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Bad First Touch or Bad Read? How Kids Learn to Read the Game
Your kid looks sharp in training. Then the game starts, and you wonder if they are learning to read the game at all.
Miguelangel Grande Jr., founder of Grande Sports, says the problem often starts before the first touch. Pressure changes the picture. Players have to recognize space, understand what their coach wants, and make decisions while the ball is somewhere else.
Liron and Matt ask what parents can actually watch for from the sideline, when fewer minutes at a stronger club may still make sense, and what he tells families who cannot afford private training. Miguelangel also points families toward simple time with the ball and full games on TV.
In this episode:
Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly youth soccer development podcast for parents navigating the U.S. youth soccer pathway. Hosted by Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia.
Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States.
Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know.
Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of parenting in youth sports in today’s competitive environment.
For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.
Parents, and I'm talking about mainly about me, okay.
And me a little bit about you, Matt.
We need to learn a little bit more soccer.
Yes, it's shocking to all of you or just just shut up, okay?
I see my kid.
We see our kids lose the ball, and we shout on the outside.
Oh, that's a bad 1st touch.
You didn't take the space.
We see them run away from the ball and ask, why
are they not getting more involved?
But what if they're seeing something that we're missing?
Our guest is Miguelangel
Grande Jr, founder of Grande Sports Training.
He grew up in Germantown, Maryland, came through DC United's
Academy, and his playing background includes time in Portugal,
Peru, and El Salvador.
He spent more than a decade coaching.
With all of the little things needed to compete
at the highest possible level.
We got straight into the parent questions so we wanted to give you the background here.
Yeah, we didn't waste any time here.
Like we always do dilly-dally for about 15 minutes and lose all
of our audience, but here's the thing.
He built a huge online following, but
this is not the point of this interview, right?
He did it breaking down pieces of the game,
really breaking each particle.
And I've been following his videos for months.
And after this conversation, I think some of those clips been
long on my phone, and I'm going to send them to you,
La V, and then the other 5 people I know.
We discuss what he calls the golden age of learning when
trying different positions helps.
And when a player needs a clearer role.
We also ask whether extra training is something every
family needs to pay for, his answer is worth listening to.
This is Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America.
Looking at videos.
Liron: Coach, welcome to Chasing the Game.
What an honor.
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: No, thank you guys for having me.
I'm excited to have this conversation
Liron: Coach Miguel, I've
seen your stuff on social.
I know you, you, you
ask the right questions.
You have
high prolific people in
soccer all around you.
But Matt and I
are parents, and we're putting a
mic in your face, and we're gonna
ask you some parents questions.
I have a lot of bad dad jokes
and, we'll see if we can get
through this somehow without you
rolling your eyes uh, one too many times.
before we even do background,
I just, I just gotta kinda
go through with this, okay?
So just forgive me for that.
So I'm a dad.
and I love this question, I-- we
always ask it I see my kid having a
great session I go, "Wow, this is, you
know, really helping. Kid is killing it."
The kid comes out, feels he's popping.
Then Saturday comes, the game day
comes, and the kid is not involved.
and I'm going: Wait, has
training been working?
Am I missing something?
Or maybe I don't know anything about
soccer."
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I think
it all starts when that happens.
It's all here.
The kid can be amazing without
pressure, but obviously in games
when you're playing, you have
pressure coming from all over.
It's not just pressure of not making
a mistake, it's pressure from, you
know, making sure my dad likes how I'm
performing, makin- making sure I'm doing
what coach is saying, making sure that my
teammates aren't, you know, talking bad
about me, the pressure from the opponents,
parents screaming on the sideline, right?
So there's so many-- I feel like so
many factors that come into play that
I feel that maybe parents or spectators
from the outside don't really understand
how it feels when you're in it, right?
And there's thousands of
thoughts running through your
head when you're inside a match.
So in a private session or in a small
group session, you're not really
experiencing that many thoughts, and
that's where the disconnect happens.
And that's the first thing I would say
that we need to kind of get out of the
kid, get out, get out of the player.
Like, what are you thinking?
What are you feeling?
And how are you processing
those feelings and emotions in
private sessions and in games?
And then we bridge what's
working and what's not
Matt: And I'm about to go off script
Liron: Already?
I haven't even started.
Matt: triggered something
that I think is so important.
you've decided on this path coaching
at an academy, coaching professional
or whatever it may be, right?
So you work closely with kids
who are playing for clubs.
Do you see the communications
with kids and their coaches to
the degree where they should be?
And if so, that's great, and I'd
love to understand like what you're
seeing or what you're hearing.
If not, why do you think that is?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I The biggest
disconnect I see with players that,
work with me is when I talk to them
or ask them what they're learning
in training sessions, their coaches
are telling them what to do, right?
Not every coach, right?
But a lot of coaches are telling them what
to do and not showing them how, right?
'Cause there's multiple factors
that come into play, I think, from
a player's perspective, 'cause
I've played, and now I'm on the
coaching side, on the backend side.
And I understand that as a player, coach
wants you to do X, Y, and Z, and you're
gonna try your best to do X, Y, and Z.
