This week, in order to celebrate Christian Pulisic becoming the first American male to win the Champions League, we dig into the archives for our interview with his father Mark. Mark is a former collegiate and professional player and coach, and our talk took place soon after Christian completed his $73 million transfer to Chelsea of the English Premier League. Since then, Christian has hit some incredible heights, and experienced some devastating injuries and extreme disappointment, yet came through it all to become a Champions league winner with Chelsea one week ago.   Today we speak about a variety of topics, including what it was like to raise Christian, how many times Mark and his wife Kelly said no to great opportunities, how they limited his competitive team practices to 2 sessions per week, dealing with pressure, Christian's 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.   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 Welcome to our New Sponsor GoodSport! GoodSport™ is a natural sports drink that delivers superior hydration backed by science with a delicious thirst-quenching taste. And what’s really cool about it, is that it’s made from milk. It turns out, milk is packed with electrolytes and has been shown to hydrate better than traditional sports drinks and water. GoodSport ultrafilters milk to remove its protein and harness its electrolytes, carbs and vitamins to provide superior hydration in a clear and refreshing beverage. GoodSport™ has three times the electrolytes than traditional sports drinks with 33 percent less sugar. GoodSport™ is lactose free and provides a good source of calcium and an excellent source of B vitamins. I really enjoy GoodSport™ but what gets me most excited is the brand’s commitment to fostering a positive sports culture aimed at getting and keeping more people in the game.  GoodSport™ supports athletes with naturally powerful hydration and celebrates the natural good that comes from sports. GoodSport™ – Grab the Good.  Check it out at goodsport.com. This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sports Refund. Many of you probably buy trip insurance, every winter I buy ski pass insurance, to make sure that if I get injured I can get my money back on that expensive investment. Well, many of us spend thousands of dollars on our kids sports club fees, but what if they get hurt? In many cases you cannot get your money back, but now with Sports Refund you can. For just pennies on the dollar, you can make sure that if your child gets sick or injured and misses a month or more you can get your money back, or your club can get paid. It’s a great product, just go to www.sportsrefund.com/game and get your free quote, and if it sounds good you can either get your club to sign up, or you can purchase on your own.  Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women’s Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speake