Keep The Game Beautiful

Maka Chikowero is 15 and from Madison WI. Today she shares information about MTC Educate A Girl. Maka is the founder and president of an organization that is bringing soccer and education to Zimbabwe. She also plays soccer for her high school and club with the intent of playing collegiately.

Shaun Soderling is the Women’s Coach at Brescia University. Each week you’ll hear his voice as the co-host of the Soccer Chat podcast. In this episode we talk about racism and Shaun shares not only his own stories and experiences, but also how Soccer Chat was able to have an honest and real conversation on the topic.

Saskia Webber was a goalkeeper for the US Women’s National Team from 1992 through 1999. She played professionally in Japan as well as for the Women’s United Soccer Association. She currently supports the UCLA Women’s Soccer program as the Goalkeeper coach and has coached GK’s at all levels of the game.

Dr. Erik Wessel has been involved with student contact for much of his career. He currently is the Director of the Office of Student Conflict Resolution at The University of Michigan. He previously worked in Student Conduct at Ferris State University and Penn State University. I wanted to talk to him about some of the changes to Title IX and about athlete safety and the work he does to protect students.

Haley Carter has had the opportunity to coach with the Afghanistan Women’s Soccer Team and Antigua and Barbuda. She spent three years with the Houston Dash, was a Goalkeeper for the US Naval Academy, and found a way to play the game while serving as a Marine Officer. She has earned recognition for her support of women’s equity and raising awareness of concerns in the game, including by FIFPro as the first female recipient of World Players Union Merit Award.

Candice Fabry works for Iowa Soccer as the Director of Member Relations. She has coached at a variety of levels and holds her B License and is a Coach Instructor. She has helped to build support for women through co-founding the Iowa Women In Soccer Alliance. She is also a tireless advocate for player safety and briefly discusses her own experience reporting misconduct from a prior coach.

Omar Zeenni is a Goalkeeper coach in Los Angeles. He had a stunning youth career, played four years at UC Davis, and almost pursued an opportunity to play professionally in the USL. Today he podcasts and generates a significant amount of goalkeeper training, interviews, and game analysis through Pro GK Academy and Inside The 18. In this episode I talk to Omar specifically about Ramadan and what it was like to train and play as an athlete while fasting and what the holy month means to him.

Carrie Taylor (CT) has had some incredible opportunities in soccer. Today she is the Assistant Coach to the San Diego Loyal, working closely with Landon Donovan as they build a USL Championship team in Southern California. As a young athlete she participated in sports programming in her hometown of Flint, MI. She would play collegiate club soccer before helping to build the first Women's Varsity Team at the University of Michigan. CT would coach at several youth and college levels over the years, including Mount St. Joseph where she was only one of five females to coach men in NCAA Soccer.

Tristin Stuteville is one of the cofounders of PS90 Soccer Camps. Recently she partnered with Soccer Girl Probs to help coordinate even more camp opportunities to female athletes. At KC Goalkeeping she worked to bring coaching to all athletes regardless of an ability to pay. Tristin is a member of the United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 program and has learned from coaches such as Tracy Noonan of Dynasty Goalkeeping and Tony DiCicco of SoccerPlus Camps. She played at Ball State University and Saint Louis University.

Don Tees is currently the Assistant Coach for Women’s Soccer at Mansfield University. He has also worked as a head coach and worked as an assistant prior. He has prior experience as a Sports Information Director and continues to support the role today as an Assistant. Don is incredibly upbeat and positive. Even during the interview he was packing up his office to prepare to work from home. He had a lot of good advice and it is clear how much he cares for the people he works with.

Ian Barker spent over twenty years coaching collegiately and worked as the Director of Coaching and Player Development for the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association. He continues to coach today, including at the ODP level. His primary job now is to coach other soccer coaches as the Director of Coaching Education for United Soccer Coaches. Recently United Soccer Coaches released a series called Match Day. Ian partners up with Vince Ganzberg to bring some short segment webinars with topics helpful to coaches of all levels. Be sure to check these out while we are all stuck at home.

Rich Manning is the head coach for Utah Women's Soccer and has been with the program for eighteen years. Over the past couple of weeks he has done a great job keeping things fun and reminding everyone to be positive during COVID-19. Although the virus is keeping us away from one another right now he has some great ideas of how teams can remain connected and support each other.

Alli Lipsher is the Director of Goalkeeping for the University of Minnesota. Prior to her current position she coached at Trinity College, East Carolina University, and Arizona. Before starting her coaching career she was an outstanding goalkeeper at Duke earning multiple accolades, and then continuing to play professionally.

Amanda Mitchell is the Development Officer for the United Soccer Coaches organization. While in Baltimore I was able to meet with her and learn more about her work. The foundation is always looking for ways to help coaches, clubs, and communities grow the game. I encourage you to use her as a resource to help with your next ideas. Even if United Soccer Coaches doesn't have the program to fill your need she is aware of other organizations and corporations who may be able to support you.

Manya and Bobby Puppione join me to talk about how they are supporting their teams during this difficult time where COVID has suspended soccer. Manya coaches collegiately at Marymount University and Bobby leads the Girls DA at FC Virginia. It is important to talk about how to care for one another and reflect.

Ann Murphy (Murph) has dedicated herself to serving the people of Kansas City as a law enforcement officer. When she was working overnights a few years ago a college teammate reached out to her for help with some students that were having challenges. They started a conversation and found more great people to build Youth Rise KC. Today the Jaguars are proving their place in the game and developing skills for a lifetime.

I talk to Emily Agueda of the Craig Willinger Fund. Craig Willinger had a deep passion for soccer through his youth and remained a fan for the rest of his life. A terminal cancer diagnosis resulted in some friends and members of the Liverpool supporters club wanting to help him attend a Bayren Munich match. He was so encouraged by this kindness that he wanted to create a similar experience for other young fans affected by cancer.

Peter Wilt describes himself as a compulsive soccer team starter. He currently works for the USL helping to establish pro teams and grow fan engagement across the country. He has made a difference in teams across all levels of the game, including the MLS Minnesota United and Chicago Fire, as well as the NWSL Chicago Red Stars. I enjoyed learning about his story and how he got started in sports. It was also cool to hear about some of the people he has worked with and mentored along the way.

Alyse LaHue is the General Manager of Sky Blue FC of the NWSL. She has spent most of her career in women's soccer, including the early days of the Chicago Red Stars. She grew up in a small town in Eastern Iowa. In high school she played on a boys team before playing collegiately at St. Ambrose University. On a study abroad trip to Ireland she started to think about what she wanted to do with her career.

Michael Missmer is the head coach of North Hampton High School Girls Soccer and lives in Eastern Pennsylvania. He has coached club soccer, for other high school programs, and at Penn State Lehigh Valley. He retired from a career in corrections and also has practiced mixed martial arts.