re: Advice for my son's soccer development. [wall-o-text]

All of what has been presented here is great advice. HOWEVER, I have one caveat: Make sure he is having fun. If he isn't enjoying himself he is not going to put in the effort to get better, and at worst he will burn out. Find a pickup soccer group in your area and go play with him. Have fun. In this environment he will be playing against older players but there is no problem here if he fails, because playing against guys twice his age there will obviously be the expectation that he won't be able to "compete." However, if he makes a good pass against these guys, or learns to navigate space, or even scores a goal, then it does wonders for his confidence. Your kid obviously loves the sport. Just do what you can to make sure it stays that way. Y'all can even go see an MLS game together, or hell, play FIFA together. Again, keep things fun, and he will keep coming back to the game and keep itching to get back on the pitch and compete.