Shaun Soderling is a coach and co-host of the #SoccerChat podcast.

His coaching experience ranges from youth club to college, both men and women.

He says that he is, ” the type of coach that goes above and beyond to build a sustainable program that is not only successful but also produces quality individuals. (He) intentionally builds buy-in and a positive culture. (His) strategy and tactics have been proven successful.”

His positive mentality is something that we spoke about at length during this interview.

We also discussed:

You can find Shaun and all of his #SoccerChat shenanigans on Twitter every Wednesday night. You can also find the SoccerChat podcast on every podcast provider imaginable. If you're looking for one of their episodes to start with try the one when they interviewed me. I’ve provided a link for it in the write-up for this podcast.

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The post Episode 178: How Shaun Soderling Builds a Positive Team Culture and Why It’s Important appeared first on 3four3.

Michael Austin is a Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University. He teaches, writes, and speaks about topics in ethics, family, and sports just to name a few.

He has published 11 books. Some of which are intended for scholars, but most are for people with an interest in how philosophical reflection can be applied to everyday life. Mike recently taught an entire course dealing with ethics in sports and we explored that topic in this conversation.

He is a high school soccer coach and is passionate about the beautiful game.

I came across Mike’s name as I was searching for additional information about Raymond Verhijen. Mike actually referenced my interview with Raymond in one of his short published articles.

After requesting this interview with Mike, I realized that he was actually our newest 3four3 coaching member. So that was kind of cool.

You can connect with Mike on Twitter. You can also visit his website.

Visit Bounce Athletics online to search products and take advantage of the discount they are offering 3four3 listeners and members. When you’re ready – email [email protected] to start the order process and mention 3four3 to get 10% off your first order.

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The post Episode 177: Why Mike Austin Is Talking About Promotion and Relegation to College Students appeared first on 3four3.

Randy Waldrum’s soccer career started in Texas during a time that soccer hardly existed.

He remembers when the recreational league in his small town first started. He remembers who started it. And he remembers watching it grow year after year after year.

Randy has coached collegiately and professionally over the course of several decades. He won two NCAA national championships as the head coach of the Notre Dame women’s program. He’s currently the head coach of the women’s team at the University of Pittsburg.

This was a fun conversation with Randy that covers American soccer history from his point of view. He touches on a number of important topics including the importance of mentors, how difficult it is be a club soccer coach today, and the fact that the rest of the world is quickly catching up to the U.S. Women’s National Team.

We also spend a few minutes discussing the importance of playing young players. That was one of my favorite parts of our phone call.

You can connect with Randy on Twitter.

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The post Episode 176: How Randy Waldrum Rebuilt His Roster and Reenergized the Program appeared first on 3four3.

Azteca FC is a competitive adult and youth soccer club based in Sacramento, California. The club was founded by Director of Coaching, Rose Shoen, in fall 2013. Coach Rose founded this club as a fairly priced opportunity for players who have a desire to compete at the highest level and develop on and off the field.

An interesting story intertwined with all of the great work happening at Azteca FC, is Rose being one of the very few females currently coaching men. The Men's team competes in the Premier division of the San Francisco Soccer Football League (SFSFL) and in the Northern California conference of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL). Rose has helped the men’s team earn multiple promotions.

In this episode, we discuss:

You can connect with Rose and Azteca FC on Twitter or visit their website to learn more.

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The post Episode 175: Do Different Cultures Require Different Opportunities? appeared first on 3four3.

Shawn Beyer is a youth soccer coach from Southern California.

He recently posted a clip of his team building out of the back from a goal kick, taking the ball all the way up the field with a series of passes, and scoring. That clip caught attention. So, I reached out to Shawn to discuss what was happening at that moment and to talk about his coaching style.

11 passes 9 players. Goalkick to goal. Proud of the boys for playing this way. ?? pic.twitter.com/MVKNbdFwtM

— Shawn Beyer (@CoachShawnB74) March 19, 2019

We ended up having a great discussion about the importance of winning, parent education, and he gave some great advice when he answered my famous question: “what do people need to know?”

