My experience Children are looking for 3 main elements and these are ultimately why they play football: 1) To have fun 2) Play with their friends 3) Be challenged Bonus: Grow personally and athletically

Welcome to America.

17-year old American Nik Lysandrou earned his debut in the professional game for APOEL FC vs Pafos on May, 5th 2025. His first 6-minutes of professional football. Proud.

Controversial opinion A mega club charged $25 per player to “tryout”. Do you want to guess who many kids attended? Thousands.

This is my “youth soccer trophy”. Watching a player I developed from U9-U12 as we trained together in the “Soccer School” just made his first team debut in Europe for APOEL FC. Priceless.

Parents Did you know that for almost any club ⚽️program (for children aged 6-12) you can go back at any point or any time well after tryouts have passed. It could be August. October. January. When you bring out your wallet, almost any club will swipe your card.

17-year old American in the STARTING XI for APOEL FC and gets a full 90-minutes under his belt. #2 Nik Lysandrou. Played the #5 position (LCB). Incredible.

17-year old American in the STARTING XI for APOEL FC and gets a full 90-minutes under his belt. #2 Nik Lysandrou. Played the #5 position (LCB). Incredible.

Is this story a coincidence or not?

Parents Tryout season is winding down. I want to hear from you: What is the craziest story you have experienced from this year’s tryout? Was it the pressure to sign in 24-hours? Was your child just a number?

Parents Before you decide to “commit” and register for a club after tryouts. You can always sign up later….. If you pull out your credit card, those clubs will swipe and charge. It doesn’t matter if it’s August, November, January or March. Cash to clubs is king.

True or false The 24-hour rule set by clubs after tryouts proves they care about the kids and their development.

This right here. What’s interesting is…. People tell me this “theory” I have isn’t true. If you’re good is good enough. It’s 300000% true. Also any club will swipe your credit card. Cash is king.

Son Heung-min won a “bigger” first trophy at Tottenham than Harry Kane won at Bayern Munich.

I overheard a coach say to a parent at the field the other day…. “I can’t teach size, but I can teach technique.”

I overheard a coach say to a parent at the field the other day…. “I can’t teach size, but I can teach technique. That’s why I prefer big physical players.”

Parents US Youth Soccer and clubs in the system are not responsible for your child’s development based on the current marketplace. This means, Ballers Begins at Home.

For US Soccer to become a powerhouse at ⚽️. These 3 things will happen at the youth level: 1) Ballers Begin at Home 2) 2v2-3v3-5v5 for U6-U12 3) Relevant Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer for 2v2-3v3-5v5 BONUS: 8v8 at U13/U14 & 11v11 at U15+

While youth soccer coaches, parents and clubs rave about their Memorial Day trophy wins. I’ll share my “trophy”. Watching one of my former trainees make his debut for the Apoel FC first team and play 90 minutes. Priceless.

Off-topic: If you do not have at least a green-card in the United States, I would highly recommend refraining from traveling outside the USA…. Even to a territory. Poor experience when my wife & I (who is Brazilian) traveled to the USVI. Could have led to deportation.