American Brad Friedel, who owns the record (310) for the most consecutive starts in the English Premier League, will enter his 20th season as a professional goalkeeper when he returns to Tottenham Hotspur later this summer. So how does the 42-year-old spend the offseason? Coaching young American goalkeepers.

It's the most basic principle of any game officiated by the use of a whistle: Play stops when the whistle sounds. Players are told to play the whistle and soccer players can be cautioned if they play the ball a second or two after they hear the whistle. So it's particularly frustrating that two refs during televised games in the past year blew the whistle for a penalty kick, then allowed the goal to stand when the ball went into the goal, not having the PK taken instead.

About four years ago, then-head coach Thomas Rongen brought in a new assistant for the U.S. U-20 national team. The newcomer joined the players during a keepaway game. After practice, as the players were leaving the field, one was overheard saying, "That small coach sure can play."

Since the U-20 World Cup was launched in 1977, the biennial tournament has introduced to the world some of soccer's biggest stars.

How much performances at youth national team championships tell us about the state of soccer in a country is debatable, but here's what Harry Redknapp said after England exited the U-21 European Championship in Israel with three straight losses:

The opening whistle blows. The ball gets dropped back to you. Your first touch isn't so good and the ball slips away. You scramble to it just before a defender gets there, but you hit it awkwardly and it bends out of bounds. Uh oh.

A side ache (also called side stitch) can be a real pain. It seems to occur most often in runners and cyclists, but I've seen plenty of athletes in team sports that also experience side aches.

Clint Dempsey, the USA's second all-time highest scorer, leads the USA against Jamaica in World Cup qualifying on Friday. Dempsey is the subject of the YouthSoccerInsider's latest edition of "When They Were Children."