Episode 4: USMNT Notes, Bayern Munich in the States, & NWSL Schedule Debate

eyeing hiring three people that are going together and they're gonna work on something and they're going to be allowed to tell us what we're doing wrong it was a smart move business-wise by Byron Munich because La has so many soccer fans and kids who want to grow up and play the game be around the game why don't we have a Bellingham why don't we have an mbappe I will go first with this one because I do not want to see Gio Reina you be the coach Scotty I'll be the GM and we'll get we'll get Sam over there yes exactly that's our solution we we solved U.S soccer's problem in 45 minutes or 42 seconds we need a sporting director welcome back into straight from the pitch I'm your host Anna Witte joined by my co-host Scotty Schweitzer Scotty before we get into all the soccer stuff how was your weekend what was the best part of your weekend answer that wisely I will seeing you and having dinner with you it was nice to see you up in Raleigh here I know it was fun to connect again and get good food I didn't know you were a cook I we learned so much about that speaking of I'm making sloppy joes tonight so I need your recipe because I know you touched on that oh it's that my sloppy joes is actually Kirsten's recipe so oh we we tag team on certain things but then like when she leaves the kitchen I mess around with stuff put spicy I gotcha that's fair that's fair okay I'll have to text you after all right first topic today is the U.S Men's National Team concacaf Nations League games in March and in April the team doesn't have a sporting director they don't have a GM they don't really have a head coach the acting head coach is Anthony Hudson and now that burhalter has been cleared by U.S soccer we may see burhalter step back into that position so there's a lot of question marks around the roster question marks around coaching Staffing Etc so if you Scotty were involved in U.S soccer before these matches start who would you bring in as a head coach to coach this Men's National Team oh good question Anna so first if I was the head of U.S soccer number one I would make it a paid roll number one I would make that roll pain how is the head of U.S soccer a volunteer role it does it blows my mind I can't I can't wrap my head around it so number one that needs to be a paid job and then you need to hold up to the standard of whatever we're paying that person we have the World Cup coming we have three and a half years which seems like a lot of time but it is not that is going to be in our that's going to come around the corner in a second so we need a sporting director we need a GM we need a head coach we have these games that we are playing and we have a lot of talented players and I was going through it in my head we have a Chelsea player a Bruce and Dortmund player a Arsenal player two leads player and one of the leads players came from Juventus three leads players like we have a talented group of young players on our roster and every coach is allowed to coach their style of play so who we're bringing in until we know who our coach is is pretty much irrelevant to me because I could like Reina in this role or I could like Reina as this player and the next coach his right doesn't like him doesn't want him doesn't see him in this role so we are building to a World Cup in our backyard in our home that we need to inspire generations to come and and right now we are doing a terrible job of that and it starts at the top it starts at the top I mean uh just recently I read an article about Jim Curtin saying that coaches overseas are being labeled by basically by this Ted lasso show which I love I think it's great I really think it touches on locker room things that you don't realize is going on in the locker room with all the different cultures all the different personalities but let's get serious we are being judged on burhalter and Reina episodes and how lackluster we are or when we don't qualify for the World Cup it takes Bruce Arena what four months to resign and then we give it to our assistant coach who is under the same regime and we know he's not going to be the coach and our president doesn't step down right after it happens Italy doesn't qualify for the same World Cup their president uh quit on the tarmac getting onto the plane leaving and the coach he quit two days later not even two days when they got back into Italy like we need to do things the right way we have talented players we need to know who our coach is and we need to know what system we're going to play and how we're going to inspire and excite another generation to become better players so who am I hiring I'm hiring three people that are going together and they're going to work on something and they're going to be allowed to tell us what we're doing wrong why is it taking us so long to get this right if we have all this talent I want to know what's wrong with our youth system I want to know if college is the right path or college is the wrong path for some players it seems to be the right path on the girl side why isn't it the right path on the boy side do we need to get our players out of the MLS next programs the MLS and get them over Europe so they see a different speed of soccer a different brand of soccer so when we come across it in the World Cup it's not brand new to us it's not something we've never seen before right so I'm looking at a coach like a zidane a coach that the players are going to respect he knows the game ins and outs he's played in France he's played in Italy he's played four of Francis World Cup he's been a World Cup Superstar he's been a World Cup winner he knows what it takes he's helped Real Madrid I mean we need a person that comes in here who's basically arrogant I would love to see Jose Mourinho come in he is the type of coach who likes to defend first and score goals second and if we don't give up any goals we have a chance to win he doesn't care about media he's not scared of the pressure he's not scared of the Limelight and he will tell us the truth we might not want to hear it but he will tell it to us so he's the type of person that I would bring in but I think the sporting director GM and the head coach have to be a team and they have to be on the same this is how we're going to play these are the players we're looking for this is the type of soccer we're going to play is it the brand we're going to play and go from there and one way you know it works is that is what St Louis did that is exactly they brought a coach in and a their technical director their sporting director they were on the same page we're going to play a German style High Press they came from the same school of teaching of ranik who's that man you but he's known for his German pressing style um and it's working so now everybody's gonna buy into it and St Louis three games in a row three wins not playing the best brand of soccer