Adidas 2008 adiStar Ultra Road Cycling Shoe - Virtual Red/White - 863284

Developed with and winning on Alexandre Vinokourov, Thor Hushovd and Eric Zabel. Prolite Full-Carbon Outsole. Anatomical Energy Frame. Fast strap SL system. SL micro ratchet, 2-position adjustment (replaceable). Duralite Composite Mesh. Assymetrical tongue. Bi-density molded sockliner. GeoFit heel cushioning/ 3D carbon heel counter. TPU toe cap. Delivered with recommended length screws for Prolite Full Carbon outside. Weight: 315g (size 9 US).

This is a true story that happened to me as a soccer parent. I have two boys playing soccer right now, Donovan & Deven. I usually try to switch off coaching their teams from season to season since they are in different age groups and they both want Dad to coach them up.

Well, during the fall one year, things were getting really hectic around my house. I was coaching a High School team as well as playing in an adult league myself. Combine that with and overloaded work schedule and I just didn't have time to coach the fall season. So I called around to find a good situation for them and enrolled them in fall soccer.

My youngest had a pretty good time, but things were absolutely horrible for my U10 oldest boy. His coach was a complete knucklehead. He rarely ever showed up for practice, frequently missed games and didn't come prepared at all. The worst thing of all was his communication with us. He never called, emailed or did anything to let us know what was going on. One week, all our games were canceled, but since he didn't call, we drove 30 minutes across town at 9AM on a Saturday to find an empty field. I just about went ballistic!

The bottom line here is that communication with your player's parents will go a long way towards developing a good relationship. Bring a pad and pen to your first couple of practices. Try to get both parents names, email addresses and phone numbers. Ask them how often they check their email and which time is best to reach them. Set up an email group on your computer so that you can email everybody with one click of the mouse. This is a huge time saver!

I keep in constant contact with my parents. Sending them reminders about games, registration fee information, etc. I'll even coach them up a bit about what kinds of snacks and drinks to send to practice with them. I had one child show up the first day with Coke & Skittles for his pre-practice snack. I found out that Mom had given him money to buy a drink and snack, but didn't specify what to get. A quick email from me and a bit of direction from Mom and he was good to go the next practice day.

Bottom line...communicate with your player's parents and they will love you for it!

Bert Ingley is a recognized authority on the subject of coaching youth soccer players

His web site, Ultimate Soccer Coaching, was created to be your ultimate soccer resource and is packed with soccer drills, strategies and product reviews to assist soccer coaches, parents and players in reaching their soccer goals.