But now when you're trying to do, let's
say, get out wide, whip in a cross,
how are those moments happening, right?
And I think the biggest disconnect is
players, e-especially younger players,
they don't know how to process the
feelings that they feel when there's
two players on them, one player on them.
It's not every time I need to go forward.
This is a moment to, just keep the ball.
This is a moment to go forward.
So it's not… I think that's
where the disconnect of how how
the coaches are communicating that
moment to the younger players.
And then, and we can get into, the
types of training sessions some
of these clubs are doing, right?
That I'm just kinda I cannot
believe, what I'm hearing.
And I'll, I wanna say, a U15 player, this
was, springtime of this year, comes to
me and tells me, "Yeah, coach, all we
do is fitness for 45 minutes, and then
we do possession for 20, and then we
scrimmage at the end." And then come the
weekend, they're talking about tactics
that they've never even talked about.
I'm like, "There's no way." There's…
Liron: Yeah,
they get coached in the game.
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: Yeah.
I'm like, "There's There's absolutely no
way that this is happening." And then,
yeah, when I dig deep and ask deeper
questions, that's what's happening.
Not every club, right?
But th-this one player, he's a great
player, but I just feel like he's,
getting held back by the coaching.
and it's not their fault.
it's just what it is right now,
Liron: as, as obviously as Matt
and I are absolutely, as we
always probably some of the best
sideline coaches in the United States.
one of the things I fall guilty to, and
I'm gonna speak also for other parents,
I see it on the sideline
a lot.
I've-- I did work on myself,
and I'm better at it.
But sometimes You'll see A 13-year-old
kid loses the ball, and immediately a
couple parents jump and say, "Oh, bad
first touch," for that argument's sake.
Take us a few seconds back on first,
how can the parent read the game better
and understand that and not have that
instinct of saying bad first touch when
it's probably 99% the wrong message
anyway and the wrong way to read the game?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I think
most parents and most players see
the game as, player versus player.
When I think players start to
understand that I'm playing for--
like, to find the space before you
is when the game opens up here.
So that player that took a bad first
touch might have felt that he's under
pressure, which is gonna dictate how his
first touch is gonna come out, right?
Versus if he's able to identify the
space before the action happens,
he's gonna have maybe that .5 to one
second more to make that decision.
So I think from the outside, as, as a
parent or a spectator, you're looking at
what the player's doing on the ball versus
what the player's doing off the ball.
So I think one thing that got drilled
into my head as a young player was
what are you doing 97% of the time
is you're moving off the ball.
There's moments where you're
gonna be running your ass off.
There's gonna be moments
where you're standing still.
There's moments where you're jogging.
But that whole time that you do
not have the ball, you're looking
for what's the space that I need to
identify so that my first touch can
come out the way we want it to come out.
So that right there I don't think
is taught enough, and we saw it
with the World Cup this past, this,
this past summer with, Spain, and
we're seeing it with the youth.
We're seeing it with the
women's game as well.
Spanish teams are dominating all over
because they've they completely understand
the concept of space and time, right?
We always talk about space and time, but
it's like, how are you actually showing
the player what the space looks like?
Which is what I do.
This is why I do what I do on socials,
Matt: Liron jokes about us being,
the best sideline coaches in America.
What I've learned through all of this is
actually that I don't quite understand
nearly as much as thought I did.
And think less and less as the time on.
Most people would say the Spanish
teams are the best teams, because
of their technical ability, right?
And they understand the game.
But to break it down and actually
talk about what makes them so special
is really understanding space,
Yeah
Yeah
and how that then translates to the youth
game or coaching at really young levels,
I would imagine is a pretty challenging
thing to do, which is why we've struggled
at doing it at the scale in which we have.
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: Yeah, yeah.
I, I think like with those, those talented
teams, they understand that when they're
in tight spaces, they use their skill.
They can dribble out of the chaos.
When there's lots of space, I'm
gonna be direct and go at you.
'Cause now when I'm dribbling direct
and going at you, I'm in control of
that duel, me versus the defender.
The defender now has to make a
decision, do I step or do I drop?
Whereas sometimes some players
that may not have that sort of
aggressiveness or confidence to drive,
the defender can now be a little
bit more in control of that duel.
You know what I mean?
Oh, you're, you're gonna go to where
I want you to go and vice versa.
And that's where the, the, the
beauty of football happens, right?
Liron: we talked about Coach Silva,
Christian Silva, here on the pod, and as
he's a well-respected, outside trainer,
supplementary trainer, and coach.
But he said that he was so frustrated
with him seeing kids not understanding
or not translating what he was
teaching them in their team play is
that he decided to build his own team.
Now, I know not everybody can have
that privilege, so a, a lot of kids
do go to supplementary trainers,
but where's that disconnect?
If you're coming in and
you're training a kid
a certain style, okay?
This is from your school.
But that
team
with that kid plays a completely different
style, so there's a massive disconnect.
