Kids on the Pitch (Scholastic and Youth Soccer in Western PA)
From the maker's of Pittsburgh Soccer Now comes a show all about scholastic and youth soccer across Western PA.
Five Questions with Plum HS Boys Soccer HC Raf Kolankowski
The high school soccer season is nearly at the halfway point of the regular season, so it's perfect time to get the Kids on the Pitch Podcast cranking up again.
Pittsburgh Soccer Now’s John Krysinsky is joined by Plum High School boys soccer coach, Rafal Kolankowski, to ask the same five questions he presented to 15 WPIAL boys coaches for PSN's new feature, Coaches Corner.
High School soccer is back with Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand
That's right, a new High School soccer season is getting ready to kick off!
That means the Kids on the Pitch Podcast returns for regular, ongoing episodes through the course of the Fall season.
To get started, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky sits down with Pine-Richland Boys and Girls Head Coach Jordan Wiegand, who is excited to talk about a loaded field of boys' schools -- both in the WPIAL and from outside the area -- who will take part in the 12-team JRK Memorial Classic.
John and Jordan also talk about numerous t...
Blair Gerlach on building club culture and success with Northern Steel
On the newest episode of this podcast, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky is joined by Blair Gerlach, who many in soccer circles in Western PA will know from his successful and ongoing tenure as Head Coach of Mars girls' soccer program.
What you may not know, is that Gerlach is also Director of Coaching and coaches a number of teams for Northern Steel, which has become an excellent club-based North of Pittsburgh. In addition, Northern Steel began a women's U23 squad under Gerlach’s leadership. Since that time, in the Ohio Valley Premier League, Northern Steel has becom...
High School Season is back with Pine-Richland’s Jordan Wiegand
Making a strong pitch for High School Soccer Champions League to come to Pittsburgh area with Jim Harte
On Thursday, PSN's John Krysinsky sat down with one of the leaders of the High School Soccer Champions League movement, Jim Harte, who shared more on how it came to be and some of the early successes that they've had in various metro areas, including Tampa Bay, FL, and St. Louis, MO.
WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Playoff Brackets are out (Part II w/ Beaver Area's Nick Crivelli, OLSH's Paige Petroval & Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand)
The Brackets are out!!
After the brackets were released on Wednesday, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky was joined on the Kids on the Pitch Podcast by some coaches to get their reaction to the seedings and talk about their chances and how the competition stacks up in the WPIAL Girls Playoffs.
Among the coaches who joined John and Matt include Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand, who will be coaching both the Boys and Girls programs in this year's playoffs, Beaver Area's Nick Crivelli and OLSH's Head Coach Paige Petroval.
WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Brackets are out (Part I w/ Moon's Tyler Blake & Plum's Raf Kolankowski)
The WPIAL Boys Soccer Playoff Bracket are out!
After the brackets were released on Wednesday, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky was joined on the Kids on the Pitch Podcast by coaches to get their reaction to the seedings and talk about their chances and how the competition stacks up in the WPIAL Boys Playoffs.
Class 4A top seed Plum's Head Coach Raf Kolankowski and Class 3A top seed Moon's Head Coach Tyler Blake joined John to discuss their team's each earning tops seeds in their respective tournaments.
Breaking down season opening week with Matt Popchock plus Plum Boys HC Raf Kolankowski
The high school soccer season got off to a running start with a weekend of opening season tournaments and non-conference action, then kept going through this week as section play has begun in some classifications.
Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky and Matt Popchock discuss some of what they saw this weekend at the JRK Memorial Classic, then were joined by Plum High School boys soccer coach, Rafal Kolankowski, to talk about the Mustangs' 1-0-2 start to the season against tough Class 4A competition.
High School soccer 2024 season is here with Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand
The Kids on the Pitch Podcast, returns for a special opening weekend of the High School soccer season edition, as PSN’s John Krysinsky is joined by Pine-Richland Boys Head Coach Jordan Wiegand.