but they're a brand new team and they're doing what it's going to take not only to win but to win a championship so so when I look at the national team that's where I think we're missing the boat I think we're thinking oh you know we got these players we need to bring a group of players in that coincide with each other that click that play the same style of soccer and then we have the best chance to win you touched on a good point with wanting all three people to come in together and be on the same page because if you think of a coach and a GM they have to like the same same style soccer because the GM is going out and they're recruiting the players bringing them to the coach to coach up and figure out how they work in their system but if those two people aren't on the same page and maybe don't have a pass together that doesn't make sense so I like your theory on that I also think a positive side of all of this and kind of you touched on kind of what a disaster U.S soccer is at on the men's side of things right now is we do have three and a half years we have time and maybe the time that they are using uh to find the next right person maybe putting some people in as a interim coach to see how they fit with their top players can help there is time but also they can't sit on that be like we have time because we all know how that works time goes by so fast and you know the World Cup will be here in 2026 before we know it so we're starting with Granada and El Salvador in March the next question is who do you want to see on the roster I will go first with this one because I do not want to see georena I think what happened with the bur halters should be a rubber man he should not be able to play and just in this FIFA window and it should be kind of a slap on the wrist to his parents and himself and how they handled this whole situation that you cannot act like this this is unprofessional this is embarrassing the U.S soccer had to deal with this and they wasted their resources trying to look into the behind of what happened so I say no Gio Reina obviously I think he's a phenomenal player fits well into U.S soccer but you can't do those things and not be reprimanded for it I mean come on I I agree I agree I think I think georena is probably our most talented player and that's the sad fact of it I don't agree with how burhalter handled the situation I I don't I think he should have played more I think it's very hard to tell a player before the World Cup even starts you you're going to play a limited role like we can't see into the future you don't know how the games were going to go you don't know how injuries are going to go but one thing I do know is what we are seeing from georena he is a spoiled little brat and and that comes from Mom and Dad because as the report comes out this is not the first time they've done it at youth levels they've done it with the youth national team and listen we can all say oh the Rangers are this and they're that so bad and and whatever but let's not be blind to the fact that this is happening all across America with youth players and and I always tell players when they come to me and parents they're like this is terrible blah blah I try to get them it's hard to stay calm it all works out in the end so this player is on the top team an academy team an ecnl team whatever whatever they want to call them at the clubs and they make it all the way through the colleges don't do a good enough job recruiting oh sure your ECA or ACNL you're an academy they sign them they get them there and then the portal has 40 000 players in it because players can't play they can't play soccer oh the coach doesn't like me they only play a European style they don't play My Style please please earn your spot but you don't know how to earn a spot because Mom and Dad earns your spot with either the cash they gave or the emails they sent or all the other baloney that they do and that is what also hurts our game is these parents get involved and these coaches accept it because I don't know why they've accepted because they want to be there's money in their pocket yeah they want to be a soccer and it's really a lot of times it comes down from the top of the club because they're making way more money than the coaches are so they want to just make sure oh we have 16 000 players in our club yeah but what are you for what you went for quantity over quality and it's not just quality of Play It's quality of character so we have a lot of teams they're not teammates that they don't know how to play on a team and I've played a lot of sports at a high level soccer is the most team oriented sport I've ever played everybody needs to be on the same page everybody needs to be fighting for each other yeah listen I'm a Bears fan and we won the Super Bowl in 85 and our offense didn't even like our defense and our coaches fought each other and we still won the Super Bowl and nobody could touch us it wasn't a team sport these guys thought they were the reason we won these guys thought they were the reason we won soccer's not like that we have one or two players on the other side going in a different route it'll throw the whole thing off every player is important every player is going to get their turn so like when Geo Reigns soldi's not gonna play any pouts and he cries listen I wouldn't have been happy either you tell me I'm not gonna play I'm gonna be the best player in practice for the next practices or for the whole world cup and when we leave the World Cup all the team is going to say what the hell is wrong with burhalter why didn't he play Schweitzer he was so much better than all of us he would have gave us a better chance to win like by what Geo Reina did burhelder never lost a locker room Burr alter was fined in the locker room Gio Reina was wrong in the locker room so like almost out of safety I don't bring giorena in because I don't want to play with him he didn't care about us he didn't care about the United States he didn't care about me as a player he cared about his stats and what it was going to make him look like and where he was going to go from there because if he wants to start on the United States World Cup team yeah he better start at Bruce and Dortmund and he comes off the bench there too because he hasn't matured yet georena reminds me and I hope it goes a different route than a player that used to be he's an Italian player his name is Mario Balotelli one of the most talented soccer players I've ever seen and he still plays today and I have no idea where he plays he's played for Liverpool AC Milan Man City played for the Italian national team unbelievable talent but a head case immature always had to be about himself nobody wanted to play with him and it's a career that has been ruined by his own wrongdoing you kind of said soccer is the hardest team sports because in basketball football their set plays everyone knows where they need to play soccer