Dan Richards

10+ years coaching youth soccer players

Currently: Director Laguna Beach High School Boys Soccer Program

Currently: Head Coach GU11 and GU12 at Laguna Hills SC Eclipse

Currently Holds: USSF D License and USSF Goalkeeper Level 1

Currently Holds: English FA National Coaching Badge

Education: BA (Honors) Degree in Sports Studies

Growing up in London, England soccer has and always will be a huge part of my life. As a child I would spend hours each day playing the game. I tried to emulate in the local park my favorite players I watched on TV and from the stands at professional matches.

Some of my soccer education came by playing competitively with club teams and through school but the majority of my soccer development came from pick-up games with friends. Whenever we would play, the first thing we would do is to make a goal. It didn’t matter if it was two trees in a park, a wall, a trash can or simply laying down a couple of sweaters on the grass. Hey, if we were going to play we wanted something to shoot at. These small sided games molded me into an attack minded player who wanted to score and do so creatively and with imagination.

Six years ago, after my playing career ended and I finished up with my college degree, I moved to the United States to advance my coaching career. In a country where soccer is still growing I have seen a lot of improvement from the grassroots level all the way through to the national team. However, after having worked with youth players throughout the United States, I have witnessed a recurring theme and weakness with this current generation of player: it is a lack of assertion and fearlessness towards scoring goals. Often an American player’s first instinct is to pass in front of goal for fear of making a mistake. Instead, like I learned playing in the park, a player should have the mindset that I want to shoot so I can be the one who scores. It is for these reasons; my colleague Ben and I have created the Go2Goal-Soccer Academy. We want to help shape a new generation of soccer player who wants to take risks in the attacking third and to score goals. It is our belief that through the Go2Goal-Soccer Academy we can correctly teach today’s youth player to be skillful and dynamic in the art of scoring goals.