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Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America is a weekly podcast for soccer parents, coaches, and players who want to understand how youth soccer development really works in the United States.
Hosted by two dads, filmmaker Liron Unreich and investor Matt Tartaglia, the show covers everything from grassroots soccer to elite pathways like MLS NEXT and ECNL. Combining data, real experience, and expert insights from academy directors, college coaches, and former pros, each episode explains what families truly need to know.
Weekly episodes focus on the core aspects of youth soccer: player development, coaching culture, college recruiting, tryouts, travel costs, and the challenges of parenting in youth sports in today’s competitive environment.
For families navigating youth soccer’s complex system, Chasing the Game offers practical advice, credible voices, and relatable stories from two dads working to make sense of American player development, one episode at a time.
Ciao, Matt.
Ciao.
This is really bad.
Matt, listen, listen.
Let's do this.
We're both professionals.
You're more than me.
Imagine a job where one simple mistake could cost
you, your company, everything.
No backup plan, no one to complain to, and everyone saw you do it.
Now imagine being 14.
That's kind of how I feel my son's soccer life is.
Standing in goal.
I know it's just a game and the company or the team is not going under.
But I wonder how that big moment feels for him when the ball
goes and everyone turns around and it's in the net.
And then he has to get ready for the next shot in the next moment.
We spend so much time telling these kids on what they need to learn.
I think it's time we learn from them a little bit.
I knew this was always about you.
This was always gonna be about you.
And we do need to understand what we're asking them.
We want a goalkeeper who makes decisions and takes responsibility, but
when a decision goes wrong, how do we respond?
Does the kid still feel able to make the next one?
Our guest is Sebastiano Mana, head
of goalkeeping at Met Oval. He grew up in Turin, plays,
played in Italy's lower divisions, and coached goalkeepers at clubs
in the Juventus academy network before moving to New York.
He's also coached at NYU and started SRGK
with Alex Rando to bring goalkeeper training to more kids across
the metropolitan area.
And he's a soccer dad, whose son Giacomo
went through a difficult recruiting process before finding his place and
footing at Seton Hall University.
We talk about why he wants young keepers to make mistakes, what
good goalkeeper coaching actually involves, and how
parents should weigh training against playing time.
Yeah, I mean, just to, you know, we believe in transparency at Chasing the Game.
So I am going to say Sebastiano has and is coaching my son.
This one is very personal for me.
And I'm looking for shortcuts to be able to communicate with my
son because I don't have any other way to do it.
So I want to understand them better.
I want to deal with his, what he's going on the field and just feel it.
And that's it and support them in the best way I can.
So this is Chasing the Game, the personal episode for Liron.
Liron: Wow, I have, waited
a long time for this.
we're on Italian time.
I was promised this
interview six months ago.
So, Coach Sebastiano,
welcome to Chasing the Game.
I'm gonna drive right through it
'cause we have a lot, a lot to cover.
Coach at a, a MLS academy, a coach at, at
a college, and most importantly, a dad.
So we got a lot to talk about.
So why don't we just start a little bit
of where you came from, Turin goalkeeper.
Tell us a little bit about that story,
Sebastiano: Yeah, thank
you for, for having me.
I'm born and raised in, in Turin.
I moved, to, to New York in 2017,
so next year it'll been 10 years.
And, I coached and, and played in,
in Italy for 25 years, so since I
was a kid and got retired, I was
31, 32 when my daughter was born.
I played… I never played professional.
I played semi-pro and, Italian fifth,
sixth division, for many years.
And, when I was still playing, I
started coaching goalkeepers in
different Juventus academy in the area.
And, so before moving, I
already had a kind of 12, 13
year of coaching experience.
And then, I, I didn't move for, for
my job, I moved for, my wife job.
And then, since I move, I started
coaching for, Manhattan Kickers.
and then, I eventually moved
to, to Met Oval where I'm still
coaching, as a head of goalkeeping.
yeah, that's, that's my, my trip
Matt: I'm curious, Sebastiano, when you
were coaching at the youth academies
that were affiliated with Juventus and
in that network in Italy, how has that
impacted your coaching today, what
you've brought to the United States,
and, and how you think more broadly
about the position itself in goalkeeper?
