Step onto the field ready for anything
Put Me in Coach is the complete youth soccer certification for rec-league volunteers, school coaches, and recreation staff who want to lead players ages 3 through high school with real confidence — not guesswork.
"The best thing you can give a kid on your roster isn't a perfect practice plan — it's a coach who showed up prepared to truly see them."— Leigh Baumann
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Design age-appropriate practice plans, drills, and game strategies tailored to the specific developmental stage of players from toddlers through high school
- Identify and teach the 20% of soccer skills that drive 80% of on-field success, building competitive competence and player confidence simultaneously
- Create an inclusive team culture that engages every athlete — including beginners, neurodivergent players, kids with disabilities, and varying fitness levels — through proven positive-reinforcement techniques
- Recognize and respond correctly to common injuries and medical emergencies on the field, select proper equipment, and apply up-to-date safety protocols by age group
- Apply youth-protection best practices — safe boundaries, communication guidelines, abuse recognition, and mandatory reporting responsibilities — to protect both athletes and coaches
- Partner effectively with parents, set clear team expectations, and use at-home skill-development activities that build athletic ability, family connection, and a lifelong love of the game
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 30 lessons
Know Before You Coach: Foundations of Youth Soccer
Establishes the game's fundamentals — terminology, rules, equipment, and age-group regulations — so coaches enter the field informed and credible.
- 1.1Assess Yourself, Know Your PlayersIncluded
- 1.2The Language of the GameIncluded
- 1.3Rules, Regulations, and Age-Group DifferencesIncluded
- 1.4Equipment Essentials: Selecting and Using Gear CorrectlyIncluded
- 1.5Famous Voices on the Game: Wisdom from the ProsIncluded
The 80/20 Field: Teaching Skills That Win Games
Identifies the high-leverage soccer skills that produce the majority of on-field success and teaches coaches how to instruct them at every level.
- 2.1The 20% of Skills That Drive 80% of SuccessIncluded
- 2.2Age-Appropriate Skill ProgressionsIncluded
- 2.3Drills That Deliver: Building Effective Practice RepetitionsIncluded
- 2.4Practice Plans That WorkIncluded
- 2.5Game Strategies, Formations, and PlaysIncluded
Coaching the Whole Child: Development, Communication, and Inclusion
Equips coaches to connect with every athlete — across ages, ability levels, learning styles, and needs — through effective communication and inclusive practices.
- 3.1How Kids Develop: The Athlete Behind the JerseyIncluded
- 3.2Communicating With Every Age and Ability LevelIncluded
- 3.3Attention Spans, Engagement, and Managing the ChaosIncluded
- 3.4Coaching Every Player: Beginners, Advanced Athletes, and Kids With DisabilitiesIncluded
- 3.5Understanding and Supporting Neurodivergent AthletesIncluded
Building a Winning Culture: Teams, Behavior, and Belonging
Shows coaches how to forge a positive, competitive team identity through inclusion, positive reinforcement, conflict resolution, and player management.
- 4.1Positive Reinforcement and Confidence BuildingIncluded
- 4.2Teamwork, Inclusion, and Making Every Player Feel ValuedIncluded
- 4.3Handling Challenging Behaviors and Resolving ConflictsIncluded
- 4.4Rotating Players and Managing Competitive RostersIncluded
- 4.5Team-Building Activities and At-Home Skill DevelopmentIncluded
Safety First: Injury Prevention, Recognition, and Emergency Response
Prepares coaches to prevent injuries, recognize warning signs, and respond correctly to on-field medical situations for players of all ages.
- 5.1Injury Prevention and Safe Practice DesignIncluded
- 5.2Recognizing Signs of Injury: From Sprains to Serious ConcernsIncluded
- 5.3Responding to Medical Emergencies on the FieldIncluded
- 5.4Concussion Protocols and Return-to-Play GuidelinesIncluded
- 5.5Recognizing Serious Health Warning Signs in Young AthletesIncluded
Protecting Kids: Youth Safety, Boundaries, and Parent Partnerships
Covers the ethical, legal, and relational responsibilities coaches carry — from child protection protocols to building a supportive parent community.
- 6.1Safe Coaching Boundaries and Appropriate CommunicationIncluded
- 6.2Avoiding One-on-One Situations and Supervision Best PracticesIncluded
- 6.3Recognizing Abuse and Understanding Mandatory ReportingIncluded
- 6.4Partnering With Parents: Setting Expectations and Building CommunityIncluded
- 6.5Creating a Lifelong Love of the GameIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
First-time rec volunteer
You raised your hand at the sign-up table and now you need a real foundation — fast — before the first practice.
School or PE teacher
You already understand how kids learn; this course translates that skill into structured soccer coaching with age-right progressions.
Church or community league coach
You're coaching as an act of service and want every child — regardless of ability — to feel genuinely welcomed and included.
Recreation department staff
You run programs across multiple age groups and need a single, comprehensive certification that holds up across all of them.
Returning parent coach
You've coached a season or two but want to stop winging it — especially when it comes to safety, inclusion, and handling parents.
Former player turned coach
You know the game but not yet the kids — this course bridges your soccer knowledge with real child-development and communication skills.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Leigh Baumann
If you're reading this, there's a good chance you've already said yes to a group of kids — maybe before you felt fully ready. Maybe a league coordinator called at the last minute, or your own kid looked up at you and said, "Can you be my coach?" And now here you are, wondering what exactly you've gotten yourself into.
I want you to know: that feeling is completely normal, and it doesn't mean you're the wrong person for this job. Some of the best coaches I've ever seen started exactly where you are — with more enthusiasm than experience and a genuine desire to do right by their players. That combination is worth more than you'd think. What I built in Put Me in Coach is everything I wish someone had handed me before I ever stepped between those cones.
This course covers the full picture — not just drills and formations, but the stuff that actually makes or breaks a season. How to read a 6-year-old who's melting down at practice versus a 14-year-old who's checked out. How to spot the 20% of skills that will genuinely make your players better, and how to teach them in a way that sticks. How to build a team where every single kid — the star and the kid who trips over her own feet — feels like she belongs. And how to handle the hard things: an injury on the field, a parent losing it on the sideline, a situation that raises a red flag you can't ignore.
I've mixed in wisdom from coaches and players who've spent their careers studying what makes young athletes thrive, alongside the kind of practical, in-the-moment guidance you can actually use when seventeen kids are looking at you waiting for directions. No jargon, no judgment, no chapter-long tangents about philosophy. Just clear, warm, step-by-step coaching for coaches.
The goal isn't to turn you into someone you're not. It's to give you the foundation, the framework, and the confidence to be the coach your players need — this season and every season after. I'm glad you're here. Now let's get you ready.
— Leigh Baumann
Start your journey today
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$39/mo
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- 6 modules, 30 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed