Love for the Game

The Savage Gringo: Perspectives On the Game From A SoCal Youth Soccer Player

Soccer gives me a high and releases tension like nothing else in life. My problems and worries from my outside life seem to vanish when I'm on the pitch. I can be my true self and also test myself to see if I really have what it takes. In life, I often feel like the underdog and it's no different on the pitch. I enjoy this aspect though because I can come into the game with something to prove. How I train, eat, sleep, go out with friends - everything in my life is centered around performing my best on the field.

5 Surefire Ways To Annoy Your Soccer Coach

The dynamic warm up and injury prevention exercises only require 70% effort. That passing exercise before possession doesn’t require your full focus and attention. Just run kinda hard and speed up the time between your touches a little bit more when your coach asks for game speed. No. No. And no. A good coach should know when to tailor training for more relaxed efforts and will tell you. Otherwise, players should be switched on, especially at the start of a training session. Unless you are learning a brand-new skill where slowing down is important, training should involve speeds and pressures similar to what we encounter in a match. Even that passing exercise you’ve done 10 million times.

Soccer Performance Through a Holistic Lens: Interview with Erica Suter

Deadlifts are the movement I call the "ACL reduction powerhouse." They are so great for not just the hamstrings and glutes, but the entirety of the trunk, and ensuring it has the stability, as well strength to handle high amounts load so the lower extremity joints are also stable (knee and ankles). I am also a huge fan of Single Leg RDLs, Pistol Squats, and Lunge variations for single-leg strength as well as trunk stability.

Sh*t Soccer Girls Say: An Interview with SoccerGrlProbs

Carly Beyar, Alanna Locast and Shannon Fay from Soccergrlprobs are blowing up on Instagram with their hilarious posts and empowering content (I mean, their tagline is “Empowering Ladyballers, Daily”). They are former Division 1 College Soccer teammates, and they know what it takes to succeed in soccer and those same characteristics of hard work, passion, and teamwork are paying off for them as they continue to grow. They were cool enough to answer some questions below.

Moving Meditation for Soccer Performance: 4 Simple Techniques

Sometimes caring a lot about playing well in our upcoming soccer game can lead to worse performance if we don’t find a way to stay calm and relaxed. Mental tightness in the form of fear and anxiety can lead to increased injuries and cause us to move with less efficiency on the field. In turn, we end up not playing as well, wasting energy, and the paradox of wanting something (good performance) causing us to not get it prevails.

A Love Letter To The Game of Soccer

Below you will find a love letter written by one of my childhood and best friends, Itzik Rapaport. It is a love letter to the game of soccer. He runs a soccer league in Los Angeles called Directkix, and also hosts Sunday afternoon/evening pick up games for youth players at Calabasas High School where kids can play with no coaches, parents, or anyone telling them what to do. . Pick up, the secret method of development that worked wonders for Zinedine Zidane, Maradona, and countless other amazing soccer players throughout the generations. We need more of it.