Sebastiano: I build my
experience through older coaches.
I have couple of coaches that I see as my
mentors and I still in touch with them.
They are generation older than me and,
sharing my ideas and my, my experience
with them is what really, taught me
how to deal with the kids and, how
to be able to be, a bit more flexible
that, uh, what I see in many, many
other coaches or also in the Juventus
methodology that was very, very strict.
while the older generation is a bit
more based on, the, the kids' need,
and also more into, find a way to
get them engaged into the position
because it's not a natural position.
Very few kids are starting their career
with the idea, "Oh, I really wanna
be a goalkeeper." Most of them end
up being a goalkeeper and, so you n-
you need to show them that it can be
fun also, especially at the beginning
Liron: You said one
something very important.
You said Juventus, methodology.
What, what does that, what
does that actually mean to, to
our listeners and to us too?
I know Matt knows, but,
but I actually don't
Sebastiano: No, I mean, Juventus
at a certain point, I think 2000,
2007, 2008, they, they got, this
m- new director of goalkeeping,
whose name was Claudio Filippi
So he was at Juventus for almost 20
years coaching Buffon, coaching Szczesny
and, he brought his own methodology
to the youth academy that was very
analytical, very focused on, improving
the pure technique in the kids.
i- in, and being less focused on, game
scenarios or, uh, this kind of, kind,
this kind of a coaching, which I think
for the younger ages is great because
it gives them very strong fundamentals.
growing up, I think that bringing some
more variety in your, in your sessions,
it also brings you, you know, better,
better results and also it helps in
keeping your kids more, more engaged
Here, we have to deal with kids even at
the MLS academies with kids that they
have school, they're coming from school.
So at the end of the day, they,
they, they may be tired or they
have whatever during the day.
So you wanna also make it
fun for them otherwise, the
burnout is behind the corner
Liron: I, I remember when, when, when
we first met and my wife was… said,
"Oh, there's this legendary coach,"
and you, you did, I'm just gonna say it
here for everybody, and Matt's smiling.
You changed my son's life, I remember
those first couple sessions when
he came into you, and there was a
moment, I saw you, you went down
on your knees and you moved his
ankle like a, like a certain way.
I've never seen anybody do that.
Is this what you mean about in the young
age about the, that Juventus methodology,
this idea of the small little details?
Sebastiano: Yeah, definitely.
Now I always find weird, after, even
after 10 years that every… Because
everybody tells me more or less the same
thing, "Oh, the, the, the dedication
to the particular that you have, is I
never seen something like this before."
But honestly, it surprise me when I
see kids that are maybe joining our
club or joining our academy, 15, 16
years old, and, you start telling them
setting their hands better or their feet
better, and they told us, "Oh, nobody
told me this before, and I'm doing
goalkeeper for seven, eight years." So
probably it's not that common, but it's
something that, we should implement here.
Matt: Sebastiano, you touched on some of
the things that you've seen in players,
in goalkeepers in particular, but when
you moved to New York almost 10 years ago,
what else surprised you about the American
player, more broadly speaking, that you
saw, that, that you didn't expect to see?
Sebastiano: So I have to be honest,
the, the, probably because I was
exposed to two probably the best clubs
we have in New York with Manhattan
Kickers first and then Met Oval, I
was really surprised by the level.
I think the level is much
higher than what I thought.
The dedication and the commitment of
the kids is much higher than what I
ever seen in Italy, much, much higher.
I, I remember one, the, the first time
we approached, Kickers and my son start
playing there, we have a early game
in New Jersey and, the game was over
around 10:30, 11, and I saw all
the parents, "Oh, okay, see you in the
afternoon," blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So I asked them, "Okay, are
you hanging out? Do you have
lunch together?" Whatever.