is such a fluid sport you have to be on a team like mentality especially with the World Cup it doesn't make sense that you step in there thinking that it's all about you that's the stage four yeah you're reading right mentalities and thoughts and okay now he does this in this situation does this in this situation not like it's a set play it's like you're reading each player then oh a sub comes in and this player comes in like I said Geo Reign is probably our most talented player but are we going to win with him are you going to win with that type of player and that's the goal is to win the World Cup is not to go there and get out and I know I read something about those things oh it's so sad because it took a it took away from how well we did in the World Cup well how well we did did you look at our group like if we can't beat Wales was a problem if we can't breathe Iran there's a problem like England that was okay we lose to England okay and we tied them we should get out of our group easy and then I know it was three to one it's a pretty big score but it was worse than that what Holland did to us they destroyed us they toyed with us they let us think we were part of the game and then whenever they wanted they stole it from us and scored on us they did whatever they wanted they manipulated us exactly what the game's about they made us think we were in the game and then destroyed us and they treated us like little kids that's what they they let them have the ball for a little bit and then okay we're getting bored steal it scores all boom let's go let's do it again this blow up of US soccer in a sense could be the best thing that's ever happened to them because it could be the they have to go from the foundation and build it back up bring in the right players the right people that surround the team and for Gio Reyna this could be a huge wake-up call he's not even 21 yet this could be a huge wake-up call for him to realize that the decisions he make the words that comes out come out of his mouth make huge implications and hopefully U.S soccer holds them to that standard and that's the biggest thing too is we have to have people in the right positions to hold people to the right standard when they don't do the right things and don't make the best decisions for the team I've been in locker rooms before where they're very talented players but nobody gets along and no one likes each other and you're not going to see results if there's one or two people who are making everyone's lives a living nightmare around them so it'll be interesting to speak into Dallas maps to win the NBA championship because they have Kyrie yeah exactly exactly so I we didn't touch on the player we want to see on the roster we didn't touch on a player we want to see on the field I would love to see this cave cow kid play okay sure I I think he's got he's got an energy about himself he's got a mentality he likes to attack he likes to press he likes to play the game and from all accounts he is about the game he is playing for the game for the team it's not it doesn't come across yet now again he's young we have limited limited stuff to see it from him but this is a player that like as a player watching as a coach watching I want to be a part of it with him I want to go through the Journey with them like I want to be in the Foxhole with him he looks like a kid that will like there's no quit there's no surrender in him that that's the type that's the type of players that make it work that make you win championships that wins World Cups I mean I was cheering for Argentina but France had him too and Bape is not going to give up he always thinks he's in the game they did some things I know they don't always agree with the coach but they have talented players but talented players that fight for that for that crest for that shield for the for the flag and I think we need more players like that that are playing the game to leave a legacy but not their legacy in a sense the Legacy for soccer in America and I think we had it for a while we lost it I read an article crushing the old gar of the lawlesses the balboas the Mike lappers the Hendersons basically everybody run in the MLS with high significant jobs and they they still take care of themselves I was on that 94 World Cup team I think I was the last player cut but I remember going to trainings every day and I'd be in the locker room and I'd be like well there's not a lot of guys here are they out on the field and they're like oh no they're talking to Borah the vermises the clavios the Quinns they were all in the office like who talks to the coach that much as a group like that I've never seen it before never seen it after it's like they were all manipulating the response to keep themselves and granted we did good in the World Cup it would be hard not to be good in the World Cup in 94 our fan base was so amazing but they did good they inspired a generation I'll give them that but sometimes the game passes you buy or you have to develop with the game whether it be your knowledge your Insight or what you're trying to grow for the game and I don't think this guard is doing that I think they're doing Reino was part of that 94 team he didn't play a lick like his son played a little bit more than him but these guys are like they're living on past glory and I say it all the time there are too many people in soccer for what soccer can do for them not for what they can do for soccer and that's a huge problem here in America right well maybe we need embape on our can we get him a a Visa or whatever he needs to play on the U.S national team my other thing is we always say like oh really you know he's not even 21 yet like good God there's guys playing in Europe that are amazing well how old is Phil Odin like he's amazing how old is Bellingham coming out of Borussia Dortmund where Raina is and he's their star like he's only 19 years old well I'm saying from his development as an individual person yes as an American we were like a couple years ago we like oh my God we got pulisic is the same age as zimbape it's not even close to how much better mbappe is than him I think we give our I think we should start saying ballistics really really good rain is really really good but why aren't they as good as mbappe why aren't they as they they have everything they need to be that good like where you say oh my God he's amazing like we should say he's really good for an American but why are Americans why don't we have a Bellingham why don't we have an mbappe why don't we have a a gavi a pedry like why does Spain keep creating them why does Argentina keep creating them why does these other countries keep creating these players and we get one or two pretty good players here or there one of the ways that we could have those types of players here in America is the joint Talent Development Venture that lafc and Byron Munich are putting together it's going to be called