This weekend, US men's national team star Christian Pulisic began his EPL career with Chelsea after his $73 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund to London.   In today's podcast, we speak with his father Mark, a former collegiate and professional player and coach, about a variety of topics, including what it was like to raise Christian, how many times they said no to great opportunities, how they limited his competitive team practices to 2 sessions per week, dealing with pressure, Christians goodbye in Dortmund, and so much more. We trace Mark's professional career and his short stint coaching in Germany and what were the major differences with coaching youth players in the US. His answer might surprise you.   This is a great conversation with some terrific insight into the childhood and early sports career of one of world soccer's brightest stars.In this week’s podcast we welcome    Other Highlights from the Discussion: How important is it to allow kids to develop their own passion for the sport? How do you know if your kid REALLY loves the sport? Is there a way to increase accuracy without losing creativity in children? Parents need to be able to say “No” to coaches.  Does the tournament culture create “slow” players? What is missing here in the US, where and when do our kids fall behind?   Connect with Mark Pulisic Twitter https://markpulisic.com/ Mark’s Podcast: Soccer Unplugged   Visit us on: Web: https://changingthegameproject.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ctgprojecthq Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangingTheGameProject/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctgprojecthq/ iTunes: http://bit.ly/wocpodcast   Support the Podcast! Become a Podcast Champion! …and get FREE access to ALL of our online courses.   We are now offering you the ability to contribute as a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions)for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of the podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A monthly discussion with John, James, Jerry, and other special guests talking about the previous month's episodes and answering some of the FAQs we received that month A code to get free access to our online course called "Coaching Mastery," usually a $97 course, but yours for free for becoming a patron.  Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past two years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions