“Bet on yourself” , was Brian Walsh's simple advice to me in response to examining his success to date.

Arriving in the US nearly 20 years on a college scholarship Brian has continued to fulfill that promise to himself rising through the ranks to launch and spearhead youth programmes at NY Cosmos and now NYCFC. Leveraging critical thinking, navigating change successfully and being prepared to go above and beyond have been at the heart of Brian's career to date. With over 25,000 kids passing through NYCFC youth programmes over the past 5 years it's hard to argue against it's success and sturdy foundations. Unprecedented interest and growth in football combined with a home World Cup on the horizon allowed for us to have a timely conversation about youth football and it's rise in one of the largest metropolitan areas on Earth. Among what we discussed included;

- 20 years in the United States from college scholarship to youth director.

- The Monday evening in downtown New York which altered Brian's path?

- Building the youth development programmes at NY Cosmos & NYCFC from scratch.

- Insights into running a youth development programme the sheer magnitude and scale of NYCFC's?

- Advantages of working within a multi-club network?

- Impact of the monumental growth and interest of the game in shaping the eco-system around a player?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 05:04 - Early Beginnings

05:05 - 09:09 - Change of Path

09:10 - 15:45 - NY Cosmos

15:46 - 31:45 - NYCFC

31:46 - 39:06 - Advice

Brian's Twitter; https://twitter.com/nycsoccer1?lang=en