The SEASON 7 FIANLE IS HERE! What a season and what a great group of guests! Season 7 theme is "Becoming a Pro, and Staying a Pro" And our last guest to wrap up the season is Columbus Crew player Christian Ramirez . We dive deep into his journey through professional sports. We talk about the grind of lower league soccer in the US. We talk about his mindset, the grit and determination it took to make it to the MLS, thriving at the highest level of professional soccer, and winning MLS Cup and MLS ...
Feb 01, 2025•35 min•Season 7Ep. 9
Season 7 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast is sadly coming to a close with one episode left before the finale. Our guest this week is Zarek Valentin of Minnesota United FC . In this episode we cover what it was like for Zarek playing in college and winning an NCAA Championship with Akron. What that decision to go pro was like, that first contract, and how he was able to sign the dotted line for a second time! We also discuss his playing time over in Norway and what the culture was like compared t...
Jan 25, 2025•38 min•Season 7Ep. 8
Episode 7 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast is here, and we are lucky to be joined by 2019 MLS Cup & 2022 CONCACAF Champions League Winner Will Bruin ! Will has had a storied MLS career, playing for 13 seasons and winning 3 trophies, one of those at the national level. We discuss how Will began playing soccer, all the way until he decided to retire. We go over some of his personal achievements, as well as diving into winning MLS Cup and talk about which trophy is his favorite. We also talk ab...
Jan 18, 2025•39 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Episode 6 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast is now live! Our guest, none other than Marissa Sheva , formally of the Portland Thorns (NWSL) and Ireland international! Marissa and I talk about her journey through college at Penn. State University (as a standout soccer player and track runner), getting that first contract, and overcoming adversity of a serious injury for her second contract. We also talk about what it’s like to step foot on the World Cup stage with your national team. This will be a...
Jan 11, 2025•36 min•Season 7Ep. 6
The No Stress Midwest Podcast is back with Episode 5 of Season 7! Today's episode we are joined by the talented Tyler Freeman. Tyler has been a professional since the age of 15! We talk to him about what the pressure is like at such a young age, the expectations that come with that, and the grind it takes to move from academy to first team player. If you’ve ever wondered about the the pathway from academy to professional, this will be an episode you don’t wanna miss! We take a sneak peak into th...
Jan 04, 2025•44 min•Season 7Ep. 5
In this weeks episode (4) of The No Stress Midwest Podcast we are fortunate enough to be joined by Wilson Harris , a striker for Louisville FC of the USL Championship. Wilson is the youngest player to net 60 USL Championship goals. We peek into his mind and see what it takes to get to 40-50 goal seasons. Check out the full episode for a more in depth look behind the person. We talk about what it’s like signing that first pro contract and what it takes to get the second contract, and go from that...
Dec 28, 2024•36 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Welcome back for episode 3 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast Season 7, where we are talking to professional athletes on what it takes to become a professional athlete and stay a professional. Today’s episode we are joined by none other than USL League One Back to Back Golden Glove winner, Sean Lewis . In this exciting episode we talk about Sean’s journey through his college playing days, what lead him to playing in Australia, and eventually coming back to the US to play at the professional level....
Dec 21, 2024•34 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Welcome back everyone to Season 7 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast and thank you for joining us today. Our guest is Junior Kazeem , a player for the KC Comets in the MASL (Major Arena Soccer League). We talk about his upbringing in England, how he got to the states, playing in college, and what the MASL has been like. Junior takes us through his journey, the highs, the lows, and everything that comes with the drive and passion to get to the top. We hope you enjoy this episode and thank you for j...
Dec 14, 2024•41 min•Season 7Ep. 2
WE’RE BACK! Season 7 is here! If you’ve been following along you’ll know each season has a theme to it, and this season we will be focused on professional players! We have an awesome lineup for you this season. Starting us off is Mikey Lopez. Drafted by Sporting Kc as the 14 pick in the 2013 MLS Superdraft, playing in the big apple, and finding a home with the legion. Mikey takes us through his path to the pros. Join us for a conversation filled with insights on the highs and lows of a soccer ca...
Dec 07, 2024•31 min•Season 7Ep. 1
With the beginning of every podcast season unfortunately must come an end. But for the S eason 6 finale of The No Stress Midwest Podcast I went and grabbed not just one but two of the dopest people I know who just so happened to be married to each, and run their own non-profit SOL of the Cities based out of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. This season has been filled with friends of mine that are doing some really cool things around the business and front office side of the game. A lot of times as f fa...
