Play Free FC

This World Cup feels different. In this episode, I share why I think soccer has reached a new place in America. From the beaches of Wildwood to the streets of New York City, the game seemed to be everywhere. Families playing, fans from around the world celebrating together, and a country embracing the World Cup like never before. I also sit down with my lifelong friend, Dr. Josh Logan, to talk abo...

At some point, every athlete feels pressure. Pressure to perform. To make the team. To earn playing time. To live up to expectations from coaches, parents, teammates, and often themselves. And sometimes that pressure starts to outweigh the joy that made us fall in love with sports in the first place. That's why I was so excited to sit down with Melanie Bieber. Melanie is a Licensed Professiona...

The World Cup is here. I wanted to talk about Mexico, South Korea, the U.S., ticket prices, youth soccer, and all the other stuff that's been bouncing around in my head this week. And, I did...but I kept coming back to something else. My daughter drew Argentina, Türkiye, and South Africa out of a hat a few days ago. Since then she's been asking questions nonstop and watching every match sh...

We back! Talk a little bit about my schedule...and where this is going moving forward. GREAT guests coming. All good stuff. How about this, Mauricio Pochettino recently challenged the US Men's National Team with a simple message: Play Free. It's a phrase that stuck with me for obvious reasons. He's welcome ;-). This week, I dive into the conversations surrounding the USMNT roster, expe...

This episode is a little different. Freddy heads home to the Philadelphia area to "play" with VE in an Over 50 regional semifinal against Christos SC, but what unfolds becomes way bigger than the game itself. From legendary Philly soccer stories and reconnecting with old teammates, to beers in the Ratskeller and conversations about aging, identity, and community, this episode dives into...

A group of former high-level American players, all over 40, are heading to Thailand to represent the United States at the Over 40 World Cup… and somehow, almost nobody knows this exists. In this episode, Freddy sits down with U.S. Over 40 Men’s National Team head coach David Jones to talk about building the program from scratch, competing against countries with professional over-40 systems, the br...

And here we are… part 3 and the final chapter of this conversation with Mark C. Franek, author of American Soccer Nation. Mark’s new book, American Soccer Nation, published by Simon & Schuster with forwards from Tim Howard and Cavan Sullivan, dives deep into the overlooked story of how soccer truly took root in the United States. What started as “let’s do a podcast episode” quickly turned into...

Welcome back to part 2 of our conversation with Mark Franek, author of American Soccer Nation. If you caught part 1, you already know… this conversation could have gone on for hours. And, if you listened in full to the first release, then you can skip right on to part 3 (we cut the original episode 1 in half for a better experience...hey...I'm learning). In this episode, we keep digging into the r...

One of my favorite conversations I’ve had… easily. This is Part 1 with Mark C. Franek, a Philadelphia Union Academy (YSC) educator, teacher, and historian, and we barely scratched the surface. This will be at least a 2 part series… maybe 3. Mark just launched his book, American Soccer Nation which was published by Simon and Schuster with forwards written by Cavan Sullivan and Tim Howard. Its a dee...

Imagine chasing a dream at 50 + years old…in a sport… and still competing at the highest level. I sat down with Jimmy Connor… Vineland guy, longtime teammate, and someone who never let go of the game. At 50, he’s representing the United States on the Senior Men’s National Team… heading to Thailand to compete on the world stage. It’s not about recognition. It’s about the love of the game. We talk a...

This one’s real. Most of our convos live here in the U.S… how we develop players, how the system works. But a big part of Play Free FC is getting outside of that. So today, we head to Dublin. I’m joined by Barry McCarthy from Templeogue United… a club built on more than soccer. This is about culture, community, and how people show up for each other. We get into: What a true community club actually...

I’m joined by the Big 12's (a Power 4 Conference) Kansas University women’s head coach Nate Lie… former teammate of mine at Miami of Ohio, great human and someone who’s built his way up the hard way. But this episode really pulls back the curtain on what college soccer looks like right now. The game has changed: Roster limits, Transfer portal, Recruiting  NIL & Scholarships It is program build...

ACL injuries are everywhere in the women’s game right now. But why? In this episode, I sit down with Pete Zulia, co-founder of Oxford Physical Therapy and a board-certified sports clinical specialist who’s spent decades in the trenches helping athletes recover and get back to what they love. Pete was also my guy. He guided me through two ACLs and multiple knee surgeries, so this one hits close to...

A solo jawn from Freddy breaking down the “alphabet soup” of American youth soccer: MLS Next, ECNL, EDP, and everything in between. This one’s real talk on how the system got so complicated, why families feel the pressure early, and what actually matters when it comes to player development. Less about the badge… more about the environment. Big conversations coming soon with coaches, players, and p...

Brandan Craig joins Play Free FC to talk about the journey from Philly soccer kid to young professional, what it takes to grow up fast in the game, and what it means to play for both club and country. Freddy and Brandan get into the path through the Union system, the decision to turn pro young, the pressure and pride of wearing the U.S. badge, advice for young players chasing it, and why giving ba...

This episode is brought to you by: Philly Soft Pretzel Factory in Langhorne https://phillypretzelfactory.com/locations/langhorne/ off Route 1 next to Reedman / Toll Auto. Mention “Play Free FC” and get a free pretzel. No tryout required. Before academies were fully built out and long before American player development had a clear structure, there were coaches on local fields trying to figure it ou...

In this short introduction, I share the idea behind Play Free FC which is a podcast rooted in a lifetime around the game and built to explore the full ecosystem of soccer. From youth clubs to the professional stage, from coaches and executives to performance staff working behind the scenes, this is a 360-degree look at the sport and the people who shape it. This is the foundation for what’s to com...