Soccer by 3four3

Tommy Hodul is a soccer writer, podcast host, press officer, fan, and all around great guy. He is also extremely passionate about growing soccer in his community – the City of Oakland. And that is why he a key member of Oakland Roots. The Oakland Roots website provides this explanation of who they are and […]

This episode with John Kokkoris is one of my favorites. Why? Because of the language he uses. But I’m not talking about cussing or anything like that. I’m talking about the way he describes different actions and moments of the game. He sounds completely different than the typical American soccer coach. It really impressed me. […]

Bobby Mohr is a fantastic storyteller. Not made up stories. Stories that he lived and breathed while being a member of the U.S. Youth National Team. A member of the team that is often forgotten about. Bobby is a former U.S. Youth National Team equipment manager. One of the stories on his personal blog caught […]

Stevie Grieve is the Head of Coaching at Burlington Soccer in Ontario, Canada. He is also an analyst, coaching educator, and designer of the Tactical Teacher program which you can find by visiting onsidesoccerconsulting.com. His coaching experience is scattered throughout the world. We unexpectedly spent a big chunk of time talking about what he was […]

Nick Rizzo is the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Monmouth College. He is a part-time triathlete, professional Google-er, and eternal optimist. He’s also the co-host of the @chatsoccr podcast. I’ve had my eye on his weekly #soccerchat’s and finally decided to reach out to him and ask if he would be interested in being a […]

Joe Campos is the founder of Eagleclaw Football Club and The Eagleclaw Foundation and has trained and coached Eagleclaw players since 2009. He is from Madrid, Spain, where he learned the game, and played in Spain and Turkey. The Seattle soccer scene was not impressing Joe. In fact, it was frustrating him. So he decided […]

This episode is a reading of the article Possession Soccer: What Does It Take? The article was written by Gary Kleiban and originally published on 3four3. Possession Soccer: What does it take? This post is my response to an observation made by one of our readers, CarlosT from the Sounder At Heart blog. In his comment […]

Ciara McCormack is a retired international footballer with experience in multiple countries including Canada, Australia, and the United States. She wrote and published a story about an issue happening in Australian soccer that caught my attention. So, I asked if she would be interested in discussing it with me and she said yes. And I […]

How did a kid from Hoover, Alabama end up signing a contract with Bayern Munich? That’s what I wanted to find out during my conversation with Ken Richards. His son, Chris, is one of the most talked about young American players. And rightfully so. But his journey to Germany was anything but easy. During this […]

Bella Ballard is a 13-year-old soccer player from Hawaii. She spends the majority of her time in Southern California with her father Joe. That is also where she trains and plays with other kids and adults who are pushing themselves to the limits. And it is also where I first met Bella. Bella was eight […]

Jared Embick became the head coach of The University of Akron men’s soccer program in December of 2012. Since joining the program as an assistant, Akron has the highest winning percentage in the nation. In 2018, Akron finished the year with its third trip to the College Cup Final under Embick. During this conversation, we […]

In 2018, Tracy became the second American woman to receive a UEFA “A” coaching license. When she first started looking for coaching education, she had no intention of looking for it in Europe. But USSF denied her to the course she originally applied for. And that forced her to seek out other options. In this […]

This episode is a conversation that I recorded with Gary Kleiban in December 2016. The topic we focus on is the phrase: “It’s just a game.” We discussed what those words mean to us. We also talk about other people using that phrase to their advantage when its convenient for them to do so. I’ve […]

Brianna Visalli knows a thing or two about what it takes to achieve a goal. Literally. And also what it takes to overcome adversity. As a young player growing up in Northern California’s Bay Area, she was never the biggest or strongest player. In fact, at just over five feet tall, she still isn’t the […]

As a kid growing up in Southern California, Danny Califf didn’t have soccer mentors or the type of role models or idols like kids have today. He wasn’t able to watch videos of current national team stars training with former national team stars on YouTube or Instagram. He could barely watch them on TV. He […]

How fast? How tall? How strong? Oh yes, you know what I am talking about. The MLS Combine and the MLS SuperDraft. With the draft happening this week, Gary and I wanted to record our thoughts and provide a different perspective than the other media outlets. A perspective rooted in the first-hand experience. Not just […]

Joey Cascio is a good friend and colleague. Hopefully, you’ve heard him on this show before and know who he is, what he is all about, and why he determined to keep pushing forward in American soccer. If you haven’t heard our other chats, no worries, they are available in the write up of this […]

Zach Jonker is someone that I am excited to introduce you to. First and foremost, he’s a soccer guy that has been through many of the ups and downs that I have personally experienced. The same ups and downs that you too have probably experienced. He is from a rural area that has little access […]

Jason Broadwater is a youth soccer coach and brand new podcaster. After listening to, and learning from many others over the years, he saw an opportunity to join the conversation and highlight the work that he believes is good. This is a very similar approach that I took when I first started this podcast. So, […]

“Tiffany Weimer Solves All American Coaching Education Problems After Completing C Course.” That’s the title I told her I was going to use for this episode. She laughed when I told her. I laughed when I typed it out. Tiffany and twenty others were recently part of a unique, and possibly first of its kind […]

Daniel Smith is a math teacher and high school soccer coach in North Carolina. Daniel is also an American soccer fan that has been keeping a close eye on the men’s national team program for almost two decades. In this conversation, we discuss: What soccer event captured his attention How to use youth national team […]

Chelsea Braun is a UCLA graduate and NCAA Division One national champion. She has had the opportunity to play for Jill Ellis, the current USWNT coach, and many others who are considered to be among the top female coaches in the country. After playing college soccer, Chelsea was faced with a big decision. Keep playing? […]

A couple of years ago, Terry Ransbury came up with the idea of just listening to a rondo as it’s happening. He observed that the exercise sounds different when you compare top, top-level players to new or beginner level players. At the top level, there is a unique popping sound when the ball is hit. […]

How do you want your team to play? Easy question, right? Well, yes and no. We’ve talked about it before on the podcast. Gary has written about it on the blog. It’s also been a topic of discussion at all three of our coaching summits. The question itself is simple. But the answers can be […]

Ken Bensinger is an investigative journalist and author of the book Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World’s Biggest Sports Scandal. When describing Ken’s book, David Hirshey of The Wall Street Journal said it is “A gripping white-collar crime thriller that, in its scope and human drama, ranks with some of […]