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Ranting Soccer Dad

Author: Beau Dure

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Frank but fair conversations and occasional silliness about youth soccer. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
30 Episodes
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A reading of the introduction to my new book is at the 15-minute mark, after a brief autobiography to explain my perspective as an old but still upbeat soccer supporter. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
We were going to talk about promotion and relegation. Really. We just didn't get around to it. Dan and I have been talking soccer online for a couple of decades, and we've been accused of being shills for Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer. And we've been accused of being the same person. We submit this podcast as proof that we're not, though someone will probably figure I just recorded both voices and spliced it together in Audacity, like the inverse of Jim Henson and Frank Oz teaming up to be the Swedish Chef. And THAT, we talk about.  We also trip down Memory Lane to remember a coven of soccer bloggers and journalists, along with MLS Cup 2009. And we talk about soccer hipsters. But you have to listen to the end to hear the Dave Chappelle joke. And the nice tidy ending. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
You can’t fix luck. But can you rethink things? Can you find holes in what you’re being taught? Why do people who follow the rules always lose? If you hurl a bag of balls, cones and pinnies off a cliff, does it make a sound? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
One thing we all know but becomes more vivid when you become a referee: We need more referees. A funny story or two from a long weekend on the field illustrates the point. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
How's the new "Play/Practice/Play" model working? Probably not as well for me with the number of kids I'm coaching. That's the first topic here. Then it's funny reffing stories. I get to USSF coaching education arrogance around the 18-minute mark, and then I defend Jason Davis and Nipun Chopra against the NASL's spinning efforts. Finally, a reminder to get moving if you want to run for USSF VP. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Personal news: I'm boycotting Twitter over the Alex Jones situation and related misdeeds, and The Guardian has just posted my story on Carlos Cordeiro's first six months. Youth soccer news: What can Cordeiro's task force do to stop the insanity? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
New format for the pod! Today’s topics are the new U.S. Youth Soccer chairman (with some discussion of USSF president Carlos Cordeiro), WoSo and feminism (with some discussion of Hannah Gadsby), and some RSD content updates. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Soccer writer Kyle Williams joins the podcast this week to talk about promotion and relegation, proving that we can talk about such things without bloodshed. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
This is part two of a lengthy but worthwhile interview with Nathan Richardson, co-author of a book called Shoeless Soccer. The title isn't necessarily advocating that we all toss our boots in the trash, but the book does suggest that we've organized things a bit too much and should let kids learn more by doing, which is actually how much of the rest of the world does it. (You know, the countries that QUALIFIED for the men's World Cup.) If you missed Part 1, please check it out: https://rantingsoccerdad.com/2018/07/18/rsd37-shoeless-soccer-author-nathan-richardson-on-taking-youth-soccer-off-the-long-grass/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Nathan Richardson, co-author of Shoeless Soccer, joins the podcast this week to talk about the radical yet somewhat globally accepted ideas in his book. Basically, instead of turning soccer into an expensive coach-driven activity, why not let kids learn by playing? And maybe on hard surfaces so they'll learn to control the ball instead of booting it? This conversation should give us all some ideas for how to reform youth soccer, even if you don't agree with all of them, and it should put the term "rec mindset" to bed once and for all. We all start as rec players, and in many cases, that's where we (well, not me) learn the things that make us better players down the road. We ran rather long, so this will be a two-parter. Practice plans mentioned in the podcast are at http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/coaches/u14/ Thanks as always to Patreon supporters, and keep an eye out for RSD merchandise available soon. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Lesle Gallimore has been head women's soccer coach at the University of Washington since 1994, and she's the current president of United Soccer Coaches.  In this conversation, we talk about how college coaches adapt their recruiting to the new "elite league turf war" environment. And we talk about how players adapt and whether they *can* adapt.  For example: Could Gallimore's most famous player, Hope Solo, work her way through the system today and be discovered?  Coincidentally, Solo made a lot of news this week, and I discuss that before the interview (which was recorded before all that news happened). The Gallimore interview starts around the 10-minute mark. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Dennis Crowley didn't just start a soccer team. He created a laboratory for "open-source soccer."  He shares business and financial info on his NPSL club, the Kingston Stockade, on Medium. And though Kingston might not be the likeliest market to have a club that would climb an open pyramid to Division I, he has become one of the most thoughtful (or reasonable, if you like) advocates of promotion/relegation. In this conversation, we talk about the challenges of putting together a pyramid in the lower divisions. Yes, there's more than "U.S. Soccer stinks," though he argues the federation could be doing more to facilitate change and stability. And at the end, he shares his experience of seeing the Stockade make their Open Cup debut. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
