What’s The Difference Between an MLS Player And A Premier League Player EP 85
11-year MLS veteran Quincy Amarikwa welcomes you to episode 85 of the #AskASoccerPro Show! This week Quincy discusses the difference between MLS and a Premier League player.
Time Stamps
00:00 - 3:57 Welcome To The #AskASoccerPro Show Ep. 85!
3:58-7:33 Any Advice For A Young Striker? @therealeldin
7:34-8:50 Ball Handler or Distributor?
8:51 - 11:43 Mini Balls For Skill Improvement? USL?
11:44 - 13:50 Do You Have Any Advice On Being More Aggressive? @tay.gabriellee
13:51 - 16:11 How Often and How Far Do You Run On Your Off Days? @kendall.cox.soccer
16:12 - 19:53 Tips For @KevinParedes and Being Captain Of A Team @mattias_anderson
19:54 - 22:26 Do You Have Any Advice On How To Be More Confident? @spanish_boy7
22:27 - 26:15 How To Get Less Cards
26:16 - 31:03 What Actions Does The League Need To Take Based On What Is Currently Transpiring @sirenaamarikwa
31:04 - 37:16 How Can Players Better Differentiate Anger For Bad Versus Anger For Good?
37:17 - 40:03 Are You Holding Up Ok? @been._.jammin
40:04 - 47:11 How Do You Better Recognize When You Are Shifting Blame On Others?
47:12 - 48:13 Will Perfect Soccer Have Agents?
@brahim_keit
48:14 - 53:09 Do You Think Leadership That Lacks This Skillset Is What Breads A Toxic Environment
53:08 - 54:20 Does Nervousness Help? @_pogbajunior
54:21 - 60:00 What’s The Difference Between an MLS Player And A Premier League Player @therealeldin
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Quincy Amarikwa (00:18):
Yes. If MSL fan page, what's going on. Poke Budd, jr. If you guys can hear me, give me some thumbs up spam that heart button and let me know Connor. What's going on, brother Connor Johnson joined in as well to tell you what's going on, Joe Jackson. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome Matt. Good to see you. Real salt Lake mean said salt Lake needs to fire Dell Loy Hansen. Yeah, I think I just recently saw some of the news. That's coming out from everybody over there and what's going on on that side? Uh, David. Oh seven. It's lit what's up? Uh, Joe Jordan, uh, Timmy pig. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. What's going on everybody? Good to see everybody as always.
Quincy Amarikwa (01:08):
Oh man. There's a lot of, uh, there's a lot of stuff. There's a lot of stuff going on in this new cycle. Um, in MLS for most of, most of you guys, have you been, been paying attention to what's going on? Uh, I think in MLS these last couple of days and then, um, just international in general, a fossa David Davies is a champions league winner. Yes, I did hear about that. I didn't watch the game, but I saw, I think they said the game ended up one zero, uh, RSL meme said much love Quincy. Thanks a lot, brother. Appreciate that. And Connor said it's 2:00 AM in the morning UK. Call it in from the UK. Love seeing that, uh, pug bus said I'm in Jamaica, under quarantine. Hey, we're all in it together. Uh, trippin Carlos, what's going on. Welcome. No context. Dillon dropped by what's up everybody.
Quincy Amarikwa (02:04):
Hey, it's good to see everyone. Uh, I'd like to welcome everybody to another episode of the hashtag ask a soccer pro show. I believe we're on episode 85. We're rolling on our way to episode 100. You guys know what it is. Every Thursday 6:00 PM. PST 9:00 PM EST. We go live here on the perfect soccer Instagram account to break down the M S L the mental strength Lee it's that mentality game of 40 chess that you're either an active participant or you are steady getting played. And every Thursday we break down the mentality that you need to be successful and accomplish your goals. And it is great to see everybody from the perfect soccer MSL community join in cause you know what it is, teamwork equals dream work. And, uh, you know what it is, this is your to get your questions answered from a, an Overdeck decades, long professional soccer player.
Quincy Amarikwa (03:04):
And, uh, I'm seeing all the questions starting to come in. So if you guys got questions, drop them in the chat in the chat box, we have a look over there on the chat box as usual, and the community is steady, engaging and having fun. So let's see, we'll start getting into it. Let's see. Uh, no context say Quincy. Did you see Western to Juventus? You vent this? No, I think I saw, I think I saw like an announcement for it, but I haven't been following that too much at all. So I couldn't give too much like feedback on that. I know a lot of you guys are huge. Uh, you're a lot of huge international fans and I respect that, but you guys know I'm a, I'm a U S I'm a U S player through and through, um, the real E L D I N said any advice for a young Stryker?
Quincy Amarikwa (04:00):
Um, yes, I think, uh, the Quicken straight to the point advice I could give any young Stryker is, um, uh, forget quickly, right? Uh, you're gonna make a lot of mistakes. You're going to, you're going to miss a lot more, uh, shots than you're ever going to make and coming to terms with that. But knowing that, uh, making mistakes is part of the process and you've got to take shots to even have a chance to score. What was it? Um, I forget the quote by Michael Jordan, but, but, uh, I forgot the percent of what was, is yeah, I've drawn a blank, but it holds true it's space basketball and it holds true for whole shoe for soccer is full too. Right? Um, you're gonna, you're gonna miss way more than you make. And the more you miss the better you'll learn how to make the most of your opportunities. So that would be my, um, my advice for young Stryker, um, burner said, give it a Quincy. You've played in Europe. Yeah. I have played in Europe, but I haven't been signed to a team official in Europe. We played a lot of European teams have scored a lot of goals against European clubs have scored against Tottenham, Liverpool, uh, QPR, Westham, um, net score against man United. I think I might've had an assist against man United, not a goal. Um, who else?