This year, at the JRK Memorial Classic hosted by Pine-Richland boys soccer program, 10 high school boys soccer teams will get their 2024 seasons going against some tough competition.
John and Jordan discuss the return of the Classic and many topics including Pine-Richland's squad, the importance of playing tough competition right at the start of the season, WPIAL Class 4A's outlook, PIAA/WPIAL changes in...
Gearing up for WPIAL Soccer Finals, plus Quaker Valley senior forward Bennett Haas knows no boundaries
In the latest edition of Kids on the Pitch Podcast, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky provides a quick rundown of the WPIAL Soccer Finals, which kickoff on Thursday night, at Highmark Stadium, plus brings on Quaker Valley's senior forward, Bennett Haas, who has scored six goals in the past two matches to help lead the Quakers to the WPIAL Boys Class 2A Finals.
Haas shares his thoughts on the playoff experience thus far, his team's preparations for the District Championship game, but also opens up about being born deaf, and being one of the first-ever bilateral Cochlear I...
WPIAL Girls Soccer Playoff Brackets are out! Reaction with Ed Rosensteel and OLSH's Paige Petroval
The WPIAL Soccer Playoff Brackets were announced on Wednesday.
Shortly after the brackets were revealed, PSN's John Krysinsky and Matt Popchock went on the Kids on the Pitch Podcast -- and brought a few coaches on to the show for their reaction, as they connected longtime PSN colleague, and current Ringgold girls coach Ed Rosensteel and OLSH's Paige Petroval.
WPIAL Soccer Playoff Brackets are out! Reaction with Plum's Raf Kolankowski, Charleroi's Jon Ducoli (Part I)
Pittsburgh area native Tanner Rosborough is running with the Red Bulls
In the latest edition of the Kids on the Pitch Podcast, PSN's John Krysinsky catches up with Tanner Rosborough, who currently trains and competes with the Red Bulls Academy/NYRBII on an MLSNext Pro contract, has also been signed to join the senior team, NY Red Bulls on a MLS Homegrown contract in 2025.
Tanner discusses his soccer journey, which began at age four with Beadling Soccer Club, his development, experience playing with the Red Bulls Academy and in MLS Next Pro and with the US YNT U-15 squad in August.
North Catholic students Raise Awareness for 'Rise Again' and spinal cord illness; plus why HS soccer rankings mean little
When North Catholic boys soccer team hosts Mars in a key WPIAL Class 3A, Section 1 match at J.C. Stone Field in North Park, it will also serve as an awareness game to help bring attention to Rise Again a non-profit organization formed and started by a North Catholic family (the Browns) in honor of their son Alex, to support individuals with spinal cord injuries and the professionals that work with them.
On this special episode of Kids on the Pitch, PSN's John Krysinsky and Matt Popchock are joined by Alex Brown and North Catholic boys soccer...
High School soccer is back! Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand and South Park's TJ O'Brien on opening weekend tournaments
The Kids on the Pitch Podcast, presented by Glory on the Grass Tournaments, returns for a special opening weekend of the High School soccer season edition, as PSN's John Krysinsky and Matt Popchock are joined by Pine-Richland Boys Head Coach Jordan Wiegand and South Park Girls Head Coach T.J. O'Brien.
Glory On the Grass tournaments are in full swing, plus Ben Fiore on return to Kiski Area
We're back!
In the first episode of 2023, Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky brings on Kris Schemm, who is the founder of the Glory on the Grass 5v5 and 3v3 soccer tournaments, which are being played at various locations in and around Western Pennsylvania during the summer. Learn more about the unique, 5v5 and 3v3 competition, how it came to be and where there are still opportunities to play in our region in the coming weeks.
In addition, John interviews Ben Fiore, who has taken on a new coaching position at his alma mater, Kiski Ar...
