• North Carolina FC's Curt Johnson on building a sustainable youth-to-pro club, U.S. Soccer's opportunity and slowing the youth train down
    As president and general manager of North Carolina FC, Curt Johnson oversees an operation that includes a NWSL team (North Carolina Courage) as well as two major local youth clubs. The Raleigh native is spearheading an MLS expansion bid and hoping for significant changes that can steer the game at all levels in the right direction.
  • Standup comedian and ex-soccer pro Kevin Flynn: 'The funniest guys I have ever hung out with were soccer players'
    After captaining UMass' soccer team in the 1980s, playing three years of pro indoor soccer, and coaching college ball, Kevin Flynn became a standup comedian.
  • Michelle Akers, American soccer's first superstar, rates the progress of the U.S. game, women's and men's
    We caught up with Michelle Akers to get her views on the current state of American soccer -- and her advice for youth coaches, parents and young players.
  • Bill Nuttall: 'Barriers to entry are always going to be a question'
    Decades of experience in soccer bring a unique point-of-view from Bill Nuttall, who sits on the board of NPSL club Chattanooga FC.
  • Tom Byer: Look to parents, not coaches, to create skillful players
    HBO, which is featuring Tom Byer in an edition of "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," calls him a "soccer guru" with a "plan to rescue American men's soccer."
  • Howard Webb on the VAR project, what's working and the comfort of the words 'Check complete'
    MLS began using VAR in league matches after the All-Star Game under the stewardship of former Premier League and FIFA referee Howard Webb.
  • Alexi Lalas: The American soccer community is knowledgeable, discerning, passionate and committed
    Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas became a soccer celebrity when he started for the USA at the 1994 World Cup.
  • Schellas Hyndman: American soccer needs playmakers
    Schellas Hyndman spent the first three decades of his coaching career in college soccer, a span that included 22 NCAA appearances with SMU.
  • Tom Mulroy: 'There's so many people on the wrong page'
    Former professional player Tom Mulroy has worn many hats since retiring as a player and touring the country juggling as "Soccer Tom."
  • Pay-to-Play: The complexity of high-cost youth soccer explained by former Bay Area club president Eric Sippel
    To gather further insight into American youth soccer pay-to-play, we speak to Eric Sippel, who has vast experience in youth soccer and the financial world. A Stanford law school graduate and nationally recognized hedge-fund executive who is now a private investor, Sippel, during his eight-year tenure as a youth club president in Oakland, California.
  • Cliff McCrath, Seattle's 'Mr. Soccer,' on the Sounders, USA's World Cup exit and the next steps
    He's called "Mr. Soccer in the Northwest" in "Seattle 100: Portrait of a City," a book that honors people who have "defined and driven" culture in Seattle. Cliff McCrath coached Seattle Pacific for nearly four decades, winning five Division II NCAA championships.
  • Richard Groff: 'We need to keep doing what we do well'
    Former U.S. Soccer treasurer Richard Groff has spent most of his life involved with soccer at some level.
  • Sasho Cirovski: We need to define an 'American Way' and end the divisiveness
    The Maryland coach has won two NCAA championships and produced four U.S. World Cup players.
  • Carlos Cordeiro: 'I have harbored ambitions for a long time'
    A year after being elected U.S. Soccer vice president, he announced that he is running for president.
  • Crew SC's big night soured by ominous overtones
    Will #SaveTheCrew only be a rallying cry silenced by the forces of good, old-fashioned money?