Youth Soccer

Parents, Don’t Make Bets With Your Baller Children

Yeah, telling your kids that you’ll give them $20 if they score a goal is cool, but have you ever made a bet with your child that puts more on the line than just $20?

Well, one father made a bet with his son that if he hit the crossbar three times in a row, he would buy him a brand new PS4 gaming system. In something the father doubted his son in — since he was about 20 yards away from goal — the son effortlessly nailed the first crossbar, then the second and then the third as he celebrated his way to a new PS4.

USMNT Suffers Loss As Tab Ramos Leaves To Be Houston Dynamo Head Coach

The Dynamo have a new coach, and for the first time since Dominic Kinnear roamed the sidelines at Robertson Stadium, Houston fans have a reason to be excited about the man in charge. Tab Ramos is coming to Houston. 

The Houston Dynamo announced Tab Ramos as its new head coach on Friday, confirming reports from earlier in the week.

UEFA Youth League: Barcelona’s 18-Year-Old American Scores Two Great Goals

Some big news coming out of UEFA Youth League Group F on Wednesday — perhaps the biggest UEFA Youth League Group F news we’ve ever presented on the hallowed pages of The18: In the group’s early match, 18-year-old American winger Konrad de la Fuente scored two great goals as Barcelona thumped Slavia Prague 4-0. Later in the day, Inter Milan responded to Borussia Dortmund’s early goal with four unanswered, but that Dortmund opener was scored by Youssoufa Moukoko.

Vermont Girls High School Team Stands Up For Equal Pay

After the U.S. women’s national team won its fourth Women’s World Cup this summer they spent most of their celebratory parades and interviews discussing the gender pay gap. Women across the nation earn 79 cents for every $1 men earn and for the USWNT and female athletes everywhere, this is not acceptable. Not only did the USWNT start campaigning for its equal pay movement, but they have influenced other athletes both male and female, as well as younger generations to take a stand and help make a difference. 

20 Years Later, U-17 USMNT Roster Has Potential To Surpass Storied 1999 Squad

In 1999, the USMNT was coming off a miserable showing at the 1998 World Cup in which it finished dead last. It was a dark time for U.S. soccer fans, but the following year showed reason for hope with the performance from a bunch of then-unknown kids on the U-17 USMNT at the U-17 World Cup in New Zealand.

Now the USMNT is again coming off a miserable couple of years having failed to qualify at all for the 2018 World Cup, and 20 years later the U-17 USMNT might give fans a reason to believe the country is heading in the right direction.

Five Things Parents Do That Annoy Every Youth Soccer Coach

Coaching soccer can be quite fun.

I know this because I am a soccer coach. It’s especially rewarding when players, especially the younger ones, have that lightbulb moment where things start to click about what they’re supposed to be doing on the field and they do it well.

Feyenoord Youth Absolutely Hammers The Worm While Teammate Cartwheels And Backflips

A Dutch youth has hit the worm harder than anyone before him. 

I’ll be honest, my first great hope was that this b-boy was just really into 1980s funk subculture (and maybe he is), but I had to know one thing for sure, so I typed “Is the worm in Fortnite?” into Google. It’s with some sadness that I report the answer as yes, but the worm is still a huge improvement over the floss dance and whatever the hell Antoine Griezmann does. 

American Teen Ledezma Scores Audacious Chip To Complete Rally For PSV

Richard Ledezma might be the next big thing for U.S. Soccer — at least until Mexico swoops in and steals him for their own. Until then, we’ll placate ourselves with some Richard Ledezma highlights, particularly the second of two goals he scored on Friday.

Is The Next Thierry Henry Coming Out Of The U.S.? MLS Thinks So

MLS youth academy coaching is about to get a serious revamp along with a fourth iteration of the visionary partnership between MLS and the French Football Federation (FFF).

The Best Fast Food To Eat Before A Game

It’s almost game time and your fridge is empty, your pantry barren and stomach grumbling. You gotta eat something fast, but you don’t have anything in your house. What do you do? Ideally, you’re not stupid enough to let this happen, but we get it, sometimes you just forget. In that case, we’ve got just the list for you: the best fast food to eat before a soccer match.

We at The18 have done our due diligence to find the best fast-food items to eat before a game, taking into account price, taste and how you’ll feel after, with a little effort toward trying to eat healthily. 

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