Keep The Game Beautiful

Skye Eddy Bruce is the founder of Soccer Parenting Association, a Coach, Coach Educator, and former Goal Keeper. We talk about her leadership in each of these areas as well as why Goalkeepers tend to have leadership qualities and traits. 

Lynn Berling-Manuel is the CEO of United Soccer Coaches. Prior to this role she served as a board member of the organization and worked as both the CEO of Soccer America and as the Chief Marketing Officer for AYSO, one of the largest sports organizations in the world. She talks openly about her mentors and some of the ways she has established her presence as a leader. We also talk briefly about the United Soccer Coaches Convention that will be virtual this year, January 11th-15th. 

Sam Ugulava is a lifelong fan of the game of soccer and played through her years at Grove City College. At the age of 19 she was inspired to start a college recruiting application, Profile Passer. Since then she has continued to serve the game of soccer, been an advocate for the role of women in sport, and helped to co-found Techne Futbol. She gives back willingly to others as a commitment she made to the mentors who helped her along the way.

Adriana Contreras is a California based referee and a swim coach. Today she helps to mentor and helps college referees connect with one another through helping to manage NISOA Social Media. We talk about her journey to get her where she is now and how tenacity and grit can help both referees and swimmers that she works with.

Dean Linke is a sportscaster and announcer that has been in sports media for over thirty years. He has covered a variety of sports but is a very well known voice for soccer. He has worked with the US National Teams, many colleges and leagues, the NC Courage, and more.

Coach Lesle Gallimore spent 26 years leading the program at University of Washington. After ending her tenure as a college coach she joined the Girls Academy as the Commissioner in their inaugural season and working with the organization to save soccer for approximately 7000 females.

Tori Penso became the first women in twenty years to officiate an MLS match. We talk a little bit about this special game, some of her mentors in officiating, and ways she continues to give back and grow other officials. In addition to officiating NWSL and other professional games, Tori also serves as NISOA's Managing Director.

Don Williams was a college soccer coach for 22 years across multiple divisions of the sport. Today he helps athletes find their right college fit through his work at Sports Recruiting USA. He is passionate about helping schools and players align and has some great tips on recruiting and ways to make the process work best for everyone.

Becky Burleigh is the head coach for women's soccer at the University of Florida. She has led the Gators program for over twenty five years and coached for over thirty years. Her team has won a national championship and numerous conference championships. She is very active in terms of giving back to the game and developing other coaches, as well as getting her players ready for their futures both in soccer and in life.

Vince Ganzberg is the Education Content Creator for United Soccer Coaches. In this role he not only teaches the content but he also helps to build new courses, work with new styles and formats of teaching, and leading coach dialogue such as Match Day. He has worked in similar roles for US Soccer and coached at all levels of the game with much of his time being in a high school setting.

Anna Tuuri is a 14yr old soccer player, referee, and coach. She plays Goalkeeper while navigating a high school schedule, taking community college classes, coaching special needs athletes, volunteering (300hrs in a month), and hosting Keep The Game Beautiful. She is verbally committed to play at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and plans to be a Special Education teacher when she gets older. Dad (Dan) interviews her for this special episode while we celebrate her 15th birthday later this week and the one year anniversary of Keep The Game Beautiful.

Julio Serrano is the Chair for the Latino Coaches Council of the United Soccer Coaches organization. He is part of the staff of Illinois Youth Soccer and helps to lead other coaches in expanding the game and it’s opportunity to everyone. We talk about the work that the council is doing, how it has united around COVID. He is a big advocate of hearing from youth and remembering why we celebrate the game.

After a two week break due to a Derecho (Land Hurricane) that hit Iowa with 140mph winds, removed over half of our trees, and damaged nearly every building in our city, we are back! Big Joe Velazco is a goalkeeper coach with high energy who loves to serve the youth game. We talk a bit about his philosophies as a coach, how he has overcome diversity, and ways he inspires players. He is also someone who helped me deepen my love of the game and I will always appreciate that.

Jess Nash is the Director of Coaching for Wisconsin Rush. She is involved in organizations such as WeCoach and the Wisconsin Women in Soccer Alliance. She is a Grassroots Coach instructor and helps to bring new and future coaches into the game.

Yael Averbuch-West is the founder of Techne Futbol and the NWSL Players Association. In this episode we talk about her experiences playing on the US Women's National Team, at UNC, and her experiences playing both professionally in the US and Sweden.

Sam Cary grew up knowing she'd want to play soccer in the BIG10. She just completed her freshman season at the University of Iowa where she started 21 times and earned 1,667 minutes on the pitch. She is also an incredible referee and has had significant opportunities to serve the game in this role, including at the USYS Nationals.

Colton Bryant and his Chargers at Columbia State College in Tennessee are making big marks for a program that is only a couple of years old. Colton began coaching out of necessity to survive as a student athlete. He soon found it was a love of his and is proud to have an opportunity to coach in the NJCAA at a two year institution.

Eric Vaughter (EV) is a goal keeper coach who has worked with youth just learning the position through professionals playing in the MLS. In addition he has built a career in the sporting goods industry, including at Reusch where he leads grassroots outreach efforts in the United States. Despite all of his accomplishments and the various places he has coached or played, he remains humble and shares his genuine joy and love for the sport with everyone.

Demitrius White grew up in Milwaukee. As a nine year old he started to play soccer with the Milwaukee Simba SC. He developed under his coaches, including the legendary Jimmy Banks. He made a name for himself through his youth years, including ODP and National Camp experiences. He played for the MLS Chicago Fire and was captain of the Puerto Rican National Team. He always knew he would return to help run the Simba FC Club in Milwaukee when he retired from his playing career.

Justin Vorster grew up playing soccer in Malawi and later in South Africa’s first division. He came to the United States and developed a coaching career that has involved youth of all ages, collegiate, and even WPSL opportunities. Justin holds his USSF A and resides in Iowa.