"Uh, no, there is practice
in the afternoon." Said, "Oh,
okay, we just play a game.
We have practice in the afternoon."
And, these kids were 11, 12 years old.
They were training five days a week.
I said, "Okay." So the, the
level of commitment is…
it's great.
the quality of the players honestly
is, uh, is much higher than
what I thought.
Liron: Matt, Matt, do you remember,
you were talking about, uh,
Manhattan Kickers and you, you
were there when Miles was younger.
you met with Evan, and this
idea of, "Oh, it's okay.
You know, there's room for
your kid in the team here.
You just have to commit to five
days a week of training at…"
Matt: Yeah, it was four days,
and I think he was nine, eight or
nine when I first got connected.
It was just over email.
And we live in Brooklyn, and
the training was in Manhattan.
And I remember thinking there's,
h- like how, how does anybody
make this happen, right?
And then, and then therefore
he couldn't do anything else.
So I wasn't quite ready to do that.
but I look at the success of the Kickers
program and the kids coming out of it,
not just as, as footballers, but as kids
and humans and what they go on to do.
And, yeah, a big part of me
wishes I've made that happen.
Liron: Yeah, excellent kids.
let's, let's talk about the, the,
the thing we're all here for.
all people meaning me.
You're looking at a
goalkeeper for the first time.
I know many come to you, and you
can talk about the different ages.
What tells you that there's potential
in a kid to become a good goalkeeper?
Sebastiano: I mean, as you said, it
depend, really depends on, on the age.
But if you are talking about a
young kid, U11, U10, the first thing
is not being scared of the ball.
I mean, it's not natural.
If you look, the majority of the kids
are, scared of receiving balls on them.
so if you see a kid that is not, doesn't
have any fear of m- receiving the ball
when the ball approaches to him and
doesn't have any fear in going down,
approaching the ground and diving, and he
shows already some decent coordination,
of course, he, he, he shows that he may
have some, some potential or at least,
there is something where you can work on.
and, growing up I mean, of course,
in n- normally in, in our academy,
we, we, we divide the, the, the,
the progression in three groups age.
so below U12 down, between
U12 and U15, and U15 up.
U12, U15 is where normally the kids are,
more motivated, and they still do it for
fun, but they, they are really motivated.
They love it.
They love, training with their peers.
They, they, they, they, you can really
push them through, some serious training,
And there s- you can start seeing
who has the proper mentality, who was
always pushing through the session.
so you start besides the technical and
the athletic skills, you also see, who
has some mental, and psychological,
characteristics to be, to be a goalkeeper.
And then U15 up, is where you
kind of refine a little bit the,
the, the, the athlete and, you
are definitely more focused on
the decision and the communication
that he makes during the game.
So of course, if I look a goalkeeper
that is always pushing through the
session, you don't need to motivate him.
He has a natural, leadership and
communication, is vocal in the game,
is brave, is not a, is not only a
shot stopper like old style, but,
is willing to be part of the team.
is not scared of having
the ball in his feet.
Of course, all, all characteristics
that, are telling you, okay, so here we
have, some serious athlete that we can,
you know, try to do something with them
Matt: Hey, Seba- Sebastiano, you, you
didn't mention anything about size, and
anybody that, hasn't had a chance to
meet you yet, you're blessed with many
things, but height isn't one of them.
And I think that might be one
of the most striking things when
they see and they hear about your
reputation and they meet you.
You're not, a prototypical goalkeeper,
How do you, how do you think about
that in what is an optimal goalkeeper,
and how do you work around it when
you realize that there are certain
kids who just aren't blessed with
the height that is, maybe desired?
Sebastiano: So of course, if it depends
where you work, if you are, at the
very top of the pyramid, you can find
goalkeepers that have all the other
characteristics that I listed before.
So being brave, good decision, good
communication, very good athlete, very
good, with the feet and Great size.
So you can pick the full package.
w- at Met Oval where I work, we
are quite high in the pyramid,
but we are not at the top.