red and gold football and each team owns 50 of it Byron Munich has done this with FC Dallas before and Alfonso Davies moved from Vancouver to Byron Munich in 2018 with a at the time world breaking record MLS transfer for more than 22 million the fact that the 2026 World Cup is here we talked about it a little bit they have an office in New York City but Bayern Munich CEO talked about they want that office in La too they want to be here they see the significance of it and obviously they want to help the youth grow here in America so Scotty how does the style of soccer that Byron Munich plays going to help and impact the youth here in America I think it's going to be fantastic so when I was growing up I was a Bayern Munich fan we could actually get some German games in New Jersey in in the 80s early 90s so I could watch some of the Bayern stuff I'm a huge beckenbauer fan who I think he's still in charge at Bayern but Bayern has a philosophy that it's not good enough to just win you you have to entertain I can't remember they're saying winning without entertaining is just boring uh a winning without entertaining without winning is boring and winning without entertaining is just pointless like that's bayern's philosophy like it's not good enough just to win you have to you have to entertain you have to play great soccer you have to be the reason we're coming is not just because we're going to win but we're going to watch a great brand of soccer and for me for me seeing that Bayern has done it with Dallas and now is doing it with LA well let's remember Dallas for the longest time was bringing up these young players out of their own system and it was Oscar Pereira who's now at Orlando he he really delved into the the youth development in Dallas made him a completely different team made him a team really really good they had they had they had a good history but when he took them over they really changed the philosophy in Dallas and they had these younger players and now they're doing it with LA and in the first three weeks La FC is the class of this league I mean just the class of the league and charandelo's there the the German style is a high pressing style most of the time with a bit of flair which we are as Americans we like to play with the flare too we want we want to be better so I think bayern's gonna see they see the talent we have and maybe they're saying the same thing I'm saying is what the hell happens to it where does it go why are these kids so good at this Youth Level and then when they become finally Pros it's like they miss four or five steps they're not getting the game as good as they should and uh from what I've read it seems like they want the players to go to Europe that they identify right between their systems so maybe they're saying well if we can get this talent and get them with the right coaching and in the right environments we can make a change and we can help and I think lafc when I said not only the class when I watch the games they're the they're the supporters I want to be with waving the flag their supporters are amazing it's like you forget when you're watching the game if they keep showing the supporters you almost forget you're watching an American soccer game because they're so into it like the European fans like they understand that they bring a rhythm to the game right and LFC lafc coming off a huge win against New England last week 4-0 we haven't seen a lot of goals in MLS this season either a team to put up four goals in one match in MLS is a huge deal you touched on it and that's exactly what I was going to say I think it was a smart move business-wise by Byron Munich because La has so many soccer fans and kids who want to grow up and play the game be around the game I've been to the bank a few times for nwsl and MLS and seeing how many people show up even during a week game to watch a non non-regular season game they will be there they're supporting and you can tell that the youth there are going to be invested and they want to be better and I think it's cool that they're taking them out of their comfort zone bringing them over to their own country they're going to develop them there allow them to come come back and also Bayern Munich's going to potentially if this all goes well have a huge name here in America that's what they want too they see the potential of soccer here in the states obviously with the World Cup coming up they want to financially benefit off of that as well so it makes sense for them to be making these moves and I think it'll be interesting to see what other clubs and what other leagues outside of the states come in and try and help develop our youth I don't think the state should be prideful about it I think it's a great move and why not bring other people who have better soccer Minds in some sense help develop our youth but also you kind of mentioned too the fact that why don't we have some of those we have Christian pulisic he's good here in the states we have Gio Arena he's good here as an American you touched on it before as well the fact that like in America we play other sports too and it's not just soccer a lot of people are encouraged to swim play basketball just to figure out what sport they want to play and abroad it's not like that people play in their backyards they play with their neighbors all day long that could be a huge reason why here in America we don't have the next level because we're not constantly playing so those La kids going over to Bayern Munich are going to be in that system in that lifestyle for however long they're there I think also what they do better in Europe is when they bring a player over they'll let let that player Express themselves so that's one good thing about the German league you said what other leagues can do this I think the Spanish league is a good League that Americans could get a start in uh the the Dutch League every division is a good League when you see these players come in and like we get a young player here in the MLS these coaches are like this is the system and this is how I want you to play like when I was in college I had an Argentine coach coach tarantini amazing coach his brother wins a world cup with the with Argentina amazing coach he's in Argentine mentality wise but he's also Italian so he has a different a hard-nosed miss about his as game of soccer on the attacking side but he didn't ask me he told us how NC State was going to play but he didn't tell us how we were going to play he let us be our own individual player within a system but don't change the player now do you fit the system with your style can you adapt and make little changes to you you personally not him telling me well no I want you to always play it right I want you to always play it out this he he allowed us to be ourselves and creative individualistically to fit the system of the team and I think that's what we see over in Europe they take these players