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SNSA Player Development

SNSA Player and Coach Training - A Commitment

Southern Nevada Soccer Association's commitment to player and coach training is unmatched by any soccer organization in Southern Nevada.  We are dedicated to providing a developmental structure to create opportunities for each SNSA player to reach his or her potential, regardless of age, experience or ability level.  SNSA's plan for player development includes the following components:

  1. Recreation league small-sided play formats that follow the United States Soccer Federation guidelines for player development.
  2. A high-quality coach education program.
  3. A Player Technical Training program for players in the U5-U10 age divisions to focus on individual ball mastery skills.
  4. Specialized goalkeeper training for players in the U9-U17 age divisions.
  5. Advanced skills training for players in the U7-U10 age division that have an interest in playing competitive soccer.
  6. A competitive soccer program for players with advanced ability levels that are willing to make a commitment to club soccer.

SNSA's competitive program provides a professional and licensed coaching staff to establish curriculum and implement training programs for players and coaches in our recreational program.  Our partnership with the UNLV Soccer Foundation provides additional training resources for our players.  We strive to continue to improve our training programs as part of our commitment to develop our players and coaches to their full potential.


USSF Guidelines for Player Devlopment

Player development starts with our commitment to the United States Soccer Federation guidelines for player development.  The United States Soccer Federation recommends small-sided play formats for young players to maximize the number of opportunities each player has to touch the ball.   Goalkeepers are not used in the U5-U8 divisions, so players have more chances to do what they love - score goals!  SNSA uses the following recreational league play formats:

  • U5-U6:  3v3 (no goalkeeper)
  • U7-U8:  4v4 (no goalkeeper)
  • U9-U10:  5v5 (includes keeper)
  • U11-U12:  8v8 (includes keeper)
  • U13-U17:  11v11

Because we use small-sided play formats in the younger age divisions, rosters are smaller, and coaches can focus their training on the development of individual technical skills.  Most leagues do not use small-sided play formats, because it requires the formation of more teams and the need for more coaches than the standard large-sided play formats.  SNSA believes the player development advantages provided by small-sided play formats is worth the extra work required to set up the system, and we have a dedicated administrative and field operations staff to make it work.


SNSA Recreational Coach Training Program

Effective player training starts with high-quality coach training.  Prior to each league season, Southern Nevada Soccer Association offers Level 1 and Level 2 coach training classes free of charge to all SNSA coaches. We also offer a coach goalkeeper training class to assist coaches with the training of their goalkeepers. Starting with the Fall 2010 season, SNSA will offer weekly topic training sessions for our coaches.  The SNSA website includes numerous coach education resource links.  Check out the Coaches section of the website for more information about SNSA coach training programs and resources.