Quincy Amarikwa (05:24):
Oh man, you guys make me think, did we play ass? I don't think we played Aston Villa. We didn't, we didn't play Asheville. I think we'd watch them. So there's a couple, uh, on the European side and then a lot on, uh, Mexican league Santos, white bla um, some decent clubs. Let's see, we got here. Philly, union memes joined in what's going on Glen King. Welcome to the live Erin
Quincy Amarikwa (05:58):
Flowers. What's going on, brother? I don't know if you're still in the live, but welcome. Yeah, John Hollinger said you miss a hundred percent of the shots. You don't take that as fact, no context. Dylan Dylan said the same as well to you. You guys know what I'm talking about. A Nunez welcome. What's going on. Uh, Philly union meme said, we need you. I appreciate that. Um, okay, so this is, uh, this is interesting. Uh, the real Elden said, I feel my midfielders are part of the reason I don't score as much as I should. Am I being arrogant or do you believe a bad Mayfield, negatively affects forwards? I think a poor midfield can affect your ability to create, to have opportunities, but, um, your ability to make it easier on your midfielders to get you the ball and good spaces and your ability to take advantage of the opportunities that you do get is on you.
Quincy Amarikwa (06:49):
So, um, if you're too focused on what everybody's not doing for you, uh, you're not focusing on how you can do more for yourself. And, uh, you're gonna play on teams where you're the best player you'll play on the teams where you're the worst player. You, you have all the resources, you have no resources, um, and as you guys know, adapt or die, so you gotta find a way to adapt. And, uh, the mentality here is to figure out ways in which we can take, take, uh, ownership of, uh, the things that are holding us back and, uh, use that to our advantage. So hopefully that's more helpful on that David, uh, piano three said, so I'm a Stryker. And would you recommend for a circuit to be on the I'm a striker and would recommend for a striker to be a ball handler or distributor?
Quincy Amarikwa (07:36):
I mean, that comes down to the way you like to play the game, but not only the way that you'd like to play the game, the, um, the system of play, you're a part of like, what is your coach wanting out of you at your position? What's the formation that you're playing? Um, that's, you know, that's important. Uh, Connor said, uh, Rio, the TCU scored against, Oh, that's true. I did, I did score against them. I'm not sure what lead they're in. If you know that that'd be helpful. Okay. Aaron's still still on the live. What's going on, bro. What's been new on your side of the world. Uh, scrumptious soccer said, ripples need you more a eventually guys, I think it's just taken. I think it's just taking everybody time to understand the MSL. And, uh, once they, once they do those offers will come beating down the door. Uh, since the Miemer said, coinci, uh, everyone's dropping their mind and your head emojis love seeing that spam in that heart, but in a Lolita. Okay. Illegally, we, uh, the screen, you guys said the screen is black and you sure camera's black. Is that true?
Quincy Amarikwa (08:46):
Also, Uh, yo Serita join. What's going on? Uh, I was going to show you guys some, some of the photos. So like, like I told you, we've been working on a couple of other products and stuff. This is the new mini match, the new mini match ball, but we have to, we have to update and fix it because we, we made the, uh, the, the point, the part where you put the, the, the, the air in is way too big. So we're, we're going back to the drawing board and fixing that so that, uh, it fits into the ball. Well, but I'm used for the mini balls. We've got them on a preorder on the actual website. So if you guys are wanting to get yourself a perfect soccer match, mini ball, um, I'm most excited for this. This is what I've been using. I've been using the mini ball for pretty much a majority of all my, um, off season free agency training so that I am dialed in and ready to go when I join my next club.
Quincy Amarikwa (09:42):
So yeah, I thought you guys would like, like to have a look at that, check that out, uh, uh, AA dot Nunez said, have you ever thought about playing USL? Yes, I have. And I am, um, I'm very open to that and, um, just got to have the right, uh, the right opportunity to present itself, but I'm, uh, I'm very optimistic as to the speed at which things are going to come together here soon. Like I told you guys, maybe I think it was an episode or two episodes ago. I said, I'm getting that feeling that you get when, um, something is Bruin and something on its way. So, um, I'm feeling as though the wait for at least a, a move here in the immediate future will be, uh, over here soon. Uh, a Nunez had North Carolina FC,
Quincy Amarikwa (10:35):
Uh, Let's see, uh, AC florist at Santa Cruz, burn instill just doing work and listening to your smooth, sweet voice spit in soccer terms. I know nothing about, I love that. Uh, we're, we're bridging that gap, man. So we, we use the, the, the game of soccer, the game of football, and then tie that in with the mentality to accomplish your goals both on and off the field. A lot of the things that are necessary for being successful in the business world and just in the world in general, and on the, on, on the field are very similar. I think sports is a great, uh, vehicle to teach valuable life lessons
Quincy Amarikwa (11:19):
Here. So tell me, uh, tell me a valuable life lesson, the game of food ball, the game of soccer has taught you, uh, Edgar, welcome to the live. Great to see you soccer, God 10 joined in, got to have faith soccer joined as well to, uh, Yocelyn Saucito what's up. What's up. Let's see what we got here. Okay. Taya had asked, do you have any advice on being more aggressive? So if you're, if you're a player who isn't necessarily aggressive, but you want be more aggressive and more assertive, I'd say it's always best to be true to you, to who you are. If you want to be someone who's more aggressive. I think what you really mean by that is you want to have more confidence in yourself and, um, and you want people to feel and see that confidence. And I think the best way to go about doing that is to get really, really good at one thing, and really focus in on the one thing that, you know, without fail, you are good at without a shadow of a doubt where, where if someone told you you're not good at it, you can confidently look at them.
