The ref calls a foul. The halfwit coach of the kid who committed it yells, "It's OK, Timmy! You didn't do anything wrong!" -- believing he's cleverly circumventing the dissent rule because he's not screaming directly at the ref.

There's a long list of players who gave notice at the U-20 World Cup before becoming household names.

Five days before the USA faces Myanmar in its U-20 World Cup opener in New Zealand, Coach Tab Ramos has been forced to replace midfielder Russell Canouse, who captained the USA during qualifying play.

At age 16, Mallory Pugh started all four U.S. games at the 2014 U-20 Women's World Cup. So it's little surprise that Pugh, as a high school junior, was named 2014-15 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Between this year's U-20 national team camps - she's eligible for the 2016 U-20 World Cup - Pugh managed to score had 24 goals and 12 assists for Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. She also scored 17 goals in 13 appearances for Real Colorado during the 2014-15 ECNL season. "Mallory Pugh is an incredibly exciting player," …

In his 2008 book "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell popularized the concept of the relative age effect (RAE). He used Canadian hockey to demonstrate a bias in youth sports toward players born near the age cutoff date.

The USA earned a spot at the 2015 World Cup with a penalty-kick shootout at win over Jamaica on March 15, leaving Coach Richie Williams with seven months to fine-tune his team for the World Cup that kick off Oct. 17 in Chile. We spoke with Williams about preparing a team whose squad is split between players in residency in Bradenton, Fla., and those already signed with professional clubs; the future of U-17 residency; and lessons from qualifying.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has hinted that 18-year-old Gedion Zelalem, who was recently named to the USA's U-20 World Cup roster, may be loaned out next season.

When teaching a person how to play golf, if you put the ball on the tee 300 yards from the hole and asked the newbie to swing, most likely he or she would become frustrated very quickly. Instead, you place the ball a yard from the hole. Once the new golfer can consistently putt the ball in the hole, confidence will grow and you move the ball further away. Eventually, the ball will wind up on the tee, 300 yards from the hole.

As U.S. coach Tab Ramos had hoped, FIFA cleared Arsenal's German-born Gedion Zelalem to play for the USA in time to include the 18-year-old on the U.S. roster for the U-20 World Cup that kicks off in New Zealand May 30.View image | gettyimages.com

How goalkeepers communicate with their teammates is a big part of their development.

When you see World Cup-bound Christen Press play -- like her golazo against France -- you'd imagine she was a child who embraced soccer and fell in love with the ball the first time she stepped on the field.

The top American scorer in U-20 World Cup history? That would be Jozy Altidore, with five goals in 2007 when the USA beat Brazil and Uruguay en route to a quarterfinal finish.

Coach John Hackworth, who rejoined the U.S. national team program after four years with MLS's Philadelphia Union, has gotten off to a strong start since becoming U.S. Soccer's first full-time U-15 boys national team coach late last year.

No two children are alike and their dreams are as unique as their goals. As high school students across the nation complete another grade, many will begin the exciting -- and at times overwhelming -- process of preparing for college.

The U.S. U-15 boys national team, coached by John Hackworth, won the Tourneo Delle Nazioni with a 3-2 win over Austria on Friday. The Americans scored 15 goals in five games at the tourney hosted by Italy, Austria and Slovenia.