined above) that affect playing time in games. As we move higher in age groups (ie - U8 vs U19) the players more developed in the US Soccer Curriculum 4 key components will naturally achieve more playing time. Our goal is not to “win at all costs”, but to fairly balance competitiveness and skill development - appropriate to the age group - as players mature and develop in the LSC soccer program.
adopted March 19, 2024
Skill Curriculum by age level
(Work in progress by Zach Manning, Chuck Cloud & Jeff Friesen)
Player Evaluation
Coaches are encouraged to use the U.S. Soccer Curriculum “Style of Play: Four Key Components” to evaluate player development and skill level. The 4 major areas that players are evaluated on are: Technical, Tactical, Physical & Psychosocial
Technical: Passing & Receiving, Shooting, Ball Control and Turning
Tactical: Playing Out from the Back, Possession & Transition
Physical: Speed & Agility, Endurance, Strength & Power
Psychosocial: Respect & Discipline, Cooperation, Competitiveness
Playing Time in Games
The mission of the Lewistown Soccer Club (LSC) is to provide area youth, diverse in age, skill level and background, the opportunity to develop in the sport of soccer. As a member of the MYSA Classic League, LSC makes every effort to adjust rosters to allow ample playing time for all participants while still being competitive within their respective leagues. LSC coaches will make every effort to follow the playing time guidance as defined below to meet LSC’s mission and intent.
U-19/18/17/16/15 (11v11, 40-minute halves): Playing time is based on practice attendance, effort & behavior at practice/games and assessed skill level. It is recommended that players that travel to a game will play a minimum of 12 minutes per half (approximately 30% of the total game).
U-14/13 (11v11, 2x 35-minute halves): Playing time is based on practice attendance, effort & behavior at practice/games and assessed skill level. It is recommended that players that travel to a game will play a minimum of 14 minutes per half (approximately 40% of the total game).
U-12/11 (9v9, 2x 30-minute halves): Playing time is based on practice attendance, effort & behavior at practice/games and assessed skill level. It is recommended that players that travel to a game will play a minimum of 15 minutes per half (approximately 50% of the total game).
U-10/9 (7v7, 2x 25-minute halves): Playing time is mostly based on practice attendance and effort & behavior at practice/games and much less on assessed player skill level. Since this level of soccer is much more focused on development and less focused on competitive outcomes, it is recommended that players will play a minimum of 12 minutes per half (approximately 50% of the total game).
U-8 (5v5, 4x 10-minute quarters): Playing time is mostly based on practice attendance and effort & behavior at practice/games and very little on assessed player skill level. Since this level of soccer is much more focused on development, it is recommended that players will play a minimum of 50% of the total game, or 2 of the 4 10-minute quarters.
*guidelines assume a full roster
The mission of the club is to encourage competitiveness while nurturing the individual goals of each player. We recognize that some players may want to pursue soccer beyond their participation in LSC and others that simply enjoy playing soccer. While our goal is for every player to meet their full potential, there are factors (as outlined above) that affect playing time in games. As we move higher in age groups (ie - U8 vs U19) the players more developed in the US Soccer Curriculum 4 key components will naturally achieve more playing time. Our goal is not to “win at all costs”, but to fairly balance competitiveness and skill development - appropriate to the age group - as players mature and develop in the LSC soccer program.
adopted March 19, 2024