Since 1988, David has studied and worked in youth education, soccer development and coaching. A former University Professor and current CEO of a Sports Company, David has been fortunate to travel extensively in the USA, meeting with coaches and club officials and learning about their approach to player development and coaching. David oversees the NSCAA eLearning program, authoring numerous on-demand courses and hosting live coaching education webinars. He is the co-author of NSCAA Level 1 Coaching Diploma and creator of NSCAA Player Development Curriculum Diploma Series. David also serves as Coordinator for NSCAA Club Standards Project, an initiative designed to raise player development, coaching and administrative performance in youth soccer. At the time of publication over 170 youth clubs in USA and Canada had been evaluated by and NSCAA Consultant. David developed the 5 Stage of Development Pathway used as a framework for this manual in 2007 (an adaptation of the LTAD model from Canada). He contributes articles to soccer publications, has authored and edited 8 books focusing on player and coach development and presents at national soccer events. David has been coaching soccer since 1987 and has held numerous professional and volunteer coaching positions at youth, collegiate and semi-professional levels of the game.