By Katie Koelliker
Ever wonder what former youth soccer players pathways looked like? What journeys they took to get where they are today? Who were their influences? What resources they used to play collegiate or pro
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Discover the inspiring journey of Jordyn Wickes, a senior forward at Michigan State University, as she shares her incredible soccer story from childhood to collegiate success. Ever wondered how a multi-sport athlete can excel in soccer? Jordyn breaks it down, discussing her early start in the sport, the transitions she faced, and the pivotal moments that paved her way to Michigan State, despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19. Her reflections on arguing with coaches over positions and eventually finding her place on the field offer a raw and genuine look at the ups and downs of an athletic career.
Curious about what it takes to navigate college soccer recruiting? Join us as we explore the intricate process with Jordyn, highlighting the importance of choosing a university that offers a well-rounded experience. The conversation dives into the demanding nature of collegiate soccer life, from rigorous training schedules to the significant lifestyle shifts. We emphasize the benefits of being a multi-sport athlete and share valuable lessons learned from Jordan's siblings, who have each carved out their unique athletic and academic paths.
Finally, we touch on broader themes within the soccer community, such as mental health, the role of soccer agents, and the exciting prospects within the sports industry. Jordan provides advice for aspiring youth soccer players and reflects on her dilemma of pursuing professional soccer while balancing a mechanical engineering degree. Don't miss this heartfelt episode filled with personal anecdotes, practical advice, and a peek into our own podcasting journey, including the dynamic friendship between your hosts and our mission to spotlight diverse pathways to success in soccer.
Listen to the BIG LIFE here and follow Jordyn on Instagram Here
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Today's interview with Andrew Clifton we discuss his playing and coaching career for the Kansas City Legends. How the game changed from when he was playing and now as a coach and how their philosophy as a club has molded several professional players out of their area. What makes Kansas City Legends different? Coaching Inside the Box. What does that mean? Listen in and find out how this concept has revolutionized their players development over the years and what they have done as a club to continue to mold and develop these youth players.
Andrew is also one of the co-hosts of Coaching Inside the Box and coaching soccer/football podcast taking in the different perspectives of each hosts backgrounds and discussing the environments that has cultivated accomplished teams throughout the world over the years.
Want to listen to their podcast? Link here for their podcast and their Instagram.
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In today's latest episode, I have a discussion with fellow soccer mom, Kelly Hafer out of Colorado about her journey so far as a soccer mom through two different kids. We discuss the changes in soccer from her older son to her younger son and how her sons have been able to bond over their love of the game despite their age gap. We talk about how weather affects games, leagues and tournaments (this was recorded in March 2024 when lots of weather was impacting much of the US during this time). We discuss difficult times in her son's careers and how they were able to work through them and find a solution to help the situations they each went through. She shares some of her soccer history of playing herself and how she has been able to use it to connect with her kids and share in their journeys through the game.
Want to be a guest? Reach out to me on Instagram or fill out my link below!
Leave me a voice message on SpeakPipe! You could be featured on an episode!
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To start celebrating Mother's Day here in USA, I have set out to interview soccer moms from all over the country.
In today's episode I interview soccer mom Cari Gonzalez out of Florida. She shares her experience with her son playing soccer and also has a daughter who does cheerleading. Cari talks about their differing schedules from sport to sport, juggling being a team manager and talks about a recent trip her son's team took to the Mediterranean International Cup (MIC Cup) in Spain earlier this year.
Cari is also behind one of my favorite Instagram pages "Soccer Moms Unfiltered." She shares the story behind starting the page and how it has grown into an amazing community of parents bonding together over very relatable experiences. Go give her a follow @soccermomsunfiltered.
Want to be a guest on a future episode? Fill out the Google Form below!
Leave me a voice message on SpeakPipe! You could be featured on an episode!
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In today's episode, I speak with one of the Tiny Soccer Troops founders, Amy Schweizer. She shares her soccer experiences growing up and then how becoming part of a military family had an impact on her love of the game and how she was able to stay involved in soccer.
