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Kickin' Back

Kickin' Back

By Kickin' Back

This is Kickin' Back, a podcast by The Equalizer. Women's soccer is filled with incredible personalities and untold stories. Since founding The Equalizer (equalizersoccer.com) in 2009, Jeff Kassouf has been telling those stories. On this podcast, he sits down one-on-one with personalities from across the game to discuss their journeys.
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Kickin' Back with Ali Riley

Kickin' BackMay 14, 2020

00:00
56:42
Kickin' Back on Podcast Row at the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Convention

Kickin' Back on Podcast Row at the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Convention

Dr. Colleen Hacker, David Copeland-Smith and Ashlee Fontes-Comber join Jeff Kassouf on Podcast Row at the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Convention. Dr. Hacker discusses her decades of experience as a mental skills coach and performance psychologist at the highest levels of international sport. Then, Beast Mode Soccer and My Soccer Training app founder David Copeland-Smith sheds light on the rise of individual training, and United Soccer Coaches vice president Ashlee Fontes-Comber discusses investment in women's soccer.

Jan 22, 202101:11:09
Kickin' Back with Lisa Baird

Kickin' Back with Lisa Baird

With the chaos of 2020 behind her, NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird joins Kickin' Back to recap a successful but challenging year, and teases what’s ahead for the league, including expansion strategies, the relationship with U.S. Soccer, and a league rebrand ahead of the 10th-anniversary season.

Dec 17, 202045:15
Kickin' Back with Esmeralda Negron

Kickin' Back with Esmeralda Negron

You can thank Esmeralda Negron for the ability to watch live European women's soccer on TV each weekend in the United States. She co-founded Atalanta Media with Hannah Brown, together founding a company which is redefining the value of women's soccer media rights. Negron joins Kickin' Back to discuss jumping into a startup, the future valuation of women's soccer, and how her successful playing and coaching career led her to this role.

Dec 11, 202043:28
Kickin' Back with Meg Linehan
Dec 04, 202001:05:17
Kickin' Back with Lauren Barnes

Kickin' Back with Lauren Barnes

Lauren Barnes — better known by most as "Lu" — played professionally in three different countries in 2020 despite the global pandemic. She is a Reign franchise original since the inception of the NWSL in 2013, and one of the most consistent defenders in league history. She joins the pod to discuss her career and her especially wild 2020, which included a championship in Australia and Champions League qualification in Sweden.

Nov 27, 202048:55
Kickin' Back with Heather O'Reilly

Kickin' Back with Heather O'Reilly

You know Heather O'Reilly as the fierce competitor who won Olympic gold medals and a World Cup title with the United States women's national team. Now, Heather is a mom, a coach at UNC, a TV broadcaster and an entrepreneur. 'HAO' joins the pod to talk about life after soccer, her new view on life as a mom, learning from her old coach in new ways, and even some crazy high school memories.

Nov 20, 202047:45
Kickin' Back with Vero Boquete

Kickin' Back with Vero Boquete

Vero Boquete is a pioneer in Spanish women's football. She outlines why she has no regrets over sacrificing her own international career to stand up for the next generation of players, and shares stories of being the only girl in her town who played soccer growing up. Now, there is a stadium named after her there, and she just signed with AC Milan, making Italy the eighth country she has played in professionally.

Nov 13, 202037:39
Kickin' Back with Kelly Simmons

Kickin' Back with Kelly Simmons

Kelly Simmons is the director of the women's professional game for the FA. She joins Kickin' Back to discuss the professionalization of women's club soccer in England, the rapid growth and internationalization which followed, and the ongoing balancing act which next year will see a homegrown player quota introduced.

Oct 30, 202042:45
Kickin' Back with Vlatko Andonovski

Kickin' Back with Vlatko Andonovski

Vlatko Andonovski went from an unknown to the head coach of the two-time defending World Cup champion United States women's national team in a matter of seven years. He joins Kickin' Back to share his coaching journey, including learning the women's game from scratch and some hard lessons along the way. Andonovski also shares his thoughts on the first U.S. training camp in over seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oct 20, 202044:27
Kickin' Back with Kristie Mewis

Kickin' Back with Kristie Mewis

Kristie Mewis is in the form of her life for the Houston Dash, which earned her a return to United States national team camp. Kristie shares her journey of falling out of favor with the U.S. -- her last cap was over six years ago -- to being traded multiple times in the NWSL and finding herself after her ACL injury in Houston. Her revival is among the best on-field stories in a weird 2020.

Oct 15, 202037:54
Kickin' Back with Jenn Hildreth

Kickin' Back with Jenn Hildreth

If you watch women's soccer on TV in the United States, you've heard Jenn Hildreth call a game. The longtime play-by-play voice of the National Women's Soccer League — among many other competitions — joins Kickin' Back to discuss how different it is announcing games remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and how that might shape the future of sports broadcasting, plus her favorite memories from covering the NWSL and the now defunct WPS.

Oct 12, 202039:42
Kickin' Back with Lesle Gallimore

Kickin' Back with Lesle Gallimore

Lesle Gallimore is the commissioner of the newly formed Girls Academy, and elite youth league which was formed after U.S. Soccer dissolved the Development Academy. Gallimore is a longtime coach and has a vision for a unified approach to youth soccer and one which eventually incorporates support from the professional ranks. She shares her visionary plans on the latest Kickin' Back.

Oct 07, 202037:14
Kickin' Back with Jess Fishlock

Kickin' Back with Jess Fishlock

This week, Jess Fishlock joins Kickin' Back to discuss her experience at the NWSL Challenge Cup, the uncertainty of the future, and the circumstances that led to her current loan with the WSL club Reading.