H- how do you bridge a gap like that
and make sure that parents don't just
sign checks for nothing
and frustration amounts.
amounts
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: so my main
thing is I'm not trying to replace
what the coach is teaching them, right?
my main thing is trying to help the
players understand what the coach is
asking them to do so that the player
can recognize the situation, recognize
the moments in the match, and then
they can do it themselves, right?
And I've watched hours and hours
of footage from all levels, from
the youth level, fourth division in
Germany, third division in Germany,
and in Holland, even in academy level.
there's just a bunch of
patterns that happen, right?
So it might be that
the fullback goes wide.
It might be that the
fullback stays inside.
So the one time I watch that one
kid play in his game, I can already
understand what the coach is trying
to do with his team, with their team.
Liron: to settle a, a- an argument that
Matt and I had, 'cause we have nothing
else to talk about but youth soccer.
We, we we had a, we had an episode
here with Jose Campos, which I know you
know really well from your area, and he
said something that was contrary to so
many things we've heard on the podcast.
He said that sometimes it's best to choose
fewer minutes for a game and be at a
top-end high-level environment versus I've
heard you say, and not just you, you've,
you've talked about many times, that
it's all about playing as much as you can
and getting as many minutes as you can.
So if you have that dad with that 14,
13-year-old kid in the car and they gotta
make that decision versus the team where
the kid is secondary in the lineup, but
the team is on paper a superior team,
or go with the club that is on the
lower level, but the kid gets unlimited
playtime.
Miguelangel Grande Jr.:
That's a great question, and
I- that's a fantastic question.
I honestly, I think it depends on
the level of the player, number one.
If the player is looking to get to,
like, the highest level possible, and,
you know, you can see from the outside
they're a great player, they're, they're
knocking the door, they're right there,
but they're not getting any minutes, I
think staying in that environment is much
more valuable for that player because if
next season they decide to go somewhere
else, they have that CV, that background
of playing in this top-level environment.
Now, if the competition is maybe
a little bit less, let's, like,
let's say it's not an MLS academy,
it's just, you know, a step down.
There, if you wanna get more minutes,
you have to move to a team that's
gonna give you more minutes so that you
can showcase yourself and prove that
you deserve to be at this next level.
So I, I think it depends on the, the,
the competition level of the player, to
be
Liron: So maybe in, in Jose's case was
because he was focused on Orlando City
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: could be 'cause
Liron: being,
it goes
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: yeah, those
academy players like, yes, right now
here in the United States, that's
the, the highest level that you
can
Liron: You get that offer, you take
it.
You don't think wh-
what, do you, if you're
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: Exactly.
And, and sometimes, you know,
whether you like it or not,
that's just the realities of it.
Everybody's trying to be in the
MLS Academy of their hometown.
Everybody wants to play for
the badge of their, you know,
hometown, you know, and all over.
South America, in Peru,
it's like that, you know?
Everybody wants to be
at the top-level clubs.
but there's also a bunch of clubs, feeder
clubs, you know, lower, lower-level
clubs that are giving opportunities to
the players that have not made it at
that le- at the academy level, right?
Doesn't mean they're bad players,
it just means that sometimes
it's… the opportunity just
wasn't there yet, you know?
So I think that- that's where it goes
back full circle for youth players
where if you aren't, you know, called
up or chosen for an academy team, it
could be like there's four center mids
in your position and they've been there
already a year and they don't need you.
So, you know, just go to where you're
needed, play the minutes, play, get
the game, get the game footage, and
then build from that is, is I think
the most crucial message from this
Matt: Yeah.
everybody's development, life
cycle looks different, right?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: 100%, 100%.
Matt: what's
changed in the players you see
coming to you and that you're
working with today from 10 years ago?
has it been incremental, or are you seeing
big jumps, hopefully on the positive side?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I wanna say
now, like the past maybe three, four
years, players don't watch, football.
They don't watch full matches 'cause it's
too long, gets boring, they get tired.
They watch the 15 to 20-minute
highlight on YouTube.
It doesn't include everything.
my main thing is I focus the
players on the tactical side.
So when it comes to the tactical
side, it's just understanding that
where you're supposed to be, at
what moments, why, and how, right?
and if players aren't watching the full
match, they're not gonna understand why
Michael Olise does what he does or why
Vitinha is such a good player, Or why
the player in the fourth division is not
at that first division yet, they're not
gonna understand those little details.
I've seen it that there's a bunch of great
technical trainers, great performance
trainers, mental coaches, and then the
tactical side is just what's missing
with a lot of these younger players
because they don't watch full matches.
And, that's been the biggest thing that I
see recently in the past three, four years
Matt: does that end up being
the differentiator with
greatness and everything else?
Because I, I would argue we probably have
far better technically gifted players in
this country than we've had ever, across
the board, depth and breadth, right?
But if the tactical piece is
missing fairly universally, despite
what coaches are emphasizing and
trying to do, then how are we ever
gonna produce world-class players?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: that's, I wish I
had an answer for that, I do agree that
the technical aspect of players now has
increased tremendously, like compared
to when I first started, coaching.
And you could see it at
the youth levels, right?
