The United States men’s national team has an opportunity to make history on Monday night by reaching the World Cup quarterfinals in a game played on its home soil.
A ‘Full-Circle Moment’
With a win on Monday over Belgium, Team USA will be one of the ‘elite eight’ remaining in the World Cup, making it the furthest they’ve gone since 2002. John Harkes, one of the members of the 1994 USA team, believes this year is a ‘full-circle moment.’ Harkes is now a technical director at McLean Youth Soccer in Virginia and an assistant coach for the USA U15 team.
Harkes knows what the 1994 World Cup did to soccer, and he also knows how much more this year’s event can do. ‘That summer of ’94, it was incredible. It was unprecedented what we did in ’94, to be honest with you…’
Harkes wants respectful coaches to grow, as the sport grows. ‘We are building platforms for these kids to not just have fun and compete but to have life skills. We need to be mentors. It is a mentorship that you take on, and when you take on that responsibility, you are there for the player, you are there for the kids, and you’re also there for the parents too,’ Harkes said.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
