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, […]
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MLS Academies Need More, and Better, Competition
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 […]
LA Galaxy vs Manchester City – [U15 Full Match Video]
We love to share what matters. Going into this match, this team, our team, the LA Galaxy U14 team was undefeated with a 19-0-2 record in the US Soccer Development Academy with 101 GF and 12 GA. You rarely, if ever, see us publish or mention our domestic exploits (we could be doing it weekly), […]
An “All Value, No Fluff” Soccer Education
For the impatient, you can sign up to this free education here. But it would be awesome if you read this article first. There’s no question we need better soccer education in our country. So over the past 7 years, Brian and I have taken on that challenge. Of course it’s been much longer if […]
American Soccer can Be the Global Superpower if …
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 […]
5 Futbol Links Packed with Value
Legit content curation is a service I believe would be of great value to the soccer community. Meaning, filtering through the vast ocean of garbage that’s published online (>99%) and extracting the gems for you. I have not come across a better curator than a gentleman named Nuno Ferreira (@Nuno_tuga_). Pretty much everything I’ve seen […]
Our Match vs FC Barcelona – U13/14 – MIC Cup 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 […]
[Video] Chivas USA vs San Jose Earthquakes U13/14
The US Soccer Development Academy held a showcase for its Western region academies at the Stubhub center a couple weekends ago. Here’s a full length match between two MLS teams. I think it’s important to make more matches like these available. That way the country can start better gauging what the team & player standard […]
6 Points that Improve Top Level Talent Assessment through Video
The Bottom Line Capture the ‘WOW factor’ with a short video (the shorter the better) to peak interest. In-person talent assessment is hard enough, so your video(s) need to kick ass. Video must be good quality, or your audience will leave after 5 seconds. In a long-form video, try to capture all 4 player properties […]
[Video] Setting The Standard for U13 Possession Soccer in America
We’ve shown you what the current standard for U11s looks like. And we’ve demonstrated how this translated to the global stage with competitions against the best academies in the world. We’ve also shown you what it looks like at U12. Now we present what it can look like at U13. Enjoy and study the crap […]