Soccer Talk presented by Kick It Forward

Postseason games are coming thick and fast and quickly they start to become more and more meaningful. After taking in an entertaining Semifinal in Substate 3 between Roosevelt and Dowling, the Game of the Week Crew decided to visit Valley Stadium in West Des Moines where the Tigers would attempt to avenge a loss from earlier in the season to a young, but talented Ankeny Hawks side. Other local 3A...

After receiving over 300 total votes for the Game of the Week, more than 100 of them were cast in favor of a trip to Windsor Heights for the Roosevelt-Dowling match-up. In addition to it being a beautiful spring evening, both squads brought their fans out in full force and they would be rewarded by an entertaining match. As Coach Matt Ream's Roughriders finished out an undefeated conference schedu...

As the high school boys regular season winds down, postseason play is heating up as we speed towards the state tournament at Cownie in a couple weeks. With the first round of substate games taking place on Thursday, May 20th, we chatted with some of the coaches of the top-ranked central Iowa programs as they prepare for the knockout portion of the season.   #16 Roosevelt Roughriders - Matt Ream  #...

We've been in the thick of the high school soccer season, covering lots of Games of the Week, but we figured it was time to revisit The Player's Spotlight. It was only appropriate to track down high school senior, Jaren Obia, one of the standout players for the second-ranked Valley Tigers. Jaren's 31 goals (at the time of publication) is the most in the state for Class 3A and his 13 assists put hi...

We love a doubleheader and we love the Ankeny soccer community, so naturally, we shot up north with our friend and Ankeny Fanatic Legend, Jacob Misel, to take in the Ankeny derby between the Hawks of Ankeny High School and the Jaguars of Ankeny Centennial High School at Northview Middle School. The girls' game showcased top-ranked Centennial against Ankeny, whereas the boys game featured a couple...

Usually a classic Des Moines Public Schools' battle held under the lights on a Friday evening, this year's DMPS Classico took place on a quiet Tuesday afternoon at Cownie Soccer Complex. The atmosphere certainly did not rival those of the past, but it was still a good game of high school soccer that highlighted some strong players from both squads. With Lincoln putting out a young, attack-minded t...

The Game of the Week crew headed west again this week, but this time it was a more northerly route up Highway 141 to Perry. After light snow on Monday, this Tuesday game saw temperatures in the low 40s drop to the mid 30s by full time. Our inaugural Battle of the Blue Jays brought Class 2A's 6th-ranked Bondurant-Farrar out to play perennial powerhouse Perry. Perry, who is actually experiencing a t...

We headed west this week to Van Meter to see the Bulldogs take on the Thunder of Grand View Christian in a Class 1A match-up. The first year program in Van Meter is led by head coach, Jonah Waldron, a Van Meter alumni who actually played with Adel when he was in high school because Van Meter didn't have enough players for a program. It was also fun to see Dakota Kuehl's squad in the Thunder, who a...

The transformation of the Iowa Soccer League is now fully underway - the Club Development League has formed and several top clubs have left the Iowa Soccer Association. What comes of this change has yet to be determined, but for now, ISA is tasked with retaining their current membership and trying to create a league structure that not only encourages player development, but probably most important...

No doubt that a Game of the Week got the Soccer Talk crew fired up - not since June of 2019 have we had a chance to cover a high school soccer game. So to kick off the 2021 season, we decided to take in a unique match pitting Dowling Catholic against Norwalk. Not only would this match signify Norwalk's first match as a member of Division 3A, but it would also be Dowling Catholic's head coach, Jack...

Perhaps the final piece to the puzzle in understanding this specific Youth Soccer Discussion is the competition/league structure itself. Craig Winger is the Iowa Soccer Association's Director of Competition and he's here to educate us. Craig is a native Iowan and growing up in the '80s playing at a community club in Dubuque, he's seen the evolution of Iowa soccer that hearkens back to the early da...

This is a big one. Michael Parkhurst's list of accomplishments is a long one - it's one that spans an excellent MLS career (New England Revolution, Columbus Crew, Atlanta United), includes time spent playing in Europe in Denmark's top flight (FC Nordsjaelland) and highlighted by a strong stint with the U.S. Men's National Team. But today, he joins us as a newly announced owner for USL Rhode Island...

