Presenting coaches with tactical options and insights into winning football strategies, this book explains which strategy to choose depending on the strengths and weaknesses of your team and opponents. Guidelines for coaching individual players, small groups and full squads are included.
Roy Rees, director of coaching for Southwest Soccer Club in Temecula, California, had a long career as a professional soccer player in the English Football League before becoming a full-time soccer coach. He has coached soccer at the youth, college, professional, and World Cup levels. From 1961 to 1982 Rees worked as an English Football Association staff coach at various national coaching schools in England. He also served as coach of the British Universities All-Star team, which played annually against Holland, Belgium, Germany, France, and Ireland.
While coaching in England, Rees led the Skelmersdale United team to F.A. (Football Association) Amateur championships in 1967 and 1971. During his years as head coach in Altrincham (1971 to 1977) the team won the Vauxhall Conference championship twice and the F.A. trophy once. Roy also coached the national teams in Iraq, Iceland, Sudan, and Algeria and was coach of the British team in the 1978 World University Games. From 1985 to 1993 he coached the U.S. national team under-17 age group.
Roy is the author of the best-selling book Manual of Soccer Coaching. He holds both a master of education degree and a master of arts degree from Liverpool University.
Cor van der Meer's involvement in soccer spans nearly 50 years and includes experience as a player, coach, referee, and administrator. He began playing soccer as a child in the Netherlands, where he was on the Dutch National Youth team for two years. In 1960 van der Meer emigrated to the United States and began coaching and working with soccer organizations in Vancouver, Washington. He not only helped organize the Columbia Youth Soccer Federation (which grew from 36 players to more than 6,000 under his leadership), but he also coached Team Vancouver, a semiprofessional team in the Pacific Northwest Soccer League. He also served the Washington State Youth Soccer Association (WSYSA) as district commissioner, vice president of organization, vice president of competition, and vice president of development.
In 1982 van der Meer moved to Spokane, Washington, where he coached the Spokane Youth Sports Association's elite Skyhawks Club. As head soccer coach for the Community Colleges of Spokane since 1985, he has led both the men's and women's clubs there to several successful seasons.
Van der Meer is the author of Soccer Guide for Coaches and Keeper of the Goal. He also writes two newspaper columns, Nutrition for Athletes and Playing to Win. Van der Meer was named Coach of the Year by the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) in 1989 and 1992. The Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference also named him Coach of the Year in 1992.
