Chasing the Game - Youth Soccer in America

Soccer vs. School: Why Should Kids Have to Choose?

Soccer and school should support the same kid. Why does pursuing one sometimes make the other harder?

At YSC Academy, an independent school partnered with the Philadelphia Union, Mark Franek teaches students whose school day is built around soccer. Elsewhere, parents are trying to make training, travel and a regular school schedule work together. Mark, an English teacher and author o...

Too Much Soccer Training, Not Enough Free Play?

Before you book another soccer training session, when did your kid last just play?

The pitch is familiar. More sessions, a stronger team, more travel, a better chance. Families spend thousands, give up weekends, and still feel it is not enough. Ted Kroeten built that system himself, running a big club in Minnesota on assessments, progress reports and the 10,000 hours. In his words: kids...

Is Moving Up in MLS NEXT Worth Risking Playing Time?

MLS NEXT Homegrown or Academy: would you move your child up if his place on the field became less certain?

The offer sounds like progress. But your child already plays regularly, likes his coach, and enjoys his team. A longer drive and a higher division might bring opportunity. They also leave parents with a hard question: what are we giving up?

Luis Robles, General Manager,...

Chris Mueller on What the Soccer Dream Demands

Chris Mueller was never the best kid on the field. He was on the B team at his Chicago club until he was 14, he was 4 feet 11 until high school, and he did not start a game or score a goal as a freshman at Wisconsin. He left Wisconsin as the first two-time All-American in the program's history, went sixth overall in the 2018 MLS draft, and played for Orlando City, Hibernian in Scotland ...

A Pro Soccer Offer at 15. A Family Decision.

If your child received a professional soccer offer at 15, would your family say yes straight away? Jonny Shore's family took months. College was still on the table.

The NYCFC midfielder tells Liron and Matt how they made that decision, what changed after he signed, and how his parents supported him when playing well did not bring the next opportunity. For parents wondering how kids...

What U.S. Soccer Says Must Change in Youth Soccer

How is U.S. Soccer trying to fix youth soccer? Its chief operating officer says the current system is "not acceptable," families are not appropriately served, and the federation owns improving and clarifying the pathway.

The World Cup filled stadiums and pulled in tens of millions of viewers. Then the run ended against Belgium, and the federation started saying two things at once: the...

The Long Game. How Do You Keep Kids Loving Soccer?
How do you keep kids loving soccer when the game keeps asking them to carry more?
This final episode of our Summer Best Of series steps back from rankings, pathways, costs, and development models to ask a bigger question. After a year of conversations, what actually matters when the final whistle blows on a child’s youth soccer journey?
Liron Unreich and Matt Tartagl...

Parents hear the word development everywhere in youth soccer. Clubs say it. Coaches say it. Trainers say it. But if training does not transfer to the game, the word can hide more than it explains.

In this Best Of Part 3 episode, Liron and Matt revisit clips from Sean McCafferty, Juan Santamaria, Nil Congost, Christian Gonzalez, Evan Rosenthal, Matt Poland, Dr. Chris Platts, and Jose Campos.

The episode moves from winning and false pr...

For parents, that question is not only about fees. It is about sacrifice, access, pressure, private training, travel, college hopes, and whether the money is actually helping the player.

In this Best Of episode, Liron and Matt revisit the cost conversation through clips from Peguy Luyindula, Danny Buttita, Evan Rosenthal, Dr. Chris Platz, Justin Phelps, Tom Bowen, Ryan Farr, Phil Gordon, and Alex Rando.

The episode moves past the eas...

Summer is here, and so is our first Best Of episode.

But this isn’t a greatest-hits collection.

Instead of replaying our biggest social clips, we went back through 35 episodes and chose the conversations that quietly shaped how we think about youth soccer.

We call this episode The Maze because that’s what the American youth soccer system often feels like. Every decision feels urgent. Every club promises opportunity. Every ...

Winning is part of development. Juan Santamaria, Sporting Director and Vice President at Cedar Stars Academy, joins Chasing the Game to talk about competition, mentality, playing time, college recruiting, MLS academies, and what parents misunderstand about the pathway.

This episode gets into the uncomfortable parts of serious youth soccer: losing players to MLS academies, helping families through the college process, the cost of sho...

Harris Faulkner Gets a World Cup Crash Course
A six-time Emmy-winning Fox News anchor is heading to France vs. Senegal with her daughters and needs soccer rules for parents before the World Cup.

Harris Faulkner knows pressure. Live television. Breaking news. Election nights. But soccer brings a different challenge: stoppage time, offside, VAR, red cards, chanting fans, and two teenage daughters watching every reaction.
So Liro...

Why does a youth soccer player look technical in training, then struggle when the game starts?

That question drives this conversation with Christian Silva, founder of Silva Academy and a former professional player. Christian pushes past the easy labels parents hear all the time: technical, confident, talented, improving. His point is sharper than that. A player can look great in a session, beat cones, win drills, and still not under...

A post can open a door, but it can also distort what families think progress looks like.

In this episode, Liron and Matt talk with David Rodriguez, founder of Footy Access, about one of the most loaded words in youth soccer: exposure.

Parents want their kids seen. Players feel the pressure. Clubs understand the value. Platforms create visibility. But being posted is not the same thing as being developed, recruited, or ready.

David exp...

What does a youth soccer coach do when parents are not watching?

This week on Chasing the Game, Liron is joined by Patrick Ouckama and Phil Gordon, whose coaching path has taken him from D.C. United to Nottingham Forest.

That journey gives Phil a rare view of two very different soccer environments: the American youth system and the English academy world. The conversation keeps returning to something most parents do not always see cle...

Most soccer families are told the same thing: specialize early, chase the biggest league, get seen, and don’t fall behind.

But Don Farr and his son Ryan tell a different story.

Ryan played multiple sports, stayed connected to high school soccer, took a post-grad year at Northwood, and then became a standout freshman at Stony Brook. His path was not clean. It was not obvious. And that is exactly why it matters.

This episode is ab...

Youth soccer keeps changing. Most families are still searching for fixed answers.

In this episode, Filippo Giovagnoli challenges some of the deepest assumptions parents have about development, culture, tactics, pathways, and what actually creates players.

This is not a conversation about nostalgia or romantic ideas about European football. It is about adaptation.

The modern game moves faster. Players have less time. Duels matter more....

Your First Contract Is Not a Career

A pro contract at 18 can look like the finish line. In this episode, Dr. Chris Platts explains why it is often just the start of the hardest stretch.

For soccer parents, the pressure is familiar. The badge. The academy. The scholarship. The contract. Each one can start to feel like proof that the path is working.

But Chris’ research with young players shows a more complicated reality. Families...

Too Much Noise in Youth Soccer:
What Actually Builds Players

There has never been more around youth soccer players. More training. More clubs. More private sessions. More advice.
And somehow, many players are still missing the basics.

In this episode, Brian Chun and Edson Elcock join Liron and Matt to talk about what actually builds players and what just creates noise. They break down why simple training still matters, why repe...