A lot of players are, great dribblers.
They can play, they can have a good first
touch, they can bring it out of the air.
there's also some that are
lacking in that department.
But the understanding of the
game is what is clearly missing.
Like Sometimes it looks like
they're playing hot potato.
They have no idea of where
to pass and how to pass.
small details because their
body shape isn't properly set.
they're playing to their
teammate's front foot.
They're playing to their
teammate under pressure.
They're just, defensively, they're
pressing like crazy because, work hard.
You gotta keep running.
Don't stop running, Like that, that,
that thinking of when do I run?
How do I run?
What angle am I closing?
That's the biggest part that's missing.
And I think it's because players
don't watch enough games.
Or maybe the coaches don't don't know
how to properly, relate that message
of what exactly they want us to do
Liron: this is getting really interesting.
I'm so happy
we're, we're bringing this up
because, I'm bringing back the parent
side of it, 'cause
God, I've heard it all through the years.
But
I saw one of your posts,
on your, on your, on your feed, and it
talks about, explaining how
teammates moving away from the ball
creates a play and space, and like
you said, moving away, moving without
the ball is what makes the play count.
But put that parent again on the
sideline, looking at their kid in that 20
minutes that they get
and saying, "No, you
gotta show up, you gotta
take every minute."
And you see that kid, your son, or your
daughter, making these runs to what you
think is nowhere land,
seem to be away from
the ball.
God
knows they're lucky if they get that pass
to the space that they're running to.
So
now you're saying, wait a
minute, going, sitting in the car
telling
your kid, "How come
you're not
taking the opportunities you're given?
Go to the ball.
Where are you running to?
What are you doing?" How
do you deal with that?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I try to educate
the parents that I work with on that.
So for example, if a player made seven
good runs but was only found twice, does
that mean they m- they had a bad game?
Liron: That's a high percentage, by the
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: You know?
Yeah, for example, right?
and, it depends also, like the
types of teammates you have.
Like it's a team game, but at the same
time, like you have to take ownership of
what you're doing individually, how you're
playing your role, and what you're doing
in the moments that you are on the field.
And when that moment comes, can
you actually produce, a moment?
If you're an attacking midfielder,
can you create a, an attacking moment?
If you're a defender, can
you win your duels, right?
I've had a parent actually tell me
like, "You know, the, the, the, my,
son is like in situations like this,
I, I tell him to just go tackle."
I'm like, "No, no.
There's like,
Liron: Yeah, that's exactly
what, it's exactly what I'm
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: Yeah.
And I'm like, "No, there's a
concept." And then I, I explain
to them, like, if they're close to
the 18, then yeah, you have to go
in, no hesitation, put in a tackle.
But if I'm closer to half field,
I need to also consider the space
that I'm defending behind me.
So that, to me, communicates
that this player understands
the concept of defending.
It's not just putting in a hard
tackle, it's also understanding that
I'm covering two people at once.
How can I do that to
the best of my ability?
So the parents and players that
work with me, I try to educate
them as much as possible on that
aspect, and I show them video.
I show them clips from younger players,
I show them from professional players,
and now they understand what I'm saying.
to answer your question, I think
the 20 minutes that player's going
into play, I not only am paying
attention, especially if it's a young
13-year-old, I'm not only paying
attention to what they're doing on
the ball, I'm also paying attention
to what they're doing off the ball.
How aware are they are of the situations?
How aware are they of the spaces?
How aware are they of, is
this a moment to make a run?
Is this a moment to step out wide?
Is this a moment to to check in,
or is this a moment to stand still?
And then, of course, the other, the other
factor is, okay, now the execution phase.
How's your first touch?
What decision do you make on the ball?
Is it a good decision or
was it a bad decision?
Was it a bad pass but a great decision?
You know what I mean?
Now that, communicates to me that
we need to work on your technical
ability, technical execution.
Or was it just a horrible decision but
You, 'cause you, you have those forced
passes that come out to be spectacular
that will only happen once in a game.
And everybody's like, "Wow. Oh my God."
Liron: Exactly.
Matt: But
the next six times you
do it,
give the ball away.
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: Exactly.
that's the main thing that I'm
looking at for especially a younger
player that's 12, 13 years old
Liron: M- Matt, imagine if, I had as
much to say about, my son's biology
class as I do about his, soccer game.
The kid would be a freaking professor
Matt: No, he wouldn't,
'cause he wouldn't listen
to you either
Liron: 'Cause
Matt: Coach, the way you were
talking about the understanding of
concepts and space and actions from
a positional perspective, what's your
philosophy on positional versatility?
Is it better for kids when they're eight,
nine, 10, 11, 12 years old to play as
many positions as possible to help to give
them an understanding of how each of those
positions operates and their teammates?
And at what point do you wanna see kids
ideally start to find that position
so they can perfect their craft to a
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I think
the way I see, like, the player
development cycle is, like, younger
player from, like, four to eight
years old, all you gotta worry
about is just playing with the ball.
Just have fun, enjoy the game.
