Kids on the Pitch (Scholastic and Youth Soccer in Western PA)

We are in the middle of a silent epidemic in female sports: non-contact ACL tears are sidelining high school, college, and professional soccer players at unprecedented rates. 

In this episode, host John Krysinsky dives deep into the ACL crisis affecting young athletes across Western Pennsylvania and nationwide. 

Joining the show is Kayla Parker, MS, LAT, ATC—Market Director of Sports Medicine for CommonSpirit Health, Official Medical Partner Liaison for Denver Summit FC (NWSL), and Athletic Trainer for the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.

Kayla breaks down why static stretching may actually increase injury risk, how modern lifestyle habits create weak posterior muscle chains, the strict 3:1 training ratio used by NWSL pros, and how young athletes can protect their knees. Plus, we address the often-overlooked mental and emotional toll of year-long injury recoveries on student-athletes away from home.

Key Topics Covered:

• The local and national scale of the ACL epidemic in female soccer players
• Anatomical, biomechanical, and modern lifestyle root causes (and why sitting in class hurts performance)
• The Static Stretching Flaw: Why old-school pre-match warmups do more harm than good
• Pro protocols made simple: Implementing the 3:1 training ratio and daily active recovery
• Navigating the psychological impact, isolation, and fear of re-injury during ACL rehab
• Practical, low-cost steps youth coaches and parents can take today to safeguard athletes

Guest Info:

Kayla Parker, MS, LAT, ATC is the Market Director of Sports Medicine for CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region and the Official Medical Partner Liaison for Denver Summit FC. With over a decade of elite sports medicine experience, she bridges professional sports and community advocacy to give youth leagues direct access to elite athletic care.

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Podcast Show Notes: 

Episode Title: Title Town, Western PA: How Bentworth Swept WPIAL Soccer

Co-Hosts/Guests: John Krysinsky with Bentworth High School Head Coaches Nick Malarbi (Boys) and Tyler Hamstra (Girls)

High school SEASON is back and so is Kids on the Pitch Podcast. 

Key Discussion Topics

• The Dual WPIAL Championships: Reflecting on the historic achievement of both the boys and girls programs bringing WPIAL Gold back to Bentleyville in the same season.
• Building a Unified Culture: How the boys and girls programs treat operations as "one club," aligning youth development, playing styles, and community support.
• Small-Town Advantage & Roster Management: Navigating the unique challenge of running deep Class A programs without a dedicated JV schedule, relying on community partnerships and youth club continuity.
• Coaching Dynamics & Mutual Support: Nick and Tyler detail their coaching origins, bouncing tactical ideas off one another, and their shared vision for Bentworth soccer.
• The "Mon Valley" Identity: What defines a Mon Valley / Washington County soccer player—grit, accountability, tenacity, and pride.

Key Timestamps / Segment Outline

• 00:00 - 02:15 – Introduction: Bentworth’s Historic Dual Sweep & Community Impact
• 02:15 - 05:30 – Creating One Club: Aligning the Boys, Girls, and Youth Programs
• 05:30 - 09:45 – Grassroots Development & Navigating Small-School Roster Dynamics
• 09:45 - 12:50 – Coaching Synergies: Nick and Tyler’s Shared History & Collaboration
• 12:50 - 16:15 – The Mon Valley Soccer Identity: Toughness, Heritage, and Pride
• 16:15 - End – Looking Ahead: Sustaining Success in Bentleyville

In this episode of Kids on the Pitch, host John Krysinsky is joined by Pine-Richland Boys Soccer Head Coach Jordan Wiegand to preview the upcoming WPIAL Class 4A season.

• Single-Team Focus: Coach Wiegand discusses stepping away from dual-coaching to dedicate 100% of his attention to the boys' program, enabling deeper video analysis, individualized player development, and higher training intensity.
• JRK Memorial Classic: An inside look at the annual kickoff tournament honoring former player Jim Kennedy. Wiegand highlights how the event has expanded across the main stadium and Ram Cage to host top programs from the WPIAL, District 10, and out-of-region teams like Archbishop Ryan and The Kiski School.
• Roster & Outlook: A breakdown of the Rams' competitive Class 4A section and key returning seniors aiming to build on late-season momentum.
• Buy or Sell: John poses a Buy or Sell questions about the upcoming season and his approach to coaching different situations

Two WPIAL girls soccer programs have reached the PIAA (State) Championship game for the first time ever in their respective classifications, as Burrell advanced in the Class 2A bracket where they'll take on Archbishop Wood (Friday evening, 7 p.m. kickoff) and South Fayette are headed to the Class 3A final where they'll face Radnor (Saturday afternoon, 1 p.m. kickoff).

Both matches will be played at Northeastern High School in Manchester.

Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky caught up with captains from both squads on Thursday for a special edition of Kids on the Pitch Podcast.

