Welcome to the GP Soccer Podcast! (S14 E6)

                       Welcome to the GP Soccer Podcast!  (S14 E6)

Proud member of the Sports History Network and endorsed by the National                                                  Soccer Coaches Association of Canada.     

Host Giovanni Pacini welcomes his worldwide audience to yet another exciting show. Don't forget this season will feature World Cup "bonus content" throughout the season and beyond!

This week's "Conversation with the Coach" is with George Perry, Past-President and Senior National Staff Coach for United Soccer Coaches (Formally NSCAA). "Coaches Corner" features Eric Capone, where he talks about the damage done to players by coaches who yell and scream. "News and Analysis" will feature Giovanni Pacini and Ralph Ferrigno checks in with the European Soccer Report where he talks about the final European World Cup places being settled.  The "American Soccer Revolution" features an audio clip from CNBC where Landon Donovan talks about changing the youth and club landscape here in the US.

The GP Soccer Podcast features new shows every Wednesday and can be found anywhere you listen to your podcasts. Listeners are encouraged to "Like" and "Subscribe" the GP Soccer Podcast and share the show amongst those within their social media network! Those interested in advertising on the show can contact host Giovanni Pacini at gp4soccer@yahoo.com. And be sure to check out the show website at www.gpsoccerpodcast.com. 

                    GP Soccer Podcast enjoys continued support from-
United Goalkeeping Alliance - Music Meets Sports - National Soccer Coaches Association of Canada - The Sports History Network - Feedspot.com - GP Voice Over Services - Zone 14 Coaching

GP Soccer Podcast welcomes a new sponsor- Zone 14 Coaching! Check it out at Zone14coaching.com. Use promo code GP20 for 20% off!

To purchase a signed copy of Dr. Joe Machnik's book- "From the Sandlots to the World Cup: 7 Decades of American Soccer", e-mail "Dr. Joe" at joemachnik@no1soccercamps.com. Be sure to mention the GP Soccer Podcast!

Enjoy the show!