Once you get to the 9 to 12 years
old, it's like the golden age.
This is where the technique,
the, the, the, the foundation of
the player, like, sticks, right?
From a technical aspect.
Now, this is where you're gonna learn
a little bit more about tactics, 9v9s,
you know, some players are gradu- are,
are little by little playing 11v11.
And I think when they get to 11v11
in their first or second year,
they should already understand
one or two set positions.
Before that, I think, yes, play all the
positions that you can just to learn,
just to feel, just to understand what
your teammate's going through to see
where you feel most comfortable, to
have that self-awareness as a player.
I've been watching so many players over
the years that just by the way the player
runs, like in the first 10 seconds,
they don't even have to touch the ball.
I'm like, you're, you're not a winger.
you're not a wing.
you're a fullback." You know what I mean?
and vice versa.
you have center backs that could
easily step into a center mid.
You have a striker that maybe will
perform better as a winger, or a winger
that will perform better as a striker.
But 11v11, yes, one or two
set positions is what I think.
And then you obviously, you
have those players that are,
like, super versatile, right?
That can play any p- position 11v11.
Those are, like, the utility
players, which, I mean, obviously
are very valuable to, to teams.
But when I was younger, a coach,
a coach once told me, like,
"If you could play everywhere,
you, you basically play nowhere."
You know what I mean?
And I'm like, I… it depends
on the coaching now, And that,
that depends on the coaching
Liron: I
I mean, coach, let's talk about
the, the elephant in the room here.
you have an extraordinary, I'm
probably gonna get the number
wrong, but let's just say
250,000 followers on Instagram.
Matt: A little less.
A little less.
Liron: a little less.
All right,
which is, about 249,000
more than Chasing the Game.
So we're catching up,
Matt: we're gonna assume we're
gonna assume those aren't bots,
Yeah.
never paid for ads.
I've never paid for followers ever.
That was just organic
Liron: so have this immense following and
this is not a usual, uh, baggage to carry.
Jose Campos said, again, know, he said
it's good for a kid to have social
profile, but obviously it can also hurt
the kid and confuse them sometimes.
Family comes to your program.
Is there an expectation that their kid
will be part of this exposure that you
have, or those are two separate things?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: Those-- I
think those are two separate things.
I think social media is a
platform to connect with
teams, agents, scouts, coaches.
but at the same time, I
don't think it's necessary.
If you have clips of your player,
you know, scoring an amazing
goal, doing a brilliant tackle,
why not share it on social media?
Now, when it becomes… I think the issue
is when it becomes like a whole persona,
like, "I have to film this. I have to
film my kid doing this," and so on.
That's where I think it, it can hurt
the player, because now subconsciously,
they might feel some sort of pressure
to perform, to keep up with this online
persona, where, like even-- I feel like
even at my level right now with, like my,
my social media following, like I've made
it to where I haven't built a persona.
with social media, I've learned
over the years, like you just gotta
be as authentic as possible, and I
know that there's a lot of pages out
there that may not be following that,
Matt: Liron alluded to the fact, so your
feed breaks down professional games.
A
dad or a mom who's watching might
start thinking that their child is
ready and should be seeing those clips-
Liron: Or,
Matt: but may not be at the level
to even understand them, and
possibly sets them back, right?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: So when it comes
to tactics, the main thing is just I want
players to understand the phases of play.
Attacking, defending, transition
to attack, transition to defend.
Very simple, right?
Now, within each phase we have,
let's say the attacking, we have the
build-out, we have the progression,
and then we have the creation.
So are players able to identify
the patterns in each phase?
The attacking for the defending.
Is this a counter press?
Are we immediately trying to win the ball
back as soon as we lose it in the first
five seconds, or are we just getting back
into position and closing the middle?
Are we Are we letting the team,
the opponent play around us?
Or are we opening up gaps in the middle,
because our positioning and our structure
is not correct offensively, defensively?
So for the player, I want
them to identify that first.
I want them to just identify
what, what I'm supposed to do
in each phase of play, right?
And then I explain to them why.
I show to them what they're
supposed to be, what they can do.
And then after they see the video,
we connect it to what their team
and what their coach plan is, right?
I always tell my players, with me,
when we're training, you're gonna
learn how to think, not just play.
You're gonna learn how to think and play.
Because the players that stand out to me,
the players that are doing great things,
are the players that are super self-aware.
And I think this not only applies to the
game, but also human beings in general,
whatever industry that you're in.
You can clearly see when somebody's
thinking and how they're thinking and
how they're processing information and,
like, how they deal with that information.
So the game is the same thing, but it's
just like a million things at once, So
Matt: do you see, um… This is so good.
man.
Uh, see kids make big leaps as far
as their ability to think the game?
And does it happen over a prolonged
period of time of both playing,
watching film, and thinking about
it the way you're talking about?
what does the development cycle look
like as far as literally, like, thinking
the game that way and being able
Miguelangel Grande Jr.:
I'll give you an example.
I've been working with this young
player that's, 10 years old.
He's now 11, since a year ago.
Striker out in California.
