Breaking the Line: The ECNL Podcast

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line returns for Episode 140, where ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken sit down with guests on the sidelines of the ECNL Boys National Playoffs at Surf Sports Park in San Diego, California.  Lavers and Bracken open with ECNL Boys Commissioner Jason Kutney as the episode’s first guests, then bring on Ray Selva...

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Let us know the topics of interest to you! Fresh off the heels of the ECNL International Tournament, powered by Coaches' Voice and in association with Everton International Academy, Oklahoma Energy Director of Coaching Mark Howard joins Breaking the Line to discuss everything about the European event and more.  Conversing with ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Brack...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken welcomed Matt Mueller, President of Hudl, to Breaking the Line this week to dive into everything about the video streaming platform and the partnership between Hudl and the ECNL.  The Breaking the Line crew dives into Hudl’s start with Nebraska football, how the company has expanded into...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken return to the airwaves with ECNL Boys Commissioner Jason Kutney and North Carolina FC Youth CEO Gary Buete for an in-depth look at the ECNL International Series and its first two events: the ECNL International Tournament, Powered by Coaches' Voice and in association with Everton Int...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Following a riveting episode regarding sport specialization, Breaking the Line welcomes David Copeland-Smith, founder of Beast Mode Soccer, to discuss all things regarding individual training.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken converse with Copeland-Smith about a variety of topics surrounding individual training, includ...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line welcomes ECNL Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Drew Watson to the podcast for Episode 134 to discuss his latest research from the ECNL Center for Athlete Health and Performance.  Watson sits down with ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken to discuss the injury risk with sport specialization in female youth soccer...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Following a highly successful ECNL Coaching Symposium at the Circa Resort in Las Vegas, ECNL President Christian Lavers sits down with ECNL Boys Commissioner Jason Kutney for a candid conversation about the ECNL Boys as a league and the youth soccer landscape as a whole.  In this hour-long conversation, Lavers and Kutney discuss new membership for the 202...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line returns to the airwaves with more news regarding youth soccer's newest pyramid: a collaboration between US Club Soccer, ECNL, NPL and now USYS.  Building off of Episode 131, ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken expand further on the youth soccer landscape with the additional news that USYS will be joi...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! It's 2026 and Breaking the Line is back for a brand new episode following the holiday break, and it's a meaty one as ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken sit down with US Club Soccer President Mike Cullina to discuss a major announcement in the youth soccer world.  On Dec. 18, US Club Soccer, ECNL and NPL announce...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line returns to the airwaves for Episode 130 with a Thanksgiving flair.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken tackle a hot topic within soccer circles, one that will be moving to the forefront ahead of the World Cup and beyond: playing formats and player development.  Bracken asks a simple question: how much do...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line has gone international! After the historic announcement of the ECNL International Tournament, Powered by Coaches' Voice and in association with Everton International Academy, ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken sit down with EIA's Mark Thompson, one of the major players in the creation and imple...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking The Line returns for Episode 128 with ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken getting inspiration for this week’s topic from breaking news on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.  Hearing news of LSU firing football coach Brian Kelly and Nottingham Forest sacking manager Ange Postecoglou, the Breaking the Line crew asks...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! This week's edition of Breaking the Line features a hot topic across the soccer landscape and the sports world as a whole: the economics of sport, and youth sport in particular.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken dive into this nuanced topic, discussing the current economic model of youth sports and the reasons behi...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! The Breaking the Line team has returned for another player-focused episode, this time discussing player development.  ECNL Vice President kicks off the conversation with a thought-provoking question: if you were building an ECNL club from scratch today, where would you start? With that as the starting point, he and ECNL President Christian Lavers weave th...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! It's a very special episode of Breaking the Line, as the podcast celebrates its 125th episode! After an invigorating discussion about navigating birth years and skill levels within youth soccer, ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken continue the conversation with a parent email regarding how to properly handle when an a...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! After a quick Labor Day pause, the Breaking the Line team returns to your airwaves. Fall is in the air, the kids are back at school and the 2025-26 soccer season is ready to kick off.  This week, ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken discuss two topics that were submitted by Breaking the Line listeners. First up was a questi...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line, the ECNL Podcast, welcomes newly-hired Pre-ECNL Commissioners Bobby Reiss and Ruairi McGuinness to the airwaves for a riveting discussion surrounding the ECNL’s entry into Zone 1: the Pre-ECNL.  ECNL President Christian Lavers sits down with Reiss and Ruari to dive into exactly what the Pre-ECNL is, what the ECNL has for the Pre-ECNL pl...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Fresh off the ECNL National Playoffs and Finals, and a live podcast recording, Breaking the Line returns to the airwaves with its newest episode featuring a very special guest, US Club Soccer’s Technical Director Ross Paule.  Paule joins ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken to discuss an ambitions new initiative from US Clu...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Filmed LIVE on Day 1 of the ECNL Boys National Playoffs in Redmond, Washington, the Breaking the Line team sits down right on the fields to discuss all things ECNL Playoffs.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken are joined by ECNL Boys Commissioner Jason Kutney to give insights about everything surrounding the ECNL Boys Pla...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! The Breaking the Line team returns for its newest episode diving into a topic of discussion at every ECNL club and across the youth soccer landscape: high school soccer vs. club soccer.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken discuss why the ECNL refuses to make a mandate regarding high school soccer, how clubs navigate high...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! Breaking the Line is back with ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken and the team hits two topics this week that every soccer parents should be paying attention to. In Episode 119, Breaking the Line first sets out to break some myths about the odds of becoming a pro soccer player. Three out of every four parent believes thei...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! In a Part 2 of an incredible discussion surrounding coaching within youth soccer, Breaking the Line welcomes ECNL Coaching Methodology Advisor Doug Lemov for an incredible discussion on coaching philosophy, how to develop coaches, how to effectively use training sessions and more.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken dive...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! The ECNL's Breaking the Line team is back another episode, expanding on a topic introduced when discussing the ECNL Pyramid.  ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken discuss what it is like being a youth soccer coach in American today. The pair touch on a variety of topics in the episode: the sacrifices coaches make in th...

Let us know the topics of interest to you! The ECNL's leadership team emerges from the incredibly hectic spring for the latest episode of Breaking the Line, where ECNL Regional League Commissioner Chris Leahey joins ECNL President Christian Lavers and ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken to discuss all of the major changes within the ECNL platform and what it means for players, parents, coaches a...