Soccer by 3four3

This episode touches on the evergreen topic of Winning versus Development. Here again we find ourselves having to work upstream against the misguiding currents of American soccer media and culture. In the States, the narrative being pushed is that winning at the youth levels doesn’t matter. So much so, that clubs, teams, coaches, anyone really […]

In this episode, Joey Cascio and I chat a bit about team development versus individual development. This is an ever-present framing in many soccer circles. That’s to say, the narratives out there pit these two against each other – as if they are opposing forces. For example, if coaches care about things like building a […]

This episode takes us through the player identification, scouting, and recruiting process associated with college soccer. San Diego State assistant coach, Carlos Aguilar, gives us an insider’s perspective. One of the interesting things with any profession is the depth associated within each – soccer is no exception. For instance, if we’re talking coaching, well that […]

Kephern Fuller, an American soccer pioneer who left the US and established roots in Holland, joins me for a chat which touched a variety of topics: The Categories within Player Development. Culture vs Infrastructure – which is most important? Is Personal Training using Coerver-like exercises good? The Player Development Jigsaw Puzzle “Just Let Them Play”? […]

This was an off the cuff chat on perhaps one of the most neglected, but fundamental skills in football. Specifically, what we like to call “losing your man”. Sure, we all know in theory that creating and finding space while your team is in possession is important. So why isn’t this regularly trained in American […]

Transcript I imagine if you’re listening to the 3four3 podcast, you also watch the Champions League. And so you are well aware that one of the semi-finalists is Villarreal, from Spain. Being a semi-finalist in the Champions League is usually reserved for one of maybe a dozen superpower clubs. Villarreal is so far down that […]

Today I’m joined by longtime friend, colleague, and exceptional coach with a ton of experience, Joey Cascio. This episode is a technical one – a zooming in on one particular training exercise. Namely, the 4v1 Rondo. So coaches, this is right up your alley. But you know what, it’s not just for coaches. None of […]

Have you ever heard the criticism that football leagues around the world are boring, or non-competitive, because they always have the same two or three clubs that win the title? I’m sure you have. And this is usually heard from a particular minority of soccer fans in the United States as an objection to how […]

The following is a brief chat I had with Terry on one of the many misguided notions out there surrounding why American soccer doesn’t need promotion and relegation. Specifically, the argument goes something like this. “Gary, the other team sports in the US operate as closed systems without promotion and relegation. And they are the […]

The following is a brief chat I had with Terry on objections to promotion and relegation in American soccer. For the uninitiated, American soccer is polarized. It’s polarized between those who subscribe to American exceptionalism when it comes to soccer, and those who don’t. Let me explain a bit. Outside literally a handful of countries, […]

The following is a pretty lively chat I had with Nick on joystick parents. You heard that right, I didn’t mean to say “joystick coaches”. That one we already covered in episode #293. Which, by the way, if you haven’t listened to that one, I strongly encourage you to do so, because it’s not what […]

The following is a free flowing discussion I had with Terry on virtuous and vicious cycles. Now if you haven’t heard of these terms before, let me provide a quick rundown of the concept. Generally, these cycles referred to a chain of events that reinforce themselves through a feedback loop. So for example, suppose we […]

The following contains a 10 minute side chat between my co-host Terry and myself, discussing at what age player development starts diverging between the US and the standard bearers across the world. This has been the subject of much debate here in the States for a long time. But luckily, we have direct experience to […]

The following was a chat I had with my cohost, Nick Rogers, on whether criticizing pro players is a good or bad, right or wrong, or perhaps less black and white than that, how to go about levying criticism. While certainly we all have our own opinions on this, it’s quite interesting that in American […]

The following is a discussion stimulated by some commentary between former men’s national team player, Herculez Gomez, and a pundit that I actually have some respect for, Sebastian Salazar. What’s the topic? Well, the topic is why the “rivalry”, between MLS franchises, New York city FC and New York Red Bulls is failing. And more […]

The following episode is on the topic of burnout. Nick and I touch on whether burnout is a real thing, or yet another artifact of a particular culture where everything needs to be soft, where competition is a bad thing, and everyone deserves a trophy. “Burnout is bullshit” is a phrase I’ve probably said a […]

Is promotion and relegation coming to the United States, is it ever coming to the United States? Ah, the eternal question, isn’t it? A question really, though, that should be framed more like: Is opportunity and inclusion in the soccer ecosystem ever coming to the United States? Or, will it remain exclusive and discrimination based? […]

The following is a discussion on so-called joystick coaching. Kaboom! Already right there, for everyone in the soccer community here, the neurons fired and in a microsecond that equation “joystick coaching = bad”. Yeah, that one, that one became top of mind. And why wouldn’t that be the case? For years, article after article, narrative […]

The following is a free flow discussion Terry Ransbury and I had on monopolies. The context is first set through the lens that Peter Thiel offers in his book, Zero to One. If you haven’t read it, it’s a good one, and I strongly recommend. After setting the stage a bit, we move into how […]

The following is a micro episode on mentality. It’s just a five minute rant I went on with Nick during one of our recordings, a tangent really. I thought I would clip it and publish it since a few days ago the big story was about Weston McKennie. Weston reportedly broke rules and, consequently, Gregg […]

The following is an episode on players “playing up” in age. While it might seem this isn’t a new notion, and it’s simply a matter of whether the player is good enough, there is quite a bit to consider. Nick and I try to touch on some of those from personal experience. And by the […]

The following is a discussion on scouting. Now obviously, this is a huge topic that entire courses and careers are built around. So it’s not like we’re going to cover this in 30 minutes. Rather, Terry and I are just flowing and having a conversation sampling from our own experience, and also injecting promotion and […]

Portland vs Seattle, NY Red Bulls vs New York City FC, LAFC vs Galaxy, please … those aren’t rivalries, those are scrimmages, those are friendly play dates among buddies who are all on the same boat rowing in the same direction. Mexico vs the United States? That’s a fucking rivalry. That’s authentic. That’s real. And […]

The following is on the topic of players with dual nationalities. Specifically, dual-nationals as it relates to the US Mens National Team. Even more specific, dual-nationals as it relates to Mexican-Americans first, and Latino-Americans generally. It’s become a hot topic in American soccer the past handful of years, and even if you’re not that interested […]

The following is a conversation on the notion of “the cream rises to the top”. I first publicly touched on this subject, albeit from a different angle, in 2009. It would seem many – if not most – believed this is how the world works, particularly here in the United States. Head down, work hard, […]