Transcript

SPEAKER_09 1:21

Well, hey there everyone. Giovanni Piccini here, your host of the GP Soccer Podcast. Welcome to all of you, my uh my global audience. Uh great to be with you uh behind the mic here talking about all things soccer. You know, it's always nice, and you know I do share these notes. It's always nice to get uh some never very nice feedback from uh many of you, my my great listeners, and I get a lot, which is really nice. And every so often I I like to share one or some. In this case, I'm gonna share just a couple of them. Um and it has to do with last week's show, uh particularly the conversation with the coach section, uh portion of the show, where I talked to uh Nico Calabria. Uh and Nico is uh member of the U.S. men's uh amputee national team. And I want to share a couple of uh uh emails that I got from folks who uh were really touched by Nico's story. So here we go. Dear Giovanni, I wanted to reach out and thank you for last week's episode featuring Nico Calabria. His story as a member of the U.S. men's uh amputee national team was both inspirational and deeply moving. The way he spoke about overcoming challenges and his commitment to soccer left a lasting impression on me. Your thoughtful questions really helped bring out the best in Nico, and I appreciate the platform you provide for such remarkable voices. Looking forward to more uplifting interviews. Best regards, Alex. Well, Alex, thank you very much for those very, very kind words. And a second one here from Morgan. Hi, Giovanni, or hello Giovanni. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your recent interview with Nico Calabria. Hearing him discuss his journey with the U.S. men's amputee national team was truly inspiring. Uh, the emotional depth and positivity he created resonated with me, and I found myself reflecting on his words long after the episode ended. I really appreciated how uh how you highlighted the importance of inclusivity in sports. Keep up the fantastic work on the GP Soccer Podcast. Sincerely, Morgan. Well, thank you for to both of you, Alex and Morgan, for those very, very kind words. Um indeed, uh it was a very, very inspirational story. And as I always say, if you did not catch that interview, then you can go back to last week's show and uh and and check it out. And uh uh I I would believe that like Alex and Morgan, he would you'll be inspired as well. So, here we go. Drum roll, please. I got tickets. Yes, I got World Cup tickets! I got World Cup tickets. Here's the story behind the story. As you all know, this debacle uh with with FIFA and uh, you know, uh and World Cup tickets, uh you know, you had to jump through hoops ten times over and you you go through this whole process, and there was no guarantee that you're ever going to get tickets, and most people got closed out like I did. Uh but there was a last window of opportunity that allowed people to eventually go back in and buy tickets. And it was a little bit different. It was basically the leftover tickets, and you know, uh unlike the previous uh uh efforts to get tickets, you didn't have to buy them. You you got you got what you got and you you paid whatever they were going for. So uh I, you know, I clicked on at 11 o'clock uh last last Wednesday, and I got into the quote-unquote queue, and uh basically just waited. And waited, and waited, and yes, you know how this goes, and I waited. Almost four and a half hours later, in the queue, it was my turn to get tickets. So up it came. You you picked the venue, and obviously I'm here in the Boston area, and I picked Boston Stadium, and uh the only game that was available, which was fine. I didn't care who I got, it was Iraq, Norway, uh, on June the 16th, I think it was. And the tickets were reasonable compared to what we've been seeing uh in pre you know previous um uh sales opportunities to buy these tickets. They were 500 bucks,$500 per ticket. So I got two of them. Myself and a friend of mine are going. Um so again, by comparison, the five bills wasn't that bad. It's the World Cup. It's the World Cup. I may never see another World Cup again in my life. So dropping 500 bucks to go see Iraq, Norway, I guess I was kind of thrilled. And what makes it even more cool or special, I got good seats. Like I got good seats. Um, you know, I'm in the first section on the corner of the field, 32 rows up. Um, you know, you're you're close to the field, and I know that I know that area pretty well because being a Bostonian and having been to Gillette Stadium a thousand times for a thousand different uh types of sporting events and concerts and that type of thing, I I know that section, I know quite where I was. So I was pretty happy. I was pretty happy that that I got tickets, and I'm, you know, so looking forward to it to going to the match because I had pretty much resigned myself, like a lot of people out there, like that that I said, I'm not going. Uh I I didn't get tickets. And even if I did get a ticket, I don't know if I would have spent the insane amount of money that was being asked. Um so I'm like, okay, that's fine. I I'll watch it from I'll watch it from my den and my big screen TV close to my refrigerator. I'll have it all well stocked with my favorite munchies and beverages and that type of thing. Maybe have some folks over. I was okay with all that. I really was. Um until I got these tickets. I'm like, okay, now I'm going. Now I'm gonna be I'm gonna be uh at uh Boston Stadium or Gillette Stadium, as we say in this neck of the woods, to see Iraq Norway. So that's good, that's gonna be great. You know, uh along the same lines here, I will share with you a recent quote uh from Johnny Infantino regarding the insanity regarding the cost. Um quote, if a$7,000 World Cup ticket is outside your budget, perhaps you should reconsider your life choices. Your financial situation is not FIFA's responsibility. Our pricing structure is perfectly reasonable. How many of you would just like to, and I'm not advocating advocating violence here, I would like to just slap Johnny Infantino upside the head. Uh, who's got$7,000 to drop on a ticket for anything? That is just uh obscene, that a quote. That was just so far removed from the realities of what people can afford to go to events like this. Or just to function as a human being, no matter where you live around the world, you know, we all we all have our own budgets and our homes, and we we try to do well. We pay our bills and and hopefully we have some money left over to go to some nice things, and sometimes it's just a local event, and sometimes it's the World Cup. Uh not everyone has the capacity to drop$7,000 on average, and as you all know, that some of those tickets are even more expensive. Uh well, some of us don't have that. A lot of us don't have that. Uh so for Infantino to say something like that is just the only word I can come up with is just absolutely obscene. Absolutely obscene. Um But lo and behold, uh I got some tickets, and yeah,$500 I think is a lot of money for something, but it is the World Cup. It is uh an event uh with the capital E there. Um and I'm glad I get to go and experience this year's World Cup. Today's show, today's show, today's show. Conversation with the coaches is with a longtime uh good friend and colleague of mine, George Perry. Uh George is a senior national staff coach and past president of United Soccer Coaches. And uh he and I are going to be talking at length about player and coach development. And we're also gonna talk about the uh the landscape in uh soccer landscape in Indiana where he uh he situates himself, uh, where he lives. So we'll have a nice conversation about all of that. Coach's corner. Listen, this is with a gentleman by the name of Eric Capone, C-A-P-O-N-E. He talks about the detrimental effects of screaming and yelling coaches. If you listen not one other portion of my show, and I hope you listen to the whole show, just take that one segment, it's just a few minutes from Eric Capone, and listen to him talk about the detrimental effects of screaming and yelling coaches. And I want to tell all of you out there who are involved in the game, particularly at the youth level, the club level, heck, at every level for that matter, but particularly at the youth club, high school, high school level, and even at the college level, the detrimental effects that you're having upon these young kids with you screaming and hollering does so much damage. So much damage. And it is so counterproductive in terms of uh the player's capacity to go out there and learn and experience and have fun and want to go back and do it again. And what it does, and you'll hear it in his audio here, how it instills fear. Fear in these young kids uh while they're out there playing soccer. And if you know someone in your organization that is a screamer and a yeller, just take that audio and play it over and over and over again. We've got to do a better job uh teaching the game to our to our uh our young players without screaming and yelling. I use this analogy all the time. Let's just start talking about a school setting, and you're often with a school setting. How would you like it if you if um, you know, we'll just very arbitrary here. Mr. Jones or Mrs. Jones, the math teacher at your local school, was screaming, Johnny, one plus one equals two! How come you can't get that? One plus one equals two. Would you accept that from a from a math teacher? Would you accept that from an educator? Well, of course you wouldn't. You'd march your behind right into the principal's office and you say, well, this Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jones is screaming at my child about, you know, one plus one equals two, or whatever the whatever the point happens to be in that particular day in school. You would not. You would not allow that. You would not accept that. But somehow, somehow, you want to be part of that that very same dynamic, screaming and hollering from the sideline when it's when your kids are out there playing soccer. So this is something that uh when I picked up on it, I had a said to myself, this has got to go in the show. And I have to spend an extra minute or two out uh uh behind the mic here and really encourage you, all of you, to play this and to change, alter this uh approach of screaming and uh and yelling at players. All right? Soccer news and analysis will be with yours truly, and it'll be the latest news from around the soccer world, the European Soccer Put with Ralph Rigno. The final European World Cup places have been settled in lots of drama, lots of drama, and I'm gonna get into a little bit of that drama in a minute or so. Uh the uh American Soccer Revolution. American Soccer Revolution is a portion of a CNBC interview with Landon Dunavin, where he talks about uh dramatically changing the youth and club soccer landscape here in the United States. Much like the other audio, I want you to take that audio and share it amongst those within your own respective soccer communities as well, because uh his message is as compelling as uh Mr. Capone's message regarding yelling and screaming. Checking boxes, checking boxes, checking boxes. We're gonna check just one box today. Checking one box. And uh it has to do with what happened to Italy. Now, if you picked up Corriere dello Sport, you picked up La Gazzetta dello Sport, you would see a headline that says, Tuttia casa, everyone go home. And uh indeed, uh Italy, once again, for the third time, is is going home. So I wanted to spend but a minute uh and do a little bit of an analysis, if you will, of what the heck is going on in Italy. And I happen to be very fortunate to have some friends and colleagues who work in the game in Italy, and I reach out to them like, you know, what is going on? And I and I kind of knew you know following following Italian soccer as I do, but I wanted to get it from those who are really, you know, you know, on the ground, so to speak. Um this has been a pretty dramatic fall uh for Italy, being a global football superpower to missing, my goodness, I can't even say this, three straight World Cups. Um, you know, I'll talk about this decline. It's not a sudden collapse. This is just something that didn't happen overnight. But it's a result of some very significant uh elements that have taken place. The structural, economic, cultural, and developmental failures that have been going on since arguably the mid-2000s, if not before. Uh and if you're a follower, a fan of Italian soccer, you know, Italy once set the standards for tactics. They really did. Defending, and they had elite talent. Now, today, Syria struggles financially. Youth development has certainly stalled, and the modern football trends have really passed Italy by, which is astonishing for me to say. And the national team, the national team no longer produces enough top-level players to compete. And we saw that. We saw that, particularly in the last game again against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Um, you know, they they just were not of, they didn't, they weren't worthy of going into the World Cup. Um did you know, and I didn't know this until I started doing a little bit of additional research for all of this, Italy's cricket team, cricket, has won as many World Cup matches as the as the national team, the soccer national team has since since 2006. Cricket. And as, you know, as we now know, they because of all that, not because of all that, but Italy has missed its third consecutive World Cup was something that it was once, I can say it is in Italian America, it was unimaginable. Uh now, you know, going back, I guess you'd call it the golden era, Syria, I mean, it was once the center of world soccer, world football. It's something some of the players that were involved during that era. Yeah, Ronaldo, Zidane, Battistuto, Maldini, these were these are world-class, amazing, high-level, high-profile players uh that once graced um Grace Sydney, amongst others. Um, but the success in that golden era is relied on wealthy owners. Silvio Berlusconi comes to mind right off the bat. And it's not sustainable for club models. Not every club has a Silvio Berlusconi or a millionaire, a billionaire who can sustain a club and buy the necessary players to play at a high level. Um in the 1990s, that era, you know, is when scandals, the scandals uh and economic downturns hit hit, and uh a lot of clubs collapsed from all of that. Um, in 2006, uh we had Calciopoli Calciopoli, uh, which was a match fixing scandal that destroyed the trust, and it really did a number in terms of destabilization of the major clubs. Now, and if you compare that, if you look around the rest of Europe, meanwhile, you know, the Premier League, the Premier League in particular, modernized commercially uh while Italy, they just stagnated and and were caught in the in the midst and the grips of all these these crises. Uh and the Italians were were heck, they were guilty of um they would they failed to adapt to modern soccer, to modern football. The the academies, the Italian academies emphasized defensive structure, not the high pressing, possession style base that took over after, well, for example, Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. He was the forerunner of all of this. And uh, you know, i in those heydays, we had a classic Italian roller called Trequartista, which is the three-quarter players. And basically, the Trequartista was the player who kind of sat between the front block and the midfield block, and that was an open area for for great creative players to really, really do their thing, do their magic, uh, and still be close enough to goal to be uh you know have an attacking uh attacking presence. And as you might expect, because of all of that, production of elite strikers, they they really slowed dramatically. Now, how about youth developments? Uh there were problems there well, there as well. Kids now, you know, but you would think this is, I'm gonna say something about here at the United States, but kids now enter the pay-to-play academies instead of free community football, which was the norm for generations. And clubs, heck, they prefer cheap foreign prospects over expensive Italian youth. Again, let's go back. If you're not Silvia Bellusconi, you're not a millionaire billionaire, where you can spend a lot of money for quality players or really spend a lot of money on developing Italian players, well, then you gotta do the more uh inexpensive route or the cheaper route where you get the foreign prospects. Um you do that, when the clubs go after the cheap foreign prospects and they bring these kids in and they develop them, guess where they go when it's you know when it's tournament time, when it's international tournament time, they go back to their national teams. So in essence, what's happening, the Italian clubs find these kids in their backyard, develop them, and then they go back to another country and then you put them all together and they end up being Bosnia and Herzegovina and they beat the Italian national team. Um, you know, uh when Italians do break out, you know, they they they often leave City Adam Italy. When I say breaking out, you know, players who are young and then they develop and they can go on and play at a high level, they're not hanging around Italy. They're gonna go to the higher profile clubs, uh, clubs, higher profile uh leagues like the Premier League, like the Premier League. Um and we're gonna talk about the lack of diversity. And there are these significant unresolved social issues. Italian youth team showed um, you know, youth teams showed diversity, but the senior level team, generally speaking, doesn't. Uh does not. Uh, there's been racism and cultural resistance has hindered uh integration of players like like Balotelli comes to mind right off the bat. Um and other nations, other countries like France or Germany and England, I mean, they they they benefit from from broader uh talent pools. And you know, I and I guess, you know, to kind of wrap it up, Italy's been caught uh in its old defensive identity and a modern style, just it hasn't it hasn't fully embraced it. It hasn't gone with the rest of the big boys and you know, uh bring their game to a level where they can compete along with with with other nations as well. Um and you know, stop and think about this, everything I've talked about here. There's a whole generation of people, particularly young people, who have never seen Italy at a World Cup. Think about that. Now I'm old enough, I'm old, well old enough to have seen the majority of my life. Italy was a no-brainer. Italy was a no-brainer, like you know, Brazil was a no-brainer, or Germany was a no-brainer, England was a no-brainer. Uh, you saw them in the World Cup. Having been, you know, eliminated from three straight World Cups, there's a whole generation of people who have never seen Italy in a World Cup and don't really understand what that really is uh all about. Um so you know, when you talk about all of this, and I heck I didn't really mention talk about the outdated structures, the stadiums, um, they're falling apart as as well, which is one of the contributing factors why a lot of these high-level players, when they want to go someplace, they don't want to go play in a dilapidated stadium. They go someplace else. Uh again, that goes back to, you know, having the appropriate funds necessary in the club to uh to build and to grow and to modernize your infrastructure. Uh the modernization has been slow. There's weak youth pathways, uh, cultural barriers, economic stagnation. Oh my goodness gracious, me, you put it all together. Um there are some serious, serious issues that are taking place in Italy right now, and this is not this is not a quick fix. This is not a quick fix. This is going to take quite some time. Um and the powers that be in Italy are going to have to take a real step back and take a look at all of this and take the appropriate measures necessary to rebuild soccer literally from the ground up, from the youth level all the way up to its full international side, and invest literally and figuratively in the mechanisms necessary and the recent have the resources necessary so that we don't we don't see this again. We don't see this again. Um and we uh we we have future generations of of people once and for all seeing Italy in the world. Cup So there you have it. Uh one checking box, but it was a big uh box that I wanted to check. That's the opening block here of the GP Soccer Podcast. Uh, Giovanni Piccini here. Uh we're gonna pray for a couple of commercial messages, and when we get back, we're gonna you're gonna enjoy the conversation uh with the coach, that being George Perry. Don't you dare go anywhere. Youth soccer has changed. Expectations are higher, but systems haven't kept up. Coaches juggle endless tasks, players chase progress they can't measure, and clubs struggle to create consistency across teams. Zone 14 Coaching was built for this moment. A company built by coaches for coaches, Zone 14 coaching next generation journals of coaches and players helped plan air. Every practice, reflect on what worked, and track progress all season long. Built on intentional coaching and backed by neuroscience, Zone 14 coaching brings structure and purpose to your training. The founders of Zone 14 Coaching watched in awe as some of the game's best tacticians and mentors spent every precious moment with a simple pen and paper, meticulously sketching, writing, and planning in a journal. 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SPEAKER_04 23:16

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SPEAKER_06 24:04

Hi, this is Thomas Rungan from CBS Sports and Bean Sports USA. Welcome to the GP Soccer Podcast with host Giovanni Hudson.

SPEAKER_09 24:48

And welcome to the GP Stalker Podcast Conversation with the Coach. You know, one of the great things about doing this show is I got a chance to sit down with some great friends and great colleagues in the game. We talk about all things soccer. And what makes it even more terrific is that these conversations I get to share with you, my listening audience. And today is one of those days where I got a real special guest, a real special friend that has been involved in the game for many, many years, and someone who I have always looked up to as a great mentor, a terrific role model, and a true professional in the game. And our guest today in conversation with a coach here in the GP Soccer Podcast is George Perry. And George is the director of competition with the Indiana Soccer Association. He is the commissioner of the Indiana Soccer League, and he's the Indiana Cups director, and he's the past president of the then National Soccer Coaches Association of America and current uh United Soccer Coaches. So, George Perry, with all that said, welcome to the GP Soccer Podcast Conversation with the coach.

