The youth soccer podcast for parents trying to make sense of their kid's game. Host Ian Babcock is a soccer dad, not a former player. He got into the game the same way most parents do: his kids started playing and nobody handed him a manual. Chat By The Pitch is the manual he wishes he'd had. Every episode is a real, unscripted conversation with the people who shape a young player's experience: club directors, coaches, former pros, sports psychologists, agents, college recruiters, and families who have been through it. The questions are the ones you are asking in the car on the way home. Is my kid on the right team? What does "development over winning" actually look like? How much is too much? When should we worry, and when should we just let them play? Guests include academy coaches from England, a FIFA agent, futsal and academy founders, sports psychologists, and families who have walked the road from rec soccer to the pro game. What you will not hear: hot takes, highlight packages, or a host pretending to know more than he does. Ian asks the questions a parent would ask, and lets the guest answer. Rooted in North Texas, heard around the world. More than 190 conversations in the catalog covering player development, coaching philosophy, club culture, the college pathway, mental health, and the business of youth soccer. If you care about your kid's soccer beyond the scoreboard, this is your podcast.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
35%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchThe youth soccer podcast for parents trying to make sense of their kid's game. Host Ian Babcock is a soccer dad, not a former player. He got into the game the same way most parents do: his kids started playing and nobody handed him a manual. Chat By The Pitch is the manual he wishes he'd had.
Recent episodes include "Player Pathways: David Ortiz on FC Dallas, Spain, Colombia, and the Futsal National Team" (29 October 2026, 56 minutes), "Bridging the Gap Between Rec and Club Soccer: Josh Meadows on Good Sport Initiative" (22 October 2026, 61 minutes), and "Soccer Parenting Decisions: FIFA Agent Mario Iveljic on Making the Smart Move" (15 October 2026, 47 minutes).
Chat By The Pitch publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 53 minutes.
Booking probability for Chat By The Pitch is 35%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Chat By The Pitch requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Chat By The Pitch's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Chat By The Pitch are Sports. Chat By The Pitch has an education audience.
Chat By The Pitch is an education podcast.
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Episode #193
In the fall of 2020, David Ortiz was pushing carts at Walmart. A year later, he was wearing the crest at a FIFA Futsal World Cup. David came up through FC Dallas from U8 to U17, trained with the first team at 16, and...
Rec soccer in Denton has more than a thousand kids. Club soccer is waiting on the other side. And in between, Josh Meadows kept finding the same thing — kids on wait lists, kids on the bench, kids quietly drifting to...
A professional club sends Mario Iveljic a request: a number six who wins the ball, covers ground, plays long diagonals, and connects. Not a good player. A profile. In Part 2, the licensed FIFA agent and author of Make...
Mario Iveljic grew up playing with a number 10 so smooth he'd just stop and watch. That kid may not have finished four years of college. Mario, by his own admission not the most talented guy, went further. That gap is...
In 1993, Scott Martin was driving to a Nike camp with new Ray-Bans and the music turned up — still playing, coaching a nationally ranked college program, with everything in front of him. A month later, he woke up from a...
Zero college offers in his U18 year. A first-round MLS SuperDraft pick a few years later. Released after one pro season — and still chasing it. Roman Torres has lived nearly every turn of the youth soccer player...
Chris Rich has passed on talented recruits because of what he saw from their parents on the sideline. The UNC Greensboro head coach explains what else he's watching. In this episode of Chat By The Pitch, Chris opens up...
A parent pulled a second-place medal out of a trash can and brought it to Preston Pomykal, disgusted that his son had thrown it away. Preston asked her three questions about how the boy behaved on the field — then told...
Episode #185
A Hall of Fame ballplayer was asked about his favorite little league memory. His answer was about his mom, and an ice cream cone. His worst memory was the car ride home with his dad. That story changed how Preston...
Andy Cook took a left back, put her at number nine, and she scored 22 goals and won a league. That’s not a hunch — that’s a coaching philosophy. In Part 2, Andy Cook gets into the part of youth soccer player development...
Andy Cook coached Beth Mead at 14 and Leah Williamson at 15. He wasn’t looking for tactics or trophies — here’s what he was actually watching for. In Part 1, UEFA A licensed coach Andy Cook takes Ian Babcock through a...
Turning down MLS. Walking away from an SMU scholarship. A trial at Bayern. Jay and Carey Cappis share how Christian Cappis bet on development — and won. In Part 2 of this conversation, the Cappis family walks Ian...
What does it actually take to raise a professional soccer player — without pushing? Jay and Carey Cappis, parents of U.S. pro Christian Cappis, open up the family playbook. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Ian...
Is pay-to-play youth soccer actually developing players — or just monetizing false hope? Alex Lubyansky says it's the latter, and he's building the proof. Alex is the General Manager and Head Coach of Detroit Metro FC...
She didn't commit to soccer until the summer before her junior year — and still earned a Division I scholarship from a small club no college coach was watching. Former NCAA Division I player Jada Davis joins Chat By The...
What if you could capture every second of your kid's game — and actually be present to watch it? That's the promise Gabriel Roxas brings to Chat By The Pitch. Gabriel, PR manager for AI sports camera company XbotGo...
Episode #177
Hanna Barker turned a recovering ACL into a college career that ended with Freshman of the Year — then chased the pro game across four countries. In Part 2, Hanna and Ian trace the player pathway from college to the...
Episode #176
Before she was a winger for Napoli Women in Serie A, Hanna Barker was just a kid in Farmers Branch, Texas, kicking a ball around at her dad’s games. In Part 1, Hanna and Ian go back to the beginning — the youth soccer...
What separates good players from great players? In Part 2 of this conversation, Everton FC's John Keagan dives into the mindset, work ethic, and personal responsibility required to reach your full potential in soccer...
What happens when a professional club creates a pathway that combines elite soccer development with education? In this episode, Ian sits down with John Keagan from Everton FC to discuss the club's Football College...
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