{"podcast":{"title":"Chasing the Game - Youth Soccer in America","slug":"chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250","podcast_index_feed_id":7528250,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/chasing-the-game","website_url":"https://www.chasingthegame.us","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/4Xne-FSh01iD2s8m_-NH8nbG0PHW7JxI0AKsxID8Mvc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kZWVh/ODMyNzJlMTg1NDQ3/NWZmZjlhOTAwOWEy/ZGJmYy5wbmc.jpg","author":"Liron Unreich","episode_count":30,"summary":"Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States. Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know. Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of youth sports parenting in today’s competitive environment. For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250"},"episode":{"title":"How Youth Soccer Players Actually Improve | Brando Babini and Billy Pavlou","slug":"how-youth-soccer-players-actually-improve-brando-babini-and-billy-pavlou","published_at":"2025-12-10T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250/how-youth-soccer-players-actually-improve-brando-babini-and-billy-pavlou","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/6c4e3738","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/6c4e3738/a44037ac.mp3","summary":"How do young coaches and former players see the gaps in youth soccer differently from everyone else? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia talk with Brando Babini and Billy Pavlou, founders of Youth4Youth FC and Next Level USA, about supplemental training, mentorship, match minutes, and what families often misunderstand about development. They explore near-peer coaching, the role of parents, differences between clubs in New York City, college recruiting, social media, burnout, and why the next generation may reshape the U.S. youth soccer landscape. This episode is for soccer parents and players looking for clearer guidance on supplemental training, exposure, development, and the real value of the right environment. (00:00) - Start (00:09) - Remote intro and audio joke (00:33) - Present and future of youth soccer, why these guests (00:46) - Introducing Billy Pavlou and Brando Babini (04:44) - Brando’s path through NYC academies and founding Youth4Youth FC (08:34) - Billy’s journey from Australia to New York and starting Next Level USA (14:28) - What supplemental training really means (19:56) - Club identities in NYC and how they shape players (27:21) - Who drives supplemental work, parents or players (29:25) - Relationships with MLS NEXT and top clubs, guest play rules (35:50) - Youth4Youth mentorship model and near-peer support (44:34) - Showcases, college recruiting and real exposure (48:50) - Burnout, pressure and where it actually comes from (53:39) - Social media, player profiles and the showcase effect (58:30) - Why the US is fertile ground for soccer startups (01:02:24) - Rapid fire: skills, clubs, parents and advice for 12-year-olds Click here to view the episode transcript.","meta_description":"How do young coaches and former players see the gaps in youth soccer differently from everyone else? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4152,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250/episodes/how-youth-soccer-players-actually-improve-brando-babini-and-billy-pavlou/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250/how-youth-soccer-players-actually-improve-brando-babini-and-billy-pavlou.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}