From the Own Touch coaching staff
News & Articles
How players actually develop: our coaches on development philosophy, training science, and the club-culture questions Charlotte parents ask most.
43 articles · 2018-2025
2025
The Myth of “Elite” Branding in U.S. Youth Soccer
Why Labels Aren’t the Same as Development. And What Truly Makes a Player Grow. In American youth soccer, there may be no word more powerful, more overused, and more misunderstood…
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Are We Training Your Replacement?
Youth soccer today has never been busier. Young players are often expected to attend three or more team practices per week, with games nearly every weekend…
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The Importance of Consistent Small Group Training in Youth Development
The foundation of soccer players’ development is establishing adequate systems and tools, which will help players to achieve constant progress over the years. This is extremely…
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Fostering Mental Toughness in Youth Soccer: The Ultimate Guide
Mental toughness is a crucial aspect of youth development, particularly in the world of sports. Youth soccer, one of the most popular sports globally, demands both physical prowess…
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When should soccer players change teams?
The question of whether or not to change teams is something I know is in the minds of a lot of youth soccer players and their families every off-season. It seems like such a…
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Overtraining? We get this question a lot.
If you're wondering how much training your young player should be doing, you're not alone. It's a question that comes up a lot, and the answer isn't always straightforward. Sadly…
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What Club is Best For My Player?!?
We are 100% Club neutral at Own Touch and do not condone or recommend any soccer club over another outside of professional academy programs linked to pro 1st teams in the US or…
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The Downsides of America’s Hyper-Competitive Youth-Soccer Industry
The sport’s top tier is organized around the goal of producing a tiny group of elite players, at the expense of kids’ and parents’ well-being.
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The Extinction of Play & U.S. Soccer
How the loss of play for kids is holding back American soccer.by Brett Niebling
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The Real Skill
The player must learn to adjust to the motion, be precise with the adjustment, minimize or maximize speed. This is the REAL skill.
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Predicting Accurately If A Child Will Become A Professional Player
Original Article by Doug Reed. Would you be interested in having the most accurate prediction possible for whether your child or player will one day have a professional career in…
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Technical Soccer Producers Ballers
It's not rocket science. People focused on results before development are a curse on the future of the game and the quality of footballers being produced no matter what country it…
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Shuffling the Cards
In this article, AFC A licensed coach Andrew Oakley shares his perspective on a significant issue in Australian grassroots football. Australian football is suffering from the same…
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Why training matters.
Every soccer player practices..... but true athletes train. And that difference is paramount!
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Top 3 Reasons Only Participating in Team Training Can Limit Your Growth
1. NOT ENOUGH TOUCHES ON THE BALL
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Skill, Not Athleticism, Predicts Individual Variation in Match Performance of Soccer Players
A study led by UQ School of Biological Sciences Professor Robbie Wilson used analytic techniques developed in evolutionary biology to determine the impact of a player's skill…
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Misguided Praise Junkies
Many players battle with the idea of acceptance by those closest to them, and approval from those who can define their next footballing move. But at what cost does this approval…
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Most Coaches Ask for Work Rate, But who Trains it?
Almost every single football coach will at some point discuss with their players about their work rate or intensity with or without possession from games. But consider this…
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How to Be a Great Teammate
In my daily conversations with coaches of every level, from grassroots to the professional ranks, we often talk about a topic that is near and dear to our hearts: what makes…
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Football for Life
This paper outlines the connections between three problems which are deeply interlinked, growing in influence, and shaping many aspects of social and cultural life, including…
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Must Read: “Clairefontaine: France’s Elite Football Academy”
In northern France about an hour outside Paris lies the central nervous system of the French football machine. Buried in the plush green woods of the Rambouillet forrest the…
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The Enemy of Excellence in Youth Sports
“My daughter is the tallest fourth grader in her class and loves to play basketball,” said a father to me recently. “Sadly, I know that she will ultimately grow to be of average…
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Go Get It. Some hard truth about training.
The older you get and/or the higher level you play at, the less it becomes about the individual player. You are expected to be good. You are expected to be technically gifted. If…
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The Tragedy of the Throw-in
Until we get a handle on our touch and technique, why are we wasting throw ins? Throw Ins are a sad and telling embarrassment on US youth soccer development. Food for thought in…
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Everyone Loves A Dribbler: How to support young soccer players to improve their dribbling
Many academies claim to have an individual focused programme but when it comes to games there is a clamour to win and play ‘pretty’ Possession football. The question is, is this…
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The Death of Street Football and the Large Implications.
My friend Mike went to Holland on a two-week vacation to watch a few matches and experience the football culture of the Dutch. Mike is one of those people who will bring his boots…
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Street Versus Elite
Let’s imagine this in the context of the game of football. There are 95% of players playing park football, whilst only 5% play in representative environments. I know from client…
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Top 3 Benefits of Small Sided Open Play
You have heard us speak to the many Physical, Technical and the Mental traits which are given to you when Freestyle, 5 a Side, Futsal, and small sided Open Play are incorporated…
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What Motivates a Soccer Player? The Will to Win Doesn’t Always Equate to Greatness
Motivation Isn’t Necessarily What You Think It Is. The ‘will to win’ is a term oft used in sport to describe someone who is highly competitive. It’s a term used to lavish praise on…
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Speed of Decisions in Soccer: How to Develop Faster Vision and Decide What to Do Next.
The speed of your decision making as a soccer player is paramount to your success as a player. When coaching players, years ago, I would ask them, “what’s your connection to the…
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Juggling: Why it’s Important.
Juggling is an essential part of the soccer toolkit. We believe it is one of the single easiest forms of self skill mastery any player can do, and the mindset to do so not only…
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Own Touch Secrets to Practicing Like the Pros
It may sound simple, but it’s not hard to do the extra things to set you apart from other players on the pitch.
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5 Effective Ways to Spend Your Free Time as a Soccer Player
As a soccer player, it can often feel as though your life is an endless cycle of training, eating, playing and sleeping. Obviously, these are core aspects of the life you have…
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How To Develop Creative Soccer Players
“Stop thinking your Messi and keep it simple”, ” stop passing the ball around there and get rid of it”, ” when you get the ball just give it to our best player”. Do these…
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How the Slow, Small Kid Can Still Become an Elite Soccer Player
Big, strong and fast. Those are the traits that dominate youth soccer in America. If you don't have them, there's a good chance you'll get overlooked. Despite all the lip service…
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10 Things Youth Clubs Must Do to Truly Practice ‘Player Development’
Does your youth sports club preach player development and follow through with its promises? Or does your club toss “player development” around as an alluring phrase to hypnotize…
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Technical Skills Training: The Younger, The Better
Many parents struggle with their child's development in youth soccer. They constantly worry about what to teach them, what team they should play on, what camp should they go to, or…
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Creating a Learning Culture
Player Development Project Lead Researcher, James Vaughan recently attended the third annual International Congress for Psychology Applied to Football. He shares his notes from…
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Creating a Football Culture
The creation a “football culture” is key to the long-term growth of football in any setting. The key question for those wanting to develop this culture is: How? Former Aldershot…
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Direct Soccer vs Touches on the Ball
by Christian Isquierdo. So you have to question which score we should really be keeping at the end of a youth soccer game. Do we keep the number of times a team one touches the…
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Own Touch Soccer Arrives in Charlotte, Nc Bringing to the Region the First Membership Based Soccer Technical Training Program
June 8, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - Starting this June, Own Touch Charlotte will open its doors to the Charlotte region. Own Touch specializes in the mentoring and
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