Mar 23, 2024•40 min•Season 6Ep. 8
We are back with the next episode of Season 6 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast! Episode 7 and our second to last episode of this season is highlighted by DP Taylor, the Executive Director of Community Relations for the KC Current of the NWSL. Now before we get into DP's episode, I would like to add that today is the grand opening of CPKC stadium, the first women's specific professional stadium EVER and in KC style, the Current will be facing off in the stadium and season opener of the 2024 NWSL ...
Mar 16, 2024•48 min•Season 6Ep. 7
Welcome to episode 6 of Season 6 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast (Front Office/Business) , the golden episode! We are lucky enough to be joined by the General Manager of NWSL's Orlando Pride, Haley Carter ! Haley and I met a few years back at a coaching convention and have stayed connected through social media. When coming up with this season, Haley was someone I knew I had to have on! Haley has such an interesting past from her time as a player (GK) for the US Marine Corp and within the NWSL, ...
Mar 09, 2024•40 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Welcome Back to Season 6 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast! In this season we are focusing on the Front Office and business side of the sport and lucky enough to be joined by Chioma Antanmo of Sporting KC for episode 5. Chioma is the Director of Community Impact with the MLS club. Chioma also is the Founder of Mindful Appetite a business that focuses on helping professionals prioritize their wellness. Chioma and I met back in 2020 through a black soccer organization and realized we both lived in ...
Mar 02, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Greetings and welcome back to The No Stress MidwestPodcast! In season 6 we are focused on talking with more of the front office side of football. On todays episode we are lucky enough to be joined by Brian Bliss of Sporting KC in the MLS. Brian is the Technical Director and VP of Player Personnel with Sporting KC and is involved with the scouting, signing, and various other activities that it takes to manage the players both current and future. Also serving a key role when it comes to bringing p...
Feb 24, 2024•49 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Welcome to Season 6 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast , in episode 3 we are lucky enough to be joined by Yael Averbuch-West the General Manager of Gotham FC located in NY/NJ in the NWSL ! Yael and I met during her time as a player for FCKC (currently KC Current) when she was in Kansas City. Yael is a decorated professional player and has moved into the front office with Gotham FC at first with the interim tag but since that tag has been removed has gone on to most recently take the NWSL Champions...
Feb 17, 2024•39 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Thank You for joining us for Season 6 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast! Todays episode we are joined by Liam O'Connell of the USL. Liam serves as the Technical Director for the USL. Overseeing all technical development over the USL leagues (Championship, League 1, League 2, Super League, W League). Liam and I met back in his days at Sporting KC in Kansas City and have continued our relationship when he moved to the Tampa Bay as the USL Academy Director. Liam and I speak on everything thats happe...
Feb 10, 2024•41 min•Season 6Ep. 2
The only thing better than 5 seasons of The No Stress Midwest Podcast is 6, and luckily for you thats what we are on! This No Stress MidwestPodcast Season 6 theme will be "Front Office/Business" and we did not disappoint with guests! From the MLS to NWSL to USL and even Grassroots, we have something for everyone. Our first episode brings Dean Linke of from North Carolina. He is an On-Air play-by-play announcer for the Big 10, North Carolina FC (USL Championship) and North Carolina Courage (NWSL)...
Feb 03, 2024•48 min•Season 6Ep. 1
The time that you have all been waiting for! Not only is there the excitement of completing another season of our No Stress Midwest Podcast, but our guest may be one of the biggest ones that we have EVER had on the podcast! To wrap up Season 5 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast our special guest is Jim Curtin, the 2022 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year (Philadelphia Union) ! Back in April of 2022 I was lucky enough to shadow the Philadelphia Union First team and U-17 Academy team (MLS Next Cup Cha...
Oct 30, 2022•32 min•Season 5Ep. 10
It's almost time! The No Stress MidwestPodcast: Coaches Edition is in its final week with 2 episodes left! Episode 9 has another special guest , Dave Geyer joins us from New Jersey. Geyer was my High School coach Jr. & Sr. year way back when (2005 & 2006) so we have known each other for quite a while. When I was wanting to become a coach, I picked his brain a lot during my early years and like all good coaches, took a few things from him to apply to my teams. Since recording this episode...
Oct 28, 2022•40 min•Season 5Ep. 9
We have another double header release week for you with The No Stress Midwest Podcast: Coaches Edition we have Debbie Pekel, assistant coach for Bob Jones University joining us for Episode 8 . Debbie has coached at almost every level you can other than professionally (club, hs, college & semi pro) and explains how she was/is able to make a living in the coaching profession without coaching professional. Debbie talks about how she made a move across the country for her current position and th...