Quincy Amarikwa (12:28):
And even in your mind, if not saying to their face, you're full of crap, you know what I mean? Cause I know I'm good at this. I know that this is what I I'm. This is the thing that I know someone couldn't tell me I'm not good at. And I think that gives you a great foundation to build from. Um, now if you don't have that one thing that you're good at, then, then you want to find the one thing you you're most passionate about working on and dedicate the time to perfect your craft at that. So it does become the thing that, you know, you're really good at, right. But, um, that's that's would, would be my suggestion on being more aggressive cause you, you don't want it to be a fake aggression. You want it to be, uh, a, um, an authentic aggression and that comes out, um, as a result of having confidence in, in, in who you are and what you stand for. Uh, let's see, uh, Joe Jackson said soccer has taught me that if you dwell on your mistakes, you will miss valuable opportunities. That is a very good life lesson. What, uh, is there a specific moment or experience you had in the game that, that created that moment for you? Or has it kinda been just, uh, everything? Just the experience overall?
Quincy Amarikwa (13:46):
Yeah. Okay. So Kendall, uh, dot cox.soccer asks, how often, and how far do you run on your, on your off days? So in season and out of season are very different. So your individual program is contingent upon where you're at in your season, your age, uh, the level you want to get to. But I would say on, um, on my days off in my off season, my runs are, as of late, I really focus this off season on creating a very solid base for stamina and long distance and endurance. So long distance for me is anything over, uh, over a mile. I'm a, you know, I'm more of an explosive player, uh, short distances sprinting, but I really wanted to focus on, on building a base where I had a solid, solid stamina. So this past year, uh, much of my training has been, um, uh, maintenance and increasing my overall, my over stamina and my physique and my shooting technique.
Quincy Amarikwa (14:49):
So the way in which I approached the, um, having said all of that, uh, most of it has been runs in the realm of like two to three and a half miles, um, every other day, then with a bodyweight circuit that that follows. Uh, but that's been very solid, um, for me, because that has been my, um, my base for what, well over nine or 10 months now. So with, with that base in place, these, these last couple was last week or so has been, am ramping it up. And, uh, with that in mind, the, the sprinting aspect will start to be engaged here as well, too. So, um, I'm actually, after this, after this live, I'm going to go and do my, my workout for today. Cause I hadn't gotten, I haven't gotten to it yet because these last two days is for those of you who've been following the MLS is back, um, tournament.
Quincy Amarikwa (15:47):
And now the kind of return to play, um, the players, the entire player pool, uh, I think it was, it was called a boycott, but it's essentially a strike. Um, cause they, they canceled, they postponed and canceled the games in solidarity with the MBA. So yo Kevin, what's going on bro. Welcome to the live. Thanks for stopping by. Um, how are things on your end for those of you guys don't know, Kevin just got his first official start. Uh, MLS start. I want to say it was last week, right, Kevin. Um, so make sure you guys are following Kevin, giving him a shout out and congratulating him on his first official professional start, um, with DC United. It's always great to see the, uh, the old teammates stopping by and saying what's up, especially some young talent that's on the rise.
Quincy Amarikwa (16:50):
Well, I think there was more that was coming in from you guys. Okay. Joe had said it's it's collective. I found that I dwell on mistakes too much and there are plays when I do and could have won the ball back or gotten into a position to create an opportunity. Got you. Yeah. And that's gonna, that's part of the game, man. That happens a lot. That's gonna happen a lot. Uh, uh, use of said everything feels so good when you're playing well healthy. Uh, just like, uh, just like life if everything's going right. Okay. And said that boy Quincy, how you doing first? Start again since he, yes sir. That's what's up brother? Yeah, no, that's that's dope. Uh, one of many more to come in, keep doing your thing. I love, I love watching you play and um, and your approach, uh, man's absorbs info like a sponge.
Quincy Amarikwa (17:47):
So you better watch out, uh, Mathias underscore Anderson asked tips for being a captain of a team. I think being a captain can be a difficult, a difficult task, but if you are, if you are a leader and you're someone who wants to take on that role or responsibility, in my opinion, the best way to, to do that job is to be honest with your teammates and honest with yourself. And that means sometimes people, especially your teammates, aren't going to like what you have to say, and they're not going to necessarily agree with you. But I think remaining being honest in where you stand and sticking to what you say will go very far with players. And if you take a shortcut with them, it will never result in, in helping you in the long run. And I think if you're, you're wanting to be a captain, that means you're wanting to be a leader. You're wanting to be a part and involved in the, in your organization for a long time. And I'm doing it that way, I think sets you up for success.
