“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 […]
Education
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), […]
Should Coaches be Siloed in Specific Age Groups? Part 2
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 […]
The Myth of the Best Players
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 […]
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 […]
Jurgen Klinsmann and Leadership: Let’s Get Raw & Real
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]