So of course, we cannot pick, all
the best profile that we see around.
And sometimes, when you start
working with a, with a kid, a 11,
12, 13 years old kid, you don't
really know, how tall he's gonna be.
So you try to get the best out of them.
And, for instance, now probably the
best goalkeeper we have in the club
is the U17 goalkeeper that last
year, played the MLS NEXT semifinal
and, is a 2010, is shorter than me,
but he goes for every single ball.
he, he has a crazy communication.
He's always pushing himself through
and, I mean, of course, with that
kind of profile you work on, i- i-
if you lack in size, you must be
excellent on every other aspect.
You must be super fast with your feet,
very explosive, you have to compensate.
The problem is that when they scout
the goalkeepers, it's difficult
they, they go beyond the size.
So, uh, you mentioned before that,
we were able to send, many goalies to
professional academies or to, high level
D1 colleges, and most of them, the, the,
the first thing that they, they, they,
they, the scouts saw was, was the size.
All of them are tall, all, all
of them look very nice in goal,
Liron: Wow
Sebastiano: That was the only reason
why, they start looking at them.
Then, of course, they have something else.
They have communication, they have
decision, they have good attitude.
the attitude and the mindset for me is
the most important thing when I decide to
keep or release a goalkeeper at Met Oval.
Liron: I know you talk about, you
had a, you had a player, I know you,
we've spoken about him before, Grant,
Grant, Grant just signed with DC United
but when he start, when he started
Met Oval, he was on your second team.
How do you, how do you as a, as a
goalie coach kind of run a kid through
a system where you see that there's
things that are missing versus what
the-- when there's a big distance between
what you call the physical potential,
which is height, athleticism, and
really the soccer skills of the kid?
How do you bridge that gap?
Sebastiano: In the, in the
case of Grant, he joined Met
Oval, I think he was U14, U15.
I think it was U15 probably.
and of course, he was already…
You can see that he has a n- nice,
physical structure, but, he, he,
that summer grew so much that, I
mean, was, wasn't really coordinated.
So, he joined the, the first group,
but he was, and he was training
with the MLS team, and then he was
train- he was playing the majority
of the game with the NAL second team.
but little by little, he catch
up with, he start knowing his
body better, moving better.
but for the entire first season, he
didn't play at all with, with the MLS.
Then, we went to Portugal for a, for
a tournament, and, one of the two, MLS
goalkeeper couldn't make it, so we brought
him and, I mean, he did very, very well.
We, we, we lost in the semifinal against
Sporting Lisbon, but, he played, we
split every game in that tournament
with the other goalkeeper, and the
other goalkeeper gave up seven, eight
goals and Grant g- didn't give up any.
we came back from Portugal.
He played, basically the r- all the
game at the remaining of the season
and then, Red Bulls caught him because,
that year I think the, the other '08
goalkeeper that they had, Aidan Stokes,
that is on the national team, now
is I think he's overseas in England.
they sign him for the first team and
they were looking for someone replace
him with a U17 probably at Red Bulls.
then I told them that for me was a
bit too early because at the end of
the day, Grant only played, three
months in our, MLS environment.
He still has to catch up a lot in t- in
the decisions and, also need the, in the
training session the way he was pushing
himself, so i- it would require some time.
they sign him right away and then,
they release him one season after
because, probably for that, that level
he wasn't ready, which I knew before.
then he went to Cedar Stars where, I think
Cedar Stars is the only other MLS Next
club that provides a consistent goalkeeper
training with, with Sebastian Andersson.
And, after, one or two season, no,
two seasons with them when the, they
were able to play the U19, final,
MLS final, they did very well.
He went back to, he went to DC and now of
course, he's doing, he's doing very well.
He always had a very strong mentality,
and he was al- al- always been
very motivated and now he developed
a huge physicalities of course.
It helps him
Matt: Sebastiano, I, I get the sense,
that kids who are, working with you,
kids who are at Met Oval, whether
they're on the first team or the second
team, in a lot of cases, families
understand and are grateful that they
have the opportunity to work with you.
