I just finished Soccer IQ (actually both volumes, more about that later) by Dan Blank and wish I had read it years ago.  The book has a target audience of High School age female soccer players.  So it was right on point for me as I have a High School Freshman daughter, who plays a lot of soccer at a competitive level and I am coaching in  her club.  The book is full of great nuggets that directly apply to what I am involved with right now.  My daughter’s team just spent a competitive weekend at Blues Cup and as I look back at the weekend’s games, I realized that if our girls had executed pursuant to Dan’s advice, perhaps it would have been us hoisting the trophy on Monday afternoon.   

The first question I always ask when considering a book is who is the audience?  Soccer IQ is clearly written for Teenage Girls that are interested in playing college soccer and those that coach this group of players.  The advice and straight talk are perfect for that audience and anyone who fits into either of those two groups should read (or listen) to this book.  While those two audiences may be the primary target, teenage players and their coaches are not the only audiences for this book.  All parents of soccer players and youth coaches who are interested in creating smart soccer players are prime audiences for this book.  As I was listening to the great points I found that parents and youth coaches can gain just as much as the teenage girls that the book is written for.

What is Soccer IQ all about?

Simply put it is a series of lessons, likely learned the hard way, that the author has collected and put into a short book.  Read superficially it can seem like all the author cares about is winning, and certainly all of the tips are dedicated to winning games.  That is sort of the point of playing the games… but the real premise of Soccer IQ is to create smart soccer players and read through that lens, the book delivers good teachable lessons. Smart soccer players will be successful and success is certainly more fun than struggling.

There is nothing earth shattering in Soccer IQ, it is all just common sense, but having the lessons broken down into a few pages with great examples deliver the point effectively.  A few examples really jump out at me that you can  implement immediately at practice with any age of player.  The idea that the player taking the throw in should always start with the ball behind their head, and not at their stomach is an important lesson to go with pace of play, while small, it can be game changing.  

A few other lessons that jump off the pages include, the concept of speed of play, passes that blow up your teammate, calling your teammate’s name without giving any real direction to your teammate, splitting the  defense, and great recruiting tips.

How to Digest Soccer IQ

The lessons are packaged in an easy and digestible manner,  but it is not a book that you want to read cover to cover in one sitting, unless you plan to read or listen to it multiple times.  I think it would be impossible to remember everything and you certainly can’t expect players to absorb it all in one shot.  A few chapters every couple of days is likely the best way to get through it, but rereading is clearly the best way.  I could even see a situation where teenage players are each assigned a couple of chapters and then you allow the players to lead a quick discussion about what they learned from the chapter.

Why Would a Player Want to Read Soccer IQ?

The lessons are invaluable to players at all levels and if transmitted correctly can really accelerate the development of even the youngest player.  The concepts are not difficult in and of themselves, but can be tough to weave into a training program if a coach only has 2 or 3 hours a week with the group.  

Further, sometimes hearing the same message from different sources is needed for the message to really sink in.  If your player’s coach subscribes to the possession game at all, then 99% of the lessons in Soccer IQ will be things the coach has already told the player or plans to tell the player in the future.  So regardless of where the player hears the message first, the second time will be a great reinforcement and only help their development.  

Getting girls to watch soccer has been one of the biggest challenges of my coaching career.  A lot of the lessons from the book could be picked up by watching soccer on TV or by going to games, but there is often a lack of time or a lack of interest in those activities for teenage girls.  So Soccer IQ provides another vehicle to consume those lessons by players and one that is very effective in my mind.

Why Should a Parent Read the Book?

Let’s face it, as parents we all want the best for our kids and we want to help them no matter what.  Parents often feel powerless on the sideline and one of the most common ways that parents want to help is by talking with their players about the game. On its face this seems like a good idea, but often young players get confused if they are hearing different things from their parents and coaches. Often children do not want to hear things from their parents, so   Soccer IQ provides a ready-made, off the shelf number of tips that parents and players can work through together.  Parents can rest assured that they are in sync with the player’s coach by sticking to the  basics in Soccer IQ.

Parents have varying levels of experience with the game of soccer and the book does a great job of educating parents as well as players.  The lessons in the book provide a great perspective for parents who are interested in being more than just fans at the games. The book is a must  read for any parent trying to maintain an objective view of their daughter’s soccer performance.  This of course should be balanced with Chris Hummer’s Article from a few years back about parent involvement, you can read that here.

One key point that the book points out, which may be less than obvious, is that most players spend very little time on the ball and it is the off ball action by the player that really makes the difference in the game.  Often spectators are following the ball, so they miss the reason why something happened, only seeing the result.

What about Coaches?  

Soccer IQ captures many of the lessons that coaches think about in the moment during a game, but then forget to transmit to the players later.  Soccer IQ creates an easy checklist for a coach to follow.  At each session, a coach could take one of these lessons and make it a talking point, or incorporate one thing into the pregame or halftime speech each week.  The key is to just get the information to the players in a concise and coherent manner.

At the end of each chapter, there is a “note for coaches” that provides the reader with a quick coaching point that helps translate the chapter for the coach.  These coaching tips are great for coaches, but are also good for players to help synthesize the lesson.

If you are a coach with a lot of teams, this is a great tool you can use to communicate with a large group of players in a quick and efficient manner.  You can also use it to see if players are committed to learning the game of soccer.  Let’s face it, good players do more than just come to practice and games. It is not a lot to ask of a player to get through the book, and if a player won’t do it, that likely tells you all you need to know about their commitment level.

Conclusion

If you have a child involved in youth soccer, Soccer IQ is a must read, and likely worth reading before the start of each season.  The price is quite reasonable on Amazon and you can get a paperback or obtain it as an audio book.  I really enjoyed the audio book as I was able to listen to it on the drive to and from work.

Dan Blank has also authored the following books, they are worth checking out:

• Every Thing Your Coach Never Told You Because You’re a Girl
• Possession – Teaching Your Team to Keep the Darn Ball
• Shutout Pizza – Smarter Soccer Defending for Players and Coaches
• Rookie – Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
• Happy Feet – How to Be a Gold Star Soccer Parent (Everything the Coach, the Ref and Your Kid Want You to Know)
• High Pressure – How to Win Soccer Games by Smothering Your Opponent
• In My Tribe – Creating a Culture of Kickass in Female Athletes

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