• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

3FOUR3

Soccer at the cutting edge

  • Coaching Membership
  • About
  • Contact
  • Videos – Our Product
  • Podcast
  • Premium Coaching Education

Problems

A Lesson in Top Level “Checking Your Shoulder”; Go Beyond the Superficial

By Gary Kleiban 3 Comments

Do you remember when most all Americans, coaches included, thought ‘rondo’ meant this: Now we’re a bit more educated, but still have a long way to go on the rondo front. Today I want to introduce another topic, that of ‘checking your shoulder‘. Many have been saying that phrase quite often but, much like the rondo, […]

Filed Under: Practical, Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions, Video

The 5 Key Player Development Components

By Gary Kleiban 6 Comments

Joey Cascio 3four3

Player development can be broken into 5 major components: The household/parent/family influence. The playing on your own influence. The pickup game influence. The structured club training influence. The personal training influence. Each taps into a piece of the puzzle. Some may be more important than others. There’s definitely overlap between each. And finally, in the end, there […]

Filed Under: Practical, Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions

A Huge Deficiency in the Suburban American Soccer Player

By Gary Kleiban 13 Comments

3four3 club

It’s well known one of the advantages players outside the US have is pickup ball. Across the globe, players of all ages from 7 year olds to adults benefit from the street game – that informal pickup culture the American player lacks. The barrio, as hispanic/latino cultures call it, is where strong mentalities, ball skills […]

Filed Under: Philosophy, Practical, Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions

MLS Academies Need More, and Better, Competition

By Gary Kleiban 17 Comments

So, I’ve harped on the fact that competition in the US isn’t a good gauge of where we’re at. International competition is the barometer. As such, the past 5 years we’ve gone on international trips with a group of players to play in legitimate competitions against the best academies in the world. Full matches vs […]

Filed Under: Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions, Video

The Most Undermining Phrase in American Soccer

By Gary Kleiban 2 Comments

“It’s just a game”. No, it’s not. It’s an economic market like any other. There are businesses in play, livelihoods at stake, communities to consider, and consumers that should be looked after. This is an ecosystem with real people, with real consequences, who depend on responsible governance. Clubs (independent businesses) get affected. People working with […]

Filed Under: Problems, Soccer Education Tagged With: Education, Problems

Should Coaches be Siloed in Specific Age Groups? Part 2

By Gary Kleiban 6 Comments

US Soccer Club Coaches

Part 1 touched on why it makes more sense elsewhere in the world. Here in Part 2, we look at some incentives and consequences for instituting coach siloing in the American environment. An Organizational Perspective Looking at a club perspective there’s this sense that efficiencies are introduced, that it’s just simpler to have a conventional […]

Filed Under: Problems, Soccer Education Tagged With: Development, Education, Problems

The Myth of the Best Players

By Gary Kleiban 10 Comments

Who’s better? Neymar or Ronaldo To me, this is a no-brainer and practically a litmus test for who I shouldn’t pay attention to. But there are people, for one reason or another, who think different. And right there, in that one phrase, “for one reason or another”, is where the myth busting of the “best […]

Filed Under: Philosophy, Problems, Soccer Education Tagged With: Education, Philosophy

Not Allowed in American Soccer – Leicester City FC

By Gary Kleiban 14 Comments

I think we can agree that fulfillment of potential is something we all yearn for. But what if the path to fulfillment is taken away from you? What then? Well, compared to the rest of the world, American soccer is set up precisely to do this. Limit, or even take away, one’s potential. Whether you […]

Filed Under: Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions Tagged With: Education, Players, Problems, Solutions

American Soccer can Be the Global Superpower if …

By Gary Kleiban 32 Comments

US Soccer number of Registered Players

Well, the discussion has been raging for 100 years. And yes, American soccer has a century’s worth of rich history. But unfortunately most of the mainstream discussions have been superficial. Deep dives are few and rarely, if ever, come from mainstream media outlets. That’s simply not their mission. But it is ours. We want to […]

Filed Under: Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions, Video Tagged With: Education, Problems, Solutions, Video

Jurgen Klinsmann and Leadership: Let’s Get Raw & Real

By Gary Kleiban 10 Comments

Gulati Garber Donovan

The following was submitted to 3four3. It does well at hitting the mark. Landon Donovan is painfully shallow and naïve calling for Jurgen Klinsmann’s firing if USMNT loses to Mexico in upcoming CONCACAF matchup. Firing Jurgen is akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face. Despite a player pool and youth pipeline chock-full […]

Filed Under: National Team, Problems, Soccer Education Tagged With: Education, Problems, USMNT

Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Free Coaching Course


Learn our possession-based soccer methodology.

Get access to select lessons from inside 3four3 Coaching.

Get Access

Premium Coaching Membership


If you are ready to commit and get serious with all the:

Videos, Audios, eBooks, networking, from the program that reduces your trial & error cycle, and revolutionized American soccer.

Premium Membership

3four3 Updates

* indicates required

Archives

Copyright © 2025 3four3