Not every goalkeeper
environment is like that.
In fact, very, very few goalkeeper
environments are like that.
How… W- what, what advice do you have
to p- for parents whose, whose kids,
let's say they're a U14 or U15 player.
They might be playing half a game.
They may not be playing in games.
What is most important?
Is it game time?
Is it training in the right environment?
Sebastiano: So go- goalkeeping wise, I
think that, I mean, of course playing
is always important, but if we, if
we look at the, New York landscape
at the moment, what we're… As I
said, very few clubs are providing
consistent goalkeeper training.
I think up to U15, U16, what is more
important than anything else is being
exposed to very good coaching, very
good goalkeeper coaching and consistent
goalkeeper coaching because, doesn't
matter how good is the coach, but if
you work with them, 45 minutes per
week or even two hours or three hours
per week but in a group of, with
other 20 kids, it's not gonna work.
I mean, at Met Oval the ratio is
always one to four maximum, sometimes
one to five when we have some tryout
goalkeepers, four days a week for years.
So at that point, you, you
can guess some results.
So you, and up to Ufor- U15, U16,
I think the, the coa- the training
is the most important thing.
of course you wanna have some
game exposure, but as long as
they are splitting the play
time, for me it, it's great.
U17 is where you really wanna have
exposure because it's the moment that
the colleges are starting looking at you.
And, so, at that point, U17 is probably
more important to go somewhere else
where you can have more play time.
but yeah, the, the, it happened many,
many times with, at Met Oval that
we have, maybe four goalkeepers in
the same group age and they don't
wanna leave even if they don't play
much just because of the training.
They said, "I rather prefer
being here and, having fun and
knowing that I'm working well
rather than going somewhere else."
So, that's my advice.
up to U15, U16 give them consistent
goalkeeper training and could be, if,
if you don't, if you cannot get it into
y- your club you have to find something,
something else, some private coaching
or whatever or, and then U17, U19 they
really, really have to, to play and,
get in touch with the, with the colleges
Matt: You can only work with so many
kids consistently at the academy, but
I think you've also note-- recognized
that there's a broader challenge, and
some of this is logistics, some of it
is having the right goalkeeper coach.
But where you've created a, a, a platform
for kids to be able to train with you and
to bring other experienced goalkeepers in
to coach as well, which I think has helped
our entire ecosystem in, in New York City.
Sebastiano: Yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm
doing, also some private stuff and,
we, we, we start with, Alex Rando,
that was with you a few weeks ago and,
former NYCFC player now he plays in the
USL Championship, this, academy, SRGK.
we just started, this, this year, with
the idea of bringing goalkeeper training,
professional goalkeeper training, to the
different boroughs in, in, in New York.
We come up with a schedule, be- I
think besides Thursday, we have one
of our coaches, running a session,
Brooklyn, Manhattan, Randalls Island,
Queens, in order to try to be, you
know, to go over, to get over the, the,
the logistic issue, the commute, and
still providing, good, good training.
W- all the coaches, already
worked with us in the past.
They are former D1 goalkeepers or,
current, Met Oval assistant coaches.
And then we started in, in September.
Because what we notice is that
there are, there is a big numbers
of kids in the city, and a big lack
of, professionalism in the, in the,
in the good- goalkeeper training.
And unfortunately, and this is one of
the biggest, big differences between,
Italy and, here goalkeeping wise,
the, the clubs are not willing to,
to, to invest on goalkeeper training.
that's why I'm very glad and
luck, being at Met Oval where
they see the value of it.
Liron: No, the, the program you're
offering is very important because
obviously there's a lot of-- we talk
about supplementary training for
field players, but there's definitely
a gap for how goalies are seen,
A lot of times, especially on the younger
ages, it's usually the kid who wants
to play soccer but is just not good
at soccer, they stick them in goal.
every other player on the field has
a chance to recover from mistakes.
So-- but the goalie is the one
that never has a chance to recover.