and they don't try to mold them or change them they just try to teach them their brand of soccer and how it fits the system and that's what we did here we're always trying to make a player so like I see a left-footed player at the club level and they're like oh he's Lefty he must be messy so we try to make him a messy and he's not messy and then at the end of the day the coach doesn't take any any blame for it it's the player's fault well first of all he's not messy he just happens to be left-footed what what does he want to do how does he see the game ask questions learn how he's seeing it through his eyes and then you as a coach with experience who should see many different forms of soccer help him understand his game so he knows where his path and his journey is supposed to go we are sending players in the club level sometimes I see it all the time oh so-and-so signs with Florida State and you're like Florida State you're not going to play at Florida State and the players are like well you don't think I'm good enough like no it's not even your brand of soccer like how are you going to grow in this brand of soccer you're a holding midfielder that plays like a 10. and they bypass the Midfield in High Press like you're not going to play there you're never going to play there don't blame it on anybody else your your style of soccer doesn't fit this place and and that's part of the game that that happens all the time even at the pro level uh Juan Mata few years back is that Chelsea Jose Mourinho comes in takes over Chelsea he gets rid of Juan Mata he doesn't play his system Mourinho gets fired gets the man you job who's that man you Juan Mata they play a totally different brand of style of soccer because they have different players and Juan Mata is a star for Mourinho Mourinho didn't think he was a bad player he didn't fit his system he wasn't going to try to get Juan Mata to produce something he couldn't do it wasn't going to work and that's what we have here in the US is like we have right now a really good Midfield the national team I think McKinney could be better but he does a real good job covering and the other two players do a real good job covering and creating so okay let's build out of there what else do we have we have pulisic if Rainier can get his act together we have Reina what do we need we need a nine and we need two center-backs that are cleaner on the ball what if we also didn't at the Youth Level pin someone I mean you mentioned let's use the example of a left-footed player they are predominantly normally always used on the left side I I don't really see a lot of coaches maybe put them in the Midfield unless it completely makes sense and it's stupid obvious for them to be in the middle of the field what if we tried to change that up and throughout their youth kind of put them in a nine role put them as a center back put them as an outside back figure out the role that best fits them as they're growing up as they're developing and getting better maybe different systems that they're playing in depending what club they're on why are we just putting them in one role and making that their role and if they're not great at that then they'll never play at the next level yeah I think that's a fair question yeah totally fair and I think a big part of the problem is a lot of our coaches are coaching for their result for their wins and they'll say it's not about wins and losses it's about development blah blah blah but you know like as as the age groups get older and you get a lot of parents saying come to coaches and say my son's only playing Center back blah blah blah you know he's he's a midfielder he's this he's that and I try to tell parents in a way your coach has given you a compliment because most coaches work their way from the back these are the players they trust the most to get them a win to do the dirty work to do the honest stuff to work the hardest they're lazier players I always tell players when they're like Hey where's so-and-so playing that used to that I used to coach and like well she kind of moves around up on the top line sometimes she's a nine sometimes a seven sometimes an 11. and when they're telling me that moving around I'm basically saying was anyone going to tell her they don't have a spot for her they're just keeping her as far away from the goal as possible their goal so they don't get scored on so like what what happens is we are coaching players based on what's good for us as coaches instead of what's good for the player and that's a huge problem at the Youth Level listen I was a pro coach I didn't like the owners they were only about the money they didn't care about the fan base they really didn't they cared about them enough to get him into the park paying tickets they didn't care about the product we put on the field they didn't really care about the players they wanted you to think so they wanted the players to think so oh my door's always open but they didn't we had the lowest salary cap in the in the league it was terrible they were doing everything they could to nickel and dime players and they did everything they possibly could to just get people in the stands and not put a good product on the field to make money in soccer you got to lose money and that's the truth and everybody does it across the world but so when I left I wanted to I thought I could do more at the Youth Level and when I went and coached youth you see a lot of players and I'm I'm a I have a problem too like oh this kid could be a great midfielder but you need to talk to the player they might not want that responsibility they might be a young player who can only see the game as if it's all in front of them so you got to start them out in the back and then you got to give them here and there say hey today the goal for you is to get forward three times a half that's your goal you might lose it I didn't say get forward and not lose it I just get forward just try it see if you can read when you're supposed to go there we're coaching players not based on why this player played listen when we both started playing soccer it wasn't like oh I hope I play for berth or someday like I didn't know who any of the national team coaches were I didn't know who the college coaches were I stepped on that field and I and something clicked and a light went off and I was like I love this game I love everything about it I have to be in tune with my teammates I have to play all out to win this game it's super hard it's physically draining on me it's emotionally draining that is what I loved about the game so when we coach players we we kill that in them we take it from them and we're taking them here's what I want you to do because this is how I see the game you know this is how I see the game here are some ideas here are some Concepts what are your ideas and Concepts can we mold them together you can say to me as a player that I coach is allowed to say to