Football Comes to Philly

The six o’clock Greyhound out of New York rolled into Philadelphia just after 8pm. I made a beeline for the Field House, a cavernous sports bar located a few blocks away, where the New York Red Bulls were hosting a meet-and-greet for attendees of the 2018 United Soccer Coaches Convention, billed as "the world's largest annual gathering of soccer coaches and administrators."   

While immersing myself in the game of soccer over the last six months, I’d heard a lot about this convention. The editor of MLSsoccer.com suggested I check it out when we met for coffee back in December. A few guys I play ball with out in Jersey, who all coach for a living, also had good things to say. And the convention’s hashtag, #PHI18, had been popping up on my social media feeds more frequently as the January 17th start date approached.

As I made my way along Filbert Street, the soccer people were easy to spot, with their trim builds and telltale attire. The Eagles NFC Championship game against the Vikings was just a few days away, but for the moment at least, the City of Brotherly Love was a different kind of football town. Inside the bar, it was teeming with more futbolistas, and every snippet of conversation caught through the din had to do with the game. 

The same was true at the Irish pub I hit next, to hook up with friends who were also in town for the convention. Over pints of Guinness and platters of wings, the conversation bounced from one soccer topic to the next—the challenges of coaching in the city, differences between the men’s and women’s leagues, my half-baked concept for a soccer-tourism company, and on and on.

The first official press pass for The Second Half.  

We eventually called it a night and piled into a room at the nearby Sheraton. It was reminiscent of old-school playing days, when teams had to operate on shoestring travel budgets. When my alarm sounded at six a.m. the next morning, one guy was asleep under the desk. Another was huddled against the heater, wearing a ski hat and a winter coat. I showered and headed to the convention center. 

I’ve been around soccer players all my life, and I attend a lot of conferences in my work as a home editor. Nevertheless, I felt myself moving beyond my comfort zone as I made my way to the main hall. Part of it was the sheer newness of it all. But there was also the feeling that the 11,000 or so attendees all knew more about the game than I did.          

During an interview between Alexi Lalas and U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) presidential hopeful Eric Wynalda, a latecomer to the session turned to me and asked, “Has he talked about training fees yet?” I had no idea what he was referring to, so I took a chance and said “No, not yet.” A while later, during the audience Q&A, when the guy got his turn at the mike, I learned that the fees are paid around the world to youth clubs that develop professional-level players, but not in this country because U.S. Soccer doesn’t recognize the FIFA-recommended policy.

There were other moments like that, but I eventually got over myself, realizing I was in the same negative headspace I sometimes fall into when playing soccer. I stopped worrying about how much I didn’t know, and instead focused on how much there was to learn.

Hanging with Hope Solo, former keeper for the U.S. Women's National Team, now looking to lead U.S. Soccer as president of the federation. 

There were the education seminars on topics I'd apply to my own coaching, like psychological player development and the benefits of the whole-part-whole method. There was the sprawling exhibit hall, with hundreds of vendors showing off their latest soccer goods; as someone who writes a lot about technology, I was particularly enthralled by the high-tech accoutrements, from smart soccer balls to virtual reality training software. And there was the general sense of camaraderie around taking soccer in the U.S. to the elusive next level. 

At one point, as I wandered through the exhibit hall, I spotted Hope Solo, another USSF presidential candidate. We chatted about the importance of adult league play to the creation of a vibrant soccer culture. “For soccer to become the preeminent sport in the country, it needs to be accessible to everyone,” she said. “That includes more and better options for adults who want to keep playing beyond the youth or professional level.”

It was a good observation and, if you will, a hopeful one too.

After a packed day at the convention center, I reconnected with my crew at the Irish bar to swap experiences over a final pint or two, before heading to the station for the seven o’clock back to New York. The bus was delayed, so I ducked into a nearby diner for a cheesesteak. Having clocked 20,000 steps that day, I figured I’d earned it. Plus, next year’s conference will be in Chicago, so I knew it might be a while before I’d get another taste of Philly’s finest.