Jimmy Obleda on Keeping Your Coaching Values, Restoring Competitiveness, and Why U.S. Soccer Is Soft In episode 416, we talk with nationally renowned Uruguayan American coach Jimmy Obleda about staying true to your values, refusing to compromise standards, and not “selling your soul” to parents, players, clubs, or owners. Using Tab Ramos’s comparison of Uruguay […]

What a Great First Touch Really Is (and Why the U.S. Still Struggles) Episode 415 focuses on what “first touch” actually means, why it matters, and why it remains a major weakness in American soccer. A good first touch is defined as controlling the ball exactly as intended in any scenario, with biomechanics that look […]

We dive deep into the structure and incentives behind Major League Soccer in this episode. We explain why MLS academies exist primarily to maintain monopoly control over the elite youth pipeline rather than to develop first-team talent, how homegrown rules provide cheap labor while designated players serve as the real attraction for casual fans, and […]