SPEAKER_05 25:57

Thank you very much, Giovanni. I'm really excited to just spend some time chatting with you.

SPEAKER_09 26:03

One of those times, George, where you and I chatted uh about soccer over coffee or at uh working a course together. So today we just record it and share with a with a global audience. So here's where I'd like to start, George. We'll go back a little ways. I'm always curious, and I'll be a little bit selfish here when I and my audience knows this. Let's go back in time. Let's go back in time in terms of your life. Where did you grow up? Uh where did you begin playing soccer? Were you always a soccer player involved in the game? Uh kind of take us up, you know, uh to where you are uh you know when you started to become a a soccer professional.

SPEAKER_05 26:36

Well, back in uh 1955, I was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, actually. Um throughout about the first 10 years of my life, my family moved uh from New Jersey to Michigan, from Michigan to Texas, and then Texas to Illinois. Uh my dad kept being asked to open up a new plant for the old Ditto company, and then I kept finding where they moved to, so I caught up with them each time. Um but uh um, you know, I had not really known anything about about our game, our soccer game, until we moved to uh Chicago, uh, where I started playing it uh when I was in uh uh in elementary and junior high.

SPEAKER_09 27:19

And it was in as you as you grew up, you know, did you participate in soccer? Were there other sports you were involved with um as as you as you uh as you were growing up?

SPEAKER_05 27:30

Well, uh yes. I I you know, like I said, I was first introduced to it uh uh pretty much at the junior high level, but I played basketball, I did gymnastics, I did wrestling. That uh didn't last too long because I kept seeing the ceiling all the time. Um But um you know I played a lot of sports uh in middle school. Uh in high school, I I uh I played through my I played my freshman year, um, basketball and and and there and something between basketball and parry you horse's ass from my coach at the time. Uh I kind of gave up the soccer side of things, but uh or the the basketball side of things, but just went full in with soccer from that point on. And uh it's been the the love of my life ever since my my sophomore high school coach, a guy named by the name of Ihor Kutinsky, uh crazy Ukrainian, uh just uh made it so much fun and uh passionate, and we still talk pretty much every other week uh to this day.

SPEAKER_09 28:32

And I'm curious, yeah, regarding you know, your path and your journey uh into coaching soccer. Was it an aha moment? This is what I want to do, I want to coach this game soccer, or was it something that kind of happened kind of organically on its own? Which which direction did you take regarding ultimately coaching the game of soccer?

SPEAKER_05 28:51

Yeah, uh, you know, I'd say for the first part, high school and uh and even into college, starting in the college, um my goal was to be a pro soccer player. That was it. I didn't really go to school initially for for academics too much, but I certainly learned the value of it and uh and took advantage of it because I uh um you know we were a very successful high school team. I played for a men's uh club team, Ukrainian team, while I was in Chicago, thanks to Eever, um, which it interestingly enough, if you look through uh club team in uh Wikipedia, there are seven or eight players that actually had had had capped for the U.S. national team at one time. And I was just a young kid. I I still say today I think I think the league had a uh a mandate that you had to have at least one American kid on the team, and I was the token American on the team, but it was quite an experience for me. Um I went to a school in Alabama first, um, recruited by a Ukrainian soccer coach. Uh, didn't like that as much, and eventually found my way to Indiana University, which is where I started to get the bug about coaching, because we did a lot of um player clinics throughout the year to help grow the game in Bloomington, Indiana. Um, so I kind of got hooked on to that. One of the assistant coaches, Don Rawson, got me involved with um a boys and girls club coaching with young kids, which I really enjoyed as well. And um between my senior year and and or my last year playing, I should say, um, and and my uh years as an assistant coach with the men's team there, I also coached the women's club team. And there I knew it was good. Um I did have a tryout with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the old NASL. And I think I was on the field for about 10 minutes with the likes of Rodney Marsh and Derek Smethurst, which were certainly in their, you know, their their later days of their playing, but I think I was on the field for about 10 minutes when I said, uh, George, you're not going to be good enough to make a living out of this. So you better go home, finish up your degree, and uh and and see what you can do with with coaching. And uh I was able to sign for an old ASL team, the first pro team, outdoor pro team in Indiana, the Indianapolis Daredevils, which was fun to do for a couple seasons, but again, wasn't good enough to keep after the playing time and was starting to uh do that, plus got married and uh uh to my wife Ellen, uh, who we are still fortunately still married, uh working on 46 years now, and um just uh you know really that solidified the coaching side of it for me.

SPEAKER_09 31:28

It it's uh it's pretty amazing when reality sets in. And you say to yourself, uh, you know, I've got bills to pay. And uh playing the game isn't quite going to pay those bills, so I think I I I should I should get serious. I followed a very similar path going back a number of years as well, and trying to try to uh make my way through uh here in New England with any old New England team and uh you know had a short stint and trying to get into the major indoor soccer league. None of it worked. And uh again, reality reality set in. So you you land in Indiana and share with my audience the the uh soccer landscape in Indiana. I think if you're from the United States of America and you just say Indiana, you know, Hoosiers comes to mind, basketball comes to mind. However, and I'm preaching to the choir here, George, Indiana's got a pretty vibrant soccer community. So share with my audience that the Indiana soccer landscape, if you will.

SPEAKER_05 32:18

No, it is it is. It's a it's it's uh, I think an unknown gem, not just the the university, obviously, but uh just the game itself around the state. Uh we have uh, you know, I grew up in a traditional uh kind of European club in Chicago with the with the Lions Club, a Ukrainian soccer club, and there's a Fort Wayne Sport Club, which kind of is one of the few places around. And not too many clubs in the country have a kind of a birth-to-death pathway. And I don't mean that in a negative way or a sad way, but just taking kids in at their youngest ages, and then there's still a place to play in that same club through through the uh uh through the rest of your life or be a part of it. Uh, but fortunately with uh with Indiana University, you know, and I I played for Jerry Yagley, um, who's uh you know a legend uh in our game in terms of what he's done for us and everything like that, is um it was just a a tremendous opportunity uh to be exposed with him and the and the quality of people that he brought in, the head coaches, the assistant coaches, excuse me, um, as well as all the players in the years. And I I still stay very much in touch with he and his and Meryl and his wife and and the and the whole family, and Todd Yagley, his son, is is the current coach that we're right now. Um IU has a very interesting statistic, I think, in terms of talking about tradition and and and just the way it's made up, is that in now 51 varsity years or starting the 52nd varsity year, they have had exactly three head coaches and exactly three head athletic trainers in all of that time, which talks about tradition and and you know carrying things on and and and passing on the torch so much from time to time. And uh and there hasn't been a single paid assistant coach at IU that didn't actually play for IU at one time or another. At least that's the case today, right now. So you learn a lot, excuse me, you learn a lot about tradition, you learn a lot about you know kind of taking pride in the badge, pride in the uniform, uh, and things along those lines. And it's uh it certainly is something for people to try to replicate. And it's been fun to see how other programs around the state, uh Butler University, Notre Dame, all that kind of stuff, have really grown like crazy with it. Uh Purdue on the women's side, although being an IU guy, I don't want to say too much nice about Purdue, but uh um until they get a men's varsity program, I'm gonna say they're not quite in the same category, but uh I have watched their women's team grow tremendously. And just all the other universities in the state that just do a really nice job with um providing an opportunity for for kids to continue in the sport they love and uh and to you know gain a good education.

SPEAKER_09 34:59

You know, as you talk about IU as you do, I I I think here in New England, maybe not at the of the same level of IU, but UConn, particularly during the during the days of Joe Moroney, who, you know, if you're if you're familiar with you know college soccer, uh particularly of that era, Joe Moroney is you know is is of a legendary status as well. And so yeah, I I I can you know it resonates uh when you talk about IU and Jerry Yagley and the Yagley family being such an integral part of you know that institution. The same thing can be said for for Joe and uh at UConn.

SPEAKER_05 35:29

So I I agree. Fortunate enough that uh when I was an assistant at IU, we played at Connecticut, so I was there, and then when I coached at St. Bonaventure University, I took my team up there, and uh Joe was actually uh one of the presidents that I was on the board of directors uh serving under uh in my time with the NSCA. So uh got to see his work firsthand. And you're right, he is an absolute legend of our game, no doubt about it.

SPEAKER_09 35:56

You know, he he was the one of the first coaches, maybe in any sport, I could be very wrong here, George, to create not just a soccer team, but a program. Um it wasn't just you know from August to you know late November, and then you kind of hang things up and then you see you guys maybe in the spring. He he put together an absolute program that um went beyond the campus geographically, but got into the community. And then went beyond the community into pretty much all of New England. I mean, I I I can speak for myself. I would travel, you know, from where I live in the Boston area down to Yukon to see Yukon soccer matches. Um it's an amazing thing to be able to accomplish where you you can take something that's you know just from your own little community and have it be something so expansive that that it goes well beyond uh the confines of a campus.

SPEAKER_05 36:42

Um well and and another piece that I don't know, I don't know if other people have ever replicated or tried to. I don't know if you can replicate what Joe Moroni has done. But what was very unique about him is that after you played the played them, um you went into some facility or under a big tent or whatever, and you actually ate a meal with his team. And so it was like bringing all the kids, all the players together so that way, you know, and and you would it well, I don't think it was organized that you sat, you know, you know, UConn IU, UConn IU, or UConn St. Bonaventure, whatever, you know, every other person. But it was just a great opportunity to realize that competition is one thing, but then the soccer family is another thing. And uh, and and to your point, I've been fortunate to grow up in a soccer family at IU, but I I'm sure UConn, and I'm sure there's other people I'm just not familiar with that have done this, but but Joe was certainly a pioneer in in that area.

SPEAKER_09 37:37

Indeed. Let's shift gears, George. Um focus on some of the work you're doing in Indiana. So as as a director of competition for Indiana Soccer League, and um what are some of your main responsibilities and and um you know how do you ensure things like you know fair play and sportsmanship uh uh across the league?

