Beautiful Game by Weasels FC

Keidane McAlpine joins us in this unique time to guide us through an opportunity to reset, refocus and redefine on our way to achieving our goals. Keidane is the Head Coach of the University of Southern California Women’s Soccer, whom he has turned into a perennial contender and won the National Championship in 2016. He was previously had the head coach at Washington State and assistant at Auburn and the head coach at Birmingham Southern. He played at Birmingham Southern as well, where he led them to second in the NAIA in 1996 as the team captain.

Todd Beane joins us to discuss critical thinking and creativity in the context of holistic development. Todd co-founded the Tovo Institute (https://www.tovoinstitute.com/) and Academy with his wife, Chantal, to continue the mission he began with the Cruyff Institute - to rethink and redesign talent development and education. This episode is serious fun, touching on art, education, poetry, football, business, family. Listeners will learn to face change with confidence and set themselves on a journey to the extraordinary. Yes, with a dose of inspiration, but also with concrete action steps, like the 4 P's - moving through uncertainty from panic to poise and purpose into proficiency.

Kendall Reyes joins the Beautiful Game to share his insights into leadership, transforming society and the role of soccer. Kendall leads quietly, confidently and boldly. He champions a humble leadership style that is often referred to as servant leadership, putting the success of his organizations, teams, students and employees ahead of himself. From the pitch to the boardroom, his formula of inform, educate and inspire delivers results. Kendall shares his experience as a native of Trinidad and Tobago coming to play and work in the United States. From his playing days at Francis Marion University to becoming the first black State Technical Director in US Soccer, his lived experience as a black player, coach and leader is an important and powerful story. Kendall is the General Manager, Owner and Head Coach of Sparta 2020 competing in the United Premier Soccer League. 

Kim Crabbe joins the Beautiful Game to discuss her groundbreaking career as a player and coach. From becoming the first African-American to play for the US Women’s National team to providing equitable opportunities for young players today, Kim’s role as a pioneering leader is inspirational. Kim is happy to see more black players on the US Women’s National Team today, but knows first-hand that there are still structural barriers to progress. Kim sees the challenges black and hispanic players face on a daily basis coaching free programs in North Carolina. She faces those challenges head-on, with patience, perseverance and a loving smile. Kim Crabbe is the Director of Outreach at the Wilmington Hammerheads in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she runs in-school, after-school programs, and a league for poor youth, primarily Black and Hispanic players. As a player, she won the national championship at George Mason University. She was the first African American to play for the US Women’s National Team. She’s in the athletic hall of fame in Virginia where she grew up and also recently won the Centennial NAACP Youth Services Award.

Many of us who are ambitious, entrepreneurial and action-oriented have a tendency to be unsatisfied with the status quo, even impatient. Yet we know deep down that success requires long term effort. And excellence requires years of sustained performance. In this episode, Tracy shares her rise through the coaching ranks, how she helps players reach their goals and the importance of doing the little things well.

Dr. Colleen Hacker joins the Beautiful Game to discuss sustained excellence, growth through adversity, leadership, and mental skills for peak performance. Dr. Hacker is an internationally renowned scholar, practitioner, speaker, consultant, in performance psychology. As a coach on the US national teams in six Olympic games, whether in women's soccer or ice hockey, her mental skills coaching gives teams the edge to win gold medals and World Cups. In addition, she works with international professional and Olympic athletes in a variety of sports from baseball to golf to tennis, swimming, and more. Dr. Hacker began her coaching career in field hockey and then led the Pacific Lutheran women's soccer team to three national championship titles. She's a Professor of Kinesiology at Pacific Lutheran, specializing in sport and performance psychology. She's a hall of fame coach, winning innumerable national and international accolades during a career of sustained excellence.

In episode 18, Phil Neville, England Women's National Team Manager and former professional player with Everton and Manchester United, joins the Beautiful Game to discuss leadership, values, and character. As England Manager, he has instilled an elite mentality by building a culture of respect, humility, hard work and enjoyment. These values were passed along to him, not only through his family, but also his playing experience at Manchester United and Everton with Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, respectively. As a member of the famed Class of 92 at Manchester United, Phil Spent 10 years at Manchester United where he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a Champions League. He then spent eight years as the captain at Everton and played as an England international. He led England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2019. Phil shares stories of his time playing and learning with Sir Alex and the influence he has on his own coaching career. From culture and values to empathy and emotional intelligence, Phil has integrated these lessons into his role managing England. The Lioness' have grown into a confident, elite squad prepared to overcome the biggest obstacles and deal with uncertainty. Simultaneously, their is a heightened respect for the team and the women's game. 

