Grant has an enlightening chat with former SI soccer writer Liviu Bird, who left journalism to start a career as a professional soccer coach. Bird shares his story of coaching Kitsap Pumas to surprise success in the U.S. Open Cup, taking his current jobs with Sounders Under-23 and Kitsap Alliance and the work he's currently doing to earn his UEFA A and U.S. Soccer B coaching licenses. Bird also details the advice he has gotten from coaches like Bob Bradley, Caleb Porter and Darren Sawatzky and explains why he thinks American players can be coached by those (like him) who revere Pep Guardiola. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices