ARE YOU CLEAR?
All coaches are required to be cleared by our governing agency, Oregon Youth Soccer Association (OYSA).
You should have been sent a form with instructions on this process.
If you did not get the form yet, please email Stef @cosl@bendfc.com as soon as possible.
PRACTICES
As coaches, you will be able to choose your practice schedules and locations (based on the fields we are given). We will not know the fields we have to use until early March. A questionnaire will go out soon to get input on where you would IDEALLY like your team to practice*. I will use this information to let the school district and Parks and Rec know where the majority of our interest is and hope they take that into consideration when deciding which fields to assign us. That said, there are no guarantees of what schools/parks we will get until March. Once I am given our final field assignments, if your field/park of choice is not on the list, I will then send you an updated questionnaire to choose from what is available.
*Some teams have multiple assistant coaches but no head coach listed. If you see that is the case for your team, please let me know if one of you are willing to be moved to the head coach position as a point person. The head coach is the one who will fill out the practice preference portion of the coach questionnaire.
Scheduling practices is the trickiest part of the COSL season, as many of you already know. Baseball and Lacrosse are given first preference for fields in the Spring and we have to wait until they are assigned their fields before anything happens for us. Thank you for working with me as I do my best to navigate the process with Bend-LaPine Schools and Bend Parks and Rec.
COACHING RESOURCES
Your role as a COSL coach is first and foremost to be a supportive leader to the youth players who are out there wanting to have fun while developing skills in the great game of soccer. In a rec program, especially for players who are out there for the first time, the experience they have this year could determine if they keep playing or not. That is a BIG responsibility and we take it seriously. Please remember that winning isn't always determined by a score.
"Be the person you needed when you were younger." - Ayesha Siddigi
PLEASE USE THE RESOURCES ON THIS PAGE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR JOB AS A 2025 COSL COACH.
Please use this link to our 2024 COSL Coach Resources where you will be able to access helpful information, including the Master Practice Schedule (Master Schedule will be published by March 15, 2025), previously sent emails and more.
This link for DRILLS, also located in your coach account menu, gives you access to countless resources for practice ideas.
RECOMMENDED GAME FORMATION
4v4 and 5v5- At 4v4 we want to teach shapes instead of position. Coach a diamond shape. The top of the diamond would be the typical forward, the sides would be the right and left midfielder, and the bottom of the diamond would be the typical defender. After a goal is scored, at the start of the game or halftime, encourage players to get back into their diamond shape. With 5v5 it’s a diamond plus a goalkeeper (2nd grade only). Another great option is the square or box shape. 2-2. Two defenders and two attackers.
7v7- At 7v7 we encourage teaching a diamond shape with two in the middle. At this age you can now start calling the positions by name as well. Other recommended formations: Two triangle or a 2-1-2-1 plus a goalkeeper. Or 2 defenders, 3 midfielders, 1 forward (2-3-1). 3 defenders, 2 midfielders, 1 forward (3-2-1). We do not recommend a 2-2-2 as players typically have no width.
9v9- At 9v9 we encourage two stacked diamonds such as a 3-1-3-1. Other recommended formations: 3 defenders, 3 midfielders, 2 forward (3-3-2).
As always, we support whatever you want to do and these are just suggestions.
