was thanks to the Coaches Convention that I visited Philadelphia for the first time in the late 1980s. I marveled at the city’s history and recall being told that no building shall ever be higher than the 36-foot tall statue of William Penn that has perched atop the 516-foot City Hall Tower since 1894.
Several skyscrapers now loom over Penn’s broad-brimmed hat and he’s no longer visible from all angles of the skyline. But we had a great view of Pennsylvania’s founder from our hotel for the 2026 United Soccer Coaches Convention.
And while soccer’s biggest convention was much about the modern game and its future, it also delivered views into its history.
The convention provides platforms for coaching education and marketers, honors young players (All-Americans) and longtime contributors. Important meetings take place, eg: college coaches plotting a season reformat, and it’s a stage for U.S. Soccer to connect with the coaching community from grassroots up.
In his presentation on U.S. Soccer’s Pathways Strategy, Sporting Director, Matt Crocker, addressed the recent announcement that the Federation will manage US Club Soccer’s internal operations.
“It means that we have an opportunity to reduce the costs of soccer for kids, which is a key primary objective of U.S. Soccer,” Crocker said. “It means that we can begin to sit next to U.S. Club at a table — not them across the table, but next to them — and have conversations over how we create a simple, clear pathway. … Let’s pull our resources together to make soccer as affordable as we possibly can within the landscape.”
In a reference to creating a “positive environment for players to reach their full potential,” Crocker said: “I see too many coaches shouting at kids.”
Tony Lepore, U.S. Soccer’s Head of Talent ID, also returned this year for an update on its scouting network’s growth with Talent ID Education Lead, Marieke Laurens-van Tienhoven. In 2025, 214 talent scouts produced more than 21,000 scouting reports. They shared many more numbers to demonstrate the significant growth of the scouting network — including a 34% increase in female scouts — and the full-time staff, a third of which are native Spanish speakers. Plus the projected massive future expansion.
This year’s famous presenters included Roberto Martinez, the Spanish coach of World Cup-bound Portugal. The former Belgium boss also attended sessions. At a presentation by Barry Pauwels (U.S. Soccer’s men’s YNT head of development) and U-17 coach Gonzalo Segares, Martinez stood up to ask about tracking the professional pathway of U.S. U-17 players after the U-17 World Cup compared to European nations. But he first said:
“Thank you for a great presentation, I appreciate how you are sharing so openly. This was high level and valuable. … I am surprised there are not more people in the room. … If this was in Europe there would be people at the door, they would pay big money for this, it’s like gold.”
U.S. Soccer’s Catherine Newman (Chief Marketing & Communications Officer) and Lex Chalat (Executive Director, Soccer Forward Foundation) — at the “USSF World Cup Preview” — shared the Federation’s strategies to deepen connections with “fans, partners and members.” And the quest to parlay the World Cup increased accessibility. She pointed to the Soccer Forward’s resource hub, which includes an excellent “Soccer at Schools Starter Kit.”
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FIFA controls the 2026 World Cup revenue streams, so how will such programs be funded? Chalat pointed to the support of federation partners, sponsors and major donors such as Michele Kang and Arthur M. Blank.
The convention covers the spectrum of the American youth soccer landscape.
Well represented in the exhibit hall are the youth tournament and travel industries, and producers of high-tech video and analytics equipment. Besides your basic equipment from shoes to shinguards, there’s a field-painting robot and mechanical ball-launchers for the wealthy.
But nearby we find a “Communities Initiatives” workshop with Michael Kodama (United Soccer Coaches, Community Relations), Christopher Cotton (Kansas City Parks & Recreation), Matthew Atencio (Center for Sport and Social Justice) and Jennifer Tepper (Soccer Without Borders).
How much there is on offer is an attribute and challenge of the convention. Conflicts are unavoidable. If you ref and coach, do you attend veteran AR Frank Anderson‘s session or the Philadelphia Union academy’s? You can choose between an on-field session or a discussion, such as Glenn Crooks‘ Q&As with Eric Wynalda, Tab Ramos and John Harkes in which attendees also get to query the Hall of Famers.
Ramos recalls the soccer philosophy of influential coach Manfred Schellscheidt and calls the fellow New Jerseyan the “Johan Cruyff of this country.” He compares Schellscheidt’s “the game is the best teacher” approach to Jorge D’Alessandro, his coach at Figueres in Spain’s second tier in 1990-92. The Argentine assigned Ramos an exact task: “Dribble past the outside back, cross the ball right between the six-yard box and the penalty spot.” And added, “If you can’t, I’ll find somebody else who can.”
“Two completely different ways of building a team that to me, both make sense,” said Ramos, who also cited the importance of coaches comprehending the skillful players, mentioning Diego Luna, who succeed because they themselves don’t know what their next move may be.
Such discussions of the game, beyond of the Xs and O’s from the sessions, also unfold naturally — with coaches at the lobby bar, mingling at a reception, or in a Reading Terminal food line. They also enlighten you about soccer in parts of our huge nation you’ve never been to.
You leave the United Soccer Coaches convention feeling it lives up to the name.
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