Quincy Amarikwa (18:59):
Let's see. Let me see. Uh, so let's see this, uh, yes, I've said honestly, I don't even have questions anymore. I just go do it without thinking twice on the field. Love that. How long did it take for you to get into that mental space? How many episodes did you have to be a part of? How many questions did you have? Did you come up with, I know life is we're always learning and there's going to be more questions in the future, but what allowed you to get into that, that mental space? Matea said. Awesome. Thank you Quincy. Of course, man. Thank you for the question and joining in on the live. Uh, let me see. I think Spanish boy, I think he dropped that question in the question box. Let me just go find it. Okay. So Spanish underscore boy seven said, do you have any advice on how to be more confident?
Quincy Amarikwa (19:59):
Um, and I think it just touched on that a little bit earlier, but yeah, confidence is usually the result of, of, uh, of, uh, of being very proficient at something, right? Having, having a solid understanding of yourself and what you are good at and the best way to get good at something is to, is to dedicate yourself to it. And um, and uh, and commit to the process. I think a lot of people's confidence wavers because their commitment to what they say that they'll do or that what they stand for waivers, um, confidence. And I talked about it before. Confidence is like, is like that that muscle is ready to go always. And you're never going to pull your muscle or the muscle doesn't need to be worked out over time and grow in strength over time. But that's really what confidence is. And if you look at it like that, the only way you build up muscles over time is by being consistent in working out and what you do over time.
Quincy Amarikwa (21:06):
Now you can plateau in your confidence, just like you can plateau with the strength program that you have, but when you hit that level or you hit that area, then that's your opportunity to get creative and to challenge yourself and to grow in your thinking, but also in your, your confidence in, in yourself, right? Cause you get to challenge yourself in new ways. So I think that that's, that's the way to go about thinking about it. If, if you want to create, create kind of a system that allows you to continually build confidence over time. Um, his, he has said for me, confidence comes from visualization and meditation. That's decent. How long have you been doing that for? You have been jamming, just drop dead. What's going on? Braking. Welcome. Welcome CSP. Got here. Scroll back up.
Quincy Amarikwa (22:22):
Let's see this. Since the memer said, I think I'm too aggressive because I get cards constantly got any tips on how to get less. Um, are they strategic cards? Are you getting cards because you're just making emotional decisions and letting your anger or frustration dictate your decision making on the field. Cause that's, that's very important distinction to make, like if those are tactical fouls and tactical, uh, tactical, uh, uh, yet tactical tackles that are resulting in yellows, I'd say, okay, well, as long as you're you're aware of what you're doing and why, and it's for the tactical advantage of the game. And that's the rule that you're, you're, you've been requested or asked to, to play, or that's the brand of game that you want to play for yourself. Cause that's what you believe in then do you think, right. But if you're, if you're getting a lot of cards because you're not able to have any emotional control over yourself, then that would be something I think you need to spend some time self-reflecting on investing a little bit of your energy into the three S's of self-awareness yo shut up. Perfect cyber skills.com/sss. Any one of you guys can drop that down in the comments or in the chat little pin that, but I think you gotta spend a little time on the three SS man, a little self reflection, self awareness, and understand how
Quincy Amarikwa (23:46):
You keep getting yourself into those situations. And if you believe that that is to your advantage, not only in the short term, but also the long term, uh, since the memer is, is practicing that first core value of self honesty, he said mostly anger. Okay. So then that is, that's a great first step in recognizing the anger is the result of that. Anger can be a very valuable asset and tool that you can use to motivate yourself to, you know, be more aggressive in play, play a more, you know,
Quincy Amarikwa (24:21):
Committed style and brand of, of, uh, of soccer. So I, I don't think that anger is a bad thing, um, unless it's not used strategically, right? So anger is energy. Anger is a force and you can use that force for good, right? Like for instance, uh, the players in the league were angry with the, the continual events that are coming to happen and the lack of accountability that the MLS has for sticking to and doing things that it says it's going to do. And that drove players to focus that anger and energy into doing something positive and productive now positive is subjective, but positive in the moment, in the sense of solidarity in standing in, um, in support of each other, by boycotting or in, um, uh, postponing these games, that's a very, uh, positive use of anger, right? Um, so I don't want to underestimate or undersell or, or, you know, say that anger is wrong and that's not the way that you should play the game.
Quincy Amarikwa (25:31):
Everyone plays the game that they choose to play the game. I would just caution or share or advise, uh, players out there who, you know, where their heart on their sleeve. Do you play the game very emotionally or an emotional state to spend their free time practicing how to, uh, how to, um, learn to manage and have more emotional control. Uh, Ben Jammin said, learn the MSL that will fix it. You are correct. And the first place you want to start is with Joe, put it over here, we're going to pin it to the bottom. Perfect soccer skills.com/sss, you guys already know what it is. I'm loving this Serina said, Serena said, what actions do you feel the league should take based on what is currently transpiring? I think the league needs to stop playing both sides. And I think the league needs to stop sitting on the fence and stop saying that they stand for something when it's clear that they stand for anything that is in the benefit of them in the current moment, Don is flip-flopping and everything that he says, always the statements from the league are always extremely generic.
Quincy Amarikwa (26:47):
And it's blatantly clear, at least to me, that it's an attempt to please everybody always and what we, or everyone should at least understand and know is doing. That is a guaranteed way to make sure that you make everyone angry eventually, right? Like you can't please everybody and, and standing up for what you believe in doesn't mean you're always going to be right, but it, but it means you're consistent and you're holding yourself accountable to what it is that you say you believe. And I think that that's vitally important in leadership and on top of being a leader, when you get it wrong, acknowledging that you got it wrong and then making a commitment to getting it right, but also doing the work to make that happen. And recognizing that when you get it wrong, you typically have a lot more work to do to make up for the wrong that you did, but it doesn't mean you can't make it right, but you won't make it right.
