Chasing the Game - Youth Soccer in America

Liron Unreich, Matt Tartaglia
  • 5.0 (32)
  • Soccer
  • Updated Weekly

Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States. Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know. Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of parenting in youth sports in today’s competitive environment. For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.

  1. 9h ago

    The Long Game. How Do You Keep Kids Loving Soccer?

    The Long Game. How Do You Keep Kids Loving Soccer?How do you keep kids loving soccer when the game keeps asking them to carry more?This final episode of our Summer Best Of series steps back from rankings, pathways, costs, and development models to ask a bigger question. After a year of conversations, what actually matters when the final whistle blows on a child’s youth soccer journey?Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia revisit some of the voices that shaped the first season, including Dr. Jonathan Jenkins, Don Farr, Tali Sommer, Ryan Farr, Andrew May, Peguy Luyindula, and David Rodriguez. Together they explore listening before solving, protecting enjoyment, giving late developers time, and remembering that the child has to stay more important than the sport.The Long Game closes the series with optimism. Youth soccer is still worth believing in, but only if we never lose sight of why children started playing in the first place.In this episode: • Why listening should come before solving when a child wants to quit • What parents often forget while chasing development • Why freedom and enjoyment create better long-term players • How Ryan Farr’s journey challenges early specialization • Why growth goals matter more than outcome goals • Why the child has to remain more important than the sport • What the best guests from Season One taught us about long-term development • Why the future of American youth soccer is still worth fighting for (00:00) - The Long Game (01:37) - Listen Before You Solve (05:13) - Why Parents Love Watching (08:27) - Playing Free (11:21) - Late Development Is Real (14:15) - Growth Over Goals (18:13) - The Child Before The Sport (20:37) - Why We Still Believe (21:51) - End of Season Reflections Click here to view the episode transcript.

    The Long Game. How Do You Keep Kids Loving Soccer?

  2. Jul 15

    What Does Player Development Actually Mean?

    SOUND FIXED. sorry. Reload Episode. Parents hear the word development everywhere in youth soccer. Clubs say it. Coaches say it. Trainers say it. But if training does not transfer to the game, the word can hide more than it explains. In this Best Of Part 3 episode, Liron and Matt revisit clips from Sean McCafferty, Juan Santamaria, Nil Congost, Christian Gonzalez, Evan Rosenthal, Matt Poland, Dr. Chris Platts, and Jose Campos. The episode moves from winning and false progress to skill, recognition, specificity, sacrifice, late developers, and the coaching humility required to see the player in front of you. In this episode: Why winning all the time can create false progressWhy wanting to win is still part of developmentHow environment challenges talentWhy technique is not the same as game skillWhy general practice creates general outcomesHow parents get pulled toward training that looks good but may not transferWhy the simple action under pressure is often eliteWhy coaches and parents should be careful when predicting a player’s future (00:00) - What Is Development? (01:17) - False Progress (04:05) - Winning Matters (05:49) - The Barcelona Fantasy (08:37) - Technique Is Not Skill (12:13) - Specific Training (14:37) - Style Before Substance (18:10) - The Last 15 Percent (21:20) - Late Developers (26:45) - Coaching the Player (29:15) - What Parents Should Look For Click here to view the episode transcript.

    What Does Player Development Actually Mean?

  3. Jul 8

    Is Youth Club Soccer Worth the Cost?

    For parents, that question is not only about fees. It is about sacrifice, access, pressure, private training, travel, college hopes, and whether the money is actually helping the player. In this Best Of episode, Liron and Matt revisit the cost conversation through clips from Peguy Luyindula, Danny Buttita, Evan Rosenthal, Dr. Chris Platz, Justin Phelps, Tom Bowen, Ryan Farr, Phil Gordon, and Alex Rando. The episode moves past the easy complaint that youth soccer is expensive. It asks a better question: what are parents buying, what are they not buying, and does the spending match the child’s why? Chasing the Game is a weekly show for parents trying to navigate youth soccer in America: the money, the leagues, the pressure, and what actually develops a player. (00:00) - The Cost Question (02:06) - Why Soccer Costs More Here (05:05) - Pay-to-Play and Access (08:06) - Scholarships Inside Clubs (10:20) - Start With Why (14:38) - When Sacrifice Becomes Pressure (17:08) - The Scholarship Reality (18:26) - Academics and the College Path (20:50) - College or Contract (23:12) - Ask Better Questions (25:10) - Never Spend Blindly Click here to view the episode transcript.

