U.S. Soccer: D License

‘D’ Course Overview

• The National D license is a 40 to 45-hour course, held over two weekends, at minimum 4 weeks apart, designed for the grassroots coach who meets the prerequisites outlined below. The focus of this course is to facilitate the improvement of the candidates in the Six Tasks of a Coach across all four game models (4v4, 7v7, 9v9, 11v11) with a particular emphasis on Coaching Training Sessions. Candidates that register for this course are expected to attend both meetings.

‘D’ Course Format

There are multiple ways in which candidates will meet virtually for the course. The most common are large group meetings, mixed group meetings and instructor group meetings. Candidates can expect to meet virtually via zoom 2-3 times per week. A majority of the virtual meetings will occur in the evening after 7:00pm. However, there are meetings scheduled at other times, either in the morning or during the noon hour. Please consider your personal schedule when registering. It is mandatory to attend all virtual meeting dates.

Virtual: Weekly Webinars will begin on the week of January 26, 2022. Additional details forthcoming.

• Virtual link will be sent to all candidates.
• Instructors will have webinar office hours for candidates during the course

Virtual: Development Period

The Development Period is the time in between the initial meeting and the on-field component. The Development Period will consist of weekly learning opportunities that will feature a mixture of independent learning using online modules and live virtual meetings led by a licensed U.S. Soccer Instructor. Coaches will be asked to participate in discussions so each person should have access to the internet and a web-camera/live video capabilities. It is vital that candidates have access to a grassroots team during this period so that they can practically apply what they learned during the Development Period.

In-person: On-Field Component (April 23, 2022 8:00am – 6:00pm)

January 26, 2022; April 27, 2022

Candidates must have completed prior to registering:

A unique combination of three of the eight Grassroots Licenses now formally represent the prerequisite to progress to the U.S. Soccer D License. Specifically, candidates must have completed a minimum of three grassroots courses, in the form of two in-person courses and one online course:

• Two in-person courses (one of which must be the 11v11)
• One online course across any of the four levels (4v4, 7v7, 9v9, 11v11

Coaching candidates who have earned the E or F License will have the following opportunities to use those certifications toward the D License prerequisites:

• U.S. Soccer E License + Introduction to Grassroots Coaching Module

  • U.S. Soccer F License + Introduction to Grassroots Coaching Module + 11v11 in-person license + one other in-person license