About Soccer Yoda

Alan Goldstein hails originally from Washington, DC. He played some intramural soccer in middle school and remembers watching Tottenham Hotspur doing the “double”, when Len Chalmers broke his leg and hobbled around the field for 60 minutes ( no subs in those days). That game was televised on the ABC Wide World of Sports. In college at Frostburg State (Md.) he was fascinated by the college soccer team and finally tried out for the sport his Jr year, playing left wing for two years. As a high school teacher in Maryland , he started the soccer team at Laurel Sr High School , eventually moved to Oakland Mills HS. in Columbia, Md. and also promoted the beginning of the Soccer Association of Columbia youth program in the area. His high school coaching record consists of almost 200 wins against 30 losses at the two schools. He won four state championships, numerous regional and county championships, was named Baltimore Coach of the Year 3 times, Maryland COY twice and Southern USA COY. He also coached local youth teams in Columbia, winning 2 Md state cups and an Eastern USA boys regional U-14 championship. His players have reached high standards – 8 of them have represented the USA at various age levels and over 100 have played college soccer. One of his players played for the Cosmos of the NASL which afforded him the opportunity to discuss the game with some of the world’s most notable soccer personalities ( Pele, Cruyff, Chinaglia). He has studied the game religiously, attending numerous clinics and camps. He earned his USSF coaching license when most coaches in the US didn’t know there was one. He has traveled to Europe many times with teams to seek experience for his players and learning for himself. For his knowledge of the game and its implementation, Alan was nicknamed the “Soccer Yoda”. His teams are known for ball control, passing , movement and advanced tactics for their age. He has obtained these remarkable results by using a philosophy of “all-ball” training ( no purely physical training), short-side -directed result scrimmaging, and positive reinforcement. Using his training methods, he coached U-11/12 girls to a 26-3-1 mark in Las Vegas, NV. recreational league play, then coached u-13 and u-14 girls in club play. He has former players coaching at widely varying levels, from young toddlers to Division 1 College and the US National team staff. He has also coached Olympic Development Boys at the U-14 level. In October 2019, he published “Concept Soccer – A Step by Step Method to Score Goals and Develop Players”. In this book, he describes the strategies he used to teach, train and build the teams and players that have succeeded on so many levels. Alan hopes this blog and his book will help American soccer reach the developmental and achievement levels of the best soccer nations. He currently resides in Las Vegas with his wife Lynn, 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Still in Maryland is another son, 2 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.