Kansas City Current assistant coach Freya Coombe joins Christina Unkel and Lori Lindsey to unpack the culture, detail, and day-to-day standards behind KC’s runaway NWSL Shield season. Freya also shares the now-legendary story of the Rolling Stones concert that almost derailed an early coaching opportunity—and what that taught her about preparation and accountability. We dig into why moving from head coach to assistant changed player dynamics (“they hate me less now”), and we answer a listener’s question on soccer’s “mysterious numbers”: what a 6/8/9/10 actually do, with KC examples.

What you’ll hear

• KC Current’s blueprint: culture > clarity > ruthless game management
• “Standards don’t sleep”: work, don’t whine—and double down after you win
• The assistant’s lens: relationships, selection pressure, and set-piece/defensive detail
• Positions explainer: clear, simple breakdown of 6 / 8 / 9 / 10 (no jargon)

Chapters (mm:ss)

00:00 Cold open — Stones night, dawn flight, and a first-impression test

02:00 Stakes — KC’s Shield in September; why this season is different

05:20 Origin beat — the MetLife concert story and what it changed

10:10 Why KC win — standards, rotation, and game-state control

17:10 Inside the staff — defensive detail under Vlatko; clean-sheet mentality

19:30 “They hate me less now” — assistant vs. head coach dynamics

33:20 Culture rules — train like champs; work, don’t whine

36:57 After the Shield — “now is when we double down”

41:40 Listener letter — what a 6/8/9/10 actually do (KC examples)

47:50 Wrap — playoff look-ahead + where to find more

Guest

Freya Coombe — Assistant Coach, Kansas City Current; former head coach at Gotham FC (Sky Blue) and Angel City FC.

Watch & follow

• All episodes on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SoccerishPodcast

• Show notes & clips (Substack) → https://www.soccerishpodcast.com/

• Shorts playlist → https://www.youtube.com/@SoccerishPodcast/shorts

• IG/TikTok/YouTube: @SoccerishPodcast

Hosts

Christina Unkel (CBS/ITV rules analyst; FIFA referee) & Lori Lindsey (CBS/Amazon/Apple analyst; former USWNT).

Contact / bookings

[email protected] | Red Card Productions

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