Lewis quickly expanded on the idea, buying a portable tennis ball launcher and taking as many as 1,000 touches a day, playing balls at various speeds and angles and replicating what he might see in a game. The workouts, he said, helped him improve from an average player to a two-time World Cup starter.

"Without a doubt I wouldn't have made it to the MLS [without it]," Lewis said. "I attribute all that success to this kind of training methodology."

The methods were so unconventional he hid them from his teammates, practicing alone in industrial parks after the offices and warehouses had closed for the day.

"I was a little embarrassed. But it was also a competitive edge for me, so I kept it quiet," he said.

Which doesn't mean it didn't leak out. Jimmy Conrad, a teammate for one season in San Jose, surprised Lewis during a practice on a tennis court and was so impressed, Lewis said, he bought a tennis ball machine of his own. He would later play alongside Lewis in the 2006 World Cup.

That was further proof the concept could work for anyone. So after retiring, Lewis went to work refining the idea and making it soccer specific. The result is TOCA (Spanish for "touch").

In a TOCA training session, balls slightly smaller than regulation size are fired out of a ball launcher Lewis designed. The speed, height and angle of each ball can be altered to mimic low passes or high crosses with players getting an average of 300 touches in an hour-long training session, taking the ball on the move or in a stationary position before shooting at a small target that lights up if the pass is successful.

The aim is to improve the technical, physical and cognitive abilities of players through proprietary training systems using meaningful repetitions. A large flat-screen TV keeps track of several metrics in real time, allowing players to track their progress.

"Training at TOCA allows us to get in so many touches on the ball. It also really focuses on quick thinking and developing better awareness," said Angel City defender Gisele Thompson, who recently trained at the company's Costa Mesa headquarters with her sister and teammate Alyssa. "A good first touch and knowing what's around you are such core skills in soccer, and TOCA has helped us really develop those."

Both Thompsons are TOCA ambassadors and the Galaxy are also believers. Gordon Kljestan, who also played professionally before joining the MLS team's front office 13 years ago, has followed TOCA from its early days of trial and error to its place on the cutting edge of innovative soccer training.

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