Stay ConnectedSharing insights and opinions on coaching and the sport in general, The Coaching Journey helps connect those interested in shaping the future of the beautiful game! Whether you are a coach, a player, or a parent, you will find something useful in the discussion!
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How often do you hear people argue that in order to coach at the highest levels you have to have played at the highest levels? Can a non-pro truly understand the nuances and intricacies of the game if they don't have top class experience? It's a myth that has no grounding in reality, but it's still around because of ignorance and misunderstanding. I wrote an article a few days ago entitled "The Ex-Pro Myth in Modern Coaching" that caused quite a stir, and this week's podcast continues that topic with some expanded discussion on the issue!
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With hundreds of players off to play at colleges from nationally competing D-1 schools to D-3 schools, a handful of Youth National Team players, and several professionals, you might assume this talent pipeline is a professional MLS academy or a foreign feeder club. You may not, however, know that this talent pipeline is located in Faribault, Minnesota. We spoke with Joe DeMay who is the Director of Girl's Soccer at Shattuck-St. Mary's on the great work being done at the school. Be sure to check out Joe on twitter: @JoeDeMay and the Shattuck's Girls program at @SSMGirlsSoccer
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Almost 13 months ago, the U.S. Men's National Team lost to Mexico and Costa Rica, and fans were quick to demand Jurgen Klinsmann's resignation or downright dismissal. The furor was so bad that we had to write an article explaining some of "The Real Problem(s) Behind Our National Team." Fast forward to today, and the U.S. Men's National Team has lost to Mexico and Costa Rica (again) this past week in World Cup Qualifying, with fans again demanding Klinsmann's dismissal. Is that where all the blame should go, or are we just skimming the surface? We discuss the deeper issues facing US Soccer and the U.S. Men's National Team on this week's podcast!
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How often do we watch training sessions in which the activity is focusing on youth players playing one touch. In fact, so many coaches want to master a one-touch style of play that we've begun to miss an important point about youth development. Forget one-touch, we need to instill a two-touch mentality in youth development? Why? Well, listen to our latest episode of The Coaching Journey podcast as we tackle this important topic as well as give a brief update on The Coaching Journey and our recent hiatus! Subscribe to the podcast on and leave a review.
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This week The Coaching Journey is excited to welcome Stevie Grieve on the podcast! Stevie is a TV Football Pundit, Expert Analyst of MindGame, Experienced Academy Director and Coach. He is also the author of numerous coaching books for World Class Coaching and he has coached in Scotland, Switzerland, the United States, and most recently India with a professional club. Our discussion revolves around youth development and coach development around the world as well as various aspects of Stevie's own opinions on the game. It's a discussion that is geared to get you thinking and will provide numerous takeaways for any parent, player, or coach!
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This week The Coaching Journey is excited to welcome Sam Polak on the show! Sam is a young coach in the United States as well as a tactical analyst and writer for publications such as Four Four Two, KickTV, as well as others! Our talk today revolves around two young coaches sharing their experiences and opinions on the coach education and coaching world in general as it appears to us, and it is a discussion in which differing view points are shared, which will help you start to question and shape your own opinions on our thoughts!
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This week The Coaching Journey is excited to welcome Danny Karbassiyoon on the podcast! Danny is a former professional player most notably with Arsenal Football Club, Burnley, and Ipswich Town. He is a current scout for Arsenal Football Club and has been instrumental in discovering current Arsenal players Gedion Zelalem and Joel Campbell. Danny brings to the discussion an excellent story of his own background as well as a wealth of insight into modern day scouting and youth development both in North America as well as worldwide!
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How often do we see thousands of new drills being promoted, or articles exclaiming that your team can play like Barcelona, Real Madrid, even Leicester City! All of this is fluff that takes away from the simple truth. Coaches are looking for variety and novelty when focused repetition is a key, and it all stems from one single question. If you can ask yourself this question, everything will flow from there, and your focus won't be on the thousands of different sessions. Instead, it will help illuminate the core activities you need to really help develop your players. We explore that question in today's podcast!
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This week we talk with Gary Kleiban of 3four3! Gary, along with his brother Brian Kleiban (Academy Coach with LA Galaxy) founded 3four3 to represent "the global soccer standard in the United States" and with their product visible on the field and their subsequent videos, it's hard to disagree. Our discussion revolves around US Soccer, covering topics such as problems that coaches face, the issue holding US Soccer back, and one possible solution to these issues.
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This week we talk with Zac Ludwig, a coach and coach educator with Illinois Youth Soccer who is the creator of SwitchingTheField.com. We discuss all things youth development and bring back our first interview since switching to the new streamlined podcast! Be sure to listen as there are a lot of good takeaways for your players, parents, and clubs!
Continue the discussion:
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