About

Our Mission at The Soccer Handbook is to Improve the Youth Soccer Experience for Recreational Clubs, Coaches, and the Kids Who Play.

We are passionate soccer Players, Coaches, Parents, and
Fans of the Beautiful game.

The Soccer Handbook was started after our founder, Bryan Coe, spent many years watching the youth soccer community struggle. Most clubs don’t have the resources to hire professional coaches, so they rely on parents and volunteers to coach.

Many of the clubs also don’t have the resources to support their volunteers. This often leads to a poor experience, and many kids end up switching to other sports or just quitting.

At The Soccer Handbook, we are raising the bar for volunteer coaching at the recreational level with thoughtfully designed training plans for sessions and seasons. Our drills, sessions, and seasons are all developed by licensed coaches. 

We are making it more fun for both the coaches and the kids. It also helps children enjoy and learn the game and keeps them playing. Creating a larger pool of technically astute players with a higher soccer intelligence.

This will, in turn, aid in developing the next generation and elevate the level of recreational soccer and US youth soccer overall.

Bryan's Story

I’ve been playing soccer since I was 8 years old. I won’t tell you how many years ago that was, but you can probably guess my age by the classic Copas I still wear. HA!

I’m also a soccer dad, a player and I’ve done my share of volunteer coaching over the years.

I was inspired to start The Soccer Handbook because I’ve seen so many local youth clubs that struggle to find coaches. They don’t have the resources to hire coaches, so they rely on volunteers. This usually means a parent who knows very little about soccer or coaching.

To make things worse, clubs don’t have the resources to provide useful coaching materials for these novice coaches.

As I mentioned, I’ve also done my share of volunteer coaching. I’ve been playing soccer since I was 8, so I know something about the sport. However, I too still spent hours before practices looking for drills to do for my next practice. And who knows if the drills were appropriate for the kids I was coaching?

I know. I’m Probably Preaching to the Choir.

The thing is… This is a big part of the problem with youth soccer in the US. So many good athletes have a bad experience with soccer at a young age. Then, they either move on to another sport or just quit.

After watching this for many years, I started talking to the licensed coaches I knew, and that’s when The Soccer Handbook was born.

I truly believe that if we can create an affordable option with quality coaching materials to support clubs and their coaches, we can make a difference. (It costs about the same as a cup of Starbucks coffee per coach)

So, please check us out. Our site and programs are simple by design but effective.. The best way we can help the volunteer and parent coaches is to Keep It Simple!

Bryan Coe editor at Soccer Handbook

Meet Our team

Bryan Coe editor at Soccer Handbook

Bryan Coe

Founder

Bryan is the founder of The Soccer Handbook. He has been playing soccer since he was 8 years old, continues to play, and has also done his share of volunteer coaching over the years. Bryan’s mission is to help coaches coach better and help people enjoy the beautiful game throughout their lives.

Clark Habecker has a wealth of coaching experience in youth soccer. He works with players of all ages and levels, from U9 to U18. He holds a Premier Diploma, and a USSF B License and is currently in a USSF A License course. Clark uses his experience and knowledge to create sessions and contribute articles.

Todd has a vast amount of experience coaching soccer in both the men’s and women’s games at the youth, collegiate, and professional levels. He uses his breadth of knowledge to help develop drills and sessions plans for The Soccer Handbook.

Deirdre Bradley headshot

Deirdre Bradley

Contributor

Deirdre has had a ball at her foot since should could remember. She played D1 soccer at Old Dominion University and is currently playing for Durham Women FC in England in the FA WSL 2. Deirdre is a contributor with videos and articles.

Liam Coe Headshot

Liam Coe

Contributor

Liam is the youngest member of the team. He currently plays for PA Classics Academy. He spends his time testing gear and training. You’ll see him in demo videos for gear, drills, moves, and tricks.

keep calm and play on