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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

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

Pay to Play and the Link to Promotion Relegation

By Gary Kleiban 38 Comments

Pay to Play Soccer

First, let’s get something straight. Pay to play will always exist because there will always be a demand for such services. Not to mention services and infrastructure are not free, and so must have a business model supporting the expenses. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s properly contextualize. Pay to play […]

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

The Best Coaching Advice You’ll Ever Get, and Probably Ignore

By Gary Kleiban 47 Comments

Rondos

Go master how to properly train 10 different rondos. Stop making forays into exotic topics like ‘guided discovery’ or some academic neurological studies on learning. Stop it with the hundreds of sport session planner diagrams, and your buffet of drills. Stop it with buying a new soccer book every week, thinking somehow your art will […]

Filed Under: Philosophy, Practical, Problems, Soccer Education, Solutions Tagged With: Development, Education, Philosophy, Problems, Solutions

Our Match vs FC Barcelona – U13/14 – MIC Cup 2015

By Gary Kleiban 47 Comments

FC Barcelona vs Chivas USA infantil MIC 2015

In pursuit of world class, one better have some grip on what that actually means. And that, I think, requires going beyond your domestic soccer bubble, especially if the standard for world class does not reside there. Winning an American league or tournament, no matter which you want to cite, does not give you a […]

Filed Under: Club Soccer, Philosophy, Soccer Education, Solutions, Video Tagged With: Development, Education, Elite, Video

Come Join 3four3 in Vegas or San Diego this Summer

By Gary Kleiban 8 Comments

You told us in person, you told us via emails … and you better believe we’ve been listening. So here we go, we’ve started working on launching two events this summer: A coaching conference / summit A player camp Coaching summit Location: Las Vegas, NV Date: July 25, 26 or August 1, 2 3four3 contact: […]

Filed Under: Practical, Soccer Education, Solutions Tagged With: Development, Education, Solutions

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