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This week Gary sits down with Fred Lipka, Technical Director of Youth Development at Major League Soccer. Few people have influenced the MLS academy landscape more over the past decade, and this conversation goes deep into what’s working, what’s broken, and what needs to change in US player and coach development.

Fred shares powerful insight on why he believes American soccer has been “built upside down,” why the weekly rhythm should always be five days to develop, one day to perform, and why judging coaches solely by results is holding back both player development and coaching standards.

We dive into:

• The real purpose of youth competition

• Why US soccer over-teaches with big numbers

• The lack of 1v1 wingers and aggressive fullbacks

• Touch limits, robotic players, and constraints-led training

• Relative age effect and selecting the “big kids” too early

• Why domestic coaches should stop feeling inferior

• Inside the MLS–French Federation (EFCL) course

• The rise of US talent and why Europe is watching

• How MLS academies are building community, not isolation

Fred’s honesty in this episode is exceptional, and his clarity on how to optimise the individual player — not just the team — is something every coach can learn from.

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• Leave a comment — Do you agree with Fred’s view on development vs results?

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