![Girls stand on pitch for SXSW community event in Austin](https://ussoccerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CommunityEvent77-1000x703.jpg")
What an incredible weekend at SXSW! We returned to the place we first announced Yes, Coach!™, our movement to train 100,000 coaches as mentors. At this year’s event, alongside the directors of Summer of ’94, Stand Together, Imagine Entertainment, and soccer legends, we highlighted the legacy of the 1994 U.S. Men’s National Team – the last time the Men’s World Cup came to the U.S. and the tournament that ultimately created the U.S. Soccer Foundation.
The weekend kicked off with the Summer of ’94 world premiere.
The film brought one of America’s most transformational sports stories to life on the big screen, highlighting the U.S. Men’s National Team’s road to the 1994 World Cup and the coach who helped shape them. The film reminds audiences great coaches don’t just shape athletes, they shape people. As part of the film’s promotion, Imagine Entertainment is encouraging audiences to give back to their communities through coach-mentorship and providing training, tools, and events through Yes, Coach!™.
On Sunday, at Q2 Stadium, filmmakers, members of the 1994 team, and our U.S. Soccer Foundation team put coach-mentorship into action, bringing together coach-mentors, youth, and families for a soccer clinic, meet and greet with players, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium.
We wrapped up an unforgettable weekend with another showing of Summer of ’94 and a panel discussion. Our President and CEO, Ed Foster-Simeon joined the film’s directors Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker, and former U.S. Men’s National Team players John Harkes and Alexi Lalas, to discuss how the coaching legacy that began in ’94 continues through Yes, Coach!™ and fuels what’s next for soccer and communities across the country.
