Interview by Mike Woitalla Anson Dorrance, coach of theUSA’s first Women’s World Cup championship team in 1991 and head coach of the University of North Carolina since 1979, has been closely following the major change in the girls youth soccerlandscape that’s coming with the introduction of the Girls U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The Girls Development […]
Mike Woitalla
Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla has written freelance articles about soccer for more than 30 media outlets in nine nations. The winner of eight United Soccer Coaches Writing Contest awards, he is the author of two books. He coaches and referees youth soccer, and is a "Soccer Without Borders" volunteer.
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Jozy Altidore still having lots of 'serious fun'
Jozy Altidore made his 100th appearance for the USA last Sunday, becoming, at age 27, the second youngest player to reach that milestone after Landon Donovan, whowas 26 when he got his 100th cap. We spoke with Altidore about his youth soccer days, important qualities he believes coaches need at all levels, and his off-field […]
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A Van Basten idea worth considering: only captains speak to refs
By Mike Woitalla When FIFA technical director Marco van Basten reeled off a list of possible rule changes most, like getting rid of offside, could be easily dismissed. But his solution toprevent the mobbing of referees should be seriously considered. “There is far too much complaining about the referee, and that also wastes time,” Van […]
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Q&A with U.S. Soccer's top coach educator Nico Romeijn: On teaching the coaches
Interview by Mike Woitalla The U.S. Soccer Federation hired Nico Romeijn of the Netherlands in June 2015 as its Director of Coaching Education. Romeijn previouslyserved as the Head of Education for the Dutch federation (KNVB). SOCCER AMERICA: After one and a half years on the job, what would you say have been your biggestaccomplishments? NICO […]
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Newcomers to USA get a boost from Soccer Without Borders: Meet founder Ben Gucciardi
Interview by Mike Woitalla Ben Gucciardi is the founder of Soccer Without Borders, which isentering its second decade of providing soccer programs for under-served youth in the USA and abroad. Also known as Futbol Sin Fronteras, SWB started in Oakland, California, and its year-roundprograms in the USA serve more than 1,000 children in Oakland, Baltimore, […]
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Reyna and Fuentes strike for U.S. U-15 boys in Croatia
The U.S. U-15 boys national team, coached by Dave van den Bergh, fell to host Croatia (2-1) and Serbia (2-0), and beat Montenegro (1-0) at a four-team tournament in Zagreb. Giovanni Reyna (NYCFC) scored the decider against Montenegro. Gilbert Fuentes of Northern California’s Ballistic United scored the consolation goal againstCroatia. The U-15s had won their […]
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Tony DiCicco on the high school ban, coaching education and the future of girls soccer
Interview by Mike Woitalla Tony DiCicco, who coached the U.S. women to the 1996 Olympic gold medal, the 1999 Women’s World Cup title and the 2008 U-20 Women’sWorld Cup crown, spoke with us about the changing landscape of girls soccer in the USA. The U.S. Soccer Federation is launching a Girls Development Academy in 2017. […]
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License-mania — aggrandizing the coach in a player's game
By Mike Woitalla It’s not easy to become a USSF-licensed elite soccer coach: “You must pass six licenses. … The failure rate is high — I haven’t had time to check this data but it’s often well above 30 percent of license-seekers who are told, ‘No. Come back again when you’re ready.’ It’s difficult to […]
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Birth-year registration: The transition is upon us
By Mike Woitalla Will my child be changing teams? Will she be playing “up” if she stays with her current team? Will he move to what had been the “younger” team? Willmy 12th grader even have a club team during her senior year of high school? When U.S. Soccer (USSF) last August announced a change […]
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Andres Cantor on Hispanic support for the USA, MLS, women's game and his toughest assignment
By Mike Woitalla@MikeWoitalla Andres Cantor has inked a multi-year contract extensionwith Telemundo, which sets him up to do play-by-play for the next two World Cups. For TV and radio, Cantor’s has already covered seven World Cups, after his first as a print journalist.A career he couldn’t have imagined when as a teen he described moving […]