In episode 17, Nicole Hercules, Founder of the Rochester City Soccer League, Rochester City Soccer Schools and Chair of United Soccer Coaches Black Advocacy Group, joins the Beautiful Game to discuss resilient leadership, inclusion and representation. As a successful coach and entrepreneur, Nicole builds sustainable, thriving communities rooted in confidence, excellence and the power of soccer to enrich lives.

In episode 16, Coach Carrie Taylor of San Diego Loyal joins the Beautiful Game to discuss purpose, passion and perseverance. Hailing from Flint, Michigan, Carrie played at the University of Michigan where she helped start their Division 1 program. At Mount Saint Joseph University, she built their men's program from scratch, concurrently coaching the women's and men's teams. Winning coaching awards along the way, Carrie continues her pioneering work at San Diego's professional soccer team making its debut in the USL Championship in 2020. Inspired by the pride and hustle of Flint, Carrie has followed her passion of coaching through ups and downs. She shares her stories and unique insights into taking risk, leading through values, and overcoming obstacles to succeed.

In episode 15, PSV Eindhoven's General Manager and Head of Women's Football, Sandra Doreleijers joins the Beautiful Game to discuss leadership with equal parts empathy and ambition, radical candor, recruiting and responsibility. Sandra has transformed PSV from a mid table team into a powerhouse, claiming its historical place in the Dutch pantheon competing for titles. Sandra was a very talented player in her own right. She played professionally, was an all star at the University of Hartford where they were regularly a top 10 team and she was an Academic All American. Competing for the Dutch National Team, she won a futsal title and still competes at a high level today. Sandra combines her experience in management roles in nonprofit organizations, psychology background and sporting excellence to lead PSV Eindhoven into the future of football.

Mark Krikorian, the head coach of women's soccer at Florida State University, a perennial powerhouse and two time NCAA champion. Coach Krikorian has had a long career defined by winning. He turned Hartford into a contender and had two undefeated seasons and won Division Two national championships with Franklin Pierce. He has also coached with the US Women's National team as a scout and at the U19 level at the World Cup. He joins Beautiful Game to discuss leadership and communication. Florida State is one of the most culturally diverse teams in college sports. Mark's experience recruiting and managing them offers unique insight into communication methods. He emphasizes the importance of both shared adversity and shared laughter as critical to their success. Leading in times of uncertainty requires adaptability and equanimity. 

Dave Copeland-Smith is the founder of Beast Mode Soccer (https://beastmodesoccer.com/) , best known as a trainer to stars like Alex Morgan, Ali Riley and Kelly O'Hara. A UEFA licensed coach, David is also the founder and CEO of a new app called My Soccer Training. In episode 13 of the Beautiful Game, he joins host Tony Nicalo to discuss what it is like working with world class players. He shares insights about how to build an elite mentality yourself and how you can own your own development. With the success of Beast Mode Soccer and My Soccer Training, David also has unique insights into the process of growing a service led business into a technology product. 

In episode 12, Nathan Thackeray joins to discuss building a resilient culture, defining achievement through continuous improvement instead of results, and having a professional mentality. Nathan is an assistant coach with The North Carolina Courage, Director of Goalkeeping with North Carolina FC youth teams. He was a professional goalkeeper with Bradford city in England. North Carolina Courage won back to back NWSL championships and WSL shield the last three years, which is awarded to the regular season champions.

Amanda Ferranti is the Founder of Ferranti Empowerment, where as a Certified Performance Consultant she helps teams and individual athletes develop mental skills to perform their best. She studied psychology at Princeton and has her master's in sports psychology. Amanda was an accomplished athlete herself at Princeton, helping lead them to a final four appearance in women's soccer and played semi-professionally. In episode 11, she joins Tony Nicalo to discuss mindsets for success, overcoming fear of loss, building a well of resilience, developing emotional awareness, plans and strategies for achieving goals, overcoming social isolation and using visualization skills to realize your dreams.