Putting a bow on WPIAL/PIAA 2022 soccer season + 'A Beautiful Gift' project
PSN's John Krysinsky begins the pod by bringing on Lydija Amayo, a senior at Avonworth High School, who came up with a special name for a project that is very important to her and her family: 'The Beautiful Gift' -- as she's collecting soccer related donations for her family's native town Cajamarca, Peru. Lidija is hoping to collect donated soccer gear that she can bring to the kids at at Cristo Rey Maristas, the school where her uncle Juanaso is a physical education teacher. Lydija and her family will be visiting Cajamarca in February. Then, John takes another look back a...
WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Championship preview
PSN's John Krysinsky was joined by three coaches of teams that have reached this weekend's finals:
Pine-Richland boys' Jordan WiegandAmbridge boys' Ben FioreMount Pleasant girls' Rich GarlandThen, John is joined by Matt Popchock to talk more about the three matches he'll be covering (Boys Class 2A, Boys Class 1A and Boys Class 3A), before Jordan Smith joins them both (after getting back from doing stats at the Pitt men's game) as they held a rapid-fire takeaways and predictions session that included:
What was the toughest section across the WPIAL in Boys or Girls soccer this ye...WPIAL Soccer 2022 playoff brackets are out! (Part 2: Girls)
The WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer playoff brackets were released on Wednesday!
Shortly after, PSN's John Krysinsky and Brandon Rossi shared their reaction and spoke with a pair of coaches, Our Lady of Sacred Heart's Paige Petroval and Avonworth's J.C. Mahon, to get their thoughts on the seedings and their teams' prospects in the upcoming playoffs.
WPIAL Soccer 2022 playoff brackets are out! (Part 1: Boys)
The WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Playoff brackets are out!
John Krysinsky and Brandon Rossi shared their reaction and spoke with a pair of boys coaches for Part I of a two-part special podcast. Joining John and Brandon were Pine-Richland's Jordan Wiegand and Greensburg Central Catholic's Rob Fabean, to get their thoughts on the seedings and their teams' prospects in the upcoming playoffs.
Libby Mascaro 'leads with love' in crusade to promote Mental Health Awareness
Among the topics John and Libby tackled on this Podcast include:
Her thoughts on Mt. Lebanon's Mia Bhuta, who is playing with US Youth National Women's Soccer team at the U17 Women's World CupStigma associated with mental illness and disordersFemale athlete mental health (four young female athlete suicides this year)Her personal story and other personal storiesAddressing ongoing challenges for youth coaches, parents, soccer organizations and schools in mentoring, guiding and supporting young athletes and students.Resources to provide help and assistanceNAMI and AFSPNational Alliance on Mental Illness (website: https://www.nami.org/Home)
A...
North Catholic's Devin Paschall, Oliver Joseph and Marcus Kurtz
North Catholic's Devin Paschell, Oliver Joseph and Marcus Kurtz join PSN's John Krysinsky to talk about Muscular Dystrophy Awareness game when they take on neighboring Mars in a key WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 3A Section 1 showdown.
Plum High School boys soccer Head Coach Rafal Kolankowski
Kolankowski's Plum squad is off to a strong, 3-0-1 start after two weeks, including a big 2-0 win last Thursday against section rival Franklin Regional.
Among the topics discussed on the Kids on the Pitch podcast included:
Previewing WPIAL / PIAA Boys and Girls Soccer 2022 season
In our first episode of KOTP, we preview the 2022 WPIAL High School Soccer season.
PSN's Jordan Smith (who is also an assistant boys varsity and head JV boys coach at South Fayette) joins John Krysinsky to discuss the upcoming high school soccer season, the impact of this year's realignment, as they run through all classifications and sections ahead of the official start date of the season on Friday, August 26, 2022.
Jordan Weigand, who is entering his fourth season as the Head Coach of Pine-Richland boys, discusses Boys 4A realignment to just two 'mega-sections' and having just 16...
