The Inside Scoop with Anytime Soccer Training - Discussing Youth Soccer from Around the World

I dig into why just telling players to practice a skill — like passing with their weak foot — rarely leads anywhere. Sending home a drill or a video isn't the same as creating real behavior change.

That takes documented expectations, showing the process, and clear consequences for meeting or missing them. It's the gap Anytime Soccer Training tries to close with fully follow-along videos instead of the usual PDF-and-YouTube-link approach.

I watched a game this weekend that changed how I think about fitness in practice. Two teams, similar talent, wildly different outcome — and it came down to something most coaches don't want to talk about.

I'm breaking down what I saw, borrowing a personal finance trick to make sense of it, and admitting I might be a little old-school on this one. Curious what you think — come argue with me in the Facebook group.

In this episode of The Inside Scoop, I sit down with Carlos Mojica— author of Goal: Awesome Soccer Stories and Fun Facts for Kids — to talk about career paths in soccer that don't involve playing on the field.

Carlos and I dig into his path from El Salvador into a career in sports communications, what a Venue Press Officer actually does day-to-day, and the advice he'd give students who want to break into the sports industry. We also announce a free giveaway of an autographed copy of Carlos's book, exclusive to our Facebook groups, just in time to get kids excited for this year's World Cup.

Every parent has said it at some point: "I'm not qualified to train my own kid." I used to believe that too — until I built a system that changed everything about how my sons train, and how I show up for them.

In this episode, I get more honest than usual about what's actually behind that excuse, what it costs the kids who never hear otherwise, and the specific approach my wife and I use that most parents have never considered. If you've ever told yourself you're not the right person to help your child improve, this one might change your mind. Come tell me if I'm wrong in the Facebook group.

When I watch my kid's team, I'm not really watching the score. I'm watching whether they can create goal-scoring opportunities consistently — inside a game model and a style of play, rather than by accident.

Defensively, I want to see them organized, compact, and aggressive, winning the ball back quickly. Going forward, I want to see them progress the ball out from the back with patience and style, connect through the midfield, and change the point of attack to get it wide.

That's the difference between a team that happens to win games and a team that is actually being developed.

Winning and losing tells you almost nothing about whether your kid's team is actually developing.

I break down the real signals I look for after a decade of watching games as a soccer parent — the ones most people miss entirely.

I share a personal moment from one of my son's games that changed how I see all of this.

And I tease a new series I'm planning, bringing coaches on to go even deeper.

Fitness doesn't fit the narrative — it's not fun, it's not easy to sell, so it quietly gets left out of the conversation around player development.

In this episode, I dig into why fitness actually matters more than people admit, why the real problem usually isn't fitness at all but a lack of intensity in training, and what parents can look for — and do at home — if their child's environment isn't providing it.

I've spent 15 years watching parents try to talk coaches into playing their kid a different position — and I've learned it rarely works the way people hope.

In this episode, I share why those conversations usually go nowhere, the few times it's actually worth having one, and what's worked better for me: finding position variety for my own kids outside the club, through summer leagues, 3v3s, indoor, and futsal.

In this episode, I take on a claim I hear constantly in coaching circles — that you can't teach a skill you can't perform, or that you can't teach soccer if you haven't played at a high level. I break this down philosophically, using examples like the Erie Canal builders and people who've climbed Everest without prior experience, to show humans regularly achieve things without a playing background in that exact thing.

I share my own experience training my sons to a high level despite never having played myself, and I walk through what teaching actually requires: content knowledge, experience, communication, and pedagogy — not necessarily elite playing ability.

I also get into the real gap between playing and teaching, address the major objections people raise, and make the case for why this belief matters beyond the debate itself — it shrinks the coaching pool, drives up costs, and keeps parents and motivated volunteers from stepping in to help their own kids develop.

In this episode, I answer a parent's question about whether to approach their U9 son's coach about moving him from striker to wing, where he seems to perform better.

I push back on the instinct to judge that parent — I've been there myself, watching my own sons and thinking they'd do better in a different role. Asking development questions early on shouldn't be treated as overstepping; it's no different than asking a relative for advice on advanced classes for your kid.

I don't give a flat yes or no, since it depends on the parent's relationship with the coach. Instead, I lay out an approach: ask the coach how they prefer to communicate and whether they're open to development conversations at all, then frame the ask around wanting your child to experience multiple positions over the season — not a specific change — and check for understanding on whether the coach will actually follow through.

I also share my own philosophy that practice should be "positionless," giving kids reps across multiple roles so they build broader fundamentals. I'd rather see my own kids in midfield, though my younger son loves center back and is thriving there — which makes it hard for me to push, even at home.