Portland Timbers U23s are defeated by PSA Elite? WTF?

PSA Elite versus Portland Timbers U23

PSA who? Exactly. Before I get all nasty with this … just a touch of background. I went to watch the final of a U.S. Adult Soccer Association regional (huh?) between a team called PSA Elite and a team that Eric Wynalda formed, Cal FC. (That was May 6th) These are two teams that were just [...]

“Culture” Problem? What Culture Problem?

white boy soccer

In the US, people point to “culture” as our fundamental impediment to excellence. And the arguments come in many flavors. But what they say essentially boils down to one theme: Numbers We don’t have the numbers, they say. Numbers in terms of audience Numbers in terms of consumers Numbers in terms of money Numbers in terms of [...]

The Single Most Critical Path to Soccer Enlightenment

Athletic Bilbao Europa Crying

 … is through deep emotional investment. Rite of Passage Until you cry for a team, you probably don’t have what it takes. Not as a player, not as a coach, not as a fan, not as a reporter, not as anyone. It means you don’t feel this game in your soul, it means you don’t understand [...]

Blogging and the War of Ideas

soccer books

I don’t think the point is getting across. As it relates to a post, let me just say that it’s ok if a reader “doesn’t get it“. People can’t be convinced or changed with a solitary article – not at their core anyways. Every time I write one of these, my brain screams: “Oh, but what [...]

Possession Soccer is Dead. Long Live Possession!

kings-dead

Those who think this possession thing is just a fad expose one, or a combination of the following: their soccer age their global soccer literacy their racial, cultural, or national prejudice Soccer Age How long you’ve been involved in the game, plain and simple. If you’re fairly new, say within the past 10 years, it’s [...]

Warning!!! To All Our New Readers: This Blog is Probably Not for You

warning

I’m dead serious! The majority of you likely joined us after the U11 video. That means the chunk of posts you’ve seen since, have been about kids playing soccer and our trip to Spain. So cute youth soccer stuff. Well, you’re in for a big ass shock if you think that’s what this site’s about. [...]

It’s Unbelievably Difficult to Capture What We Do! A Testimonial.

Brian Kleiban coaching

Coaching is an art! How do you capture this art? People have been asking me for ‘curriculum’ and things detailing what it is we do. How do we produce our end product they say. Here’s a quickie from our State Cup final: If you can’t see the video, click here. They seem to think there’s [...]

Don’t Let Your Club Miss This Unique Opportunity!

fcb_collab_map_base

The past couple weeks have been crazy! With the release of our U11 video showcasing unseen before soccer in the States, and the subsequent chronicling of our younger U10s and those U11s competing in Barcelona, I’ve been bombarded with emails from coaches, DOCs, and parents from across the country (internationally even). Our club president, Paul Walker, [...]

FC Barcelona Trip: Day 13 Notes

Versus the world-renowned Ajax academy

Woke up nice and early to eat some breakfast and prepare the boys with a tactical walk through. We centered on how we wanted to attack in possession and defend against Soccer Stars USA’s 3-4-3 formation. Boys looked ready and anxious. Got them prepped in our locker room and around 10:15 we took to the [...]

FC Barcelona Trip: Day 12 Notes [Video]

U11 FC Barcelona size

After a good nights sleep it was breakfast with the team at 9am to kickstart an important day. Two more group-play matches awaited us at 1pm and 5pm. Danny and I had individual meetings with several players to show them some of the good and bad things we did in our first game. Matches are [...]