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 […]
Problems
The Best Coaching Advice You’ll Ever Get, and Probably Ignore
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 […]
The State of the American Soccer Establishment
Purple: We love you, you guys are doing great. Keep up the good work. Keep at it, and one day you could be great. Tan: You’re ruffling feathers that may get you in some trouble. The system will work to bring you back into the purple fold. And if it doesn’t, perhaps some action will […]
[Podcast] What’s Wrong with American Soccer?
Listen in below, as John Pranjic does a great job of hosting a discussion on topics ranging from how and why 3four3 got started, to where we are now, to where we’re going. And of course the biggest problem with American soccer – a system that limits our market’s potential, disincentivizes investments, alienates the majority […]
How NOT to Coach Playing out of the Back
It’s like everywhere I look in American soccer media, and to quite an extent, the English as well, the advice being thrown around on player development is the worst thing you can follow. The inspiration for this article came from Twitter via a coach posting the following activity he runs (& recommends). I saw the […]
What Coaches Can Learn from Louis van Gaal’s Recent Statement
Newly appointed Manchester United coach, Louis van Gaal, recently stated it’ll take him at least 3 months to get his team to start executing the way he wants to play. 3 months! And he’s got a whole staff behind him working around the clock. 3 months! And he’s got all international level players. 3 months! And the […]
How to Spot a Likely Soccer Hack
OH MAN … be careful who you listen to. 3 Spanish, and 1 Portuguese team That’s the makeup of this year’s Champions League, and Europa League finals. Together, they offer a nice backdrop to highlight the need for perspective. So here we go… After every season, it seems broad conclusions on the state of the […]
A Primer on MLS Structure Every Aspiring Change Agent Should Bookmark
We have requested a plethora of information, including financials, that PRO and MLS have refused to provide, instead demanding we take their pleas of poverty at face value. – Lukas Middlebrook, Attorney for Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) It’s a fascinating state of affairs when a snarky Deadpsin article is treated as a threat to […]
The 1 Soccer Policy that Cripples the National Team all the way to 9 Year Olds
US Soccer not creating a true soccer pyramid with promotion & relegation. That’s it! You want youth development on par with the rest of the world? You want our top flight pro teams at the level with the best in the world? You want the National Team to consistently be a legit World Cup contender? […]
Who Else Wants to Win?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Winning fucking matters! And don’t you ever forget it. The only question (AND IT’S A CRITICAL ONE) really revolves around context. Under what circumstances has winning occurred? What were the pros/cons considering short, medium, and long term objectives? But, whatever your answers … on the whole, winning matters. Chronic losers […]