Meet Our Alumni – Leslie Adams

MEET OUR ALUMNI!!!

Each month we will highlight one of our Awesome BTP Alumni. Whether they are currently in college or have graduated, we will learn more about them, why they choose to be a keeper and how the Academy has helped them along the way.

This Month we are Highlighting Leslie Adams!

Name: Leslie Adams

Age: 20

Hometown: – Collegeville, PA

College Attending: – Siena College, Albany NY

How long have you been a member of the Academy? – 5 years

How long have you been a keeper? – 10 years

What do you love about being a keeper? – What I love about being a keeper is the ability to control the pace or flow of the game. I also love being able to see the entire field, this gives me the opportunity to direct my teammates in the right direction or give pointers on what I see that could be improved upon..

What’s the highlight of your career? – The highlight of my career so far was signing to a division 1 school. It was my dream to play at the top college level..

Favorite Soccer Team? – My favorite soccer team by far is the USWNT they are killing it right now

Favorite Soccer Player? – Hope Solo

What did you enjoy most about attending the Academy? – What I enjoyed most about attending the academy was all of the relationships I have made throughout the years. The light-hearted atmosphere of friends coupled with high intensity training allowed for a positive experience every time.

How do you feel the Academy helped prepare you to play in college? – The academy has taught me a lot, but the one thing that stands out the most is practice management. Practice management is the ability to treat every practice with the same level of intensity and effort as the one prior. With the short amount of time we had to train together it was crucial to make every second count. I still believe to this day that this mindset is what set me apart from most goalkeepers when it came to recruitment.

What would you say to keepers who were thinking of joining the Academy? – I would say to keepers who are thinking of joining the academy to just do it. You never know until you try. The academy is a place to develop, maintain, and master the skills of a goalkeeper. I would also note to keep an open mind. Not all coaching styles are the same, meaning the way you learned a skill beforehand may be modified to look a little different by an academy coach. THAT IS OKAY! This is why it is important to keep an open mind, and hey, maybe the technique you just learned worked 1000 times better than the old way did!

Do you want to keep playing or coaching after college, or both? – I would love to potentially further my career after college and maybe even pass down my knowledge to younger kids and coach. I definitely don’t think my love for soccer will die once I graduate, there are so many opportunities after college that my knowledge and skills could take me.

 

#BTPProud

Meet Our Alumni – Frank Maniscalco

MEET OUR ALUMNI!!!

Each month we will highlight one of our Awesome BTP Alumni. Whether they are currently in college or have graduated, we will learn more about them, why they choose to be a keeper and how the Academy has helped them along the way.

This Month we are Highlighting Frank Maniscalco !

Name: Francis Maniscalco

Age: 22

Hometown: – Philadelphia, PA

College Attended: – Chestnut Hill College

How long have you been a member of the Academy? – 6 years

How long have you been a keeper? – 12 years

What do you love about being a keeper?

  • Have the ability to win your team the match and control the play in front of you.

What’s the highlight of your career?

  • Winning Region 1 ODP Tournament my final eligible year.

Favorite Soccer Team? – Chelsea

Favorite Soccer Player? – Gianluigi Buffon

What did you enjoy most about attending the Academy? – Each session focused on a different part of goalkeeping while building on the previous weeks session. Always enjoyed the extremely positive atmosphere that allowed for mistakes in training which are necessary in the development of a goalkeeper at a young age. Simon constantly emphasized that he was never a “trainer” but rather a coach which helped build a strong coaching relationship.

How do you feel the Academy helped prepare you to play in college? – The academy helped me immensely in college not only in play but also in training. Being in that positive training environment in the academy carried directly over into college while in sessions. The academy allowed me to get a taste of college play while in high school with the various ex academy keepers who have been through the same process.

What would you say to keepers who were thinking of joining the Academy? – The Academy has an extremely tailored curriculum that you won’t get with an “individual gk trainer”. The curriculum hammers home all aspects of the basic and advanced goalkeeping and is beneficial to goalkeepers of all age. Training in this positive group and environment is also extremely beneficial to not only your play but allows you to meet new friends that makes coming to “training” fun.

Do you want to keep playing or coaching after college, or both? – I currently work in Washington D.C. and play in smaller leagues in the DC Metro Area. When I feel like I’m completely grounded, I plan on playing for an organization again and training young goalkeepers on the side.

#BTPProud

Commit to Commit to Committing

Commit to Commit to Committing

These past few weeks at Between the Posts GK, we have been working on dealing with and saving shots in and around the 6 Yard box and shots in close.

Over the years I have seen a lot of keepers not attempt to make saves because they “Don’t think they can reach it”, or they simply “Do Not Commit to Attempt to Try”.

Well, “Until You Give It A Go-You Don’t Know” If you try to make the save you may or may not save it but COMMITTING is the first step to making it!

The important thing to understand is we are often capable of doing more than we realize, COMMITTING TO THE SAVE is the first hurdle we need to get over.

