In episode 17 of the podcast, we spoke with Kraig Chiles, player for the San Diego Sockers and Executive Director of the Cardiff Sockers. Before signing
with the SD Sockers in 2010, Chiles also played for the LA Legends and CD Chivas USA. Chiles grew up in San Diego and participated in some of the SD
Sockers camps as a child. We discussed his transition from outdoor to indoor soccer, the benefit of coaching and playing simultaneously, and the
importance of adapting to your career as things change. Here are a few of the highlights, but make sure to check out the podcast for the breadth and
depth.
Three Translatable Skills
Chiles shared about how he sort of stumbled into indoor soccer; he’d been paying to play at several local complexes. Some friends (and former
teammates) heard about how Phil Salvagio was going to bring back the San Diego Sockers (an indoor league) and asked if he’d be interested. And that’s
how Chiles moved into the indoor arena. The following year when the team came back, he started to play. Chiles told us that there were three specific
skills that especially carried over to help create success. They were:
Heavy on soccer IQ
Ability to finish the ball
Very good technical skills
US Soccer is Too Fragmented
When we asked Chiles what one thing he’d change in the game of soccer if he could wave a wand and change anything, Chiles pointed out that soccer
here in the US, at the youth level, has ten leagues, all run by ten different people who are all “looking out for their best interest” and “not for the
betterment of the kids.” This echoed some of his earlier sentiments about his approach with the Cardiff Sockers, where the focus is on the
development of each kid and their specific needs. He concluded by saying, “The best players should play in the best brackets, and clubs shouldn’t be
excluded from that. Everybody should be included.” Listen to the whole episode to hear more about his approach to coaching, career transitions, and more.
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