Simply Sublime

On this episode, we sit down with Irish native, Kevin Treanor. Kevin grew up playing soccer in Monaghan before emigrating to the US in 1993 to San Francisco. After making his way to Boston, he started working behind the bar of a pub and ended up loving it. He opened the Phoenix Landing in 1995, just after the 94 world cup, and has built a beautiful community of football fans. Today, the Phoenix Landing has over 700 members of the Liverpool Supporter’s club in Boston and is one of the largest on the east coast. His unique position as a football pub owner has allowed him to see the ever changing landscape and growth of the beautiful game in the US. He talks about that culture and how its changed, and what his hopes for the future are for US soccer on both the mens and women’s sides. Listen in to hear some great stories and a beautiful Irish accent to go with it!

On this episode, Ian and Sarah interview Brittany Wilson Isenhour. Brittany is from Colorado and started playing soccer from a young age. She went to the University of Denver where she had a tremendous amount of success as the main goalkeeper all four years. She then continued her career as a professional playing for the Orlando Pride and then later for Angel City. While she was making a name for herself on the pitch, she also gained a large following off the pitch. Her community on social media platforms has grown tremendously and now has a following of 280k! We discuss her dream of becoming a professional player and the path that she took to get there. We also discuss the realities of a professional women's soccer player, and how her pursuit of content creation as an additional source of income became a necessity to earn a living. We dive into the reasons she announced her retirement earlier this year that shocked a lot of people and what life has been like since then. Brittany is open and honest and shares some great stories throughout her journey. As a content creator in the game, she shares how she feels a responsibility to her followers and how she is now a role model in so many more ways than just being a great goalkeeper. Tune in!

On this episode, Sarah and Ian dive into the offseason literally and figuratively. As Ian enters his offseason, we thought it was timely to unpack what that looks like. We discuss topics such as how long the offseason is, comparing US and overseas, the emotions going into an offseason, training regimens, time spent away from football, and much more. Listen in to our goofy, car ride conversation.

In this episode we sit down with employment attorney, Susie Cirilli. Susie went to school at the University of Vermont where she got her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching and played soccer for 4 years, captaining the team her Junior and senior year! She then attended Catholic University for Law, became an attorney, and is admitted in PA, NJ, NY, and VT. She litigates cases involving hostile work environments, discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, race and disability. She assesses issues surrounding pregnancy, sexual orientation discrimination and same sex harassment. We dive into topics such as the important differences between agents and lawyers, and whether agents have a fiduciary duty. We discuss the role of law in unions and CBA's and the recent developments in the NWSL. We also pose some fun questions on whether athletes should be paid overtime, if there should be a draft in US soccer, and much more. Susie is incredibly smart, energetic, and provided us with incredible insight and details that we would normally never think of as professionals in the sport.We can't wait for you to tune in.Links:Fair Labor Standards Act Wages and the Fair Labor Standards ActNon-Compete Clause FTC Issues Non-Compete Regulations — Employment LawSave America’s Pastime Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5580/text Promissory Estoppel promissory estoppelFiduciary Duty fiduciary dutyNWSL CBA Press Announcement NWSL and NWSLPA Agree to Historic Collective Bargaining Agreement Two Years Ahead of Expiration | National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL

In this episode, Sarah and Ian weigh in on the recent debate around match overload for players at the highest level. Players like Rodri, Mbappe, Carvajal, Son, and many more have been vocal about the amount of games they have to play per calendar year, saying that it isn't sustainable. They are arguing that the governing bodies of football are not putting players first and are trying to squeeze as much out of these big players and clubs in order to entertain and make money. As former and current pros we share our perspective on the new expanded formats of tournaments, the overloaded schedule, and the importance of protecting players. While players jobs at the end of the day is to perform, have the governing bodies of football been taking advantage of how much a player can take? This topic will be very interesting to follow in the coming weeks, so tune in!

On this episode, Sarah and Ian sit down with Suzanne McKenzie! Suzanne is an award-winning entrepreneur, Chief Creative Officer and designer, passionate about using design and collaboration to make the world a better place.She is Founder and CCO of Able Made, the Original Off Pitch Soccer Style brand that combines soccer-inspired apparel and accessories with responsible manufacturing and giving back.Suzanne's 24 years of experience includes work in the advertising and design consultancy worlds for numerous national and global brands, including Tom Ford, Timberland, Puma, Supergoop with Maria Sharapova, the Olympic Games, ESPN, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Titleist, and many more leading brands. Suzanne’s Purposely Podcast on iheartradio features conversations with her Able Made creative collaborators on how they help build stronger communities.Suzanne has been on the jury for numerous international design award shows, including the 2022 One Show and the Ad Club. She was selected and recognized at the White House by President Obama as a Global Emerging Entrepreneur, and also is a Sappi Ideas that Matter North America Grant recipient. Suzanne has taught Design and Social Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City, and is Founder and Board Chair for award-winning nonprofit, Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation.Her work has been featured in Business Week, Vanity Fair, Graphic Design USA, Vogue, WWD and more. Her work has been recognized by the Art Directors Club, the Hatch Show, the One Show, WebAwards, and Mobius Awards. Suzanne is a 2024 AIGA Fellows Award recipient.Listen along as they discuss her incredible brand, Able Made, and how it was inspired by the life of her late husband, Ucal McKenzie. Able Made and the foundation honor his legacy. Her creativity, genius, and hardworking ethic are apparent in all of the projects she has taken on. We loved this conversation and hope you do too!

On episode 14, Sarah and Ian discuss the major changes that have happened within the college soccer world since they graduated. Big topics such as NIL and rule changes to the transfer portal have completely changed the college soccer landscape...for better, for worse? A little bit of both? Sarah and Ian discuss the main takeaways and lessons they learned from their time in college, and they offer advice to players going through recruitment and the pressures of playing at the college level. Tune in and join the debates!

Joe from No Place Like Home interviews co-founders Sarah and Ian Harkes. He broaches the topics of relationship sacrifices, supporting each other's careers, men's versus women's football, making an impact in your community, soccer connecting people, and our dreams for SSFC. It was such a great conversation! Joe asked such intentional, meaningful questions. We had a blast answering them.