you coach I totally disagree with you 100 percent great well we have to figure out what 100 comes to you so let's talk about it help me because I might get a player down the road that is similar to the way you see it and I have to help this player I already know how I see it I'm going to give you bits and pieces of my journey but not to become your journey to help you along your journey and I think that's a huge problem in the U.S is we we want players to be what we want them to be and we take what they want to be like why do you play the game why do you do this what does you love about the game we still the love and joy of players at the Youth Level all the time I see it all the time and then we don't give them the information they need to be better I just went through a training session last night with Damon nahas the assistant coach uh associate head coach at UNC and we were doing a simple 3-1-2 formation because we're in indoor facility but it translates to 11v11 that's why we play a three one two it connects us it puts us and triangles with the movement we can always rotate into new positions we can have third man running and we were talking to our players and it was it was a girls group and I said what do you play outdoor and they were getting ready for a 99 tournament and they play a three two three and I said why and they said uh I don't know because the coach told us to and I was like don't you think you should know why the coach wants you to play a three two three what's significant about that formation how is this formation going to help me as a player gonna help me as a team and gonna help us win a tournament or a game like but they don't even ask and then the coaches probably don't know most of the time why they're even playing formations well one thing it's a business and we all know that all this is a business everyone has to make money and that's just how it works unfortunately but also the other takeaway too is I know at the college level at least from my experience and I know a lot of people people's experiences when we start watching film and we start breaking down not just our own film other teams film but also teams that we'll never see like Barcelona whoever and that could help players grow from a younger level maybe your coach identifies oh you are you remind me a lot of I don't know Yasmine Ryan and this is why and you show her what she does well and what mistakes she what doesn't do well what formation she plays well in and that could help hear her developed at a youth level but it's watching film taking that time out of being on the field together and sitting down also at the Youth Level too it's like when you're super young it's the attention span could be there maybe it can't be so the adjustment as to what age is best to get into that but I agree with you on film I always send players like I can teach a player and an individual and show them things and I can learn their mechanics and help them understand their mechanics and they're feeling their mechanics but then I can say oh hey like I have my daughter she plays very similar in my eyes to Lindsey Horan that that's her style that's that's not my style that's her style so I say Emmy you need to watch this type of player Lindsey Horan Paul Pogba and and the reason is not to be them but she'll see something and she'll say holy cow that move that she just did that haran did or pug but just did that's exactly what it feels like when I do it because she can do all the moves so now you're seeing it unfilled by somebody else who moves just like you and it makes way more sense than coming from me a coach who sees it but I can't show it to her I have my movements or my movements there's not similar to hers or this player so to be able to see it and be able to say oh now it makes sense now I understand what I'm trying to accomplish when I do the move I can do the move do I understand how the move Works going back to the Men's National Team of player I want to see on the roster Tim waya they use him a lot on the national team as a right winger I'd like to see him drop off maybe play an outside back role he's super fast he's Speedy he might not have the knowledge of the game but we don't know that because we've never seen him play back there and he could help keep the back line a little bit higher which allows our attack to be in in the attack a little bit more these are low State Games why not put timwaya back in that type of formation with some maybe slower center backs that we have back there so that's kind of an idea too just messing around with things like allowing people to make mistakes and it doesn't have to be perfect from the jump but giving our athletes the tools to be the best they can be I think it's touching it right there our athletes because right now we just have athletes and they can become much better soccer players right but like along that Tim where lawn I really like that but do we go three in the back which is really five in the back kind of like how England plays which allows us to press and Tim Ware now is a is a wing back so he's still a Winger for us but he also is a back but he's not completely petrified because he knows he has a center back that can slide over and help in case he has little hiccups here and there but it'll allow us with our athleticism to press games better because I feel we need to get the ball back we press sometimes just across defensively so they can't break us down whereas we should be pressing to get the ball back in better areas to then attack out of that and sometimes it just seems like we just press the Press so that he can't get through our lines instead of well no the whole purpose of pressing is to get the ball back not just to claw clog spaces and the good example of that on the women's side is Crystal Dunn they slid her back into that outside back roll position you mentioned you'd love to see them in a three-back they're not playing that but they also have Emily Fox on the other side and Crystal Dunn she played a lot of Center Midfield she played outside I think the dropping her off is good for this national team and maybe Tim way could fit that he might be he might be a terrible Defender we don't know who knows how about if they're not gonna put Sam coffee on the women's team can we get her on the men's team yes let's go in there somewhere I love it why not I mean I'm going back Sam coffee we put her on the national team we have 400 different formations we could play we could play four in the back but let Fox and Dunn press and then let our out our Center back split and have coffee drop if we need to then we're basically five in the back again get like we just need coffee on the national team somewhere we do her her work ethic by itself is what allows for so many formations she could kind of be a terrible Defender and not terrible but she could be a subpar soccer player in my opinion and she could still help out this team immensely because she's always willing to put in the work and drop back defensively step up she seems to be in the right spots at the right time always yeah let's get her on the men's team you be the coach Scotty I'll be the GM and we'll get we'll get Sam over there yes exactly that's her solution we we solved U.S soccer's problem in 45 minutes and 42 seconds we need a sporting director I don't have a good one on top of my head you put me on the spot we are gonna just skip into nwsl we are a week away from the regular season but a huge topic has been the NW cell calendar change debate the league has talked a little bit about and people have talked about it'll fall to Spring instead of Spring to Fall now there are nine cities in the nwsl that have terrible weather not ideal to be playing soccer in um they'd be competing with the NFL college football NHL NBA but if they switch over to this new change if they did the fall to Spring they wouldn't be competing with the FIFA Windows it would allow some European players to come over so there's a lot of question marks around if this is a good decision a bad decision I have my thoughts but before I throw it over to you Scotty six regular season matches overlap with the Women's World Cup this season but the players are scheduled to be released June 26th which means that players that play in the NW cell will miss 12 games potentially if they make it to the final of the regular season of the NW South Scotty do you like how the league has it now I do or would you love to see it be a fall spring deal I I think in America it has to be the way it is now I mean you you are going to compete a couple years ago I'm pretty sure it was the nwsl Commissioners came on and said You Know the Way to Grow is through our TV ratings we have to get TV ratings and that's the truth in America we got to get we got to get it out we have to have people see it if you're gonna try to compete with the NFL you you're going to lose you are good luck yes people like we were talking Sunday is a holiday in America during the NFL season like I don't even know what my neighbors do but I know on Sunday they're watching the NFL games I'm watching my NFL games we're making chili we're getting hot dogs it's a it's a holiday it's an event it's a you have your teams and you ask every kid who's your favorite team and I'm I could ask kids that question at Next Level Academy and they would say a football team they would tell me their football team they don't even tell me if their soccer team were at a soccer place it's just NFL rules so if you're going to try to compete with them no one's going to be watching on TV the league is going to lose ratings The Losers are going to lose viewers and we're going to lose participation by the fans now I totally get it I don't want to be missing players for 12 games either but there must be another solution that we can do is there uh like in Europe when when the winner comes in Europe it was a big break for a month and they get the players go on holiday or the teams go and they travel to a nice place a nice climate and they do work out the weather here is not even close to what Europe is we have a way worse winner and it's way longer and it's it spreads out different times through the country like if we're playing right now who's playing in New York no one's playing in New York right now I mean they're getting or even California I mean like like I I just think it's it's a it's a nice thought is are we doing it so players don't want to go play in Europe I just I don't understand that there's there's not enough information being thrown out to say why this is right except for this world cup window we're going to be missing players for this amount of time well the World Cup's every four years so is there something we could do to figure that out is there a change in the schedule every four years where we do it just to make things work a little bit I know it doesn't make sense why listen I'm a player that played in the summer in the United States who would I compete with baseball that's not a competition that is there's no competition nobody's watching baseball go to a baseball game we're all there for the peanuts and the hot dogs we're not really there for baseball and baseball is getting worse and worse and worse and so I I liked it we were like the only thing going we were the only event people were coming to see soccer so I think the summer works it works in the U.S windows but right well you mentioned the Women's World Cup and Casey Stoney and The Equalizer article that I I read about she said well the Olympus is next year so they're gonna have to compete with the Olympics again next year so I guess it turns into every two years I agree with you though I I don't think you can compete with the NFL the argument there could be let's play our games on Saturday I don't really think you can compete with college football here in America and now that the courage would be crushed here your courage are they're sitting in a this is college town we got the triangle Chapel Hill Raleigh Durham we love anything look state was good this year in football we've been bad for a few years we're still going to the games right the fans the State fans are still going to go to State game over a courage game like it's gonna be hard to compete just here against College yeah and you mentioned the driving a TV contract this year is the end of the CBS contract it could be a reason why the conversation is being had because they're trying to figure out where the league is going to go next when it comes to where are people going to watch it I also say you you mentioned the weather if it's snowing and just how poorly that we may have a hard time of clearing these fields it's going to change the style of soccer we're playing it's going to change the outcome of the game the rain affects the game every once in a while but not as often as snow and cold weather does so I don't see a reason to change it I think right now yes we're having bad weather but it only is a few weeks in the sea season and then you get to the fall it's great soccer weather and across the board there's no variables like there would be if you had a fall to Spring I think one of the other arguments is too is some of the European players that they're missing because they see oh well we don't have to compete with the FIFA window we can still play with our national teams if we plan our leagues in Europe I know the NWC would like to see some more European players in their league that could be a reason to drive it but I think the nwsl is in the next two three years is in such crucial years for women's soccer and such a massive change like the schedule could make things awful and terrible and it could upend a lot also with the World Cup coming up stay consistent and do what you're doing right now I don't think there's anything wrong and we've seen the numbers increase because of what