Chasing the Game - Youth Soccer in America

Liron Unreich, Matt Tartaglia
  • 5.0 (25)
  • 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 youth sports parenting 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. Youth Soccer Parents: The Right Questions to Ask

    4D AGO

    Youth Soccer Parents: The Right Questions to Ask

    Parents in youth soccer are often forced to make big decisions with partial information, mixed signals, and a lot of anxiety. Andrew May, whose coaching background includes Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Real Monarchs, and LAFC, explains how families can better evaluate clubs, ask sharper questions, and support development without getting lost in badge-chasing, pressure, or noise. This is a practical episode about communication, trust, expectations, and how parents can make better choices for the child in front of them. (00:00) - Start (00:03) - Cold Open. What MLS Academies Actually Want (01:01) - Jose Campos’s Journey to Orlando City (05:04) - What Different Soccer Cultures Teach You (11:36) - Building Orlando’s Player Profile and Culture (20:08) - Performance vs Potential. Early and Late Developers (24:59) - How Orlando Recruits and Builds Its Roster (30:01) - What Live Scouting Reveals That Video Misses (34:03) - America’s Diversity, Styles, and Player Profiles (39:03) - Trial Advice for Players and Parents (43:02) - Always Chase the Next Level (46:01) - The U.S. System, Pay-to-Play, and the Business Reality

    56 min
  2. What MLS Academies Really Look For. Jose Campos of Orlando City

    MAR 25

    What MLS Academies Really Look For. Jose Campos of Orlando City

    What do MLS academies actually look for in a player? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia sit down with Jose Campos, Academy Director at Orlando City, for one of the clearest conversations we’ve had yet about how serious academies really think. Jose explains how Orlando City defines player profile, what “fit” actually means inside a pro academy, why growth mindset and coachability matter so much, and how scouts separate current performance from long-term potential. He also gets into what parents misunderstand about trials, why college is not failure, and how players should think about challenge, development, and timing. This episode is for soccer parents, coaches, and serious players trying to better understand MLS academies, the youth development process, and what decision-makers are really evaluating behind the scenes. (00:00) - Start (00:03) - Cold Open. What MLS Academies Actually Want (01:01) - Jose Campos’s Journey to Orlando City (05:04) - What Different Soccer Cultures Teach You (11:36) - Building Orlando’s Player Profile and Culture (20:08) - Performance vs Potential. Early and Late Developers (24:59) - How Orlando Recruits and Builds Its Roster (30:01) - What Live Scouting Reveals That Video Misses (34:03) - America’s Diversity, Styles, and Player Profiles (39:03) - Trial Advice for Players and Parents (43:02) - Always Chase the Next Level (46:01) - The U.S. System, Pay-to-Play, and the Business Reality (56:03) - What Players Still Need Beyond Training (01:00:00) - Host Takeaways and Final Reflections Click here to view the episode transcript.

    1h 2m
  3. USL and the Youth Soccer Pathway: What Parents Need to Know | FC Naples

    MAR 18

    USL and the Youth Soccer Pathway: What Parents Need to Know | FC Naples

    What if the youth soccer pathway is bigger than most families realize? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia speak with Matt Poland, Sporting Director and head coach at FC Naples, about where the USL fits into the American player-development system and why it may become a more important part of the pathway for young players. They discuss building a professional club from the ground up, the gap between academy soccer and a true first-team environment, how USL can help bridge youth development and the pro game, what clubs look for in young players, and why culture, veteran leadership, and real professional standards matter so much in player growth. This episode is for soccer parents, coaches, and players trying to better understand the full American pathway, including academy soccer, college soccer, USL, and the difficult transition into the professional game. (00:00) - Start (00:03) - MLS, D1, and the Question Nobody Asks: USL (01:38) - Introducing Matt Poland and the FC Naples Project (04:12) - Building a Professional Club From the Ground Up (07:26) - Where USL Fits in the American Soccer Pyramid (11:05) - The Professional Locker Room: What Young Players Experience (15:18) - The Speed of the Game at the Professional Level (19:42) - Why Young Players Sometimes Regress Before They Improve (24:31) - Development vs Winning in Youth Soccer (29:58) - What Clubs Actually Look for in Young Players (35:12) - The Importance of Culture Inside a Professional Club (40:27) - Pathways to the Pro Game: More Than One Route (46:03) - Advice for Soccer Parents Navigating the System (50:41) - The Future of USL and Opportunity for Young Players Click here to view the episode transcript.

    51 min
  4. Youth Soccer Pathway: MLS NEXT, College, and What Parents Get Wrong

    MAR 11

    Youth Soccer Pathway: MLS NEXT, College, and What Parents Get Wrong

    What actually prepares a young player for the next level? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia speak with Tom Bowen, Academy Director at Long Island Soccer Club in MLS NEXT and assistant coach at Hofstra University, about what player development looks like from both the academy and college sides. They discuss Europe versus America, maturity, locker-room culture, college recruiting, scholarship realities, development versus winning, early and late bloomers, and how parents can better evaluate training environments. This episode is for soccer parents, coaches, and players trying to make informed decisions about MLS NEXT, club soccer, college recruiting, and long-term player development.  https://chasingthegame.us (00:00) - Cold Open. Three Views of the Youth Soccer Pathway (01:38) - Europe vs America. Why Maturity Shows Up Earlier (04:03) - What U.S. Youth Soccer Actually Gets Right (07:20) - College Recruiting Reality. Scholarships, Transfers, and Risk (15:51) - Long Island Soccer Club and the MLS NEXT Buildout (19:45) - Winning vs Development. Pressure, Bio-Banding, and Standards (24:00) - Staffing the Club and Building the Right Environment (31:50) - The Win-at-All-Costs Trap and Early Developers (35:49) - Island FC and Long Island's Emerging Pro Pathway (39:30) - College or Pro. Why Education Still Matters (43:38) - How Parents Can Judge Trainers and Development Sessions (47:49) - Coaching Style, Social Media, and the Final Parent Takeaways Click here to view the episode transcript.

    57 min
  5. MLS NEXT Academy: How Far Should Parents Go? | Justin Phelps

    MAR 4

    MLS NEXT Academy: How Far Should Parents Go? | Justin Phelps

    How far should a family go for elite youth soccer? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia talk with Justin Phelps about the real cost of pursuing an MLS NEXT academy opportunity and how that decision can affect family life. They discuss relocation, long commutes, emotional strain, routines, pressure, academy environment, and the difference between a strong badge and a truly developmental setting. This episode is for soccer parents navigating MLS NEXT, ECNL, academy decisions, relocation questions, and the difficult line between supporting a child’s ambition and protecting the family around it.  https://chasingthegame.us (00:00) - Cold open. The 13 year old roommate (00:45) - MLS NEXT and environment. Why families relocate (01:38) - Who is Justin. Soccer HQ, outsider dad learning the game (03:03) - The Orlando City Academy call (05:00) - The U13 jump. physicality, speed, confidence (10:00) - The family math. travel, money, emotional cost (15:00) - Apartment life. routines, pressure, staying positive (24:08) - My roommate is my 13 year old son (24:42) - The omelet moment (33:20) - How to evaluate an academy. signals that matter (44:37) - Advice to the Zillow parent. before you move (48:40) - What we learned. next steps Click here to view the episode transcript.

    50 min
  6. Fixing Pay to Play in Youth Soccer | Danny Buttitta

    FEB 25

    Fixing Pay to Play in Youth Soccer | Danny Buttitta

    Can a small club create a better development environment than a large one? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia speak with Evan Rosenthal, president and director of Manhattan Kickers FC, about one of the most distinctive small-club models in New York City youth soccer. They discuss selective growth, one team per age group, coach continuity, motivation at young ages, scholarships, player handoff to bigger clubs, and why scaling too quickly can dilute standards. This episode is for soccer parents navigating the New York City soccer landscape and anyone trying to understand how club size, philosophy, and environment shape player development.  https://chasingthegame.us (00:00) - Chapter (01:00) - The big idea. A sponsor supported layer (03:10) - What problem he is actually solving (04:20) - Facilities + coaching. Building a home base (06:20) - Sponsorship mechanics. Who pays for what (10:05) - Widening the funnel. Finding every player (13:45) - Avoiding a new elite lane. Access vs exclusivity (18:10) - How this works with clubs. Incentives and friction (22:10) - What sponsors get back. Value and alignment (26:00) - Scale question. Local pilot or repeatable model (30:10) - Reality check. Execution details and constraints (35:40) - The bigger system. What would have to change (41:10) - Wrap. What success looks like next Click here to view the episode transcript.

    43 min
  7. Small Roster Youth Soccer: Why Selective Clubs Develop Better Players | Manhattan Kickers FC

    FEB 18

    Small Roster Youth Soccer: Why Selective Clubs Develop Better Players | Manhattan Kickers FC

    Why do so many U.S. players struggle when they enter a true football culture? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia speak with Dutch coach and academy educator Ditmer de Jong about the invisible cultural gap between U.S. youth soccer and Dutch youth soccer. They discuss self-regulation, autonomy, question-based coaching, everyday football culture, risk-taking, and why players develop differently when coaches foster ownership rather than dependence. This episode is for soccer parents and coaches who want a clearer understanding of culture, coaching philosophy, and what American families can learn from Dutch player development.  https://chasingthegame.us (00:00) - Cold Open (00:32) - Why This Club Stays Small (04:15) - One Team Per Age Group (09:42) - Spotting Motivation at Age 6 (16:08) - What Changes by U10 (23:10) - The “Special Sauce” Coaching Model (31:20) - Scholarships & Access (38:44) - The Handoff to Bigger Clubs (46:30) - Scaling vs Standards (54:05) - What Parents Get Wrong (59:10) - Final Takeaways Click here to view the episode transcript.

    1 hr
  8. Why U.S. Players Struggle in Europe | Ditmer de Jong

    FEB 11

    Why U.S. Players Struggle in Europe | Ditmer de Jong

    What if the biggest difference between Dutch and U.S. youth soccer isn’t talent, facilities, or even training volume, but culture. In this episode of Chasing the Game. Youth Soccer in America, we talk with Ditmer (a Dutch coach and academy educator) about the invisible gap many American parents feel but can’t name. In the Netherlands, he explains, football is everywhere. It’s normal to play at school, after school, and through the local club culture. That everyday immersion shapes how players think, how they learn, and how they handle pressure. From there, we zoom in on one of the most important ideas in modern player development. Self-regulation. Ditmer breaks down what it looks like when coaches build ownership rather than dependence. Not “do this, do that,” but asking players what they want to improve. Teaching reflection. Building decision-makers. Helping kids learn how to learn. If you’re a soccer parent navigating pay-to-play, tryouts, roster churn, and the constant noise of “pathways,” this conversation offers a clearer lens. It’s not a European fantasy. It’s a practical look at why culture and coaching philosophy matter, and what American families and clubs can take from the Dutch model without pretending the systems are identical. In this episode, we cover Why “football is everywhere” changes everything for player developmentThe difference between training more and learning betterWhat Dutch coaches mean by self-regulation and “self-learning.”How question-based coaching builds smarter, calmer playersWhy U.S. youth soccer often produces dependence on instructionsWhat parents can do now to support autonomy, confidence, and resilienceThe real gap parents don’t see until they compare environmentsChapters: (00:00) - Dutch vs U.S. Youth Soccer. The Gap Parents Don’t See (01:02) - Why This Comparison Matters to Parents (04:10) - Dutch Youth Soccer Is an Ecosystem (07:45) - Self-Regulation Starts Early (12:30) - Why Dutch Coaches Stay Silent (17:40) - Micro-Coaching and Its Hidden Costs (23:05) - U12 Match Day. Twin Games Explained (30:10) - Encouraging 1v1s and Risk-Taking (36:25) - What Coaches Look for Beyond Talent (42:50) - The Parents’ Role Off the Field (49:15) - Why Development Is Not Linear (56:40) - Key Takeaways for U.S. Parents Click here to view the episode transcript.

    1h 3m
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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 youth sports parenting 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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