Joining John from South Fayette included Caitlyn Thompson, Mia Deramo and Quinn Miller; and from Burrell, captains included Mikayla Coury, McKenna Miller, Parker Moore

We've reached Championship week, the PIAA Boys and Girls Soccer tournament has a handful of teams who have made it deep into the tournament.

Instead of the field from Western PA including all WPIAL (PIAA's District 7) schools, there's Pittsburgh City School program, designated in PIAA's District 8, Allderdice boys, have crashed the Class 3A party.

On Saturday night, Allderdice faced off against a WPIAL champion, West Allegheny.

For the second straight year, the Dragons took the WPIAL's top team to extra time in the PIAA Quarterfinal Round, but this time around, the City League school advanced, beating West Allegheny in a match that was decided in a penalty kick shootout right around the same time the Pittsburgh Riverhounds were doing the same thing.

On the newest episode of Kids on the Pitch Podcast, PSN's John Krysinsky is joined by Allderdice Head Coach, David Thyberg to talk about the City League program, which has built a strong tradition of success, but has never come this far in the State tournament.

John will also set the stage for PIAA Championship Week and talk about some upcoming Pittsburgh Soccer Now high school soccer coverage and features.

The WPIAL boys and girls soccer playoffs are halfway complete and will come to a mad dash finish this week with the semifinal round and then quickly turn to the WPIAL Finals at Highmark Stadium.

Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky is joined by Westmoreland Sports Network soccer analyst Mike Powers to take a look a quick look back at some of the highlights of the first two rounds of the WPIAL playoffs, including both Quarterfinal Round matches featuring Norwin, which Mike was on the call when Plum eliminted Norwin in Boys Class 4A tournament in a penalty kick shootout and Norwin girls edged Mt. Lebanon in Girls Class 4A tournament.   

John and Mike discuss those matches and much, much more! 

The 2025 WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Playoff brackets are out!

In the newest episodes of the Kids on the Pitch Podcast, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky is joined by Fox Chapel's Carlo Prati (Girls 3A) to get reaction and insights on the seedings, the postseason, match-ups, who may be the sleepers in their respective classifications and much more!

In the coming days, look for more interviews with more coaches as they look forward to the District Tournament, which will kickoff on Saturday and culminate with the District Finals at Highmark Stadium, October 30-November 1.

The 2025 WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Playoff brackets are out!  

In the newest episode of the Kids on the Pitch Podcast, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky is joined by Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand his reaction and insights on the seedings, the postseason, match-ups, who may be the sleepers in their respective classifications and much more! 

We are excited to bring Libby Mascaro back to the Kids on the Pitch Podcast!

If you recall, in her first appearance Mascaro shared her passion as a coach by 'leading with love' in crusade to promote Mental Health Awareness with young student athletes.

Now, Libby joins the Podcast to address some of the questions we recently posed to High School boys and girls coaches, especially what some of the biggest challenges and rewards of coaching young student athletes in their most formative years.

Mascaro has coached for Beadling SC and was a part of the Mt. Lebanon ‘Dream Team’ of the 1990s soccer dynasty and played collegiately at Penn State University.

Libby has two daughters who attend and play soccer at Upper St. Clair HS (Mary and Abby) each who are committed to attend Kent St and Delaware, respectively.

• Addressing ongoing challenges for youth coaches, parents, soccer organizations and schools in mentoring, guiding and supporting young athletes and students.
• Resources to provide help and assistance
  • NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness (website: https://www.nami.org/Home)
  • AFSP: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (website: https://afsp.org/) 

More about Libby Mascaro

For the last 10 years Libby has worked closely with two organizations, as she co-founded the Upper St. Clair Wellness Committee and the No Place for Hate initiative, a national program supporting schools in their commitment to celebrating diversity, promoting respect for differences, and challenging bias and bullying at all levels.  USC’s Wellness Committee’s mission is to make sure the students (and staff) in USC are healthy, both physically and mentally. I have held several fundraisers over these years raising almost $300,000 for local mental health resources. Plus she advocates strongly for mental health awareness through affiliations with organizations including the National Alliance on Mental Illness and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Through Libby’s coaching experiences, currently with Beadling SC, she empowers young female athletes to be the best at their game and their mind.

LIbby was recently awarded the Citizen of the Year award by Judge Ron Arnoni for work in the USC Community – specifically for mental health. She has spoken many times at hearings, Congressional meetings, Notary meetings, NAMI conferences, USC community events, the PTA and PTOs in USC, school assemblies and many other places.

The high school soccer season is nearly at the halfway point of the regular season, so it's perfect time to get the Kids on the Pitch Podcast cranking up again.  

Pittsburgh Soccer Now’s John Krysinsky is joined by Plum High School boys soccer coach, Rafal Kolankowski, to ask the same five questions he presented to 15 WPIAL boys coaches for PSN's new feature, Coaches Corner.