And when we first started, nine… He
was starting 9v9, and we just started
with basic, just basic understanding of
exactly what I just showed you, right?
I'm like, " You start to understand this,
you're gonna see how you're gonna score
more goals." This guy's scoring goals for
fun now, Just by the way he's curving his
runs, just by the way he's drifting out
wide from the center backs because, at
a U12 level, the center back's not gonna
drift all the way out to the wide areas.
Matt: No,
Miguelangel Grande Jr.:
he's got a cheat code
got a little cheat code and he… his
favorite player is Mbappé so I'm like,
" You're good at driving, cutting in and
shooting, so just drift out a little bit.
These are the moments to drift out
a little bit." And I show them in
his games. we meet every week. Just
I show you, "These are the moments.
Do you understand why it's a moment?
How did you create that moment?" And
at first he just did it naturally,
and now he's doing it intentionally.
So the first few games, maybe
he would do it once or twice.
Now it's happening eight,
nine, 10 times per game, right?
He's not only scoring goals,
but he's creating moments.
And as an attacker, are
you constantly dangerous?
That doesn't mean you're
scoring eight goals a game.
It means are you constantly
creating moments?
you're creating a moment
by getting a shot on goal.
You're creating a moment by drawing
a foul near in the final third.
You're winning a corner kick, and in
best case scenario, you're scoring or
assisting, But it's a numbers game, right?
The more times that you can create
those moments, the more probability
that you have of potentially
scoring or impacting the game
Liron: Uh, again, this is incredibly
enlightening and, and it just shows
how, how simple and complicated the
game is at the s- at the same time.
But, but it also hammers the point,
at the end of the day, in those
environments that our kids play,
they all need extra training.
now we're talking about additional
expenses, um, outside of what is
already exuberantly expensive for
travel and team club fees and uniforms.
There's a monthly cost to
be part of your program.
I think I looked online, I think it
said $500 to be part of your program.
It's real money for many families.
I know you provide an excellent service.
That's not what this
question is gonna be about.
It's
actually the other way around.
Do you ever look at a family
and say, "You know what?
This is not right
for you." Or you feel like,
no, every kid can benefit.
The Problem is how do you
put a, the right price on it?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I mean,
I, I, I was in those shoes too.
Like my mother, single mother growing
up, my dad was always in the picture,
but, you know, just separate lives.
Money wasn't really
always there necessarily.
so whenever a family is struggling,
I'm just telling me, m- if money is
gonna hold you back from training
with me, don't worry about it.
I'll, I'll make money
some h- some other way.
You know what I mean?
Now, of course, I think with, with,
what I put out on social media is…
I mean, I'm not hiding anything.
It's literally what I cover on, on my
service, except it's just specific to you.
You know what I mean?
It's specific to your games, and
it's specific to what you are doing.
But the, all the information and
the concepts and the, the tactical
understanding and the tactical
education is, is all out there, my
YouTube channel, longer form videos.
so if somebody cannot afford it,
I just refer them to the longer
videos, you know what I mean?
So that they can understand
what I'm teaching.
and then with training in person, I
just throw them in a group training,
a group se- group training session.
And if, you know, they need help
with the financial side, I will help.
I, I always told all my players, again,
if money is an issue, you let me know.
With the parents, you let me know, and
I will help you out as best as possible.
You know, once a week, once
biweekly, you come work with me.
Liron: you find sometimes that you
you train a kid and they're just not
receptive to what you say and
you go, "Okay, that's not a
right match for me as well,"
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I
think it rarely happens.
I think I'm very selective of
who comes to train with me.
I just wanna, I wanna make sure
that the players and the parents are
on board with what I'm showcasing
and teaching and, my style, right?
But, you can clearly see just by
having the first conversations
with the parents, or the players.
if the player really wants
to learn, I'm gonna be there.
Bright and early, we're working together,
Matt: How, how do you gain that
alignment upfront with the player,
with the parent, and again, this
probably depends on the age, but let's
say it's a 13 or 14-year-old kid, on
ultimately what they want to accomplish,
and
then mapping that out to a certain degree
around the work that they need to put in,
time they need to spend, where and how?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I'll
I'll give you a a quick example.
I had, this nine-year-old.
He's 12 now.
When we first started
training, super excited.
First few weeks, excited to work.
And had this great energy, cool kid.
dad doesn't really know much about soccer,
but he was open to learning, right?
He was more of a baseball guy.
and then as time went on, in our training
sessions, the kid, nah, like he was
kinda like lazy, doesn't wanna train.
I'm like, "My man, if you don't, if
you don't wanna work, we can call
your dad and, we save his money and
you can go work on something else."
" No, no, no, coach, I wanna…" But
sometimes, our sessions would just be
me trying to unlock what he's thinking.
It's this nine-year-old kid, right?
Fast-forward three years later, that
kid is obsessed with the game, right?
Parent across those three years, now he's
sending me messages saying "This was…
look what he did." And it's just a simple
like opening up, first touch forward and
driving into space and making a pass.
I'm like, "Yeah, he's supposed
to be doing that as a right back.
