A coach for soccer coaches

So your kid wants to be the next Beckham, but you've always been more of a Michael Jordan fan. Maybe iSoccer.org can help.

The Web site aims to provide the mentors of today's soccer-playing future with tools that assess players' skills as well as technical training videos for players of all skill levels.

"Knowing what to teach and how to teach it has always been a real challenge for youth soccer coaches, many of whom are well-meaning parent volunteers who lack formal training," says iSoccer founder Scott Leber.

If iSoccer is able to produce results similar to what Leber has achieved, the investment may be worth it. He was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year, and played NCAA Division 1 soccer at Stanford, where he studied industrial engineering. Before developing iSoccer, he started an East Coast youth soccer training business.

Leber's program tailors training guides to a player's current abilities. The cost of an individual session ranges from about $7 to $12 (you get a better rate when buying a package of sessions), and a session can include anywhere from nine to 22 exercises.

Covered topics and skills include laces, passing and aerial control, and each installment can be downloaded to an iPod and taken to the field. There, players practicing on their own or with their teams can watch the skill demonstrations and try out what they've learned on the spot.