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 2016 U-17 Women's World Cup kicks off on Friday in Jordan, marking the first time a Middle East nation has hosted a female soccer world championship.

The greatest area for improvement in American youth soccer is in the sophistication of thought and decision-making of players.

Soccer's birth date is widely considered to be Dec. 8, 1863, when the English FA published its first set of rules -- after a heated debate on whether players should be allowed to kick each other as well as the ball.

Just as there are not enough referees to adequately cover every game, there are not enough assessors to help referees. So assessors tend to watch the games of the refs who are going somewhere as well as the refs who are the subject of many complaints.

Another sign that other nations are catching up with the USA in women's soccer came at this month's U-20 Women's NTC Invitational in Carson, California.

An Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is a written set of systems and processes that are followed if a serious health or environmental condition occurs.

Until last year, my son was playing for a U.S. Soccer-sanctioned Pre-Development Academy soccer team in Northern California. A young competitive team, eager to play 11-aside on a large field against much older kids. Well-coached, and filled with raw athleticism mixed with the bounty of racial diversity afforded in the USA, the squad was competitive even playing against faster and stronger kids from San Francisco and beyond.

The USA, coached by Tab Ramos, reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 U-20 World Cup, falling in a penalty kick shootout to eventual champion Serbia. Since then, U.S. Soccer has ramped up preparations for the 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea (May 20-June 11) by creating a U-19 national team, whose reins it also handed to another former U.S. national team star, Brad Friedel.

Youth soccer-related injuries treated in emergency departments more than doubled from 106 per 10,000 players in 1990 to 220 per 10,000 players in 2013, according to a study published on Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

FC Dallas won the U-17/18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship in July despite missing one of its top players -- Weston McKennie, who left the team after the quarterfinals to tryout with Germany's Schalke 04.

The USA is the strongest nation on earth; nobody questions this fact. The USA is a melting pot of races and ethnicities that produces the best overall athletes in the world; nobody questions this fact either.

Gum chewing seems to be disappearing from the NBA but remains very popular among athletes in all sports. I remember that when I was a kid we were discouraged from chewing gum during sports because we were told that if it got stuck in your throat you'd probably die and if you swallowed the gum it would stay in your stomach for 7 years. Anyone else old enough to remember those myths?

Every beginner is a winner! If you are just starting out officiating, then you have not made anywhere near the number of mistakes I've made on the field, and hopefully you never will.