Soccer by 3four3

Gabe Kleinert is a youth and college coach in Philidelphia, PA. In addition to the club and college seasons, he also coaches with his regions Olympic Development Program (ODP). During this episode, Gabe explains his role in the ODP and shares some valuable insight as to what players and parents should know about the process. […]

With Christian Lavers permission, I decided to read his article, “Closing the gap between curriculum and methodology: A necessity for development.” The article was originally published on Soccer America. Credit to Paul Kennedy and the crew over there for some fantastic work over the years. In addition to checking out Christian’s article, you can also […]

Javier Ayala is the Head Coach at San Francisco State University and also Head Coach of the San Francisco Glens who will play in the new USL 2. Javier’s soccer journey started in one of the roughest parts of the Bay Area and took him all over the world. In this episode, you’ll him talk […]

Originally published in 2011 by 3four3. How Much Time Does American Soccer Need? Written by Gary Kleiban. People like to believe time fixes problems. Yes. It’s important, but only if spent doing the right things. Consistently do the ‘wrong things‘, or simply not ‘right enough‘, and no amount of time will EVER produce quality. Part […]

In his Twitter bio, Daniel Workman describes himself as a “Husband, Dad, Entrepreneur, Creative, and Footy Fanatic.” Combining all of those gets you a man on a mission to expose some of the cracks in American soccer, from top to bottom and back up to the top again. In this episode, Daniel discusses: When he […]

Kat Nichols is a youth soccer coach that you probably have a lot in common with. She understands what it’s like to meticulously plan a practice and then have three or four players not show up. She knows what it’s like to communicate openly and honestly with parents about their children. And she, like you, […]

Saul Isaksson-Hurst is a one-to-one football coach with experience working in Premier League academies. That makes his point of view a bit different than what we’re used to hearing over here in America. So I wanted to pick his brain about what he sees and how that has influenced his thoughts about the sport. Like […]

David Robertson is a youth soccer coach in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has earned his USSF A license and NSCAA Premier Diploma. He is also a 3four3 Founding Member. And you can bet your ass that we talk a little bit about the differences between those. I had been bugging David about getting him on the […]

Kephern Fuller is the founder of the non-profit Joga Soccer Club and currently spends half of his time in Europe helping and working with American players who are trying to make it abroad. Kephern is also the host of the Wanna Be Ballers podcast. On their show, Kephern, and his co-host James Myers expose listeners […]

This episode of the podcast is short but potent. The original article and comments can be seen here: Pay to Play and the Link to Promotion Relegation The copy is also here for you to read if you’d like. First, let’s get something straight. Pay to play will always exist because there will always be […]

“They didn’t like it.” That is a quote from Denise Rapinoe that really stuck with me. I’m sure this will be an easy exercise for you. Imagine two little girls running around a soccer field full of boys. Imagine the parents’ reactions when one of the girls takes the ball away, completes a great pass, […]

Joey Cascio is now in the lead for most guest appearances on the #343podcast. And, rightfully so. Of all the youth coaches that I have had the privilege and pleasure of meeting, interviewing, and getting to know, Joey’s work continues to shine brighter than the pack and catch my eye, no matter where he finds […]

Over the course of his career, Sebastian Salazar has worn many hats in American soccer. He started as a young fan of the brand new D.C. United. Eventually, he wound up working for the franchise. Other stops along the way included local regional sports networks where he quickly made a name for himself as the […]

In this episode, I talk to Michael Perkins about some of his experiences as a coach, father, husband, teacher, and American soccer fan. During this hour-long chat, we talk about: The differences (and similarities) between the new ‘C’ and ‘B’ courses How not having a clue about soccer actually helped him when first started coaching […]

Adelaide Gay (@AdelaideAGay on Twitter) is an American goalkeeper that is currently playing in Sweden. After stops at several NWSL teams and teams in other countries, she continues to explore new routes and push forward with her playing career. This conversation that I recorded with Adelaide covers her entire playing career and experiences as a […]

Chris Seitz grew up playing soccer in the college town San Luis Obispo, CA. That is also where I currently call home. I grew up just thirty miles south of SLO. And it was at SLO High School where I actually scored a goal against Chris when we were younger. When we were growing up, […]

There are many different sides to the man known as Zack Goldman. To be honest, I was completely unprepared for how our conversation started out. Mostly because I didn’t even know that Zack was neck deep in so many different aspects of the sport. I think that helped our conversation, though. The idea to interview […]

When I started this podcast, one of the goals was to tell stories about American soccer from a different angle. I’ve always wanted to help provide a new perspective. Because I truly believe that is where the most value lies. Some of you might remember listening to my interview with Christian Pulisic’s father, Mark. That […]

Carmelina Moscato has been all around the world playing and learning about the game of soccer for most of her life. She played college soccer at Penn State. She won an Olympic Bronze medal with Canada. She has 94 caps for her country. She has played professionally on three continents. The list could go on […]

Matt Danaher (@mattdanaher on Twitter) is a soccer player and soccer coach. He isn’t, or maybe I should say wasn’t, a tech guy. Matt saw a void when it came to collecting, interpreting, and using data in soccer and decided to build an app called SoccerPulse to help solve the problem. In this interview, Matt […]

It’s always difficult for people to talk about the elephant in the room. No one wants to bring it up. No one wants to acknowledge it. But if the elephant in the room is race – it makes things even harder. Kai Edwards (@kaiedwards13 on Twitter) decided to take the challenge straight on and helped […]

In August 2018, Christian Ramirez was traded from Minnesota United to LAFC. His playing career had come full circle and brought him back to where he was born. But his path to the top of American soccer was a wild one. He grew up in Southern California where he played as a center midfield throughout […]

Without being intimately involved, it’s hard for anyone to understand the politics or how the decisions being made in the U.S. Soccer boardroom impact the bigger picture. Some of these topics can be exhausting to discuss. But that didn’t prevent Hope Solo from having a conversation with me about some of the most important issues […]

Taylor Ramirez is a former U.S. youth national team and University of North Carolina player. Her path through club soccer in Southern California wasn’t what you’d probably expect. She was always a standout player and an ultra-competitive defender. But when her path crossed with Brian Kleiban – things took an interesting turn. This interview touched […]

Gary Kleiban started writing about American soccer in August 2009. That was the birth of 3four3. A line from the very first article published on 3four3 reads, “Our goal is to help players, coaches, clubs, and members of the media get better. But it all has to start with being good students of the game.” […]