Quincy Amarikwa (27:48):
If all you do is figure out ways in which you can not take personal responsibility, not take the blame, shift the blame and pointed towards others and other people. And I think we know how many we've talked about this for a very long time. And I need to think about which episode I talked about this about, I don't know, might've been episode 40, 40, 50, or I'm just saying like, there's a massive lack of accountability in the U S soccer system. And the reason for that is because taking accountability has never been something that results in a positive outcome or result for yourself in the history of soccer. And that's because us soccer is a pay-to-play system. It is a closed system. The MLS is a single entity system. There hasn't been any pro relegation, which means there is no accountability for clubs to do well.
Quincy Amarikwa (28:45):
And that has been a huge asset to the league in the past because it gave the league time to build to a point where people could feel confident in investing in soccer in America. There's a market here. There's a, there is buy in here. There are investors who are part of this. We are well past the time of zero accountability. Having said that people have yet to see what accountability looks like in the U S soccer system. And that's why I believe the black players for change organization is so valuable. They are at the forefront of showing people what accountability looks like. It doesn't mean you agree with the stance that people take or the actions that they take or what they do, but everyone can get on board with being consistent and standing for what you believe in. That's what America is built on.
Quincy Amarikwa (29:39):
That's what America is supposed to be. That's what the ideals of, of, of being here is supposed to be about. And everyone will have their own idea as to how you create that for yourself. But I think that's something as Americans, we can all rally around in and agree upon. And I think that only comes with remaining consistent and, um, that's been difficult for people to do because those who've been rewarded a lot in the past, at least in my experience have been those who, who do play the fence and who don't take a stand and who don't don't don't hold themselves accountable to the things that they say that they're going to do. Um, but yeah, good question. Yeah, lots have been going on and I'm seeing a lot of things that are, that I believe to be positive, but also a lot of things that I'm seeing that are really disappointing me with the actions that many individuals are choosing to take during these times. Um, let's see what we got here. Uh, Joe Jackson had said, you can use the anger to strengthen your game and put it towards a heightened energy, or you can allow it to make you run around like a headless chicken. That is, that is correct. Um, let's see, get here.
Quincy Amarikwa (31:02):
Um, got how can players better differentiate better anger for good aim. Anger for bad. Okay. That's a good question. Anger for good. And this is different. This is difficult. Cause we've talked about it. Good and bad are subjective. Right? I can look at something and say it's bad, but I could also argue how it's good. So for instance, um, it's raining today. Oh, this is bad. We can't go outside and play. It's rainy today. It's been a drought for over a year and we haven't had any water. Oh, that's good. So that's my point in terms of it's subjective. Um, and context is the context is key context is the most important thing in any process, because context is what you use to come to an understanding. And you guys know that everyone's over here trying to understand, and I'm just trying to stand under.
Quincy Amarikwa (31:52):
So if you, you down to the MSL, you know what I'm talking about. But, um, so with that context, right? So I'm setting context before I answer questions. I think that's important. Cause a lot of people either understand the value of context and they don't include it so that they can have their own agenda or narrative for your words, or they don't understand the importance of context and their narrative and their words are taken out of context and they're not seeing and understanding how that's negatively impacting them and the people around them. So again, setting context so that I can answer this question specifically, um, within the context of better anger for good or anger for bad, the question really comes down to what are, what is the, what is the goal you're wanting to accomplish and good for you? Good for the people that you want it to be good for or good. How you think it's good for other people.
Quincy Amarikwa (32:52):
Those are all questions you need to answer before. You can really decide if your anger is being directed towards good or bad, because everyone tends to think that what they're doing is good. So if there's only two ways you can go right or left, everyone's going the way that they think is best for them and best for those around them and best to accomplish their goals. So we have to acknowledge that good and bad is only something we really can know for sure after something has happened. And we're looking back on it. That's when people say hindsight is 2020, right? So we're in the moment, but we look to history to decide if we've made the right decision or not. And if we look to history and we look at what happened and we're happy with what happened or the result of it, we may continue to do today, what we've always been doing. But there's no way for us to really know if what we're doing was the thing that caused history to happen or not. Right. We just have a belief. We have a belief in the process, our role in it. And I think the more that people believe and understand that the power they have as an individual to make decisions for the better of the people around them and by looking at it that way they can make it better. Uh, it in, in an eventually comes back around to making it better for themselves.
Quincy Amarikwa (34:33):
That's where I think the anger becomes good anchor or bad anger, right? Like understanding we're in it together. Whether we want to be or not, we're in it together. We're, we're in, we're the decisions that I make will influence you. The decision you make will influence me. There'll be different levels of influence to me and to you. And usually it's, people's positions in this moment that dictates what they do or don't do. Um, but I think if you lose sight of the fact that your individual decisions will impact those around you and those who you don't even know in some way, eventually it will allow people to, to, to move forward with an understanding of the power that you have as an, as an individual. And I know I kinda went, I went a little bit on a little journey with that on there, but that was a good question.
