A single mum couldn't afford a $25 goalkeeping clinic, or the petrol to get there. The coach running it told her: "He can come for free, and I'll pick him up." That kid was Tim Howard.
Tim Mulqueen — “Mulch” — spotted Tim Howard at 12 and coached him all the way to the MetroStars, Manchester United, Everton and the US national team. Mulch was on the US men's soccer staff at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and part of the Kansas City side that went from worst in the league to MLS Cup champions in 10 months.
He also spent his early career coaching the way he'd been coached: yelling, fear, players too scared to look at him. In this conversation he shares the question that made him change his approach, what an Olympic wrestler taught him about respecting the person you're about to compete against, and why he believes kids today are robbed of failure.
We also talk:
Why players will let you be demanding once they know you care about them
How a $25 clinic turned into a 30-year bond with one of the greatest goalkeepers in history
Why a goalkeeper "can only fail", and what that teaches anyone who performs under pressure
What he looks for when he recruits players around the world
Hunger & Heart is a podcast about the intersection of wild ambition and fierce compassion, hosted by Kaila Colbin | Raw Conversations with sports legends.