{"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":"Youth Soccer Careers: The Hard Choice Parents Don’t See Coming | Alex Rando","slug":"youth-soccer-careers-the-hard-choice-parents-don-t-see-coming-alex-rando","published_at":"2026-02-04T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250/youth-soccer-careers-the-hard-choice-parents-don-t-see-coming-alex-rando","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-the-game-youth-soccer-in-america-7528250","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/18198969","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/18198969/72827380.mp3","summary":"What happens when the dream path finally opens, and a player is no longer sure they want it? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia talk with Alex Rando about big decisions, discipline, family pressure, goalkeeper mentality, and what it really means to bet on yourself in youth soccer. They explore academy soccer in New York, the pull of MLS NEXT, college soccer versus the pro route, and the emotional weight of choosing growth over comfort when the stakes suddenly become real. This episode is for soccer parents and players navigating major pathway decisions and trying to understand how ambition, identity, and long-term development collide. https://chasingthegame.us (00:00) - Betting on Yourself (02:10) - Growing Up Playing in Manhattan (06:25) - When Soccer Starts Feeling Serious (10:40) - The First Big Decisions (15:55) - Choosing Growth Over Comfort (21:05) - Parents as Support, Not Directors (26:20) - Pressure, Mistakes, and the Goalkeeper Mindset (31:45) - College, Contracts, and Uncertainty (37:10) - Discipline Beats Motivation (42:30) - What Being “Ready” Actually Means (47:50) - The Decisions That Stay With You (51:40) - Final Takeaways on Betting on Yourself Click here to view the episode transcript.","meta_description":"What happens when the dream path finally opens, and a player is no longer sure they want it? In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3411,"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/youth-soccer-careers-the-hard-choice-parents-don-t-see-coming-alex-rando/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/youth-soccer-careers-the-hard-choice-parents-don-t-see-coming-alex-rando.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}