In 2014, founder Amy Schweizer was living in Okinawa, Japan and finding it difficult to find activities for children under 5 years old. Combining her love of soccer with her passion for military spouses, Amy’s vision to create an experience for the under 5 crowd became a reality and eventually became Tiny Troops Soccer, with locations throughout the United States. Tiny Troops is an introduction to the world of soccer for children ages 2-4 and is run by military spouses and parents, giving military spouses the opportunity to work as well as providing a fun activity for toddlers and their friends. More importantly, it’s focused on giving young children the opportunity to form lifelong friendships and creating a community for military parents and their kids. To date, Tiny Troops has served over 20,000 military children and their friends as well as provided employment for over 500 military spouses and dependents. Now, that’s what we call a win-win!
To find out if there’s a location near you, check out their website (link this: https://tinytroopssoccer.com/ ). Love soccer and looking to find a way to bring it to your area? Find out how to join (link this: https://tinytroopssoccer.com/join-our-team/ ) the Tiny Troops team!
Need help coaching your own team? Check out their self-paced all-in-one course (link this: https://soccer-coach-everything-you-need-to-know.teachable.com/p/soccer-coach-training?fbclid=IwAR0vl8n-NhGKelNVVjQZVGIIfQ2DsmkzCJOl8Cu0b-AQk7Qg7oWYAbgBkAg )
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In today's episode, I interview Nathan Lowery, the current men's soccer coach at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia. We discuss his unique soccer background, how he got into coaching and his experiences so far as a college coach. He gives some advice to young players of today looking to be recruited for college from his time as a coach and so far on the collegiate level. We discuss some differences players can expect when transitioning from youth to collegiate programs.
We also talk about his program at Toccoa Falls and how it is unique in it's own ways. For more information about this Christian college and the soccer program available, reach out to Nathan.
Nathan Lowery Instagram
Toccoa Falls Instagram
Toccoa Falls Website
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Today's episode is part two with Charlie Sandson. We delve deeper into the life of a referee currently. What can we expect from referees on game days? Does it help to talk to a referee before a game? What limits can some referees handle during a game as far as what is said to them or yelled at them? What can a new referee expect when signing up to become a referee? What perspectives do we as coaches, parents, and players not understand about a referees job and perspective on the game? What do you enjoy about being a referee? What are highlights for you as a referee? What are low points in your career? What do you wish was in place to better help facilitate in the growth of referees today? He answers these questions and more in the second half of this episode.
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In today's first part episode of my interview with keeper and referee, Charlie Sandson. He shares his story through the sport of soccer and playing as a keeper. He discusses his transition from player to referee and why he loves what he does as a referee. We have a lot of things to discuss about his referee career and what referees do that we split this into a two part episode. We discuss a lot regarding referees, people interested in becoming a referee and we dip into referees in tournaments. Stay tuned for the rest in the next episode where we delve into more topics regarding the game of soccer and referee's perspectives.
Have questions for Charlie or another referee? Be sure to email me or message me on Instagram and I will get it answered.
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Today, Brooks and I continue our conversation regarding scouting, recruiting and more. Big topic of discussion, will it benefit players to play up? We talk about the benefits and also some setbacks people might face by having players play up. We answer your questions about what should players do to get noticed by colleges when starting to choose schools. What can players do to get noticed when contacting schools? We answer these questions and more.
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In part one of my interview with scout, Brooks Laimbeer, we discuss some of his playing career and how he wanted to stay in the sport of soccer when his career was winding down. He has found a way to stay in the game by becoming a Midwest region scout with The Soccer Syndicate. We talk about his role as a scout and what his job essentially is for those that may not know what scouts actually do. We cover a lot of important topics parents want to know going into academy and college recruiting ages. When should we contact schools? Should my kid play up? How important is it to be a starter? What do scouts look for in players? Because we cover a lot of great and important information, this interview has been broken up into two parts. Stay tuned for the rest of our conversation next week!
Brooks is also one of the hosts of the We Are Soccer Show. Be sure to check out their show on Sunday nights when they discuss the professional game around the world.
Leave me a voice message on SpeakPipe! You could be featured on an episode!
https://www.speakpipe.com/KickItWithKatie
Follow me on Instagram @kick_it_with_katie_podcast
Contact me at [email protected]
Want to be a guest? Link here
The podcast currently has 46 episodes available.