You can connect with Shawn on Twitter.

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The post Episode 174: How Important Is Parent Education When You’re Building Your Teams Identity? appeared first on 3four3.

Ted Westervelt is one of the few repeat guests on this podcast. Which means he’s one of my favorite people to talk to.

He’s most known for (and most proud of) his activity on Twitter. For almost a decade, he has been the most vocal warrior in the fight to free American soccer from its current closed caste system. And we share a passion for discussing this topic.

One of the benefits of hosting this podcast is being able to provide Ted with an opportunity to explain, in depth, his stance on promotion and relegation to an audience of passionate American soccer fans. I also think everyone benefits when Ted and I are able to have an unfiltered and honest conversation.

Ted will be the first to point out that he doesn’t agree with how certain people are operating. But he’s also the first to say that everyone is coming from the right spot and has the right goal in mind.

A line from Ted’s website sums it perfectly:

“American clubs deserve the same opportunities as any in the world.”

Ted is the godfather of the pro/rel movement. He is the one responsible for highlighting the need for fundamental change in the way American club soccer does business. And he is probably the reason that so many grassroots movements have started and are now fighting for change.

Visit Bounce Athletics online to search products and take advantage of the discount they are offering 3four3 listeners and members. When you’re ready – email [email protected] to start the order process and mention 3four3 to get 10% off your first order.

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This episode is part two of my conversation with Orlando City SC assistant coach Guillermo Sanchez.

You can find part one here: Episode 171 with Guillermo Sanchez

Together, these episodes provide valuable insight into multiple aspects of the game, on and off the field, from the lowest to the highest levels of the sport.

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This episode is part one of my conversation with Guillermo Sanchez. He is an assistant coach for Orlando City SC. Prior to that, he was the mental coach and head of video analysis.

We were introduced to each other by my friend Kasy. Kasy and I met while taking a coaching course in Southern California and we’ve stayed in contact since.

Originally, I reached out to Kasy to interview him, but he suggested I interview Guillermo instead. What we ultimately settled on was a 3-way chat. And I absolutely loved how our conversation turned out.

The total call time with Guillermo and Kasy was well over two hours. So I’ve decided to split it up into smaller pieces that are easier to digest. Together, these episodes will provide valuable insight into multiple aspects of the game, on and off the field, from the lowest to the highest levels of the sport.

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Lisa Cole has over twenty years’ experience at the youth, collegiate, professional, and international levels and is well-versed in soccer operations, camps, and non-profit work. She has coached in both the WPS and NWSL women's professional leagues and held numerous NCAA Division I collegiate coaching positions.

We started out this conversation by talking about her time coaching international soccer with Papua New Guinea. That led to talking about some of the struggles women’s soccer programs are still facing all over the world. It wasn’t what we planned to talk about, but I’m super glad that we did.

The plan was to talk about how to teach by giving players cues to be successful on the field. That turned into a conversation about rehearsing, pattern play, and choreography. We actually realized we had different ideas when it came to teaching players cues and was kind of cool to have a little back and forth instead of just agreeing with each other. Eventually, the conversation turned to promotion and relegation and how badly we need a better arena for our soccer ideas to compete against each other.

You can connect with her on Twitter and learn more about her on her website.

Visit Bounce Athletics online to search products and take advantage of the discount they are offering 3four3 listeners and members. When you’re ready – email [email protected] to start the order process and mention 3four3 to get 10% off your first order.

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The post Episode 170: Two Different Approaches to Giving Players Cues appeared first on 3four3.

Manya Makoski Puppione is a former professional player and current college soccer coach. Days after recording this episode, Marymount University announced that Manya will be the next women’s soccer head coach. We didn’t get a chance to talk about that, but we did have a great conversation.

We discussed:

Fun fact, Manya’s husband Bobby is a 3four3 premium coaching member.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the 343podcast with Manya Makowski Puppione

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