SPEAKER_05 37:56

Sure. Well, uh one of the unique things about Indiana, and I really got started with the league while I was still coaching at uh at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, not too far from Indianapolis. And uh Don Rosson, who was in charge of uh Indiana soccer at the time, again, the name back from when I was uh playing at IU, uh got me together to help organize and design what a statewide league would be uh for higher level competition within the state. So we developed kind of a premiere and a first division uh level of play. It was kind of a promotion relegation league that we did, and uh wasn't able to kind of be the commissioner of that because it wasn't really a full-time position at the time. So I kind of just helped with the design of this piece. But then a few years later, um a lot of the regional leagues within the state of Indiana looked to the state to see if they could help take over because they were all volunteer people and the state association was was, you know, had full-time staff, not a lot, but had a full-time staff, and that's where the opportunity for this uh commissioner's position opened up to where by adding all these other teams, there was the ability to um uh to develop a commissioner's role that would be a full-time position. They reached out to me for that one, and that's that's when I made that that move, you know, um, in 2012 uh to join Indiana Soccer again. I'd actually been there previously as the um boys director of coaching education um and did some ODP work, but um you know that didn't that lasted a few years and then um decided to get back into college coaching again, or coaching in general again, um, then came back in. So it's it's been it's been a unique opportunity to see see it grow. Um we have now um you know uh eight, uh seven, eight, nine, ten year old leagues that we play. There's no standings, there's no scores kept, uh, but we try to keep kids within a reasonable travel distance of each other so they can they can create some um some competition and give kids a different opportunity that's a little bit above you know what the recreational or select, which we which is rec plus, but we call it select here in Indiana, is and then we when you get up to the first and premier divisions, it's it's a direct promotion and relegation uh type division. And our top two teams out of our ISL Premier, which is the highest division that we have, um, are offered the opportunity to play in the in the regional league. And we are a US Y you know organization, so it's within that. And that landscape is in the in the process of being changed right now about kind of bringing some of the competitions between US YS and US Club together, which I think is great. I'll be interested to see how it really unfolds. It'll take a few years, I'm sure, of growing pains to really iron it out, but it's nice to see that we're kind of heading back to a singular pathway as opposed to 19 different pathways, which which seems to be happening sometimes.

SPEAKER_09 41:04

Or we we call the uh alphabet soup of organizations uh that uh you know that the United States is is is known for. Um, but that's a conversation for another day. Absolutely. Tying in your all the roles that I I I spoke about at the outset, um, you know, regarding your resume, that type of thing, uh, I'm curious uh how has you, soccer in Indiana, evolved during your tenant, given all the hats that that you have worn and and and and what role have these organizations played in in that overall evolution?

SPEAKER_05 41:37

Well, first of all, when when my role was designed, it was uh the people that were working here, Steve Franklin and uh and Dave Guthrie, our executary our executive director, and Steve is the is the director of coaching development with with Indiana Soccer. Um I had a meeting with all the club DLCs or a lot of the club DLCs around the around the state, and they were talking about creating this position because that's what they wanted. They wanted something that would be full-time, and they wanted a soccer person, but who could also help administrate uh types of things. And somewhere in the conversation my name came up, so that's when they reached out to me uh in in in early 2012 to see if I'd be interested in leaving uh leaving the college game. I was at Monmouth College at that time in Indiana, not the one out there on the East Coast of uh Mammoth University, but uh Mammoth College uh there in uh Illinois. And uh so it was it was it was that was this kind of the start of things, but the whole idea was to try to bring everybody so most teams in the club could register through one through one avenue for the most part. Um we try to create as equitable a competition level as we possibly can. Um, we allow the clubs to select in the youngest age groups and in in terms of what division are they in the the highest division, the middle division, or the quote unquote lower division. And that's not a negative thing, it's just kind of where they are competition-wise. And they can have the ability to move themselves around a little bit so they can come up with equitable games. And it's it's really been my thing with those age groups, is I'd like to see if we can find as many games end up with a you know a zero, one, two, or three goal margin in every game. You know, and with the youngest kids, I wouldn't care if that was you know 10 to 11 or you know, uh 10 to 10 or something like that, because then that would be a good competition uh as far as that's concerned. And that's what we really really try to. And then as we move up into the 13s and over, now it really comes to results on the field, how they do, how they do, and um who's you know able to come to move up. And we we kind of have a requirement of uh well, at one time it was fifty percent, now it's sixty percent that you know from season to season you must retain uh that level of your roster in order to, you know. Move where the promotion or relegation would would put you in that sense. So we've worked pretty hard at doing that. Matter of fact, next weekend we have our annual AGM and we have a directors of coaching meeting on that Friday night and we review all this stuff. I certainly have the ability in my role to, I guess, mandate certain policies, but I really try to do that, especially if there's any change in things, to um uh run it through them and to go by their um their wishes for the most part. And if it's something that I really believe in, you know, I I kind of I don't know if it's argue my point or just discuss my point. Uh there's only been one or two times where I've really been voted down on something. Um and really, in both cases, um, when they gave me their reasons for voting down on it, those that did, um, it made sense to me. It's something I hadn't you know thought about. And that's why uh trying to make it as collaborative as possible, um, we try to do.

SPEAKER_09 45:06

I'm curious. Um, you know, kids these days, George, have a variety of things that they they can get involved with. And you know, we're talking soccer here, but there's football, basketball, baseball, hockey, lacrosse. Um having now watched the Olympics, I mean goodness, there's there's a number of other things that kids can get involved with. Do you face any challenges, George, despite the wonderful organization that you have and all of the initiatives that you you've out you've uh you've explained here where you just kids aren't um soccer's just one of the things they do. Maybe they play soccer, maybe they do play basketball, since it's you know basketball is a you know kind of in the Indiana DNA. Are there any challenges in in that regard?

SPEAKER_05 45:43

Absolutely, absolutely. And and actually, I'm I'm almost afraid that we've created uh a problem in our own soccer community and the fact that we're almost requiring these kids to be playing 12 months out of the year in organized soccer, right? I grew up playing for a park district. You didn't even have youth clubs in my day in Chicago. You played for, I played for the Womet Park District, and you played a fall season, you played a spring season. But if you were to play in the winter, you were to play in the summer, that was you getting together with some friends. And I can remember me and my friend sneaking into the gym in the in the high school. We got to know the right janitor, so bring them a few gifts here and there, and uh they'd let us in the gym and and and play, but it wasn't organized by adults and things like that. And fortunately, right now, you know, everything is so structured that these kids almost never get a break. And I I think that would certainly show evidence in some of the injuries, especially recurring injuries that we get with some of our kids. So sometimes playing multiple sports would be a good thing. And I think playing all the sports I did helped me become a very strong mental player. I knew the game, I learned the game well, I knew how to play it, I knew how to, I was a certainly a leader as a player, uh, and and things along those lines. And it certainly helped me uh as a player because it could overcome my lack of speed or lack of quickness, quickness, whatever it might be, in that situation. Um I see it mostly in Indiana in rural communities when you know you they need to have all these kids playing in some of these other sports, otherwise they don't have those sports. Um, and so it is um um imperative that they they do go from there and they work on some different things. But I I know that there's been some holdouts that say, no, I'm gonna I'm not gonna play at this highest level because you required me to play 12 months out of the year, I'm not going to do that. But I still see those kids still go on to a higher level play as they get older. And I think a lot of it could be their they're fresh physically and they're fresh mentally.

SPEAKER_09 47:48

Boy, George, you struck a chord with me and uh those folks who listen to my uh my show on a regular basis know pretty much know what I'm about to say. Um and that is the importance of unstructured free play, getting out there with your friends and just playing pickup soccer or sandlot baseball or whatever the case may be. Um I just did a um an interview with the National Soccer Coaches Association of Canada, and I talked about this extensively, the importance of unstructured free play and then tying it into uh coaching with a street soccer mentality, which can be done. Given your wonderful experience, share with my audience, elaborate, if you will, about the importance of unstructured free play, the importance of getting out there with your with your friends and playing pick up, pick-up, whatever, fill in the blank.

SPEAKER_05 48:40

Yeah, no, no qu no doubt about it. Uh one of the one of the things that was added to the state of Indiana was actually uh a park called Grand Park up in Westfield, Indiana, which has um, I think, 34 full-size fields. And they use it for more sports than just soccer, but predominantly that's the main sport that's being done on it. Three of them are three full-size indoor fields, uh, seven outdoor turf fields, and the rest are all, you know, beautiful grass fields. Uh when it was first being built for the indoor facility, Indiana soccer managed, or uh at least a uh uh um a portion of Indiana soccer managed the indoor facility. And they wanted me to do a league in the wintertime, and I refused to do a league in the wintertime under the normal uh circumstances of what a league would be, meaning Club A would have a team playing in the fall, playing in the winter, playing in the spring, and I'd say, you know, well, you can do that as long as there can't be any more than three kids from any one club on the same team, hoping that kids from their neighborhood would get together and play. Um didn't especially work out, but we didn't have a winter league uh for Souls, because I did argue these kids need a break from that type of situation. So I think it's it's really important that we do that kind of stuff. When I one of my ventures between when I first came on as director of coaching in Indiana way back when, and then went on and was a teacher at a private school up in Fort Wayne, um, it was uh Canterbury School, um, they only allowed us to do in the mid in the middle school where I taught, and I ran the middle school program fifth through uh eighth grade, uh, they would only allow us to get together two days a week that they had to have the other days off, whether they did another sport, whether they just, you know, had fun, did something different. But I did get them, talk them into doing a Friday skills day, and I promised that whoever attended didn't have any bearing on whether or not they played in the games or not that they had. Um, but it was just we had from third graders up through the eighth graders that would just show up and we would just do little games, everything would finish up with playing 4v4, um, let them pick their teams, all that kind of stuff. And I wasn't saying that the third graders were playing with the eighth graders, but you know, there was a little bit of variety based on their skill level and all that kind of stuff. Um, and being smaller-sided games, you know, the physicality of it was not as impactful as it would be on a bigger field. And it kind of kept growing because the kids really had a good time playing with other kids, um, playing with other genders. We didn't, it wasn't a boys here and girls here. They just kind of all played based on their level, their their ability levels. And uh, and and it was a lot of fun to do that, and I really saw the value of that. I mean, I grew up that way. Um, I don't know if there was a day that me and my near friends in the game weren't doing something underneath a street light um at our at our high school or our junior high, excuse me, that was closest to our house. Uh, but we'd always do stuff, we'd play little games, and they would be technical challenges, skill games, or one-on-ones, two-on-twos, whatever it was. And that's where, at least for me, that's where I really developed the love for this game and and the friendships that grew out of that, you know, are still very important to me.

SPEAKER_09 51:59

And and let's not forget, you know, the you know, the the situations where kids get together, like we'll just stick with soccer. They get together to play some pickup soccer, and there's there's seven kids, it's an odd number. Well, how do we sort out the odd number? And uh, you know, we've we've got you know, some kids are a little bit bigger, a little bit smaller. How do we sort that out? And uh what are the rules? And um and all these things that the kids have to kind of sort out. They have to talk to one another, they have to problem solve. Uh, they have to, this conflict resolution, you know, little Johnny's, you know, the smaller kid in the group and he gets walloped by Billy, who's a little bit bigger, and there's a follow-up. How do we sort all that stuff out? Um all those things that are so very important, reg relative or specific to human development are sadly, sadly lost because of what we're talking about now, very, very few kids going out there just playing, playing a pickup sport, a pickup activity, or we more commonly refer to as unstructured free play. Um it's uh an issue.

SPEAKER_05 53:00

Yeah, or early in my coaching days when I was and I was a firm believer, Coach Aggley was a firm believer in coaching education, and he sent all of his staff out to take all the accreditations that they could take and stuff like that, and and then come back and share it with them. And I can remember doing my the I think it was the second uh national youth license that that was offered. And this was under Dr. Tom Fleck and Ron Quinn, Dave Carr, and a few others that were the main instructors with that. And I can remember when they brought in like uh you know a whole slew of six, seven, eight girls, there might have been 50 of those kids lined up, and you literally counted them off, you know, one through eight, and just sent them to a you sent them someplace with four cones and a soccer ball and said, organize and play, right? And so they did that, and I think it took from the from the the time that the last group was sent over to the last moment that the last group started playing, they stopped it, and it was like 15, 16 minutes that it took for that to happen. And but we stopped the game as soon as that last game got started. We brought them, they brought, they brought all the kids back over, lined them up again, and they said, now, how much play time do you get? Some of them said, not much. We go, well, let's see if you can do it better. And again, reorganized them. This is different groups of kids. We had them in different orders, um, and they put them in groups of eight or something like that, to your point of seven aside. They even had that and sorted that out themselves. That's the way uh seven to a team or to a field. And like the next time, the from the from when we sent the last kid off to the last time the game the game got started, um, it was like three and a half minutes. I mean, they figured it out, they made their play teams, and then again to that point about even teams, not teams, we would see teams, they would start playing, the score would be going one way, and they would stop the game themselves and swap some players around, right? And that's that's what we've always done in pick up play, whether it's basketball or soccer or whatever, whatever team sport it is. Um, and that was such a great learning tool for me. I I really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_09 55:14

You mentioned uh the importance of coaching education. We'll kind of shift gears a little bit um given the fact you're past president of the NSCAA and United Soccer coaches. Um for the sake of our audience out there, and I have a global audience, and um, in the heck, there are even some people here in the United States that may not be familiar with the NSCAA and now United Soccer Coaches, they may be familiar with you know U.S. soccer. Um, talk to my audience about those two entities, U.S. soccer and the now uh United Soccer coaches and and the types of things that um those organizations offer in terms of coaching education.

SPEAKER_05 55:48

Sure. Well, I I in in my growing education, Coach Eggley sent me through all the Federation stuff, the C, the B, and the A, because the NSCA in my day, academy courses were not were not available, didn't have the academy yet. Um I was fortunate enough he sent me to or he took me to the um NSCA coaches convention in Chicago, and that was either in, I think that was '83 or something like that, um, somewhere along that. Don't quote me on that one. But um I went there and I happened to be in the meeting when the NSCA decided they were going to create their own coaching education program um apart from the Federation because of the playing requirements in those days and the Federation had. I mean, I had to run a Cooper test when I took my C license, two miles and 12 minutes. Right? Fortunately, I was still a college player at the time, so I could do it. Um I don't think I could do that these days. Um not even on my bike, probably, but um uh but you know, there was such that playing requirement. I can remember playing in games in all of my courses, and they gave you a grade on how you played. Um I could certainly understand it more if they would stop the game and say, hey, tactically, what would you do here? Technically, what would you fix here, and all that kind of stuff to have you make decisions based on you know what was what was offered. Um that wasn't that wasn't the case. So that's how the NSCA Academy got started way back when. And so there was really no playing player requirement and stuff like that. Participation was encouraged because learning comes from participation, plus it also didn't force them to try to find you know players for all their courses uh that were that were that were week-long courses in those days that that you did. And uh and that was under the direction of Jim Lennox, our first director of coaching education, who you know unfortunately I'm still friends with, um, even even though we butted heads with Hartwick versus Indiana back in my college playing days, um, he still talks to me. So it's it's it's all good. But but uh learned learn just for minutes about about coaching education um and education in general uh from from Jim and everyone he was connected with. So um it's been an important part of uh of what our association, when the association really developed to that point, that was one of the primary areas was is for the NSCA to help promote coaching education uh throughout our country.

SPEAKER_09 58:12

And you know, one of the things that attracted me to the then NSCA, I'm going back a num a number of years, I won't say how many years, um, was the fact that um you know they didn't care whether you know you had a you know an extraordinary playing background, like oh I you know, I I played professional soccer here or there. Um you just you just taught the game. And everyone was important. Everyone uh who got involved in an NSCA or United Soccer Coaches uh coaching education course came in and the sole, the goal for the staff and the goal of those who participated was I just want to be better by the end of the course, at the end of the weekend, or the end of the week. Uh because at the end of the day, George, and I'm preaching the choir here, all these folks are going back to their respective communities and they're gonna teach the game. So I I I was always attracted to the fact that this organization, the NSCAA, when I got involved, you know, took that seriously, and they were committed to every single person, every single person who's on the course because, heck, that person is gonna go back to uh you know their community um and and and teach the game of soccer. Um share with my audience a little bit, kind of staying on that on this track of coaching education, the importance of taking a course. There's a lot of people, and I'm sure you know this as well as anybody, oh, you know, I I played the game and I know the game, or the other one I hear quite often, oh, I'm just a volunteer, I don't have to take a course. Share with my audience the importance of getting some education if you take on the care and concern of children to teach this great game of soccer.

SPEAKER_05 59:39

Sure. Well, you know, what again, one of the things that, you know, we were slightly different from the Federation's courses to the NSA courses is that we never let people bypass a level of our course, of our courses, because um, even if you were a pro player, I mean, some of them, some of them obviously look internationally and even at the highest levels, um, they have they're tremendous, they've been tremendous managers. But there's an awful lot of those players, those people that have played at a very high level that can't teach the basics because it comes so natural to them, they don't know how to break it down so much. Yet that's what coaching education does. It helps breaks it down. I think we've gone away from that, unfortunately, both the Federation courses, which I do help teach here in the state of Indiana with Steve, um, but also with the uh with the United Soccer coaches, is you know, we've we've gone away from the mechanics and the principles of play a little bit, and I'm hoping those are starting to come back again in terms of what we do, and it's so important. And what I learned at these courses, and I uh one of my first year or two that I was on the Academy staff, we actually had two gentlemen that were wheelchair bound from birth, from what I understand if I remember correctly. Um, and yet they could coach like no other. So it wasn't about being able to demonstrate. Um, it wasn't be it wasn't about, you know, I was able to play at such a high level. But these guys had a passion for kids. Um, they've obviously, through their own personal experiences, learned how to kind of paint a picture other than doing the demonstration themselves, whether it was finding other people, the way they use the words, the language they incorporated, the way they would challenge people to, you know, to be to reach to be their best as they can. I learned an awful lot from from the from those gentlemen in terms of going through, and I always try to keep that in in my mind when when I'm doing things with either instructing at a course or just working with a group of kids in terms of of what we do. And so um I find that to be extremely valuable. And if you can, I mean, of so many of the adults, Giovanni, when you and I were getting started, you know, very few coaches in the youth game had playing experience because the parents never played. My parents had no idea what the game of soccer was about before uh they saw me playing for the park district in Wilmette, right? And slowly learned a little bit about the game and going from there. Um now, fortunately, we have a lot of people a lot of parents that have played the game and have some idea. Um that can be good, that can also be bad, thinking they know more than what they really do. And that might be another podcast for you, right? I'm sure you've already had some of those, those along the way. But um uh but it's so important that um, you know, we try to emphasize that. If you are going at this from a player-centered approach, that we're doing this for the kids, what can we give them? And again, even though I might not be able to demonstrate something, I can still have the picture painted for them by another player on the team, another player in the club or the school, whatever it might be, or watching it on TV, and can we imitate that as much as we possibly can? So um, you know, I I think a lot of it is is is seeing the value of it. Um, I see that happens. In the state of Indiana, um our Indiana Soccer Association about, I don't know, 15 years ago, had the foresight to say that they're going to increase player registration by a dollar per player, and that's gonna go into coaching education. So all the coaching education at the grassroots and all the way up through the D-license does not cost any of our member coaches a penny to go through that coaching education. And again, the value of coaching education and giving them the opportunity, there was a financial challenge. Our administration at the time solved that challenge of how to do that. And, you know, when you go to the parents saying, okay, you're gonna pay one more dollar a year to hopefully help assure that your coach gets some type, some form of education. Is that worth it to you? And for the most part, hands down, the answer is yes.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:41

