Ciara McCormack is a retired international footballer with experience in multiple countries including Canada, Australia, and the United States.
She wrote and published a story about an issue happening in Australian soccer that caught my attention. So, I asked if she would be interested in discussing it with me and she said yes. And I did not anticipate the conversation going the way that it did.
Ciara had no problem talking about some of the most important issues plaguing soccer in North America and Australia. Just the type of person that I love talking to.
You can follow Ciara on Twitter. The story that she wrote (and reference during the interview) can be found on her website.
Other relevant episodes and resources:
- Episode 111: Hope Solo Is an American Soccer Legend but She’s Tired of Playing U.S. Soccer’s Games.
- Skye Eddy Bruce Talks About Her Mission to Change the Game by Educating Soccer Parents.
- Episode 145: Setting Goals Is Normal, but Normal Is Boring. Stand out by Defining Your “Why.” Lessons From West Ham United’s Brianna Visalli.
- Episode 105: Hailai Arghandiwal Discusses Life as a Dual National and Says, “Dreams Only Matter if They’re Rooted in Something Real.”
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Great episode. I love the thread on the consequences of lack of competition.
I think it was this episode, John, that you mentioned learning to disguise a pass in basketball. Like you, I learned that playing with my friends in grade school. We never talked about it at basketball practice.
The fact that we expect that should be taught in soccer clubs says a lot and goes to what Tom Byer says often about the importance of culture.
Hey Seth, thanks for listening.
In North America, it is the lack of real competition – from top to bottom – that is the missing link. Like Ciara highlighted, competition can do wonders for every single facet of men’s and women’s soccer. And like we’ve said many times before, competition helps weed out the poor performers and hacks.
In regards to the disguised passes, that conversation was with Ken Richards talking about his son Chris in Episode 151. But I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. Those aspects of the game are “learned” but not “taught”.
Culture in the home is a big part of that informal development. Tom does an excellent job of highlighting the role of the parent from ages 0-8. We are also working to provide additional solutions for players, parents, and coaches.
The initial information about our individual player course can be found here: https://343coaching.com/soccer-personal-training-plans/