So as you approach these, these young
kids, is it about-- is the training about
preventing them from making mistakes?
You feel like you train them well
enough that they don't make a mistake?
Or is the training a part of
how do you recover when you
make the inevitable mistake?
Sebastiano: I mean, we actually try
to expose them to mistakes as much
as possible because it's through the
mistakes that, they, they, they can learn.
Of course, if they keep
repeating the same mistake multiple
times, th- th- there is an issue.
But, especially into when it comes
of playing out of the back or leaving
the goal line for defending the box
and the space on high balls or balls
through is something that we really,
really push them to, to, to expose
themselves to, to, to, to risk.
Because then at a certain point, we,
it, it will come more with experience
to understand, okay, where I push
myself and where is being… it's
better being more conservative.
but in the early stages of the
development, the more mistake they
make, the, the, the better because
you can coach through the mistake.
And, in terms of psychologically recover
from, from the mistakes, it's not that
different from, from tennis players.
If you, if you see the Djokovic
interview that was saying that, he,
he's not who he, who he is because he
didn't make any mistake, but because
he was very good in moving on to
the next ball, to the next point.
For the goalkeepers has to be the
same because everybody, as you said,
everybody makes mistakes during the game.
the, when the goalies does it, most
of the time concedes a goal, but he
has to be very strong in moving on.
But it comes with the, with the
confidence, and the confidence
comes with, with the, with the
training and what you did before.
So, I'm not very concerned about
goalkeepers who makes mistakes.
I'm more concerned when I see
goalkeeper that is not willing
to take any risk because it's way
more difficult to, to be coached
Matt: How do you approach
that with goalkeepers?
I mean, are you spending time with
them talking specifically about
how do you compartmentalize things?
How do you move on?
Or is it more a bit through osmosis in
the sense of through all of the, the, the
work that you're doing, all the training
you're doing, they just get to a point
where they recognize, "Hey, we're gonna
make mistakes. Let's just not make the
same ones over and over again," right?
And we just move on from those.
Sebastiano: It's, a little bit of both.
So we do, goalkeeper training, so video
analysis with, all the kids, on week base.
So every week we analyze the games
even in the, in, in our academy,
is part of the packages that
we offer to, to, to the goalies
And I think the first… the most
important thing if, about mistakes
is recognizing the mistake because it
almost never is 100% goalkeeper fault.
Like every goal almost never is, oh, the
goalie couldn't do literally nothing.
if you never play in goal, and that's
unfortunately what happened with
most of the coaches, you don't really
understand these things and it's very
easy, to, to blame the goalkeeper.
but it's important for the, for the kids
to, to, to recognize the, the, the mistake
and, to really understand, okay, what I
could do better and, what I couldn't do
it because sometimes I hear coaches, "Oh,
my goalkeeper," talking about U10 or U12,
"Oh, it doesn't come out for the crosses
or it doesn't come out for the corner
kick in the crowd and catching the ball."
For a U11, U12 goalkeeper, coming
off the box and catching an high
ball is like asking your striker
to score bicycles every game.
can, it can happen if you find a gem, if
you find a U13 striker doing bicycle every
game, fine, but it can't be the standard.
Okay, so Every, every year, every
age has his steps and his goals.
So of course it's important for them
to understand what are the goals and
that's why w- both at Met Oval and in
our academy we set goals, by age, for
our coaches and they know that if they
work with a U11 goalkeeper toward the end
of the season, uh, they must be able to
do certain things because from the year
after we don't wanna go back to, you know,
teaching, uh, how to scoop the ball or
teaching how to receive the ball with the
inside foot because we have to move on.
Matt: S-Sebastiano, if we can, why
don't we transition in a little bit?
you're also a, you're
also a dad, to two kids.
One of them is a, is a footballer
who's currently playing in the Big
East, which is, you know, by, by any
measure in the US, like quite a success,
especially as a, as a young second-year
player who's having a real impact.
