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, […]
Solutions
The 5 Key Player Development Components
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 […]
A Huge Deficiency in the Suburban American Soccer Player
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 […]
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 […]
Not Allowed in American Soccer – Leicester City FC
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 […]
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 […]
Pay to Play and the Link to Promotion Relegation
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Come Join 3four3 in Vegas or San Diego this Summer
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: […]