they're doing so by change it yeah and I also think if you change it you're going to lose fans in the seats too and as a player it's much easier to play in front of fans right like you want to play you want to show you want to be good and especially if you're the home team like so if we get less people in the stand who wants to play in front of 200 people right I don't even feel like a professional like I want thousands of people in there I was fortunate to play in Rochester in Cleveland in parts of my career and we're we're averaging you know 15 000 12 000 people that's that's phenomenal to play in front of that many people it's not just phenomenal for me as a home player but as a visitor to come in and to be able to stifle the cheering and the fans and to settle them down and make them sit back down on their seat that's a great driving force as a player to be playing in front of so many people and you I just don't think you're going to be able to do it in those well one it's going to be cold a big part of who comes and watches the nwsl are young players young female players who you're now also overlapping their season and school kids are in school in the fall School are they even available because their their team might have a game on the weekend now you can't go and watch them play so I think right yeah you're right like why mess with something that is is not broken and yes it's different than everywhere else but we we live somewhere different than everybody else and we have to do things based on where we live if it ain't broke don't fix it some things are broke though some things are broke Scotty and that's why we have the yellow Penny segment do you want to go first you want me to go first uh whatever I'll go I'm gonna go because I don't want you to pick mine well March Madness okay I'm not gonna pick that new Sportsman so March Madness I'm super psyched I wore my NC State throwback hat excited we played Creighton where the 11 seed they're the six hopefully we will get out I got some uh Nike Roshe runs on today because I feel we need to run them I think they're a smarter team than us but we're more athletic but my yellow Penny goes too and it really makes me happy to be this like they did this to UNC Chapel Hill men's basketball team at the beginning of the year the goal is to play in the postseason to win your games to win the ACC Championship and then play in the postseason I'm sorry you didn't make the NCAA not really but you didn't but to turn down the NIT who does UNC think they are you're you're bigger than the game you're saying you want to we're going to take the NIT off to develop and grow our program you had an opportunity to play in front of your fans you would have been a high seed which mean you would have got home games so your fans could have come senior players again you got a lot of seniors a lot of players leaving and you have a lot of young players that could have got some minutes I I think it's it's disgraceful it's the biggest cop-out and I think for a State fan it's exactly what we think of UNC is you think you're better than everybody else hey you didn't make the NCAA I'm sorry I'm sorry but you made the NIT but to turn it down so for me and I usually want to try to stick to soccer but this one was when I heard it I was shocked that they weren't going to play in the NIT because they're above the NIT basically don't be shocked and it can't can't come across any different for me I mean Penn State took their spot Penn State gets out the NIT and then UNC gets demoted let's keep it that way let's I love where Penn State's at Shrewsbury has done amazing things with our program but you're right that's a that's a good yellow Penny I like that I'm gonna stay in-house I'm gonna stick with the nwsl there was a terrible decision made in Portland and it's their new kid it is a travesty in my opinion and they said quote the Jersey speaks to both the Artistry that our players exhibit on the pitch and the creativity of our incredible fans that's great bold unique undeniably Portland that's great too the year 2013 in Roman numerals sits Atop The Art right here a nod to the club's roots and it's in inaugural nwsl season it is so bad there's these weird Roses coming up the sleeves they've got their Crest right here it looks like the players have tattoos I I it's like you know the guy no regrets that was the thing when I was in high school it was like that's what it kind of looks like is these people or whoever's wearing this kid is wearing no regret tattoos across them so my yellow Penny goes to the new kit I'm not thrilled to see it I love Portland they normally do a really good job and this this just wasn't it wasn't it they got the Jersey I'm not buying it won't say that all right well Scotty this was fun I'm so glad we got to touch on some really awesome topics love talking about the youth game and your perspective being a coach yourself at the Youth Level I was once asked by when I entered NFL films my co my coach my boss was a huge Liverpool fan and his daughter played and he's like can you come and Coach my daughter oh my gosh it was the most stressful hour of my life because I was like I don't even know like what level of soccer your daughters are at or these girls are at the nicest kids they were willing to learn but I was also you know when we were 10 and 8 years old we were juggling some players don't really know that at that level so I was like you know what I'm gonna take the L I'll never be a coach maybe you guys will hire me at NFL films you like me but anyhow so yeah I have a lot of respect for people who coach at the Youth Level so all it's a good job it is it is but it's worth it it's worth it oh 100 but yeah right like you I coached probably 40 kids a night sometimes like out of one session and you're trying to make 40 kids all have a good time and learn and have discipline and at the ages you coach you're doing a lot of parenting at the same time as coaching which it is stressful because you want them to experience the greatness of the game and that comes from your energy and your knowledge and and your ability to touch every single one of those players and that's a that's a stressful job as a coach right at least for me it is yeah I mean if you want to do it the right way I'm sure it takes a lot of energy out of you but it's worth it when you see some of these players unite kind of grow up through the ranks and and learn from the best I say you're the best Scotty because I mean oh nice anywho thank you guys so much for tuning tuning a show um like always let us know to know through Twitter Instagram YouTube what you guys want to hear about the topics that we touch on be curated because we enjoy talking about it but is there something you want to learn from our perspective please share we love hearing from you and as always follow us on Instagram Twitter and YouTube at sftpod bye guys see you next week have a great week