Quincy Amarikwa (35:33):
But one that's very deep philosophical and probably requires a little bit more than just like, you know, three or four minutes to answer. But hopefully that gets a better, better for that. Um, Quincy for Hartford athletic. I'm not sure which club that is. Uh, Ben said, this is the philosophical episode. Uh, I'd have to agree with that one. I said, there's been a lot of things that have been happening in this last couple of days that have really, uh, forced me to self reflect as to what's been going on more quickly than typical. Um, so, uh, John said more context, more slash better understanding. Got that.
Quincy Amarikwa (36:29):
Uh, kinda no context. Dylan said, I have no context though. A, but like I also said, we're in this together. So all contexts, no context, perfect balance bro, yin and yang. Like I said, whether you like it or not, we're in it together, bro. And that is, uh, I guess that's the moral of this human experience story that we're, we're currently riding on with that MSL wave. And I'm happy to have you guys along for the ride. Um, let's see, what's going on, Paul welcome. Uh, Congress said they playing USL championship. Uh, Ben said, are you holding up? Okay. With, with everything happening the past few days, I'm holding up, man, I'm holding up. But I'm, I am disappointed in a lot of the actions and decisions I'm seeing people make, uh, not so much that people, everyone has the right to make their own decision and they're going to make the decision they feel is best for them.
Quincy Amarikwa (37:37):
And everyone's on their own journey of learning and understanding. But it still doesn't mean that it still doesn't mean that the actions people take and what they choose to do can't or won't be disappointed, you know? Uh, but that also I can, then I look at that as I can look at that as me coming into coming into it, or at some point getting to a point where I have an expectation of an outcome. And when you do that now, you're, you're, you know, you're now I guess, emotionally tied to something and being emotionally tied to things is, is good. And it it's important. Um, but it's recognizing and understanding that and knowing that things, most likely, aren't always going to pan out the way that you plan. But most times they, they, they, they come out and work out much better than you could have ever planned.
Quincy Amarikwa (38:39):
So I don't, I don't say it with the, as a, as a, as a longterm or overall negative, but it does mean that in the moment there will, there are down times, there are down moments, there are the laws and the, the parts of the process that aren't fun that you don't enjoy. And, uh, you know, that's just the game. That's just life. I think if you guys go look at my Instagram account, you'll see. When I had posted back in, probably, I don't know when it was, maybe it was March or something. I hit a pretty low point. Um, after training, after just, you know, doing some individual training and that's the low point of the process where you know, that you're not even close to being to the promised land or the end and you know, how much work you have to do to even give yourself a chance.
Quincy Amarikwa (39:28):
And you know, that giving yourself a chance might not even be enough, but you still have to do the work to even get there to see for yourself. And, uh, that's why we talked about the MSL. You know what I mean? That's mentality that takes time, uh, to build, but it's, it's just a commitment and dedication to the lifestyle and, um, accepting the accepted in the highs, but also accepting the lows. But that's a appreciate, appreciate the question. Let's see, we got another one here of, uh, how do you better recognize when you are shifting the blame on others? Okay. How do you better recognize when you're shifting the blame on others?
Quincy Amarikwa (40:16):
I think, Okay. I'm thinking about that. Cause that's a, that's a skillset I think. And I think it's one that you develop over time, the way in which I look at it is I'm saying like your first inclination is to look for why it's someone else and why it's someone else's fault things aren't working out. Right. Especially if that's all you can see, but once that happens and that's a natural process that happens just mentally. Cause you want to assume it's not you first. So once I do that, then the next part is going, whoever it is, I'm blaming, I think about how that person could or could have been, or was right in what they did and right. And what they were doing was good because I haven't broken this down before. So when the, how they're right in what they're doing. So I talk a lot about in the past, when I say, you know, your opinion, isn't anywhere near as valuable or what happened having, if you can't argue or articulate the opinion of the opposing view or the opposing side, that's what I mean in terms of the blaming others, part of the process.
Quincy Amarikwa (41:28):
Right? So if like, if I go, uh, using the example of, uh, the forward, who talking about my midfielders, aren't good. And that's why I don't have opportunities and I can't score. And you saw what I thought about. And my first response was we'll look, that might be true. And they might not be good enough, but blaming them takes the power from you to be able to do anything other than hope and pray that they get better. And then when they get better that they get you the ball, so you can be successful. And the question then becomes, why would that person do that for you? Why would they be willing to do that? And why would they be committed to doing that? And
Quincy Amarikwa (42:09):
That's a question I think most people don't ask themselves. And most of the time people come to the conclusion like, well, they should because that's their job. Their job is to get me the ball or their job is to do this. And then the question becomes like, what if that's not the job that they want? What if they, the job that they want is your job. Then it may, would make sense that they don't do their job that they have now. Well, because that gives more chances that they have an opportunity in the future to step into your job. And I think that is the game of politics that happens at the professional level that most players don't fully tap into or understand. Mmm.
Quincy Amarikwa (42:52):
But that also ties into the context of understanding when shifting the blame, when you're shifting the blame on others, it comes into play because you you're thinking about when and how doing so benefits you or hurts you. And then when you have that understanding, balancing between knowing when is the best time to do that, and when is the best time to not do it, and that comes with experience. So we're talking about some really high, higher level or deeper level things when it comes to the game relative to just like personal self development, which is dope. I enjoy this. If you guys are having fun with this keeps spamming that heart button and drops Miami and your head emojis. Um, this is more some like this is more getting in line with a class, some classic Assa soccer pro show episodes, where there are more philosophical, riff episodes. Mmm.