The guest is Daryl Grove of the popular Total Soccer Show podcast. The topic is his hometown club, the Richmond Kickers, which has a couple of decades of history as a youth soccer club with a professional team on top of and integrated into its internal pyramid.  Yes, really. It's not just a pro team that started up some half-assed youth programs. It's not an MLS team that has Development Academy teams and little else. See its tryout page to see how many levels of travel soccer it offers, and then look at its "Little Kicks" page to see former pro player Luke Vercollone's programs for preschoolers. The Kickers also join forces with the rival Richmond Strikers for the Richmond United Development Academy pro --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Today's guest is an English/American/German soccer writer/referee/parent/coach/player. He's Ian Plenderleith, and we had a good conversation about the differences in the USA and Germany -- at least, as many of them as we could fit in a one-hour chat. Read more of Ian's work at ... - The Quiet Fan, a blog related to his upcoming book - Referee Tales, dispatches from the fields in Germany - Rock n Roll Soccer, his book on the NASL (the old one) - Twitter --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Maybe they're not turf wars. Maybe it's just healthy competition. Christian Lavers is fully immersed in the complicated landscape of U.S. youth soccer. He's a technical director with FC Wisconsin and an executive with the ECNL and U.S. Club Soccer. And miraculously, he still sounds optimistic. Even "nice." If you're looking for mud-slinging, you're not going to find it here. Instead, you're going to hear a candid but polite take on why we have multiple national championships and other stuff that those of us who cover youth soccer complain about.  He's aware of the travel requirements these days -- "not every game should require a hotel stay or flight," he says. But he sees different organizations filling different legitimate needs.   Leading --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
It’s a futsal/grassroots doubleheader! After a brief intro (no full rant this week), you’ll hear from Leslie Hamer, who works with futsal at every level from the grassroots to the pros. She has been getting futsal into New York City public schools and now into colleges. Next up: Jason Longshore, whom you may know as a commentator on Atlanta United games but has spent much of the last 12 years working with Soccer in the Streets, an organization that brings soccer (or futsal -- whichever makes sense for the available facilities) to underserved communities and schools. You may know them from their effort to put a small soccer field at a MARTA (local transit) station. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
This week: The Ranting Soccer Dad Guide to Youth Soccer is officially underway. Check out the first couple of entries and support it on Patreon. In the podcast, I spend about five minutes explaining all that. Then I go on a rant about the generation gap in understanding soccer and why we don't have a glorious promotion/relegation pyramid just yet. (Plus a few ideas on how to get there. Or how not to.) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Do you know Mike Davitt? Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t, either. He’s a longtime soccer coach who, like many longtime soccer coaches do, also became a soccer parent. He’s originally from Kearny, N.J., hallowed ground for U.S. soccer. After listening to a few of my rants, he emailed me and said he didn’t think youth soccer was doomed. It might even be a good thing. I’ve been hoping to find people like that for the podcast, and so we chatted. Our conversation (starting around the 15:00 mark) ends up with an interesting idea on educating coaches, which is an issue that popped up in the big election. We talk about the positives of having an alphabet soup of leagues and organizations, how to help parents make educated decisions (23:00, including a suggestion that we should stop using the word “academy” unless you’re in the DA), how to watch out for players --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
After today’s explanation of the upcoming Guide to Youth Soccer (3:00) and a rant about promotion/relegation (4:15), my guest (12:30) is Doug Wood, executive director of SAY (Soccer Association for Youth). He starts by explaining what SAY does -- mostly recreational soccer through several different entry points, including schools. SAY isn’t the most top-down organization out there. Its leagues and clubs sometimes have diverse approaches. Sounds a little different than the U.S. Soccer mandates, doesn’t it? Along with U.S. Youth Soccer, U.S. Club Soccer, AYSO and USSSA, SAY is part of the Youth Council Technical Working Group, which sprung up in response to those mandates. We talk about whether that’s making a difference (26:00). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
Today’s guest has an impossible task: Make me feel better about youth soccer, and soccer in general, and youth sports in general … maybe just life in general. But she’s faced tougher tasks. She’s Julie Foudy, Hall of Fame soccer player and ESPN journalist. After I make an announcement and then rant about curling commentary, the interview starts around the 13:20 mark with a discussion of what’s good about youth soccer, whether soccer can have the same supportive atmosphere of extreme sports (20:30), the lack of women in coaching (26:20), her experiences as a soccer parent (31:20) and then U.S. Soccer politics, including the role of the Athletes’ Council (40:10). She also talks a bit about the U.S. women’s team heading into the SheBelieves Cup (51:10). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support
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