I'm very happy he's doing that." He's
like, "Man, he's improved so much.
I'm so happy.
His gameplay, all of these little like
tactical concepts that…" he's not
scoring and assisting every game, but
like he's doing these things that he's
supposed to be doing as a right back.
And ' cause of that, he
starts almost every game.
He's even captain, I think, last season,
and this season he's also captain.
players as possible.
Liron: Yeah.
uh, almost take it out of the
supplementary training, our kids are busy.
numerous training, school,
whatever, you name it.
a dad is follow, follows you online,
sees a couple of your analysis, and
I, I'm,
I've done that too, and it's like, "Man,
this is brilliant." you go, you give it to
your kid, you go, " Why can't you do that?
Do that.
Go, go stand in front
of a wall and do that."
But the kids don't have a lot of time.
What would you recommend outside of
supplementary training in that free
time, that you think is most benefit
for a, a young kid, like a 9, 10,
11-year-old, outside of all the organized
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: think
just spending time with the ball.
juggling.
You know, if you, if you guys allow it,
juggling in the living room barefoot.
Dri- dri- dribbling around the, you know,
the clothes, the shoes in the house.
Just spending time with the ball.
If you have a backyard, just getting out
there, you know, challenging yourself.
If you're the dad, challenge, "I bet
you you can't get 20 juggles today.
Or if you get 21 juggles I'll, I'll
buy you an ice cream." I don't know.
For example, right?
I, 'cause I, I, I always just
look back at my experience.
My, my thing was I was in my living room.
I was dribbling through my living
room from my room to the living room,
through my mom's room, coming back,
ba, ba, ba, and I would time myself.
And I would put pillows, shoes, my
shirts, the dirty laundry, and there
was like a little crack between the,
the wall and my mom's bed, and I had
to dribble in a straight line turn.
And then I was just doing that
over and over and over and over,
and then just spending time.
I would be sweating
within like 10 minutes.
You know?
I was 10 years old, and that
just naturally came out.
It didn't feel like training.
It felt more of like a challenge.
So, and now I, I have a daughter.
She's, 15 months.
I'm not, I'm not forcing
her to train, right?
She's 15 months, but I have sto- I have,
I
Matt: putting soccer balls all over
Liron: she's she's already following your
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I'm
juggling in front of her.
She's actually been with me since
birth, you know, helping me with
the analysis, sitting on my lap.
But we're-- I have soccer on TV all day,
and now just naturally she'll just walk by
a ball, kick it, and continue on her day.
And I'm like, "Okay. That's
all I need." You know?
But that, that's my main message, just
spending as much time as you can with
the ball, because at the end of the
day, like I feel kids will start to
understand like, "Oh, wow, I can do that?"
And then they're gonna wanna
learn more and more and more.
And as they continue to get older and
unlock more levels of this game, they're
gonna be excited because they've already
mastered this and that, and then it's
just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
So that would be my main message.
Football on TV, and then just
as much time on, on the ball.
Matt: Hey, Coach, the, when you
get to, kids are getting to the
age of 15, 16, Mm-hmm …18,
as you're moving into whether it's college
or, a very small percentage who end up
going on to play professionally, where do
you see the kids that are, quote-unquote,
making it, whether it's playing in
college or playing professionally?
Is it because of their
passion and love for the game?
is it just talent that
overrides everything else?
Or is it something beyond
those two things that
helps get them
there?
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I think
it's the, the mentality and
discipline and the maturity that
they have at such a young age.
So I've actually seen a player go
from 11 years old all the way to 19
now, go from the DC area, DC United
Academy, sign in the Premier League.
We worked a lot during COVID, right?
And the biggest thing that stuck out with
this particular player is the mentality
to just ask questions, get better, be
curious, stay disciplined, stick to the
game plan no matter how hard it got.
Know that there's gonna be lots of
sacrifices along the way, but at
the end of the day, you're super
self-aware of what you need to do
in order to reach a certain level.
And even then, it's not even guaranteed.
the confidence in themselves to
just show up for themselves every
single day is probably the most
factor from any other player.
But, just understanding, first, number
one is yourself, your self-awareness,
showing up for yourself every day, being
disciplined enough to bet on yourself,
show up for yourself, and do what you
need to do no matter how you feel.
number two is just understanding what's
your situation, what's your environment?
Are you on a proper roadmap, or do you
need to change course at some point?
And then third is just are you producing?
Are you impacting the
game in your position?
and then fourth is understanding,
there's thousands of clubs out there
just because, maybe you're checking the
boxes on all three, but on the fourth
one, they just don't need a fullback.
They already have four fullbacks,
right-footed fullbacks, and your
profile is exactly what they already
have, so this club isn't for you.
Are you willing to take us another
step to go to another club?
work again for another six months until
an opportunity arises again, right?
and at that age of 18, 17, 18, 19, there's
thousands and hundreds of off-field
factors that come into play, too, So
Liron: You know, a little bit of a
personal kind of, wrap-up almost.
you talked about your dad before.