Quincy Amarikwa (43:48):
But yeah. And even if anybody's got, if, if you guys are riding with me on that, if that's given clarity, if you've got more like specify specific questions to that, but That's how I recognize. I recognize it in the moment. And I think many people, it might take them a little bit of time to recognize it. Um, but I, I almost think it's more just a practice. It's like the moment I'm thinking of blaming or I blame someone, I immediately didn't go, okay, well, let's, let's argue on the side of the person I'm not happy. And I Try to argue the best case I possibly can for that person
Quincy Amarikwa (44:29):
To the point that I'm wrong. At least it's a stalemate and I can at least move forward, respecting the person's choice or their decision and doing it that way means you can get really deep and go really far to find a way to find common ground. And I think a lot of people just don't do that because it's a lot of work to do that. It's much easier to just go that person's dumb, this person's stupid. They don't know what they're talking about. I'm right. And I'm going to continue moving forward, believing, believing such. Right.
Quincy Amarikwa (45:05):
Yeah. And I think what tying to the question about how, how I'm holding up and where I talked about a little bit about like my disappointment and things that I'm seeing, it's, it's realizing how far individuals will go to avoid personal, taking personal responsibility or accountability for, for things. And I, and I don't just mean other people. I mean, myself as well to you, you know? And, uh, then it begs, you begs the question of like, okay, what has to happen? And what do you need to see before you, you recognize the error in your ways, or, or at least have a willingness to find common ground, um, find common ground. And I think that's what, that's, what can get difficult along the line, along the way, and along the process, because that's, that's, what's the, that's the unknown. And that's what we talk about here. How to, you know, how to maintain beliefs during times of uncertainty and the unknown. And I'm loving that, seeing everybody dropping the I'm in your head emojis, but Judah dropped it. Uh, Ben Jammin, Joe Jackson, John Hollinger, uh, I'll drop in them. I'm in your head emojis, um, been a long day or a long couple of days.
Quincy Amarikwa (46:42):
Uh, Ben said, that's why we have the MSL though. We can get through the lows and we will get through, uh, the lows. That is correct. And that's where we've got the community here. And I love joining you guys every Thursday, 6:00 PM, PST 9:00 PM EST and, uh, and sharing with the community. Um, let's see, um, Quincy, do you think perfect soccer will train some soccer agent in order to sign some good talent all over the world? Um, I think with how I'm seeing stuff kind of playing out, I do see, I do see us having like an agency arm eventually, but what I do know, you know, that requires
Quincy Amarikwa (47:30):
A lot of work. Um, a lot of behind the scenes conversations and, and, um, you know, that's a tall order. Um, I'm not opposed to it, but I do prefer kind of mentoring guys and helping them along the way, um, and teaching them how to kind of represent themselves or at least get most of the groundwork going.
Quincy Amarikwa (47:52):
Mmm. Yeah. So they can maximize opportunities for themselves, but, uh, you know, going about doing that full time and go about doing that full time and making that like a career thing. Um, I'm not fully there yet With stuff. Um, little, one thing bumped his head.
Quincy Amarikwa (48:16):
Uh, do you think leadership that lacks the skill lacks, this skill set is what breeds a toxic environment? Yeah, I think that's what breeds a toxic environment eventually like lack of accountability, lack of an ability, uh, of a willingness of, of leadership to take, take responsibility for something and blame is what ultimately breeds breeds of just toxic environment that is not fun for anyone and everybody, and to kind of flush out that toxicity and move make your way through the system. Um, requires a lot of, uh, a lot of work and a lot of work in, and very few people are willing to do that work, which is why it ends up taking a lot longer than it should because, uh, you know, accountability is a skill set that everybody has and something that everybody's capable of doing. Um, but not everybody ops into doing so.
Quincy Amarikwa (49:10):
And, and usually that's because they don't see any, any examples of, or they don't see enough examples of when and where taking responsibility and accountability actually results in a positive outcome for somebody. So I don't say that without understanding why most people don't do it. Um, I understand that most people don't do it because most people aren't rewarded for doing so, uh, most people are rewarded for taking advantage of the situation and the people around them and, and, uh, you know, stepping on all the heads to get to the top of the mountain. Uh, but I think that the time of that is kind of had its day. And I think, um, you know, as more and more people in the MSL mentality and more and more of you guys join in and share the podcast and the, and the mindset and the ideas with your friends and family and, and, uh, rep those, those MSL shirts and hats and invest in the brand with your time.
Quincy Amarikwa (50:06):
Um, and, uh, a couple of dollars cause you know what it is an investment in perfect, soccer's an investment in yourself will be able to kind of speed up that process and, and, um, and bring this to more people so that they can see examples of, uh, they can be, see examples of success being a result of personal responsibility and personal accountability. So, uh, everybody who joins in consistently and participates and ask questions and shares, shares their thoughts and insights, um, you're, you know what I mean, you're a huge advocate for the brand. You're a huge part of the process. And I really appreciate, I appreciate the, you know, the work that you guys do and your willingness to share what you've learned with others and share the account and share your favorite clips and, and practice what, uh, or at least test some of the ideas and things that I've learned from my personal mistakes over time.
