{"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":35,"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 parenting in youth sports 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":"2026-06-24T22:19:45.866390+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250"},"episode":{"title":"Why Your Kid Looks Better in Training Than Games","slug":"why-your-kid-looks-better-in-training-than-games","published_at":"2026-06-10T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250/why-your-kid-looks-better-in-training-than-games","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/9668d92a","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/9668d92a/6a26b7f1.mp3","summary":"Why does a youth soccer player look technical in training, then struggle when the game starts? That question drives this conversation with Christian Silva, founder of Silva Academy and a former professional player. Christian pushes past the easy labels parents hear all the time: technical, confident, talented, improving. His point is sharper than that. A player can look great in a session, beat cones, win drills, and still not understand when or why to use the skill in a real game. Liron and Matt talk with Christian about what technical ability actually means, why the skill is not just the move, why supplemental training has to connect back to the team environment, and why parents often misread confidence. Christian also explains why yelling from the sideline can hijack a player’s decision-making, why watching full games still matters, why highlights can distort development, and why the best soccer parents may need to ask more questions before chasing another trainer, team, badge, or shortcut. This episode is for every parent who has watched their kid look great in practice and then wondered why it did not show up on game day. (00:00) - Why training and games can look so different (02:24) - Christian Silva on the real development gap (05:55) - The stop moving lesson from Germany (08:30) - What technical actually means (10:30) - The skill is not the skill (12:30) - Supplemental training and game transfer (17:00) - How to judge progress in a match (20:10) - Benchmarks, foundations, and catching up (23:00) - Why training has to come alive in games (25:00) - How parents can hijack decision-making (28:20) - Pay-to-play, access, and open systems (32:30) - Too many programs, not enough clarity (35:00) - Knowing your own kid (38:00) - Tryouts, benchmarks, and control (40:30) -…","meta_description":"Why does a youth soccer player look technical in training, then struggle when the game starts? That question drives this conversation with Christian Silva…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3361,"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/why-your-kid-looks-better-in-training-than-games/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/why-your-kid-looks-better-in-training-than-games.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}