Taking a little break from the Youth Soccer Discussion, we are introducing a new segment: The Player's Spotlight, which will give other young players an opportunity to hear from their local peers and role models.  Today's guest, Leroy Enzugusi, is living the dream. Born in Kenya, Leroy made it to Iowa via Memphis, Tennessee, landing in Marion as a preteen. One of the best parts of his story is how...

Back again? You know it. Naturally, the Youth Soccer Discussion continues and we have the top authority on the topic hanging out with us in the studio today. Dan Cataldi is the now two-year tenured Executive Director for the Iowa Soccer Association and he's here to help our listeners understand how the CDL conversation began and explain the process over the past 6-12 months.  This past summer of 2...

Our Youth Soccer Discussion continues today with a very unique perspective from Curt Lewis, who currently coaches at Prairie Soccer Club, Cedar Rapids Prairie High School and for Iowa ODP. Curt grew up in West Des Moines playing for Valley High School and the West Des Moines Soccer Club, eventually going on to play at Mt. St. Claire in Clinton in addition to spending time with the Des Moines Menac...

And again, we are back with the hot topic of Iowa youth soccer: the discussion surrounding the Iowa Soccer League vs. the Club Development League. We gather up our gear and head down to the conference room studio to chat with Matt Sahag, sometimes known as the Titan Tactician, but today appearing as a Youth Soccer Consultant. Matt, who played four years at Drake and captained the squad his senior...

And we are back with the hot topic of Iowa youth soccer: the discussion surrounding the Iowa Soccer League (ISL) vs. the Club Development League (CDL). Today we welcome Matt Carver to the studio as a representative of the Iowa Soccer League. Carver founded and runs the Iowa United FC in Urbandale, which was formerly the J-Hawk Soccer Club. Iowa United FC was created to provide a low-cost, voluntee...

The pandemic has changed the way we do things - some for the better and others less so - but no doubt, it has pushed people to be more creative and a lot of the time, more inclusive as well. Such is the case with the Iowa Soccer Virtual Symposium, which is being offered uniquely over the the internet on February 27 and 28. By offering individual and organization passes, plus providing recordings o...

If there's such a thing as an original in Iowa soccer, Courtney Crandell is one that comes to mind. Courtney is a pioneer for soccer-playing women of all ages, but in her time, was among the first Iowans to break through at the D1 and National Team level. After learning the game through her older brothers Chad and Josh, the Roosevelt graduate went on to play with boys competitive teams including (...

Today we welcome good friend, fellow Iowan and Scuffed Soccer Podcast co-host, Greg Velasquez, to the pod. Scuffed is an excellent soccer podcast born of our men's national team's tragic inability to qualify for World Cup 2018. Accordingly, we'll embark on a first (Soccer Talk listeners know we love firsts), focusing in on the U.S. Men's National Team as their infamous January Camp comes to a clos...

In the depths of winter, with less soccer to see in person, there's still plenty of soccer to talk about. This past summer of 2020, in a relatively new pandemic era, a contingent of youth soccer clubs in Iowa proposed a new league with the Iowa Soccer Association called the Club Development League (CDL). This podcast tries to provide a neutral overview of of the differences between the CDL and the...

Pods come and pods go, but we feel like this is a timeless classic, much like our guest, Aaron Leventhal. Aaron loves fitness, a love that started with his dad, who as Aaron explains it was the least-skilled basketball player at the Jewish Community Center in Des Moines and taught him by example that anyone can love sports. Aaron, in this case, fell in love with soccer, something that was also fue...

Happy New Year, folks. The year known as 2020 has been strangely long and it seems everyone has been challenged in one way or the other. So let's start 2021 on the front foot and talk about something uplifting... How about an Iowa guy working to climb the professional soccer ladder achieving some deserved success? Brandon Fricke, of Dallas Center-Grimes, has always been driven and put his focus on...

We have a special holiday delivery today! We hop on the ol' Zoom to chat with Bill Koeppen, who currently coaches for Sporting Omaha in Nebraska, but we mostly have a broad discussion about Koeppen's life and of course, soccer. A self-described truth seeker, Cruyffian and music aficionado, Koeppen is the type of coach that can change your life. He's demanding, intense and principled and he strives...

Today we hit you with a very 2020 podcast and explore what we've dubbed, The Lost Season. In particular, we are focused on the Abraham Lincoln High School Railsplitters boys' high school program today, with head coach Jack Simons joining us in the studio. Simons' passion for the game is palpable. The only thing that seems to usurp that passion is his dedication to his student athletes - his commit...