Quincy Amarikwa (51:02):
Um, it's great seeing when you guys come back with other questions and, uh, different experiences, it, uh, it's what, what keeps me going, you know, so I think, uh, these last couple of days or week, especially, um, just I've been starting to get, you know, a couple more messages from people that I, um, uh, maybe had worked with or spoke to several years ago and kind of hearing where they're at as a result of some of the stuff that we did before it's been a, it's been encouraging and, um, you know, I'm, I'm hoping it's the first of many more, Uh, Braheem said, thanks, bro. For the answer, of course, uh, Paul said consistency is key. Uh, Ben said, if someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in, in any thought or action, I shall gladly change. I seek the truth, which never harmed anyone in the harm is the, is to persist in one's own self deception and ignorance Marcus a release. Is that right? Or are you a U R E L a U S?
Quincy Amarikwa (52:20):
Yes. John Hollinger said 100, 100%. Yo, I think I got about five more minutes before IgE is going to kick me off here, but it's been a great episode. I love seeing everybody hanging, hanging in for the majority of the show. Um, I feel like everyone's mental strength and stamina has been increasing with each passing week. The number of you guys who sticks on for the entirety of the show, um, consistently grow. So it's awesome to see. Um, let's see. I said sometimes when I have competitions, I somehow play better when I'm a little nervous. Does that help? Yes, it can. You know, I think nerves is just kind of a, you know, the excitement of anticipation of what's to come. So you probably, if you do better when you're bit nervous, just because
Quincy Amarikwa (53:26):
You've been putting in the work and you're excited to prove, prove what you've been working on and what you're doing. Um, yeah, yeah. A little nervous, a little nervous is good, but, uh, you know, like extreme anxiety in, in, in worry that can kind of maybe come down to you. Um, a lack of preparation I've been said my high school history teacher shared that to his story today is decent. Um, uh, let's see the real Dylan or den den. What's the difference between an MLS player and a premier league player? Well, I'd say, I'd say at least as of today and right now, um, the premier league players who have played with, um, over the course of my career, who, you know, who made the transition from the prem over to MLS, I would say the difference between them and player and the prim player tends to be that most of the prem players started at a higher level of like training and soccer school and understanding then most MLS players, at least currently, I think that's in the process of kind of changing now.
Quincy Amarikwa (55:01):
And won't be so much the case maybe, you know, like 10 years from now. But as of right now, the thing that I really saw as the difference between MLS players and the European guys who came over here, especially like a little bit earlier in my career, not as much now was that they just had a better, you could tell that they had been studying the game from a lot younger age. So it's not that it's not that we can't, or couldn't learn the game as well as them. It's just that they had a headstart in a lot of that stuff. So, so, so I think that's what, that's what gave me a frame of reference to like really dive even deeper into like the tactics and, and the, that side of the game. Um, and just understanding the psychology of players, because I just, I realized like, okay, well, that's where they have an advantage in a head start, but it doesn't mean that you can't learn what they learn. You just might have to spend a little bit more time or, uh, take a different approach to compete with them. And then I'd say that's like, kind of on the tactics and IQ side. And then on the, on the, the technical side, I would just say repetition, like they're doing more repetitions from a younger age and spending more hours doing stuff. So naturally technically, um, like on a, um, on a scale there, they're going to produce
Quincy Amarikwa (56:24):
More players at a higher level than we're producing. Um, but like I said, that's, that's, that's changed. And I think that's only going to accelerate with everyone, seeing the success of Pulisic and, uh, um, Alfonso Davies. You know, I think the, the world of soccer and football is looking for ways to save money on investing in youth players. And I think if the world market is looking, the world market is definitely looking to America in a place to where you can get high quality players for pennies on the dollar, and you can easily develop them within your academies and systems. Cause typically if you get an American player young, young enough, um, the allure of playing overseas is enough to kind of get the guys who are really hungry to leave the country and be there. So the likelihood that they're going to be successful, I believe is a bit higher because of that.
Quincy Amarikwa (57:19):
And the guys who don't have that hunger or that mindset, aren't going to really, they're not going to leave. They're not gonna leave. Uh, the States, um, Joe said almost all the time, Quincy and other great live loved absorbing knowledge, have a great week. Thank you very much. You guys are correct. There's like two minutes left here. Um, everyone dropping them and you had emojis, Paul dropped nine when you had Ben dropping them in your head, what up? Uh, Z soccer hubs said, who's, who's the best Ronaldo or Messi and Ben said, or Quincy emoji face. And that is the right question, but yeah, this is dope. Uh, jaw dropped. I mean, you had emojis, uh, see everybody's spamming that heart button, uh, that, yeah, we've got two minutes. Yeah, I got a minute here before Instagram kicks me off, but uh, I appreciate everybody tuning in on the live.
Quincy Amarikwa (58:10):
I think this was, this was a good one. Uh, chill mode activated, um, philosophical mode, activated self-reflection mode activated. Um, I enjoyed you guys joining in loving everyone, seeing this spam, the heart button, dropping them in your head. Emojies girl said Quincy Earl verse Quincy and FIFA. I have not played FIFA in years, but I know I need to, I need to get back into it or get into some gaming. I know Dylan's been going live on the perfect soccer Twitch account. So if you guys haven't followed our Twitch account, make sure you go in and follow the Twitch account. Join in. I know he'll be streaming here. I think Friday and Saturday, I think he had said he's going to be going on there. So make sure you guys joined in to catch him on the stream, dropped him some comments in the chat. And I will see everybody here. Same time as always 6:00 PM. PST 9:00 PM EST. Thanks so much for everybody joining the live. And as always, you guys know what it is. I'm in your head. See you guys next week later.