What was the journey like for your family?
what was that like as far as supporting
him, observing, coaching, and then as
he moved into the college recruiting
process, if you can just share any,
any stories or anecdotes with us
around that process, that'd be helpful.
Sebastiano: Yeah, I mean, yeah, as I s-
Giacomo, my son, is playing, Seton Hall.
he's a, he's a sophomore.
and when we first moved and also back in
Italy, he, soccer was his second sport.
He, he grew, grew up playing ice hockey.
and also in US, he played ice hockey
for a couple of years, and then
after COVID, they didn't restart
the program right away, and also it
was logistically more challenging.
So he start playing full time at Met
Oval, but he's al- he always been,
talking about size, the smallest player
o- on the team, but very, very small So
after the first season in, at MLS level,
they, they propose him, they offer him
to be bio-banded with the, with the 2008.
He's a 2007.
He's a late November 2007.
So he played for almost three
years down with, uh, and, uh,
I'm glad that that's another big
difference between US and Italy.
We don't have in Italy the bio-banding
rule, which I think is a very smart
rule, uh, because it helps kids like,
uh, like my son or we have many other
kids with that kind of profile in the
club in developing at that pace, um, and
overcome a little bit of physicality.
So he played, U14, U15, and U16, with
the '08 and he was full-time with them.
He didn't play, he played very
few games up with, in age.
And then something happened the
summer between U16, U17, he came back.
He didn't grow much.
He's still quite small, as
player, but he came back to US
much stronger, much, much faster.
He started preseason on age with the
U17 and he's starting, start performing
very well and then he end up with U19
being the captain and goalscorer g-
for, for, for the team as a, as a six.
He finished with, I think, 10 goals and
21 assists in the U19 s- season and,
is where the, they, they, he committed
with the, with the, with Seton Hall.
we brought my son as a, as an
example to most of the families when
we talk about the chance of being
bio-banded I think is a great rule.
I, I think it really gives the kids m-
the, the, the chance to, to, to, to,
feel that they belong to, to, to another
team even is one year down and little by
little catching up with the, with the,
with the development which m- most of the
kids or most of the families are, don't
really understanding at the beginning.
And then, the transition to college,
uh, so far has been great for him.
He was able to play every single
game last year as a freshman.
I think he started 19 game out of 21
Matt: S-Sebastian, can, can
I, can I stop you one second?
So, and, and, and, and as a
17-year-old freshman, right?
So he finished, I think the whole
first season he was had n-not yet
turned 18, which is incredible.
But y- the, the recruiting process
itself, and you mentioned that he
signed with Seton Hall, but he was
look, he was looked over a lot, right?
Is that fair to say?
That there were not a lot of schools
looking at Giacomo despite what he was
doing on a very, very good U-19 team.
W-what, what is that process?
What did, what did you
learn from that process?
Sebastiano: Oof.
I mean, the, the, the main thing I
learned and, I mean, we didn't mention
in this conversation, I, I, I've been
the goalkeeper coach for NYU for five
years, and one of the reason why I, I was
there was because I want to experience
the college, uh, the, the college career,
the college environment to help my son
and also our players to understand better
because at the beginning, coming from
Europe is a completely different world.
I, I said, "Okay, I wanna be part
of this environment." And what I
understood as a coach and as a parent
is that you have to be ready to go
through a lot of frustration because
the, the, the, the college recruitment
process is, it's different college
to college, different rules based if
you are D1, D2, D3, NCAA or not NCAA.
Also because, most of the time you talk
with an assistant coach, and the assistant
coach may like you, but then the head
coach doesn't like you, and, so it's,
it's, it's very difficult to process.
And, it, for, for Giacomo was kind of,
kind of difficult because a- as I said,
he's, he's a very small, I think he's
5'5", very technical and fast midfield,
good with the ball in his feet, so he was
a perfect fit for the Met Oval style, but
not, not many colleges in, in D- at D1
level, they play the same style of soccer.
