Carl WildThe Intelligent Soccer Coach: Player-Centered Sessions to Develop Confident, Creative Players

As a coach of two grassroot football teams I have read a few different coaching books but this one has been an excellent read. A really interesting book that certainly hasn’t disappointed! There are plenty of great coaching activities that you can introduce to your sessions but just as important this book gets your creative juices flowing. It’s helps you understand how to build successful coaching sessions, introduces a number of different techniques and coaching concepts and helps you consider how you can bring key themes in to focus.A really thought provoking read and a must have for any grassroot coach who is really invested in their team.

Really handy guidance for coaches at all levels of the game.

I think all grassroots clubs should keep a copy of this book ,for all new and current coaches to read.It breaks down the fundamental elements of the game , but also emphasises the reason, we get into coaching i.e. for the kids.Football is about enjoyment ,kids love competing but most of all they love playing the beautiful game.Any child who gets coached by adults who embrace the ideas in this book, will love football as much as we coaches do.

A superb read and i've read plenty of coaching books. Lots of information and ideas for us 'magpies' to take away to add and improve what we already do. This line in the whole book stood out for me .....'The reason a child will no longer want to play soccer is because they are no longer enjoying it'. If we remember this then we are doing it right and will retain many more players in the game. Buy it or put on any coaches christmas list.

A superb read, full of thought-provoking principles and ideas. Aimed at youth team coaches, there's a lot you can take into coaching adults as well. Sure, this includes some crisply laid out session plans with ideas for adaptations and progressions to use directly when working on different topics. But the genius of this book is the questions it encourages you to ask yourself about your own coaching process and about yourself as a coach. Could not recommend more highly.

A fantastic book for any football coach, whether you're new to coaching or further along in your coaching journey.Covering topics that are crucial to coaching (but often forgotten), the highlights for me where the chapters on Understanding your players and taking a player centred approach, while the topics of practice design and building sessions will have you reaching for a notebook to sketch out some sessions for your players.A must read!

Brilliant read. Been lucky to have Carl as a lecture when I was studying at UCFB. Reading the book, I could remember all of those messages Carl would give us. Important for any coach, whether starting in their profession or wanting to build their understanding to help the players we coach in the best and suitable environments. A must read. Looking forward to reading the next one.

This book is a must read for any coach. As the owner of around 20 coaching books, I can honestly say that this book added something valuable that no other book has to date - guidance that is akin to a framework and provides real clarity for my coaching methods going forward. I will certainly refer back to this book at regular intervals.