A reading of the introduction to my new book is at the 15-minute mark, after a brief autobiography to explain my perspective as an old but still upbeat soccer supporter. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

We were going to talk about promotion and relegation. Really. We just didn't get around to it.

Dan and I have been talking soccer online for a couple of decades, and we've been accused of being shills for Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer. And we've been accused of being the same person. We submit this podcast as proof that we're not, though someone will probably figure I just recorded both voices and spliced it together in Audacity, like the inverse of Jim Henson and Frank Oz teaming up to be the Swedish Chef.

And THAT, we talk about. 

We also trip down Memory Lane to remember a coven of soccer bloggers and journalists, along with MLS Cup 2009. And we talk about soccer hipsters.

But you have to listen to the end to hear the Dave Chappelle joke. And the nice tidy ending.

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You can’t fix luck. But can you rethink things? Can you find holes in what you’re being taught? Why do people who follow the rules always lose? If you hurl a bag of balls, cones and pinnies off a cliff, does it make a sound? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

One thing we all know but becomes more vivid when you become a referee: We need more referees. A funny story or two from a long weekend on the field illustrates the point. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

How's the new "Play/Practice/Play" model working? Probably not as well for me with the number of kids I'm coaching. That's the first topic here. Then it's funny reffing stories. I get to USSF coaching education arrogance around the 18-minute mark, and then I defend Jason Davis and Nipun Chopra against the NASL's spinning efforts. Finally, a reminder to get moving if you want to run for USSF VP. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

Personal news: I'm boycotting Twitter over the Alex Jones situation and related misdeeds, and The Guardian has just posted my story on Carlos Cordeiro's first six months. Youth soccer news: What can Cordeiro's task force do to stop the insanity? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

New format for the pod! Today’s topics are the new U.S. Youth Soccer chairman (with some discussion of USSF president Carlos Cordeiro), WoSo and feminism (with some discussion of Hannah Gadsby), and some RSD content updates. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

Soccer writer Kyle Williams joins the podcast this week to talk about promotion and relegation, proving that we can talk about such things without bloodshed. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

This is part two of a lengthy but worthwhile interview with Nathan Richardson, co-author of a book called Shoeless Soccer. The title isn't necessarily advocating that we all toss our boots in the trash, but the book does suggest that we've organized things a bit too much and should let kids learn more by doing, which is actually how much of the rest of the world does it. (You know, the countries that QUALIFIED for the men's World Cup.) If you missed Part 1, please check it out: https://rantingsoccerdad.com/2018/07/18/rsd37-shoeless-soccer-author-nathan-richardson-on-taking-youth-soccer-off-the-long-grass/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

Nathan Richardson, co-author of Shoeless Soccer, joins the podcast this week to talk about the radical yet somewhat globally accepted ideas in his book. Basically, instead of turning soccer into an expensive coach-driven activity, why not let kids learn by playing? And maybe on hard surfaces so they'll learn to control the ball instead of booting it? This conversation should give us all some ideas for how to reform youth soccer, even if you don't agree with all of them, and it should put the term "rec mindset" to bed once and for all. We all start as rec players, and in many cases, that's where we (well, not me) learn the things that make us better players down the road. We ran rather long, so this will be a two-parter. Practice plans mentioned in the podcast are at http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/coaches/u14/ Thanks as always to Patreon supporters, and keep an eye out for RSD merchandise available soon. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support

Lesle Gallimore has been head women's soccer coach at the University of Washington since 1994, and she's the current president of United Soccer Coaches. 

In this conversation, we talk about how college coaches adapt their recruiting to the new "elite league turf war" environment. And we talk about how players adapt and whether they *can* adapt. 

For example: Could Gallimore's most famous player, Hope Solo, work her way through the system today and be discovered? 

Coincidentally, Solo made a lot of news this week, and I discuss that before the interview (which was recorded before all that news happened). The Gallimore interview starts around the 10-minute mark.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ranting-soccer-dad/support