Oct 21, 2022•40 min•Season 5Ep. 8
We are going into the final four episodes of season 5, with episode 7 's guest Chris Sheppard . Coach Sheppard joins us from my home town, Williamstown NJ and is our podcasts first guest who is not in the soccer world. Shep is the varsity girls volleyball coach at Williamstown High School (my alma mater) and I was fortunate enough to be coached by Shep for my senior year of High School. Chris talks about the unlikely path that found him as a volleyball coach starting off as a teacher out of coll...
Oct 21, 2022•49 min•Season 5Ep. 7
We follow up episode 5 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast immediately with episode 6 with Morgan Ruhl, the assistant coach of Northwestern University. Morgan joins the many guests of ours where we have not met in person...yet. Morgan brings a lot of insight on how she transitioned her playing career into coaching as well as sharing feedback from mentors as well as some reflection on her personal coaching experience and some incidences that although she doesnt regret, would have possibly done diffe...
Oct 14, 2022•40 min•Season 5Ep. 6
We are at Halftime in Season 5 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast: Coaches Edition , and this week we have not just 1 episode but 2 coming at you! Doug McLagan gets us started and if youve ever been connected to the KC soccer community in the last 30+ years, there is a very high probability that youve heard the name. From playing professionally for the indoor team (KC Comets), winning state cups on the club level, and adding a state title on the high school side, Doug has seen it all and done it a...
Oct 14, 2022•40 min•Season 5Ep. 5
We are approaching half time of Season 5 of The No Stress Midwest Podcast and we are lucky enough to be joined by USL1 Forward Madison Assistant Coach, John Pascarella Sr . ! JP and I were connected through a Season 1 podcast guest, Darrin MacLeod during his time as an assistant coach with Minnesota United. Since then we were able to meet in person during his tenure as the head coach of OKC Energy of the USL Championship. I knew that JP would be a great guest as he brings with him a wealth of kn...
Oct 07, 2022•35 min•Season 5Ep. 4
As we start to make some progress in Season 5 of the No Stress Midwest Podcast, Episode 3 brings up Keidane McAlpine the Head Coach for the Women's side at University of Georgia! Keidane and I connect a few years ago through the Black Soccer Coaches Advocacy Group through United Soccer Coaches and met in person last January at their Convention. If Keidane's name sounds familiar its probably because just a few years back he was able to win a National Championship while being the Head Coach at Uni...
Sep 30, 2022•38 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Season5 Episode 2 of the No Stress Midwest Podcast brings Lisa Lubke as our guest. Lisa and I met in our USSF B License course last year in 2021 and although most of it was virtual, when we had our in-person meeting we instantly clicked! At the time Lisa was the assistant coach/GK coach at University of Illinois but has since transitioned into a Video Analyst for the US Women's Youth National Team! I wont spoil our conversation too much but Lisa drops some gems about some of her most fun moments...
Sep 23, 2022•40 min•Season 5Ep. 2
WE ARE BACK!!! Season 5 is here and I am really excited for this season! If you have followed along to past seasons you will know that each season has a theme to it. Season 5 will focus on Coaches and do we have an awesome line-up ahead for the next coming weeks with coaches representing almost every level of the game in the U.S. We kick-off episode 1 with Jordan Ferrell who is the Technical Director of the Oakland Roots of the USL Championship. Jordan and I were connected back a few years ago t...
Sep 16, 2022•39 min•Season 5Ep. 1
The season finale of our Soccer-Preneur's is here and we have a special host to close us out! Tom Cristino is one of my closest friends and actually one of the first people I talked to when I was thinking about starting this podcast. When you listen/watch the episode you will see why I chose him as the host to interview me talking about No Stress Midwest. I talk about my day to day tasks running No Stress Midwest, what No Stress Midwest is and some of our future plans. We dive a little deeper in...
Dec 31, 2021•48 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Lets start off by wishing everyone happy holidays! We are winding down this season of soccer-preneurs and are joined by Jason Belz of A Greater You (AGY). AGY is a sports performance business in the KC Metro that now primarily focuses on training soccer players at all ages and levels. Jason and I met back in 2019 at a HS soccer coaches symposium and he has worked with my teams and some individual players over the years. Listen to Jason talk about his breakthrough moment when someone made him thi...
Dec 24, 2021•53 min•Season 4Ep. 6
If you played youth soccer in the 90's and went to any "British" soccer camp, good chance Peter was your coach or the one running the camp. Peter Arch currently is a VP at GymShark but before that was a founder of Challenger Sports. Peter is in GymSharks new North America HQ in Denver which looks like the type of office I would love to work in! We do a lot of talking on the landscape of American youth soccer during the late 80's and 90's and how Peter and people like him came over to the states ...
Dec 18, 2021•45 min•Season 4Ep. 5
