Hey everyone, im 18 and from the US and ive been following soccer for as long as I can remember. I'm not the greatest of players, and even if I try my hardest i'll never go pro haha. But the ascept of coaching and being a manager of a pro/semi-pro/semi-semi-pro/semi-semi-semi-semi-pro team has always fascinated me. I was just wondering what it would take to be able to eventually coach, and if theres anything that I can do over here?

Thanks!

try this

http://www.ussoccer.com/coaches/index.jsp.html

you may find it useful

What about for coaching/being a manager abroad?

try the site of the F.A of whatever country you are interested in to get the relevant caoching badges, qualifications etc

one you have them you can do what you want

unfortunately soccer coaching in the US is a pretty saturated market! But if you make your way up the qualification ladder, getting your 'D' Licence for example will at least make you employable! Then its all about your experience and coaching style and personal skills!

Maybe look at high school coaching before moving into semi-pro teams in the US! That would get your experience!

Where abouts in the US are you from? I may have a few people i can put you into contact with!

i think you should start coaching teenagers in america and when ur about 25 years old go for your coaching badges in the uk

oh and by the way good luck logarithim

There is no way you could coach teenagers without the qualifications first.

There is absolutely no need to take the qualifications in the UK. The US equivalent of the awards are pretty much the same and you dont have to fly to Europe and support yourself on another continent to take them.

cshipley: I'm from New York

And the way my schooling is going, I see myself moving abroad to the UK within 4-5 years. Should I just wait till then?

CShipley - for once, I disagree with you.
Unless your saying that getting the Level 1/JTM award is enough, then most managers of teen groups aren't qualified(myself included for now)
If your counting the Level 1/JTM is a worthy qualification then I sort of agree.

On top of this, I certainly wouldn't wait until 25 before starting your qualifications. Definitely get hte first under your belt as soon as you start regular coaching, then a couple of seasons managing your ow nteam before setting off on the second qualification - and further.

In the UK this may be the case but from my experience the system is quite different over in the United States! Bear in mind there is no Level1/JTM in the USA and they have more age specific coaching licences. Many soccer clubs are VERY profesionally run with outstanding facilities and often employ over-qualified coaches to work with players of all ages. The sunday morning kids team with parents coaching just doesn't exist in the USA.

Also on a personal level; if you have no experience of coaching I don't think throwing yourself in at the deep end with impatient, hormonal, "know-it-all" teenagers is a good place to start. I personally suggest you work with young children (aged6+) as a first step.

On another note I also disagree with the waiting until you are 25 comment. It was my 25th birthday not too long ago and I have been coaching for years!

Fair enough - I don't have experience of US standards so thanks for telling me about them.

So you do the course first then you actually learn how to coach - like learning to drive in a way?

i suppose it makes sense!

but yeah in most cases this is true, obviously there are always exceptions at smaller clubs but if the boys got aspirations then he should be aiming high!