It's it's cliche, but it's money well spent. It's it's money well spent. A dollar. Uh it's it's money, it's money well spent. You know, I I often talk to folks, you know, whether it's in a formal setting, uh, it's a coaching education course or a clinic I might be doing, or whatever. Um, people have to remember that, you know, the the players are students, the you know, that the coach is a teacher, the field is a classroom, and all the things that make for a wonderful classroom environment, environment academically, are the very same things that manifest themselves on the soccer field. So the expectation from an academic standpoint is that, well, that teacher should go off, you know, get their degree, whether they're teaching elementary school, middle school, uh, high school, or particular course, um, that makes them a better teacher. Well, the same things apply to those folks who are out there teaching the great game of soccer. Go out there and and get uh get some certification. Um talk a bit, George, uh, and then I want to shift gears about the importance of having a mentor to this day, and I've been at this a long time, and I'm very proud that I I can be a mentor to a lot of younger coaches that have come my way, but I still look to other people, even at this point in my life, uh, as a mentor and bounce things off of them. Talk about the importance of getting a mentor no matter where you are uh in in your journey as a as a soccer coach here in this country.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:00

Yeah, I uh I always identify right now as far as uh I think four or five people in my growth as a coach, as an educator, um have been important to me. And and uh two people that might be a little bit different than what most people might have is one of my mother and and one was is my wife. Um my mother was a professional tap dancer in her day. Um she actually was one of the three headliners that opened the Copa Cabana Club in Chicago way back when. I did not know that. And we owned tap, she owned a tap studio pretty much every place we lived. She'd always open up something, whether it's through the Parks and Rec program or whatever. I started taking lessons when I was three years old and actually tapped all the way through high school and stuff like that, and even came back once or twice on there. But to watch my mom work with three year olds to 86 year olds. Now, when I was younger, it didn't click that mom was a mentor. But now that I've been through all this stuff, I'm thinking watching her do that how she how she relates to all these different age groups and stuff like that. Absolutely a mentor. My wife is an early childhood teacher. We've owned daycare homes in our home. She's also been uh like right now, she has 15 two-year-olds in the in the in the preschool program that that she works at right now. And just watching her how she works and interacts with the kids and the parents has been a tremendous mentorship for myself. And then obviously Eor Kotinsky who I mentioned was the guy that really got me hooked on this game. Coach Igley, no doubt, still that way and still rely on his on his on his him as a resource for thing. And then Don Rossett uh who I've mentioned already uh just getting me involved with the young young kids and stuff like that and how he did stuff we ended up kind of doing a lot of the the the summer day camps for IU in which we would um we wouldn't let Coach Igley um have anything about writing curriculum because he was great with college enough but we didn't think he was that strong with the young kids. We say you leave us alone and we'll take care of this you just go around shake the hands of the parents and pat the kids on the head and tell them they're doing a great job and and it was a good partnership. But but though those people are I and there's still people that I rely on you know all the way all the way through. Obviously my mom's passed away but um but but every one of them I'm fortunate to still have them around and and still rely on them for for what's going my well uh you know the best way and my wife's the best one to kind of keep uh keep an eye on me so when I start to stray stray out of things uh she puts me back in line very quickly which is which is really good. So you know those are it for me I mean I would say.

SPEAKER_09 1:07:39

You know I really like that part of your answer George where you you look towards your your mom and and your wife and um you know to the folks listening out there when we we we talk about you know getting a mentor it doesn't have to be you know another soccer coach.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:52

George said it wonderfully there you can be you know a relative or or your or your mom or your wife or your dad or whomever that may be uh that brings something very special to the table that will allow you to become a better uh a better teacher of the game heck a a better human being for for for that uh for that matter as well uh my my first my first head coaching job was at the University of Rochester John Reeves brought me in who was a good friend of Jerry Igley's but uh as I was there I would go around and one thing I started learning being at a small Division III school was it was really beneficial for me to go on and watch other teams practices other sports practices to kind of watch how coaches interact with people and there was the women's basketball uh coach who's also our uh associate athletic director Joyce Wong and in the preseason she would bring in another college coach to spend some time working with her teams and at first I thought how insecure she must be uh by bringing in other people and after my time there or during my time there I should say I was there for six six years um I learned that no she wasn't insecure she was actually extremely secure in that she wasn't worried about bringing people in she wanted the kids to be exposed to somebody who she thought was very relevant, very good at what they did and they just had a sharing thing and maybe her kids would learn that oh what she's doing isn't so bad because this other person was doing for something similar. So I was able to you know learn a lot from the other sports coaches at the colleges or universities that I I was fortunately exposed to um you know throughout my career so far. So as we wind down here you've worn so many hats and you've been such an inspiration what what what what's your legacy george what what do you hope to leave you know uh in the game of soccer both as a you know as as a coach as a as a coach educator coach developer um uh an administrator what what would you hope your legacy will be um in this in this game well now you're giving me the tough question um I saved the best for last oh I appreciate you Bonnie um you know uh you know again fortunately as I hope hopefully you've heard I've been exposed to some incredible people growing up and and and and through my career and in my growth but but hopefully that uh you know uh I was always honest about what I've done um whether it was you know 100% right or wrong it was done for the for the purpose of of the individuals and and and the groups that I I worked with and worked for in those types of situations that um I was a good friend um and an honest friend that if somebody needed to be told one thing that they might not like to hear I I could do that but that uh honesty was was always there um you know very caring person along those lines um I hope it comes across that I was a good family person um sometimes with all my travels I I sometimes question myself but um I've got four kids who are just incredible um so fortunately my wife has had a great influence on them uh with everything that's that's going on and with that kind of stuff and just uh you know the value of putting time and energy into um into into what you're doing I mean I think I've given an awful lot of my time I know I've given a lot of my time uh to the NSCA and the United Soccer coaches but I think I've I've represented them well and I hope that you know that comes across when um people talk about me.

SPEAKER_09 1:11:27

Well George as a longtime friend and colleague of yours um I can say you'll you leave uh you will leave a wonderful a wonderful legacy um not as a is a just as a coach as a clinician um as a as a father as a husband you will leave behind an absolutely wonderful wonderful legacy um I'm gonna ask all of my guests here in season 14 uh because we're we're heading into a World Cup year want to get your two cents on uh the World Cup and that's a big question so we kind of maybe narrow it down what are your thoughts about the U.S. men's national team uh it's still as we record this it's still kind of um you know coming coming along we don't quite know who's going to be playing where or who's gonna make the roster that type of thing who will be the goalkeeper all those types of things and then secondly kind of your your your overall look at the tournament and who a favorite of uh uh a favorite might be uh to win the whole thing oh let's see uh well certainly looking forward to it um I hope it can be well attended and participated but that's challenging these days possibly uh but uh um you know we tried to get tickets for all of my kids um that we could all go to a game together but we couldn't get that number of tickets all at one time so we're all going to different locations for at least one game uh and things along those lines but um um the one game we my wife and I have is um is uh is uh Spain and Uruguay which I'm really excited about.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:57

Um I would certainly would have loved to see the USA play but I think those are two countries that are going to be very very fun to watch uh in in terms of what's going on. I hope it comes around that we'll be able to continue to make it more affordable for people to attend um in our first World Cup I was able to you know pick up tickets you know the day before you know the 94, you know, one of the 94 games and stuff like that. Yeah it was a little bit higher price from the scalper that I got them from but it was still worth going to but um uh you know it's it it's it's always an opportunity to help grow our game uh to to expose it to some new people and see the understand understand the absolute passion some of that can get a little crazy um and some people are useful I don't think uh a lot of the people in the American culture quite understand you know the the passion that comes out of the citizens from these other countries especially we're growing it here we're getting there uh but it's not still as deep as it is in in all these other countries uh that we'll be fortunate enough to have we'll have here in in the States uh this summer and stuff like that. But uh I think it'll be good as far as the players are concerned. Yeah it's how are they doing now and all that kind of stuff. I think we have an opportunity to be very very good. I like to think that we're heading in the right direction that the American mentality of hard work and working together as a team is going to pay off we might not have the um the you know the top highlight individuals like some of these countries will have but uh soccer is a team sport you certainly need those individuals that can step out and uh and do something special from time to time but uh but a good team can can always uh um uh prevail uh against other teams as well so I I think there's the opportunity of of that happening but I've really enjoyed watching the the progress of them I've certainly enjoyed watching their progress it it's nice the reinventing of of the uh women's national team as well uh that Emma Hayes is doing is is incredible to watch the the new bringing in the new blood so to speak and it's and it's it's fun fun to see all of that happening. So I think it's going to be an exciting opportunity um I am definitely going to be uh exposing myself in in uh 2014 when I was the president of the association I had the choice of either going to the World Cup in Brazil or to go on a European tour uh with um um with a coaching education program and I and I did that um and I was in six different countries and really enjoyed watching games on big big screens uh with the with the people of those countries and so I'm saying oh I'm gonna try to find some good watch potteries to do the same thing because it was really a neat atmosphere and I think we'll have that same thing here.