Aug 21, 202022:58
Kickin' Back with Aly Wagner

Kickin' Back with Aly Wagner

Aly Wagner joins the Kickin' Back podcast to discuss her career broadcasting soccer, the big stories and tactical trends we saw at the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, and the future evolution of women's soccer.

Jul 31, 202032:16
Kickin' Back with Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm

Kickin' Back with Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm

United States women's national team legends Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm join the Kickin' Back podcast to discuss why they are investing in the new National Women's Soccer League team in Los Angeles, which will begin play in 2022. Foudy and Hamm discuss their vision for the team, why they are so optimistic about the state of the league, and how quickly they were able to get 12 other former U.S. players on board with investing. Read more about the new LA team here.

Jul 22, 202030:14
Kickin' Back with Shea Groom

Kickin' Back with Shea Groom

Shea Groom joins the Kickin' Back podcast to discuss her arrival at the Houston Dash at a time when she needed a fresh start. Shea discusses why she plays with a chip on her shoulder and how that influences her tough but creative style of play, plus why the entire new-look Dash team has embraced that identity.

Jul 14, 202040:08
Kickin' Back with Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams

Kickin' Back with Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams

Unexpected house guests, a Peloton bike, and exceptional cooking: these are the quarantine stories of roommates Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams, who are teammates on the North Carolina Courage and U.S. women's national team. Williams and Mewis are also player representatives on the NWSLPA and USWNTPA, respectively. They discuss their roles in making the NWSL Challenge Cup happen and in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Jul 07, 202027:01
Kickin' Back with Saskia Webber

Kickin' Back with Saskia Webber

Former United States international goalkeeper and World Cup champion Saskia Webber joins Kickin' Back to talk about what the sport was like in the '90s, including her experiences as game-changer in 1999 and the mixed-emotions she had as an alternate at the 1996 Olympics. She also discusses the U.S.' ability to produce great goalkeepers, and women's soccer's ongoing fight for equality.

Jul 03, 202053:04
Kickin' Back with Nicole Hercules

Kickin' Back with Nicole Hercules

Nicole Hercules is the chair of the United Soccer Coaches Black Coaches Advocacy Group, the first woman to hold the role. Nicole and I discuss the need for more Black coaches across all levels of soccer, the need for those hiring to better educate themselves on diversity, and how her group is working toward change. Nicole also shares her experiences in bringing soccer training to Black communities.

Jun 25, 202034:34
Kickin' Back with Jamia Fields

Kickin' Back with Jamia Fields

Houston Dash forward Jamia Fields joins the Kickin' Back pod to discuss racism and being a Black player in the National Women's Soccer League.

Jamia and Dash teammates recently participated in a protest in downtown Houston, the hometown of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Jamia shares that now, at age 26, she is just starting to have conversations about race outside of her family.

Jun 13, 202035:30
Kickin' Back with Yael Averbuch West

Kickin' Back with Yael Averbuch West

NWSL Players Association co-executive director Yael Averbuch West joins the podcast to discuss racial inequality in the world, and how NWSL players are using their platforms to speak out against racism. Yael and Jeff have a self-reflective conversation about their roles in combating racism.

Yael also speaks about the players' ability to secure guaranteed pay for the NWSL Challenge Cup during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the health challenges which made her step away from the pro game (but why she'll never use the word "retired").

Jun 12, 202049:48
Kickin' Back with Beverly Yanez
May 21, 202045:34
Kickin' Back with Ali Riley

Kickin' Back with Ali Riley

Ali Riley is the captain of the New Zealand women's national soccer team and she is set to play in the U.S. again for the first time in nearly a decade after signing with the Orlando Pride. Ali discusses her career and lessons from Europe, playing for New Zealand after growing up in California and fighting for the next generation of women's players. She also shares some of her favorite vegan recipes, as well as her choice for the best of the many videos she created back in the day.

May 14, 202056:42
Kickin' Back with Crystal Dunn Soubrier

Kickin' Back with Crystal Dunn Soubrier

Is there a more versatile soccer player in the world than Crystal Dunn Soubrier? She is the starting fullback for the World Cup champions, the United States women's national team, and a starting central midfielder for the NWSL champions, the North Carolina Courage.

Versatility is nothing new to Crystal, but only recently did she begin to embrace that as a positive attribute. In this episode of Kickin' Back, we discuss her successful career to date, finding her superpower, silencing the doubters, and how she and her husband deal with working for rival teams.

May 06, 202050:16
Kickin' Back with Becky Sauerbrunn

Kickin' Back with Becky Sauerbrunn

Two-time World Cup champion Becky Sauerbrunn kicks it to discuss her rise from a young player lacking confidence to arguably the best center back in the world over the past decade. Her journey includes emergency duty in the 2011 World Cup semifinal, shenanigans and championships in the U.S. pro leagues, and finally coming home to Portland for the latter stage of her storied career to actually get some work/life balance.

May 01, 202051:18
Kickin' Back with Jill Ellis
Apr 20, 202001:17:56
Kickin' Back: Welcome

Kickin' Back: Welcome

This is Kickin' Back, a podcast by The Equalizer. Women's soccer is filled with incredible personalities and untold stories. Since founding The Equalizer (equalizersoccer.com) in 2009, Jeff Kassouf has been telling those stories. On this podcast, he sits down one-on-one with personalities from across the game to discuss their journeys.

Apr 16, 202002:44