In episode 10, John Swofford, Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, joins us to discuss change management, resilience and leadership. John made the transition from star athlete to athletics administration. He lead the University of North Carolina as Athletics Director for 17 years, working with coaches like Dean Smith and Anson Dorrance. John has been the helm of the ACC for 23 years, guiding them through constant change. He nurtured its growth, started the Mental Health & Wellness Summit and launched the ACC Network with ESPN. John's insights into human resources, change management, and leadership in turbulent times are timely lessons for executives, entrepreneurs, athletes and anyone looking for ideas to succeed.

In episode nine of Beautiful Game, Yael Averbuch-West, CEO of Techne Futbol and Executive Director of the NWSL Player's Union joins our host Tony Nicalo to discuss setting and achieving goals, resiliency and the joy of competition. Yael was the National Player of the Year and a 2x NCAA Champion at the University of North Carolina. As a professional, she played in the UEFA Champions League, won the WPS title twice and represented the US Women's National Team. Now as founder and CEO of Techne Futbol and founder and Executive Director of the NWSL, she utilizes the skills developed during her journey to becoming an elite athlete to succeed in business.

In Episode 8, Anson Dorrance, World Cup winner and NCAA dominant coach at the University of North Carolina joins our host, Tony Nicalo for a deep dive into resilience, building high performance teams and solving the innovator's dilemma in the face of unprecedented success.

Former Bayern Munich star striker, Sarah Hagen, joins Tony Nicalo to discuss her career, coaching and transition into business.

In episode six of the Beautiful Game, our host Tony Nicalo discusses training and developing high performance athletes with Saul Isakkson-Hurst. Saul has worked with Chelsea and Tottenham in England, is a technical coach for players in the English Premier League and is the founder of MyPersonalFootballCoach.

On today’s episode of ​Beautiful Game by WeaselsFC,​ Tony Nicalo speaks with Jennifer Klein, Head Coach of the University of Michigan women’s soccer program. They discuss the challenges and tactics to develop players while winning at a collegiate level. Jennifer's coaching ambitions began when she was team captain at Arizona University. From there, she became the assistant coach of U​niversity of Nevada​, L​as Vegas​, and then graduated to head coach. Jennifer recognized her need to learn and grow at a Power Five institution. She went back to being an assistant coach, and she won her first national championship. She credits her resilience and growth to the people around her. Jennifer believes in a slow and patient process. Jennifer and Tony discuss how training sessions help players learn from failure. Letting your players learn and adapt is important to their development. Jennifer understands decision making is one of the hardest tactics to teach, especially since coaches are trying to make it second nature. This year, the University of Michigan’s Motto, “Make it Michigan”​ ​, was an inspiration to her coaching. She shares two winning experiences on the field, where she saw this motto in action. However, Jennifer also trains her players to look at losses as an opportunity for growth. Jennifers believes in changing the culture of athletics and using Michigan traditions to do so. No matter the amount of time on the field, she wants her players to be impactful with the minutes they are given. She empowered players to believe in their value and embrace their role. She discusses the recruitment of soccer players and how to find the right fit for the team. She looks for competitive problem solvers, as well as players with great character. She also seeks development and growth potential while recruiting. While coaching, Jennifer builds her players into athletes, as well as strong adults. She grows and leads students in their desired career paths, whether that is to become a professional soccer player or not. To Jennifer, acquiring skill sets on the field are just as valuable off the field. Subscribe, rate and review the podcast!   

Willie McNab, Head of Children's Programme at Celtic FC's Academy in Scotland joins us for a discussion about performance, resilience and using preparation to turn your passion into a career.

Coach Erin McNulty discusses the transition from her successful goalkeeping career. She led two different universities the the NCAA finals, competed for the Canadian National Team and played professionally in the United States and Norway. Now she leads the goalkeeping program at the Vancouver Whitecaps' academy, teaching aspiring players technique & tactics, but also the importance of determination and effort.

Coach Sebastian Rozycki leads the U13 and under academy at Poland's most famous club, Legia Warsaw. As a European Youth Elite licensee, he shares insights on what it means to be 'elite,' how to build self-confidence and resilience, and developing healthy habits in a screen-addicted culture.

Former Watford FC Captain and USA World Cup player, Jay Demerit shares his inspirational rise to the top of professional football and his transition to coaching. Now, he shares his personal experience curated with diverse mentors from various fields to teach mental skills and leadership to young athletes at Captain's Camps.

The Beautiful Game is a series exploring personal improvement and resiliency through interviews with soccer coaches from around the world.