SPEAKER_09 1:15:35

Yeah it should be interesting. It should be very interesting. I got shut out uh here in the Boston area at Gillette Stadium but um I think I'm gonna have to go through the secondary market and get pay a couple of dollars extra and and find a game of choice uh we have one that's that's kind of stands out that's France and Norway uh I think that's the one I might spend a dollar or two more than what I normally would do to just definitely definitely see that game.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:58

So yeah Ellen and I are going to Houston my uh my one daughter's going to go twice once I think in San Francisco once in in LA my son's going to San Francisco my other son and daughter I think are going to Philadelphia so we'll we'll we'll get a sense of what's happening in a few different stadiums. There you go.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:15

Well our guest today here in the GP Soccer podcast conversation with the coach is the terrific George Perry the director of competition at the Indiana Soccer Association, Indiana Soccer League Commissioner, Indiana Cups Director and the past president of the NSCAA and United Soccer Coaches. George thank you very much for taking the time for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:34

Greatly appreciate best of luck and continued growth of wow 300 podcasts or so that's incredible to your body well you're special that way you're special that way.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:44

I've been called worse things George I've been called worse things uh well I appreciate the kind words yes indeed this little show is no longer little it's gotten really big and it's uh it's been a lot of fun I'll just say that it's it's been an absolute boatload of fun. So so again I guess today was George Perry we're going to break for a commercial message. You know how that all works and we'll reconvene on the other side this is Giovanni Picini. This is the GP Soccer Podcast Don't you dare go anywhere soccer is known around the world as both a sport and an art with players of all ages and abilities enjoying the game. Now the art of the game is only realized after hours of mastering ball skills learning to communicate with your teammates and receiving support and instruction from the right coaches. With over 100 years of coaching experience Director John Barrada and the coaching staff at the Beautiful Games Soccer Academy are pleased to offer their expertise to players and their parents coach Barada is one of the most decorated and accomplished soccer coaches in the Northeast with a proven track record of developing both talented players and coaches. The Beautiful Games Soccer Academy believes that success on the soccer field breeds success elsewhere in a young adult life. Players who attend learn the importance of forming good habits, attempting new challenges without the fear of failure, and seeking out support and advice from others. The program fosters the creativity within each player and encourages them to experiment, improvise and problem solve on the fly. At the Beautiful game soccer academy every day starts with a smile on our face and a ball at our feet.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:21

To learn more about the Beautiful game soccer academy visit wwwgamesa.com Hey it's Brian Barlow the creator of Offside and Offside Academy and I'm also an official with one college soccer and I still do some consulting for uh for USSF youth soccer I want to let you know that you're listening to GP Soccer Podcast with host Giovanni Pacini and welcome to the GP Soccer Podcast Coach's Corner where you'll find great tips and advice on how to teach the great game of soccer.

SPEAKER_09 1:18:55

This is Giovanni Pacini of the GP Soccer Podcast and this is Coach's Corner. Today's audio comes from Eric Capone courtesy of Hometown Football Club Podcast where Mr. Capone talks about the detrimental effects on young athletes with who have coaches who constantly scream at them.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:15

Fear reduces reaction speed by up to 20% and decision making accuracy by up to 30%. So every time you scream at a player after he makes a mistake you are literally making them slower and dumber in real time. You're hijacking their nervous system which basically causes a lot of stress and now cortisol kicks in yeah and that actually shuts down the learning center of the brain. So now they're slower, they're dumber and they're not learning from their mistakes. Yeah if you have like a fear-based coaching culture.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:54

So I think that's a big one for me is like making sure you find an environment where that you don't have a coach that's like screaming at a player every time they make a mistake.

SPEAKER_06 1:20:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:20:05

Let's take a closer look uh at this issue uh uh the negative impact of constantly screaming coaches on young athletes uh as you all know out there coaching styles it plays a critical it plays a critical role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of young athletes when a coach constantly resorts to screaming as a method of communication numerous numerous negative effects can arise that hinder both the athletic and personal development so let's let's take a deeper dive here let's look at the psychological harm constant exposure to yelling from a coach can increase stress anxiety and feelings of inadequacy among young athletes now the research shows that negative reinforcement especially in the form of screaming or harsh criticism can lead to lower self-esteem and diminished confidence this psychological strain can result in athletes fearing failure rather than embracing challenges which can stifle growth in motivation. Now how does affect performance well studies indicate that positive coaching approaches are linked to improved performance and greater enjoyment of the sport. Now in contrast athletes subjected to frequent screaming may develop a negative association with this sport leading to decreased engagement and performance. Young athletes may also begin to dread practice sessions which can ultimately harm them to quit the sport altogether now what about the impact on team dynamics? Well there's a there's a significant uh impact there as well now a coach who constantly screams can create a hostile environment that undermines team cohesion and communication athletes become more reluctant to participate collaborate or express themselves fearing public criticism or humiliation. Now this atmosphere can erode trust and hinder the development of healthy relationships both within the team and with authority figures. Now the long-term consequences are significant as you might expect that the effects of negative coaching can extend beyond the field or the core young athletes may carry emotional scars into adulthoods impacting their confidence mental health and willingness to engage in future athletic or group activities. It is crucial crucial for coaches to adopt supportive and constructive communication styles to foster positive development in young athletes that's Coach's Corner this is Giovanni Picini of the GP Soccer Podcast. This is soccer news and analysis with Giovanni Pacini from the Associated Press. The chance drew condemnation from Spain Star Lamin Yamal, the Spanish government and the Soccer Federation itself Spanish police had said they were investigating the behavior by fans during last Tuesday's friendly game held in Barcelona. Quote FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings today against the Spanish FA for the incidents in the friendly against Egypt. Soccer Soccer's governor body said in a statement Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chance made by some of the fans at the R C D E stadium were disrespectful and intolerable. The Barcelona star said it didn't matter that he was not targeted. Out of the Premier League title race routed in the FA Cup, mounting questions over the manager's future a star striker set to leave a disgruntled captain saying his team gave up Liverpool heads into the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in disarray a far cry for when the sides met last year. Back then Liverpool was romping to the Premier League title new manager Arne Slot was the toast of the city and Mo Sala was at his brilliant best. By contrast PSG has struggled to get out of the Champions League group group stage and observers were questioning Coach Luis Enrique's methods. PSG scraped through on penalties against Liverpool after an intense battle over the two legs. Arne slot has spoken about what an incredible match it was PSG midfielder Vitigne said Tuesday at a pre-match news conference. They didn't have a chance in the first leg apart from the goal they scored and the goalkeeper Allison was man of the match. U.S. men's national team Ford Patrick Ajimon suffered a serious Achilles tenant injury during Darby County's two-nil win over Stoke City on Monday and has been ruled out of the World Cup as well as the remainder of Darby season. Ajimon started for Derby uh and towards the end of the first half he went to control the ball with his chest but landed awkwardly. The 25 year old was visibly in pain before he received medical tension on the field and left the match on a stretcher, with Jaden Bainal coming on in his place in the 42nd minute. The specifics of Ajimon's injury are still unclear, the club saying in a statement that he was he will receive further assessment on Tuesday before determining a timeline for his return. The exact type of injury is also unclear in the short term. D Coach John Eustace was unable to offer more details on the issue after the victory quote he's gone off the he's gone off for a scan so we'll wait and see the results of that Eustace said post match. We don't want to lose players we don't want to see any players coming off on a stretcher. Hopefully it's not as bad as what it might be but until we get the scan results we're going to have to wait and see. Ajim was in the midst of an impressive first season with Darby joining the club last summer from the MLS's Charlotte FC though he spent a chunk of the time on the sidelines at the start of the champ of the campaign following a hernier injury he went on to play 38 games for the team and notch 10 goals and three assists along the way he has played a crucial role as Darby takes a stab at winning promotion to the Premier League and entered Monday's fixture four points behind sixth place Wrexham who currently occupy the final berth in the promotional playoffs. Just uh you know from a from a little analysis here from that last story uh very sad to see that uh Patrick Audimon will be will indeed will be out of the World Cup. He did offer the United States some additional depth in terms of uh a scoring punch um and his loss will be significant. Uh again uh having had the breadth story here for all you folks we don't know the exact extent of the Achilles uh injury hopefully it is on the minimal side and not on the maximum side uh we all know if you're from the Boston area we have seen one of our local superstars uh Jason Tatum uh rupture his Achilles tendon and came back um and was able to come back and play in a great form uh this season that's news and analysis from the AP next up the year report with Ralph Ferrigno This is the GP Soccer Podcast English Premier League and European Soccer Report with your host Ralph Ferrigno the 2026 World Cup is only 66 days away just this past week the final teams qualified for the World Cup with four more European countries booking a plane ticket to North America the biggest news was that for the third straight tournament Italy failed to qualify.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:52

Italy as we all know are one of the powerhouses of World Cup football being four time winners. How the mighty Travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina, they drew one one before losing on penalties four to one. Things were going well early on when Moyes Keen scored for the Italians. Unfortunately, Alessandro Bastoni swung the game's momentum with a red card, and this allowed Bosnia late on to equalize before triumphing in a shootout. They are the first world champion to miss three tournaments in a row and the first major power not to qualify for both the thirty two and forty eight team expanded World Cup, and the blowback in Italy has been significant. Federation president Gabriele Gravina, blamed all around for failing to reform anything after the twenty eighteen and twenty twenty two failures, has relied on short term coaching fixes to try and help the problem that the Italians have faced. The pressure was too much and he has now had to resign. And additionally, his manager or his final manager, Gennaro Gattussi and Italy have agreed to mutually terminate his contract after again his failure to qualify. Bosnia in the meantime will move on to North America where they will face one of the host countries in Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B. Now, while the Italians have struggled, Sweden recovered from an absolutely disastrous group phase where they surprisingly finished bottom of their group. Thankfully, from their perspective, they were afforded a second life due to good performances in the UEFA Nations League. And they took a gamble. They brought in English manager Graham Potter, who had been going through a rocky time in the Premier League as a manager to try and get them through to the tournament, and it worked. So it was a ding dong battle with Poland, Poland usually being a strong country as well when it comes to football. Alanga, Lagerby and Jakarez all scored, with the latter getting the winner two minutes from times. For the first time since 2018, Sweden will be going to the big tournament, and they will begin their campaign against Tunisia in Guadalap, Mexico on june fifteenth. They will also have to play the Netherlands and Japan, but that will be over in America, in Texas. Now the defeat of the Poles effectively means that one of the great players in the world and in World Cup history, Robert Lewandowski, now thirty-seven years old, will unlikely play in a World Cup once again. Although maybe he will be inspired by Bosnian striker Eden Jekko, who was going to the tournament as a forty year old. You never know. Another country to make the World Cup for the first time in many years was the Czech Republic. Historically they'd made the final twice, but they hadn't qualified for twenty odd years. Now they beat my fancy team which was Denmark. It was a 2-2 game, very exciting. It was 1-1 after 90 minutes before each traded goals an extra time. And the Czechs won 3-1 in penalties in the shootout. Now can they take that level into the World Cup in 2026? We'll have to wait and see on that department. Kosovo Dream is over. They were maybe the romantic choice of many. Little Kosovo getting as far as they did. But they fell by a single goal at home to Turkey, which is a very young and talented team, and one that could well end up doing well in the tournament. This is the first time that Turkey, however, have qualified for the tournament since 2002 when they finished third. And they will now go on in Group C this summer where they will face Australia, Paraguay, and co-hosts the United States. So in summary, Sweden, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have claimed the final European birds for the 2026 World Cup. They will be one of sixteen European countries competing in a 48 team field. And just out of interest's sake, as I say there are sixteen from Europe, Africa will be sending 10 teams, Asia 9 teams, South America 7 teams, North and Central America plus the Caribbean will be sending 6, which does include the three hosts, and an additional two teams for a total of 8. Those teams coming through the playoffs. And finally, Oceania has sent two teams. Now I mentioned that Lewandowski will miss the World Cup, one of the great players in world football, but he's not alone. So consider this list. Gianni Luigi Donaruma of Manchester City and Italy, maybe the top goal in Europe right now. He will not be playing. Another Italian is Sandro Tonale of Newcastle United, who is maybe one of the big potential buys this summer. Then Cavici Caravacci I've got trouble with this name. I can't say it. But Cavici K of PSG and Georgia. I mean he's a great player. He will not be going. Victor Osserman of Galatasara and Nigeria. The Hungarian from Liverpool, Dominic Sobozai. Another top goalkeeper is Jan Obleck of Atletico Madrid and Slovenia. And Brian Imbueno of Manchester United and Cameroon. All these top players will not be at the tournament this year. As I say, 66 days to go, and we will keep you updated with all the European teams as we get closer to the big day. So to end up this week we're going to take a quick look at the Champions League quarter finals, the first legs being played this week, and next week we will have more information as to how the games went. These are my forecasts. Holders PSG vs Liverpool. It's hard to see anything other than the PSG win. They absolutely hammered Chelsea in the last round, and Liverpool unfortunately, and I say this as a fan, are not going through the best period in their history. Next up, Sporting Lisbon versus Arsenal. You have to think that Arsenal is going to win, but just this past weekend they got upset in the FA Cup by Southampton, who play in the championship one tier down from the Premier League. So you just never know. And that means that Arsenal now have had back-to-back upsets, well not upsets, but bad games, having lost earlier to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Next we have a Spanish derby between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. They played this weekend, and I believe Barcelona edged the game, and I suspect that they will do it again in the Champions League. And finally we have the tie of the round, Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich. Now this one is very, very tough to call. Many people, myself included, fancy Bayern Munich to win the Champions League this year. But Real Madrid, they always seem to come good when the knockout rounds fall into place. So I think where this tie is going to go is be very much determined by the result of this first game in the Bernabo Stadium. So as I say, next week we will take a look at this and find out who is likely to move on into the Champions League semi-finals. So I'll see you all then. In the meantime, enjoy your soccer in Europe and worldwide.

SPEAKER_09 1:36:43

Hey, this is Giovanni Pacini. You all know me as a soccer coach and a clinician, but did you know that I'm a professional voiceover artist as well? I own and operate GP voiceover services, and my voice has been heard on radio, television, and over a variety of media platforms. Anywhere a voice is needed to tell your story, promote your organization, or bring words to life, GP VoiceOver Services is your choice. I have a background in radio, have appeared in professional video productions, as well as having hosted cable television programs. I will work with you before your production to understand your preferences and plan just the right approach for your project. I also offer product consulting and training for those interested in exploring the voiceover profession. To learn more about GP voiceover services, visit my website at GPvoiceoverservices.com or email me at GP4 VoiceOver, and that's the number for, at gmail.com. Hey there, Giovanni Piccini here, host of the GP Soccer Podcast. And I want to reach out to all of my great listeners who own pets and even those who don't. Listen, your local animal rescue organization is on a mission to provide loving homes for pets in need, and they need your help. Whether through adoption, fostering, or financial contributions, every bit of support counts. Join me in making a positive impact. Visit your local shelter today and help give these wonderful animals the second chance they so deserve. Together, we can create a community where every animal is cared for and loved.

SPEAKER_07 1:38:19

Hello, this is Jason Carney, the director of coaching at FC Portland in Oregon. I'm the author of the book US Grassroots Soccer, Great on Paper, Shit on Grass. You are listening to the GP Soccer podcast with your host, Giovanni Pacini.

SPEAKER_09 1:39:13

As I noted to you in the opening block of the show here with the American Soccer Revolution part of the show, I pulled some audio from a CNBC interview with Landon Dunovan, where he talks about dramatically changing the youth and club soccer landscape in the United States of America. I want you to uh check out that audio and we'll have a little conversation on the other side.

SPEAKER_10 1:39:38

My next frontier, this will be by far the most important thing I do in this sport, is tackling youth sport, youth soccer. Um, in our country, as a general statement, it's a complete disaster. It is greedy, it is winning first, the players are the last thing on anyone's mind, the kids. And it's really disgusting. I've now seen it twice with my own kids, and so it's triggered. I've always been passionate about it, but it's really triggered me. And that will be my next frontier, and I'm I'm moving quickly on. Meaning, how do we build a league that's not so obsessed with winning at such a young age? Not a league, a sport, right? And and look, to change culture is hard because the parents are part of the problem, right? The parents will tell you, oh, it's da-da-da. But then they get out there and the parents are on the sideline yelling, like, Johnny, no, oh, how did you miss the goal? And, you know, and so that is going to be very difficult, but I have it's very clear for me how you fix this, very easy, but nobody's done it because the incentive structure is backwards. And winning is what's rewarded for the coaches, for the players, for the parents, for the club. And we need to change that. And by the way, it's not a coincidence that we're not producing players, world-class players, the way other countries are. It's not like we're killing it and so we can just deal with the winning. We're not producing those players.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:02

Gee, um, where have we heard that before? Well, right here with the American Soccer Revolution on the GP Soccer Podcast. Uh, I'm not looking for any pats on the back here. I'm really not. Uh, but I have been uh very vocal uh on the issues that Lannon had brought up here, not just in this interview, but in other interviews that I've seen him uh involved with as well. Uh, this is nothing new in my book. Um, you know, when I talk about the American Soccer Revolution, I always add that portion like this these are things that need to be looked at, need to be examined, need to be blown up, need to be reconsidered, need to be changed, need to be altered. And that covers a lot of territory. That covers a lot of ground, right? From top to bottom, from right to left. There are a lot of things in American soccer that need to be addressed. And I'm listening I'm glad that a high-profile individual like Landon Dunavin is saying these things. And he carries the cachet, he carries the weight that let's be frank, not the same as Giovanni Pacini here in the GP Soccer podcast. He carries a little bit more weight than I do. And because of that weight, he can get on CNBC, he can get on major networks and different platforms and talk about this. And I'm happy about that. I'm happy. And I hope his message, my message, uh permeates where we do make uh we make some significant changes in this game because he's spot on. There's a reason why we don't develop top quality players. You could make an argument, a really easy argument, that Christian Polisic is the best player we have now, and maybe the best player we have ever had. No disrespect from those golden era players, the Eric Ronaldas of the world, the John Harks of the world, the Tob Ramoses of the world, the Claudia Rayners of the world back in that golden era. Those were wonderful players. But, you know, um what have we done since that group? We've done nothing in terms of developing creative players and world-class players until, arguably, in my own opinion, Christian Polisic. And there's a reason for that, among a lot of other reasons. It starts at the grassroots level. It starts with the youngest of all players. And we need to put those players in environments where the game is the best teacher. And I know that's cliche. You hear that all the time. But there's a way of doing it where it has uh a significant positive effect on developing creative plays, and there's a way not to do it. And I'm gonna I'm gonna uh shamelessly, I'm gonna shamelessly plug a book that I've just finished uh writing, and it should be available to all of you sometime the end of this month, about being April or the 1st of May, uh, where the title of the book is uh The Importance of Unstructured Free Play, um coaching with a street soccer mentality, where I where I lay out methods by which you can use the methods that I espouse and done correctly, done with patience, done over a significant period of time, you can develop creative players, players who can think on their own. Who can think on their own and and and have the ability to use the uh uh the appropriate moves or movements or touches or whatever you want to call it, uh that they can sort things out uh in the in the game or the activity of which they they're they're a part of. Um and that's what we're talking about here. We do not have creative players. And in a country as large, as expansive, as monstrous as the United States of America, with the millions and millions of dollars being invested in this game, with the infrastructure we have, both at the local level and and the national level, we have amazing facilities, amazing uh uh you know, resources that we we can do some dramatic things. And we haven't been able to produce another Christian Polisic or another John Hawks or Tab Ramos or, you know, um that's it's it's mind-boggling. I have said and I will say it again the United States of America will never win a World Cup. The United States of America will never win a World Cup unless the things that I have spoken about, the things that Lannon Donovan is now speaking about, come to fruition. Changes in the game do come to fruition. If these things don't change, it's never going to happen. Morocco will win a World Cup before the United States of America. Japan will win a World Cup before the United States of America. Now I'm talking on the men's side here. Talking on the men's side here. You know, women are women have been very, very successful. However, however, on the women's side, they have struggled as well. We saw the rest of the world catch up pretty darn fast and surpass our U.S. women because of the issues, because of the infrastructure, because of the problems that surround the game here in the United States of America. Right? So, you know, it's uh it's it's held the men back. It is uh making the uh the path to winning World Cups and big international games for the women all the more challenging. The landscape here in the soccer landscape here in the United States of America must change. Because if it doesn't, the United States men and heck, I'll even say this even the women will never win a World Cup or never win another World Cup. There you go. That's my two cents worth. Well, there you go. That's our show for today. Uh, if you like what you hear, please tell everyone. And remember, those likes matter. Hit those likes buttons, subscribe wherever you can. You can follow the GP Soccer Podcast. All of our social media and new episodes are available every Wednesday morning. But I always like to say, what a great way to start your Wednesday morning. Don't forget to check out my website, gpsoccerpodcast.com. And if you're interested in advertising on this show, then email me at GP4Soccer. And that's the number four at Yahoo.com. This is your host, Giovanni Pacini, ranting and raving, ranting and raving, as always. And I will catch you later.