Packed @Pghfooty Podcast Tackles College Recruiting, Crew Academy Presence in Western PA

What a great way to start our third year of Pittsburgh Soccer Report.
On Thursday, I sat down with my colleague Mike Sparks from the Beautiful Game Network for a special Winter edition of the Pittsburgh Scholastic Soccer Show.

The show includes numerous interviews following National Letter of Intent Day signings (Feb. 1) and attending a recent Century United College Soccer Showcase event at Cool Springs on Sunday.   

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

While the focus of the show centered around College recruiting, as I spent a lot of time in the past few weeks tracking recruiting news, I also found myself having more conversations with coaches about the future of youth player development as it stands in the Pittsburgh region, and began to learn more about the presence of the Columbus Crew Academy in our area.
After speaking with both Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy Director of Youth Development Jason Kutney, and other coaches from local clubs when gathering recruiting news and finding out about College Showcase events in February, I found myself with an opportunity to catch-up with Crew Academy Director Dennis Sanchez in person when he was in town for the Century United Boys Soccer Showcase last week.
The podcast is highlighted by my conversations with the following:

• two local female players that chose to stay home and play for local schools:
  • Alexis Bengel – Pitt (7:10)
  • Tori Kopchak – Duquesne  (15:30)
• Duquesne Men’s Head Coach Chase Brooks (22:34)
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy Director of Youth Development – Jason Kutney (32:10)
• Columbus Crew Academy General Manager – Dennis Sanchez (45:25)