Pitch to Pro
Pitch to Pro is the official podcast of Ozark United FC. This will be our platform to tell our story about the club and the special place that we call home, Northwest Arkansas. This is a journey. We want to bring you along for the ride. We'll share what's going on behind the curtain, help educate the community at large about soccer, Our league, and give updates on the progress of the club along the way.
Together, we'll explore and unpack our journey to professional soccer, the magic that is NWA, our community, and talk all things soccer from on the pitch to behind the scenes, telling the story of our club.
Pitch to Pro
Stoppage Time Special: Balancing Winning and Growth in Youth Soccer
Imagine witnessing a young athlete achieve their dreams and thinking, "If they can do it, so can I." This week on the Pitch to Pro podcast, we're joined by a former high-level player turned coach, who shares his compelling journey through the evolving soccer landscape in Northwest Arkansas. Ryan Williams breaks down the significance of intellectual engagement for young athletes, especially the 2012 age group, and how it shapes their understanding of soccer. Through his personal story, you'll hear about the triumphs and trials of nurturing talent from grassroots to greatness, providing a beacon of hope and possibility for aspiring players.
Our conversation unveils the delicate balance between the thirst for victory and the necessity of player development. Ryan goes beyond just sharing his experiences, offering a raw and honest look at the internal struggle coaches often face between winning and fostering growth. Whether you're a coach, player, or soccer enthusiast, you'll find this discussion both relatable and thought-provoking. We promise you'll leave with a deeper understanding of what it takes to cultivate talent and create clear pathways for young athletes in the ever-growing soccer communities of places like Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
Welcome to the Stoppage Time edition of the Pitch to Pro podcast. This is a highlight reel of some of the best moments from the show so far, and every other week we will be bringing you a special five to seven minute segment featuring the best stories, tales and moments of the podcast.
Speaker 2:In Hawaii, when you're seeing players going and you're seeing them doing good stuff, wow, you're like, well, if he can do it, I think I can do it. And same thing here, when you see players in northern Arkansas start going places and they're doing stuff and the community gets smaller and smaller. The soccer community gets smaller and smaller and you're like, whoa, so-and-so did it. But you have to know that because that's inspiration, right, like that, that's uh, it's motivating and it's, it's almost, it's tangible, right, you're seeing it and you're like I can get there too. Um, and so, like that's what kind of what I'm doing with the 2012s and the, the ozark united.
Speaker 2:Um, it obviously looks different at the different ages. The 2012 group is a interesting age because you know, like you said, it's it's huge in their development, in the development years, um, it's the for for what. I think the, the engagement on the, on the intellectual side of the game, is very important, right, because that, like, how they think through the game, now, it kind of shapes how they're going to think to the game as they get older. And as they get older, it's really hard to kind of get out of those ways, right, um, it's hard to, it's hard to learn, or or um, your, your thought processes are really hard to change, like right now. It's, it's very malleable. How did I say that right?
Speaker 2:yeah, you can, you can really mold those things um, yeah, so you can really mold it now um and so yeah, we'll talk.
Speaker 1:I mean, you've, you've been in northwest arkansas as a player, a college student, um, and then now, you know, gone off and then continue to play at a high level as a pro and then come back and been around in the area for a while now, started a family and now in the coaching space, how is the game like?
Speaker 2:talk about the growth of the game in the area and what you've seen in your experience and then kind of tie that into then what you're now getting to do with the u20 boys and how that's kind of culminating yeah, um, well, I coached up to our jbu, who is from this area, and he was a top, top player, actually did some really good stuff like sets a really set some really high records at jbu and, as I've engaged even with the, the youth side of it, I there's talent, there's talent here, you know, and I think what for me is is really is really important is to um is to meet meet talent with content, to push that. I think the talents you're in as things get more tangible in the pathway. That helps. But, like any education, you have to meet people where they are and be able to get them to where they're going.
Speaker 2:As a coach it can be, and I kind of I wrestle with this stuff because I'm fairly new. I'm fairly new into coaching. Um, I wrestle with man. I want to win, I want to win, I want to win because that's how I was as a player and every coach is that way that competitive drive.
Speaker 2:Every parents that way, every. I mean, if you're in a competitive like environment, you probably want to win, no doubt. Yeah, like no one plays, yeah, I don't know of anyone who plays soccer or coaches soccer, and so I like losing you know, so it's like you, you, you wrestle with that pride a bit, but they to win at the expense of development, like I.
Speaker 2:I don't know if that's very good. It may be a good feeling, but for development's sake the player is not getting anything. And I can only say this because I was this way as a player. You see through people, you see through stuff, even if you're winning, you see through it. You see through stuff, even if you're winning, you see through it and and so like it and being able to, um, uh, being able to like receive that content so important, because that if you're being challenged and you're you, you, you see your learning going up and up and up, well, then your hope and your dream almost seems to be a bit more realized. Right, like, if I feel like I'm being pushed and I'm being taught better and this is the same thing in school, like if you're, if you're getting content that's challenging and you're being, um, engaged by a professor or a teacher that's, you know, really pushing you and really well, especially in the college. And I think in the college environment you have a professor who's really pushing you and really well, especially in the college. I think in the college environment. If you have a professor who's really pushing you and engaging with your own, say, papers or your own work, and they're able to get you to where you want to go, well, that's very actually encouraging, right. And so when that happens, you're like okay, well, I think I can actually reach something that I want to reach, but if I can't, then we'll.
Speaker 2:If I don't see that, that class is not a fun class, in other words, that class is a joke. You don't take that class seriously. You don't take that team seriously. You don't take that season seriously. Don't take that team seriously. You don't take that season seriously, right? So it's like I find that it is especially at the higher levels to you know that it's. It's, uh, I guess important, but like, maybe there's a bit a better word than important or vital it's vital that you get content right, because the content is like it's it kind of matches, that pathway, right, and so, yeah, at the one is like the 2012s, the u13s, u14s, yeah, trying to shape how they see the game is very important, but once it's shaped, you've got to be able to continue to push and push um.
Speaker 1:So that's awesome. Well, I mean, talk about you know transition a little bit here and let's talk about your experience. Uh so far, right, uh still ongoing. Uh with the u20 boys. Uh academy program with uh ozark united. What did you see from the response to tryouts and the level and then how this group that truly was a representation of our community at large from all corners and I'll let you talk about it, but we had players that were rivals for the majority of their playing career now coming together and getting the best talent in the same place, under the same badge and playing together and competing at really, really high levels.
Speaker 2:Yeah, same thing for you the experience. I don't really know where to start Because there's a lot to it. Think so, I guess try out like trials was man, the amount of like players that showed up, that was that was really awesome. And it you're seeing all these players and as a coaching staff you're like, oh man, like well, we gotta sort through these players you know, um, and that was a challenge in itself, but, like just all those letters coming out it, I think it showed.
Speaker 2:It showed something to the community right about this, almost this. I want to be a part of this. There's togetherness, so to speak, um, and while they may not think it at the time, like these players that you were saying, coming from different clubs in this area, together and they're playing, and not only just playing together, but they succeed together, right, and that's shown in what we've done in this fall season.
Speaker 1:Thank, you for joining us for this Stoppage Time special of the Pitch to Pro podcast. If you've enjoyed the conversation, you can click watch the full episode here. Be sure to tune in next Thursday for a new episode of the Pitch to Pro podcast, the official podcast of Ozark United FC, Available on YouTube, Instagram and everywhere you get your podcasts.