I've, I've heard, an interview, uh, of
yours, and he talked about him playing
personal development CDs in the car, and
I know, we didn't talk about it here.
We just didn't have time.
This is so fascinating about your
professional past and what you've
done as a player, and we'll talk
about a little bit in the intro.
But part of your, those kids that
you mentor and train, is part of
your journey reflected on them?
Are there things that you see in
you that you say, "Okay, this is
how I did it. This is what you
could correct. This is what I see"?
Is there a personal aspect, or
is it purely analytical, this
is soccer, this is how you learn
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: I
think it's both for sure.
I want to-- Every time I work with the
players, it's more just understanding
the person and what makes them tick
in a positive and negative way.
And then how can you channel that
emotion if it's, certain things.
I have a player that gets super frustrated
when they make a mistake, right?
But when it comes to game
day, they're locked in.
So I take that as like, when we're
training, you maybe see me as a
safe space, but I still, at the
same time, we need to understand
how to control the emotions because
mistakes are part of the game.
It's okay to make a mistake.
don't be afraid to make mistake.
This is why I have a bag of 15 balls, and
we will be here working rep after rep.
Matt: My, my, I guess my thinking, and
I was gonna ask a similar question, was
that, you reached a high level but didn't
reach the highest where you wanted to
ultimately reach, and maybe there was
something with your journey that you
felt like you didn't have access to or
an understanding of, and that you're
filling in that gap a little bit to
make, to help the picture be complete
for the kids who are striving for that.
Liron just doesn't
Liron: No.
your English is much better than
mine, but uh, that's
actually exactly
the question I wanted
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: sorry if I'm,
not answering the question, but yes.
Like from my journey, I know what
I did correct, but I also know
the parts that I was missing.
And every player that I work with, I
understand that you are doing this, this
part very good, but you're missing this.
But I already have the answer for all
pillars of the game, the technical, the
tactical, the mental, and the physical.
So you're a very technical player, but
you're missing the physical, so we're
gonna work a little bit more on this or
a little bit more on that, and then it
just comes back down to self-awareness.
I need that player to understand
what they're good at, what they
bring to the table, and then what
areas they need to improve on.
Because whether it's with me or
not, that's… This is your pathway.
This is what you need
to work on, you know?
So I feel
could
Matt: keep going.
I know.
Well, we're, we're gonna get you
Liron: I don't think you
understand how much this means to
us.
Uh, uh
Matt: were, This was…
You, you were wonderful.
I mean, really, the work you're doing,
the way, the way you're, you're able
to articulate the stuff that is very
confusing to many of us who spend
many hours, you're trying to, trying
to understand it for our kids, and
ultimately that's why we're, we're, why
we created this podcast and why we've
been doing it for a year and a half now.
I mean, we like spending time with
each other, but it, but it really, it
really comes down to kind of trying
to unpack it for, for families and
for players, to try to make this
a little bit more understandable.
Liron: I will say it's, it's
humbling to talk to you after
seeing so much
of your material and almost
listening to myself speaking nonsense
on the sideline.
it's just absolutely embarrassing.
So, I, I thank for your time, Coach.
Miguelangel Grande Jr.: you guys for… I appreciate it
Wow, coach, and the 250,000
followers are listening to me right now.
Wow.
And I, uh, I love this one.
In such an incredible way of distilling down what
can be incredibly complex and hopefully
made us all think quite a bit that what we watched,
maybe we didn't see an entirety, and that before
critiquing it, it's worth maybe watching the video.
Yeah, I mean, I know La Visa Goli, but I
hear it from other parents and I definitely hear it from myself.
And, you know, just asking, why didn't you do this on the ball?
Why didn't you do that?
And I'm on the sideline criticizing things
that maybe are completely contrary to the instructions and
the instinct that my kid has and what he's been learning in this team.
You criticizing?
I never criticize you, so...
The position discussion matters too.
He remembered a coach telling him, if you could play everywhere,
you basically play nowhere.
But he also wants younger kids trying different positions.
His point was that as they settle into 11 aside,
learning one or 2 roles, as well as you can possibly
learn them, is going to help differentiate you.
Yeah, and he calls 9 to 12 the golden age.
Let's not make this a panic or endorsement to book every
spare hour of your kid with extra training because he
was also the kid who dribbled around the house, dribbled
around shoes, dirty laundry, just the
bowl was stuck with him, and he said, this is the biggest thing you kid can take.
Miguel, coach, it was wonderful to have you on.
You can find him on Instagram at
Grande Sports Training.
You can share his Instagram, but math also means
share the podcast.
But I want to finish with his answer
about personal training math.
I just got it because just so beautiful.
I said during the interview that our kids all need extra training.
Then a guy who makes a living of this says,
and I quote, you don't need it.
He talked about having a ball, going through the field with
his dad, couldn't be a better story than this.
A trainer can help, but being there with
your kids still counts.
So you don't have to turn every bit of moment into
some support system.
This is Chasing the Game, Youth Soccer in America,
supporting our kids, not through supplementary training, but through knowledge.
By math.