If I see a keeper trying to make the save and not quite completing it, we (Between the Posts GK)  can work with them on their technique to enable them to be better prepared to be successful in the future. We will work with them on the details of that particular technique to build it up step by step, making the whole technique more efficient. Leading to more success in the drills, translating to more confidence, and greater the likelihood of ‘Giving it a Go‘ in games!!

We cannot expect a keeper to master everything right away, it is a combined effort between the Keeper and the Keeper coach. The keeper needs to desire to learn and try it, the coach needs the ability and experience to help develop the technique!!!

Have Faith in yourself and Go All Out!

“If You Try Sometimes, You Just Might Find – You Get What You Need”

Enjoy and Please Share!

Simon

Meet Our Alumi – Faith Cameron

MEET OUR ALUMNI!!!

 

Each month we will highlight one of our Awesome BTP Alumni. Whether they are currently in college or have graduated, we will learn more about them, why they choose to be a keeper and how the Academy has helped them along the way.

This Month we are Highlighting Faith Cameron!

Name: Faith Cameron

Age: 19

Hometown: – Center Valley, PA

College: – Mansfield University

How long have you been a member of the Academy? – 6 years

How long have you been a keeper? – 14 years

What do you love about being a keeper?

  • What’s not to love? I love playing in a specialized position where I can be a leader and have a big impact on the game.

What’s the highlight of your career?

  • Making a huge save in the District finals to help us go on to win 1-0! (See Video Below)
  • Being recruited to play D2 soccer with Mansfield

Favorite Soccer Team? – Liverpool FC 

Favorite Soccer Player? –  Allison Becker

What did you enjoy most about attending the Academy? – The atmosphere and culture at the Academy make it so much fun to be a part of. BTP creates a competitive and encouraging environment that makes it so amazing.

How do you feel the Academy helped prepare you to play in college? – The Academy taught me how to come out of my shell as a keeper and compete with others in my position. The group work really helped me when it came to showcases and ID clinics during the recruiting process, and I don’t think I would have been as ready for college as I was without the Academy and the awesome coaches!

What would you say to keepers who were thinking of joining the Academy? – Definitely join! The Academy changes my life and I wouldn’t change my decision to join for the world. I have made great friends and have gotten farther in my soccer career then I ever could have hoped with the help of the Academy.

Do you want to keep playing or coaching after college, or both?

I have actually already had some great coaching experiences already with BTP, the Philadelphia Union Youth program, and 1 on 1 coaching. I would love the opportunity to continue coaching and if the opportunity presents itself, play as well.

 

#BTPProud

Make Yourself Proud and Seize Your Opportunity!!

Goalkeeper Coaching in Warminster

Make Yourself Proud and Seize Your Opportunity!!

One thing most Keepers will have to deal with during their career is sharing time in the net with a rival keeper, and the competition that comes along with that!

Whether you are the ‘Established’ Starting Keeper, or the ‘Back-Up’, how you deal with and prepare for your role can be very different, but also very similar!

During Practice, you should work hard and Give EVERYTHING you have, regardless of whether you are the ‘Starting’ keeper or not.  At Between the Posts Goalkeeping in Warminster, Pottstown and the Leigh Valley, we work on not only the physical side of the game, but also the mental side which is often overlooked.

If you are the ‘Starting’ Keeper, practice hard to keep your position. Remember, someone is always looking to take your spot. If you are the ‘Back-up’, strive to work harder than the ‘Starting Keeper’; show you aren’t afraid to go the extra mile to earn a shot at the starting position. Remember to be respectful of the other keepers on your squad. Healthy competition is good, but respect is more important.

During games, whether you play the first half or the second half, Be Confident, Be a Loud Leader and Make Yourself Proud!!!

If you are the ‘Back-Up’, observe the game during your time on the sidelines. Try to analyze and understand the tempo of the game, and the pattern the opposite team plays with. Think about how you would deal with goalkeeping situations, and don’t forget to be supportive and encouraging of the keeper who is in net.

As the ‘Back-Up’, if you are asked to play, Seize the Opportunity! Even if it’s 20 minutes at the end of the second half and your team is down in the game, you can still impact the game and show that you are a capable keeper (as well as possible starter)!

Frustration can easily set in during time on the sidelines. You may feel that (and this may be true) you are not getting a fair shot of equal time or starting time in the net. I have seen many times that keepers are not the ‘Starting’ keeper even though they are the ‘Better’ keeper. At times, coaches will stick with what they know. Sometimes keeping the same keeper in to start is an easier decision, and may also prevent conversation between a parent and coach as to why their keeper was taken out of their Starting role.

Many Goalkeepers can look back over their career and remember the opportunity they seized to come off the bench as the ‘Back-Up’, impact the game, and become the ‘Established’ Starting Keeper!

Make Yourself Proud – Seize The Opportunity

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