Best Club Coaches in SoCal

W

WatchthemPlay

BRONZE
This is not intended to start a bashing...hence not asking for "worst." Just would be nice to have a list of recommended coaches and maybe a few sentences why based upon personal experience. This doesn't mean "coaches that win the most" or "best private trainers"...this is best coaches for individual and team development overall. AZ Forum had a similar list. Would be very helpful for parents of younger youth players who are trying to navigate the system. This has probably already been done, but haven't seen a comprehensive list.
 
Giesbock said:
Camille Lacey. Trainer for all the younger Tustin AYSO teams (please don’t scoff at her association with AYSO!)
and awesome mentor, coach, skills teacher.
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People give AYSo a lot flack but it’s a YMMV type org. I give AYSO grief, but mainly the parents who think it provides them the knowledge to train at higher levels. People who want to find a good AYSO team to start at can just browse the state cup results and see who the stronger teams are. Funny that some parents don’t know what quality training is and are persuaded by the sales pitches of most clubs - again they don’t know any better. When you ask them about there league record and state cup results: “we had injuries and kids weren’t available”. Then you ask them to look up scdsl and state cup results for their clubs (scdsl and cal south has good filters for that) and it’s silence - or you’re just a hater or have an axe to grind. Good Trainers at rec don’t stay around long unfortunately - they have to make a living.
 
Not_that_Serious said:
Laguna is not an up and coming club- maybe 5 years ago when Carrie was in charge and coaches like Jerry T (at OC Surf) where there. The best coaches are long gone.
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At the youngers age it’s about the development of the kids from the coaches. I think we can all agree on that. And what Ben brings to LUFC is worth way more than a fancy name that has bad coaching. But hey, to each their own
 
I'm sure this is going to end up being a ton of "my coach is the best", but my son has played with a whole lot of coaches in the 5 years he's been playing club and I can honestly say that along with one that left so cal, the best coach we've found is Adam Yassaman: currently coaching Pats LA B07 and B09 as well as the new Castaic High School team.
 
Anyone care to explain why they are good?

From asking my children, the ones that were good were:
1. Has a curriculum that is followed. One week may be focused on defending, another week shooting. Vs. What seems like random drills.
2. Seem like the better ones have played high level soccer in the past. Able to demo what needs to be done and correct technique. Vs. a coach who tells his team to juggle as warm up and he himself can only juggle 2-4. I used to tell my kid, "Ask your coach to show it" and she would come home with funny stories of coach's attempt at kicking the ball.

As far as record, I feel recruiting is a big part of getting results.
 
Three coaches that I like. Gary Gamble of Palm Desert. 05 coach. Like his demeanor on the side lines and team plays good possession soccer. DD played against a few times. Sheima Berenji for Real So Cal 05. DD Guest played a few times. She knows her stuff. Randle Bowling Strikers FC ECNL good sideline coach and girls played combination of possession and direct.
 
This is veering away from the exact topic of best club coach but think it’s worth mentioning anyway...

For more than a year, 10 girls stayed on the sideline. Played no games. No uniform. No patches. Instead, they spent 3 nights a week training and learning specific skills. After a year, they all log 1,000+ juggles, collect out of the air, clean first touch, side volley, on target headers, learned proper dynamic warm up, stretches and overall, worked to hone their muscle memory so that when they re-enter(ed) the club / high school scene, they bring a full set of tools and skills.
Now that this group of girls have moved on to their individual paths, is everything perfect? No, of course not. They still make mistakes, miss passes, loose the ball, get beat, and in any number of ways, are still just continuing to learn the game.

But far and away, they are better technical players with bright futures in the game.
 
Giesbock said:
This is veering away from the exact topic of best club coach but think it’s worth mentioning anyway...

For more than a year, 10 girls stayed on the sideline. Played no games. No uniform. No patches. Instead, they spent 3 nights a week training and learning specific skills. After a year, they all log 1,000+ juggles, collect out of the air, clean first touch, side volley, on target headers, learned proper dynamic warm up, stretches and overall, worked to hone their muscle memory so that when they re-enter(ed) the club / high school scene, they bring a full set of tools and skills.
Now that this group of girls have moved on to their individual paths, is everything perfect? No, of course not. They still make mistakes, miss passes, loose the ball, get beat, and in any number of ways, are still just continuing to learn the game.

But far and away, they are better technical players with bright futures in the game.
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I just wasted a min of my time reading this..... o_O
 
The Big Lewandowski said:
At the youngers age it’s about the development of the kids from the coaches. I think we can all agree on that. And what Ben brings to LUFC is worth way more than a fancy name that has bad coaching. But hey, to each their own
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I wasn’t referencing that particular coach since I don’t know him. I was referencing the up and coming part and club as it is now - I knew the clubs(s)/people before it was formed. Like UFC before them, the quality of staff use to be top notch. No idea what this has to do with fancy names since good coaches can be found at all levels and from big to small clubs.

The real tangible proof doesn’t materialize until kids are high school age. Kids will either understand the game and “know” how to play or they won’t by teen age years. Kids might look good dribbling or run fast with the ball, but doesn’t mean they understand how to play. Like I mentioned in the AYSO coach post - data is as easy as filtering SCDSL by team and previous year State Cup data.You shouldn’t see club teams with negative records against Rec teams or NEG GD in the 200s.
 