    Is Youth Club Soccer Worth the Cost?

  4. Jul 1

    The Youth Soccer Maze: Finding the Right Path

    Summer is here, and so is our first Best Of episode. But this isn’t a greatest-hits collection. Instead of replaying our biggest social clips, we went back through 35 episodes and chose the conversations that quietly shaped how we think about youth soccer. We call this episode The Maze because that’s what the American youth soccer system often feels like. Every decision feels urgent. Every club promises opportunity. Every badge seems important. Looking back, we realized these conversations were all answering the same question: How do parents know they’re making the right decision? Featuring insights from Sean McCafferty, Andrew May, Ditmer de Jong, Filippo Giovannoli, Jose Campos, Tom Bowen, and more, this episode explores club fit, player development, rankings, self-regulation, physical maturity, and why finding the right environment matters more than chasing the biggest badge. In this episode * Why fit beats prestige* Why parent ego quietly shapes decisions* How self-regulation separates long-term players* Why rankings only tell part of the story* How biology fools parents and coaches* Why challenging yourself is essential for development (00:00) - The Maze (02:36) - Badge, Fit, and Timing (06:17) - The Ego Trap (10:10) - Self-Regulation (12:03) - Europe and Environment (14:37) - Rankings and Identity (17:24) - The Bigger Pond (20:52) - Biology Can Fool Us (23:46) - What We Learned Click here to view the episode transcript.

    The Youth Soccer Maze: Finding the Right Path

  5. Jun 24

    Winning Is Part of Development with Juan Santamaria

    Winning is part of development. Juan Santamaria, Sporting Director and Vice President at Cedar Stars Academy, joins Chasing the Game to talk about competition, mentality, playing time, college recruiting, MLS academies, and what parents misunderstand about the pathway. This episode gets into the uncomfortable parts of serious youth soccer: losing players to MLS academies, helping families through the college process, the cost of showcases, why players need to drive their own recruiting, and when parents have to step back. Juan also gives a clear answer on what a player needs by age 13, what parents should stop chasing, what they should ask clubs, and the warning sign that a player may be in the wrong environment. More from Chasing the Game:Chasing the Game - Youth Soccer in Americachasingthegame.us (00:00) - Winning Is Allowed (01:45) - Meet Juan Santamaria (05:52) - Losing Players to MLS Academies (11:06) - What a Sporting Director Actually Does (18:09) - Can Cedar Stars Keep Top Players? (24:11) - “You Have to Be a Monster” (29:03) - The College Recruiting Reality (35:00) - MLS, Europe, and the Pro Path (39:00) - The Cost of the Pathway (46:00) - When Parents Need to Step Back (49:00) - Winning Is Part of Development (51:40) - Quick Fire: Resilience, Pathway, Complacency Click here to view the episode transcript.

    Winning Is Part of Development with Juan Santamaria

  6. Jun 17

    Harris Faulkner Gets a World Cup Crash Course

    Harris Faulkner Gets a World Cup Crash CourseA six-time Emmy-winning Fox News anchor is heading to France vs. Senegal with her daughters and needs soccer rules for parents before the World Cup. Harris Faulkner knows pressure. Live television. Breaking news. Election nights. But soccer brings a different challenge: stoppage time, offside, VAR, red cards, chanting fans, and two teenage daughters watching every reaction.So Liron and Matt give her the Chasing the Game version of a World Cup crash course. Not the expert version. The parent version. Enough to follow the match, understand the drama, and maybe say one smart thing at the perfect time.In this episode: Why the World Cup is the easiest way into soccerWhat parents should know before sitting in a stadiumWhy does the clock count up and stoppage time feel strangeHow offside and VAR work without ruining the gameWhat yellow cards, red cards, and substitutions meanWhy France vs. Senegal carries real World Cup historyWhy Mbappé and Mané matterThe soccer lines that might impress your kids once (00:00) - Parent in Need (01:13) - Harris Faulkner Joins (03:37) - Soccer or Football (06:12) - How to Be a Fan (08:17) - Why the World Cup Works (11:22) - France and Senegal History (12:21) - Kickoff and the Clock (16:10) - Offside and VAR (19:49) - Cards and Substitutions (23:39) - Mbappé and Mané (28:04) - Soccer Lines That Work (33:10) - The Coachable Parent Click here to view the episode transcript.

    Harris Faulkner Gets a World Cup Crash Course

  7. Jun 10

    Why Your Kid Looks Better in Training Than Games

    Why does a youth soccer player look technical in training, then struggle when the game starts? That question drives this conversation with Christian Silva, founder of Silva Academy and a former professional player. Christian pushes past the easy labels parents hear all the time: technical, confident, talented, improving. His point is sharper than that. A player can look great in a session, beat cones, win drills, and still not understand when or why to use the skill in a real game. Liron and Matt talk with Christian about what technical ability actually means, why the skill is not just the move, why supplemental training has to connect back to the team environment, and why parents often misread confidence. Christian also explains why yelling from the sideline can hijack a player’s decision-making, why watching full games still matters, why highlights can distort development, and why the best soccer parents may need to ask more questions before chasing another trainer, team, badge, or shortcut. This episode is for every parent who has watched their kid look great in practice and then wondered why it did not show up on game day. (00:00) - Why training and games can look so different (02:24) - Christian Silva on the real development gap (05:55) - The stop moving lesson from Germany (08:30) - What technical actually means (10:30) - The skill is not the skill (12:30) - Supplemental training and game transfer (17:00) - How to judge progress in a match (20:10) - Benchmarks, foundations, and catching up (23:00) - Why training has to come alive in games (25:00) - How parents can hijack decision-making (28:20) - Pay-to-play, access, and open systems (32:30) - Too many programs, not enough clarity (35:00) - Knowing your own kid (38:00) - Tryouts, benchmarks, and control (40:30) - The reality of chasing pro soccer (42:40) - Confidence as controllables (45:20) - Why watching full games still matters (50:45) - Rapid fire: scanning, adversity, and questions (52:10) - Final takeaways for parents View full transcript

    Why Your Kid Looks Better in Training Than Games

  8. Jun 3

    Youth Soccer Exposure: What Parents Misunderstand

    A post can open a door, but it can also distort what families think progress looks like. In this episode, Liron and Matt talk with David Rodriguez, founder of Footy Access, about one of the most loaded words in youth soccer: exposure. Parents want their kids seen. Players feel the pressure. Clubs understand the value. Platforms create visibility. But being posted is not the same thing as being developed, recruited, or ready. David explains how Footy Access thinks about coverage, why families cannot pay to have a player featured, when social media can help, and why a young player still has to hold up when the camera is off. In this episode: Why David started Footy Access after seeing a gap in youth soccer mediaWhy views and followers can become misleading metricsHow Footy Access sources stories, rankings, and player coverageWhat exposure actually means for players, clubs, and familiesWhy social media is not a replacement for showcases, scouts, or developmentWhy parents cannot pay to have a player featuredWhen posting helps a player and when it becomes noiseWhy families need a clearer “North Star” before chasing visibility (00:00) - Social Media Pressure (02:30) - How Footy Access Started (05:45) - Views Are Not the Goal (07:15) - Sourcing the Story (08:55) - Highlights, Rankings, and Scouts (11:28) - Keeping Coverage Positive (15:31) - What Exposure Means (18:49) - The Business Model (21:18) - Not Pay-to-Play (25:32) - How Players Get Validated (28:56) - What Parents Misunderstand (32:21) - Pro Dreams and the North Star (40:01) - When Posting Becomes Too Much (52:02) - Final Takeaways Click here to view the episode transcript.

    Youth Soccer Exposure: What Parents Misunderstand
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About

Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States. Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know. Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of parenting in youth sports in today’s competitive environment. For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.

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