By 9:30 last Saturday morning I had run more than three miles, earned $20, and had been in the middle of a bunch of kids thoroughly enjoying the beautiful game.

We have all met people who have fancied themselves as the big man on campus or the mayor of the town they live in. The type of person who lights up a room just by leaving it.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the USA hosting the 1994 World Cup -- a good time to check in with Tony Meola, who started every game in goal for the USA as it reached the second round of a World Cup for the first time since 1930.

Invariably as I talk to players, there are usually complaints surrounding coaches. I'm sure that the players believe the gripes are legitimate.

Soccer teams are finally able to get outside to begin their practices in preparation for the spring season. It's a far cry from the indoor space many of us have been confined to for the past few months here in the New York-New Jersey area.

Only two decades ago, the United States had never had a Hispanic head coach at any level of its national team program and Latino players were rarely seen in a U.S uniform. In a nation with a large Latino community with deep soccer roots -- competing in a world where Latin-style soccer was the most successful and many would say the most entertaining -- the Hispanic player pool was largely excluded from mainstream soccer.

Thomas Rongen has been head coach of four MLS teams, coached the USA at four U-20 World Cups and is featured in a recently released documentary, "Next Goal Wins," about his stint as coach of American Samoa. He has returned to the youth game at the grassroots level with Florida's Treasure Coast Soccer League as Technical Director.

In many game situations, I could make a case that the ref's best position varies but there is only one position that works for assistants. During normal play for nearly the entire game, the assistant referee's position is parallel with the second-to-last defender as that is the perfect position for determining offside. The first defender is almost always the goalkeeper.