Giesbock said:
This is veering away from the exact topic of best club coach but think it’s worth mentioning anyway...

For more than a year, 10 girls stayed on the sideline. Played no games. No uniform. No patches. Instead, they spent 3 nights a week training and learning specific skills. After a year, they all log 1,000+ juggles, collect out of the air, clean first touch, side volley, on target headers, learned proper dynamic warm up, stretches and overall, worked to hone their muscle memory so that when they re-enter(ed) the club / high school scene, they bring a full set of tools and skills.
Now that this group of girls have moved on to their individual paths, is everything perfect? No, of course not. They still make mistakes, miss passes, loose the ball, get beat, and in any number of ways, are still just continuing to learn the game.

But far and away, they are better technical players with bright futures in the game.
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How much were the fees for that play-not program?
 
Not_that_Serious said:
I wasn’t referencing that particular coach since I don’t know him. I was referencing the up and coming part and club as it is now - I knew the clubs(s)/people before it was formed. Like UFC before them, the quality of staff use to be top notch. No idea what this has to do with fancy names since good coaches can be found at all levels and from big to small clubs.

The real tangible proof doesn’t materialize until kids are high school age. Kids will either understand the game and “know” how to play or they won’t by teen age years. Kids might look good dribbling or run fast with the ball, but doesn’t mean they understand how to play. Like I mentioned in the AYSO coach post - data is as easy as filtering SCDSL by team and previous year State Cup data.You shouldn’t see club teams with negative records against Rec teams or NEG GD in the 200s.
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Where are you seeing clubs teams playing rec teams at state cup?
 
blam said:
Anyone care to explain why they are good?

From asking my children, the ones that were good were:
1. Has a curriculum that is followed. One week may be focused on defending, another week shooting. Vs. What seems like random drills.
2. Seem like the better ones have played high level soccer in the past. Able to demo what needs to be done and correct technique. Vs. a coach who tells his team to juggle as warm up and he himself can only juggle 2-4. I used to tell my kid, "Ask your coach to show it" and she would come home with funny stories of coach's attempt at kicking the ball.

As far as record, I feel recruiting is a big part of getting results.
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Well I’d hope a coach could do the drills/training he is trying to teach...but truth is many can not. You will lose teenage kids quick when they know you can’t do something you expect them to do. They also don’t deal with being sworn at regularly. Some coaches are good to teach basics but can’t coach past a certain point. Coaches with little playing experience past high school also seem to have difficulty being able to adapt playing style - one way or bust. Most only know direct style - which verges on the “kickball” mentality. Some will just tell you they are preparing them for High School ball - run away. A friend of mine who coaches at pro level told me this when I asked him his answer about what he thought about “best coach” labels - “ The best coach is the one who lets my child play”. He was oversimplifying, but was trying to say it doesn’t matter how “good” a coach is if your kid doesn’t get game time. He did agree, you really won’t see how good the coach you have is until your child is past learning basic skills or by looking at their older teams.
 
timbuck said:
Where are you seeing clubs teams playing rec teams at state cup?
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At lower levels - below presidents. You’ll get a ton of AYSO and small independent teams at Mayors. No club team with decent amount of teams should be losing the majority of their games to these teams. You get a good glimpse of how healthy the coaching is at the club looking at the lower tiers. As a parent you should be asking “Why am I paying my club more than double than the teams beating us badly?” Better off playing at a more cost effective club. For example, running one club’s numbers (club that has at least 40 teams according to their website) from last year’s state cup: 84 pts in 90 games, 24w 54l 12t 125gf 287ga -162gd. Any club with a professional mindset would not accept a win percentage near 25%. Most coaches who believe themselves to be professional, and good enough to be in demand, wouldn’t stick around long in this type of environment.

A team/club can have some bad games, but if your club as a whole have poor stats in their league and state cups - something wrong at the club. Usually it’s the club doesn’t care as long as they have kids lining up and they will keep coaches in who will take the least amount of pay. Unfortunately this type of club has become the norm and parents don’t have the experience to know better - many parents I speak to only care about the practices being less than a 10 minute drive away. Clubs love this mentality and Can shove any young coach their way and market their “energy” and “enthusiasm”.
 
Not_that_Serious said:
I wasn’t referencing that particular coach since I don’t know him. I was referencing the up and coming part and club as it is now - I knew the clubs(s)/people before it was formed. Like UFC before them, the quality of staff use to be top notch. No idea what this has to do with fancy names since good coaches can be found at all levels and from big to small clubs.

The real tangible proof doesn’t materialize until kids are high school age. Kids will either understand the game and “know” how to play or they won’t by teen age years. Kids might look good dribbling or run fast with the ball, but doesn’t mean they understand how to play. Like I mentioned in the AYSO coach post - data is as easy as filtering SCDSL by team and previous year State Cup data.You shouldn’t see club teams with negative records against Rec teams or NEG GD in the 200s.
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lol...Sam Nicholson is one of the best technical directors/coaches in SoCal...don't take my word for it, ask the parents who play for him and the strong results on the pitch his teams get. And, yes, they are up and coming on the girls side when you have a young, talented coach like Ben Gardea leading the charge. And most parents of strong girls on the Youngers side know who he is regardless if they play on his team through his work and reputation at TOCA, OC Premier futsal, etc...
 
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