Paid Coaches- Good for the game?

Paying for training is a serious obstacle for many families and could put competitive soccer out of reach for many children. Any youth club using or considering using paid trainers should also try to provide some sort of scholarship system to make sure that anyone that has the talent to play is able to play.That would be my main recommendation.

Where I live, paid trainers are now pretty much standard at the competitive levels, which wasn't the case 6-8 years ago. Some clubs even have mandatory training session for less competitive teams. I don't doubt that there are now more educated and prepared youth soccer players, but clubs without the proper resources face a serious competitive advantage in attracting top-notch players, which could harm overall competition in the long run.

Having paid coaches also creates numerous management issues. Who is ultimately in charge and of what? Some issues to address are hiring and firing, putting together a game-plan for coaching the club as whole, and more.

While I am confident in the next generation of America’s soccer stars and the trainers that have helped to shape them, it is undeniable that youth clubs using paid trainers to coach their best teams must address a number of issues to make the program run smoothly.