So he really struggle to find,
in finding a, finding a college.
he was in touch a lit- for a little
bit with Stony Brook and George
Mason, but then, they kind of
ghosted him all of a sudden, but,
and this is part of the frustration.
And so we already had a plan B for
him that was very simple, playing an
extra year in Met Oval, attending,
Baruch or local college in, in New
York, and, see if it may be going
overseas or staying in, in, in the city.
And then, toward, to the very end of
the senior year in Met Oval, I'm talking
about May, Seton Hall start showing
kind of interest in him, and we went on
visiting the c- the, the, the campus,
I think was June 25th or 26th And then
they made an offer right away, and,
a month after he was training there.
So, what I tell the families is that,
anything can, can happen any, any moment.
I have another example like this that
is another goalkeeper that came through
our academy, that is Kyle Durham, that
now is a starting goalkeeper for UConn.
He got drafted with, San
Diego MLS, uh, last draft.
And, I mean, he, he also, he,
he struggled the other way.
He had too many options and, um,
and he end, he end up committing
very late in the senior year.
so, I mean, it's, it's a, it's a
different journey for, for different kids.
you just need to be patient and, try
to have a clear idea o- o- or what
you want when you pick your college.
Liron: So obvi- obviously, uh, working
at, just like us with the podcast,
learning nothing about youth soccer,
you being at NYU taught you nothing
about the, university process.
The, the, the key is I, I had dinner with
you and the family, and this was before
Giacomo got the offer, and you, you just
mentioned a little bit, but I think for
our-- for the parents it would mean a lot.
You said there was an option or
you were thinking about having
him play a year a- abroad.
what would've been that plan, and
how would it have helped your son?
Sebastiano: So, uh, in, my son's
specific case, it was more likely
for, uh, to have an experience in
Italy where he comes from and, uh, he
re- he still feels very Italian, so
I think i- it would be nice for him.
Uh, but on the other hand, I have the
feeling unfortunately, uh, that most
of the D1 colleges, uh, rather prefer
signing players from overseas, uh, also
a bit older, uh, maybe 22, 23 years old
with, uh, already a semi-professional
experience, um, rather than, mm, giving
solid chances to, um, local kids.
Then the reason can be… A- and
I mean, it is counterintuitive
because then my son comes from the
American system and he's playing a
lot of games, a lot of play time.
But, um, when I speak with the coaches,
they said that, um, one of the reason
why he's pl- he's playing so much is
because he's one of the few that, uh, is
showing, uh, his, uh, mentality that, that
is r- is ready to, to compete, while it
seems that coming from MLS environment
doesn't develop this kind of mentality
while coming from Europe, maybe yes.
But so my, my point in, uh, having
him going to Europe is that I thought
that it would give him more chances
to, instead of spending another year
at Met Oval, um, he's going there
playing, um, Serie D, uh, where most
of the kids, uh, in the, the D1 level
are coming from, uh, and having solid
chances to receive a better scholarship.
Uh, because if you, if you come from
overseas, I mean, they, they give you more
credit than coming from, uh, from MLS.
Even if it seem, honestly, in
the last, the last year things
seems changing a little bit.
Uh, I, I see, mm, players, uh, former
U19 pl- Met Oval U19 players playing
more than what happened in the past, so
probably things are a little changing.
Matt: S-S-Sebastiano, as, as we wrap up,
your, your masterclass here, which I know
is gonna be appreciated by everybody.
The American goalkeeper in general, it
used to be a strength of the US Men's
National Team, and we had goalkeepers
playing in Europe at very high levels in
the top leagues, and there are still some
goalkeepers who are playing over there.
There's good, very good
goalkeepers in MLS.
But w-what has happened where it's gone
from a position of real strength and I
would say global acknowledgement around
the American goalkeeper to now, that is
not, that, that is just not the case.
Sebastiano: Yeah, I mean, I wasn't
around in the '90s or early 2000
to, to, to make a comparison.
From what I understood back
then, kids were, experiencing
different sports growing up.
Of course, most of the American sports
are being played with the, with hands,
like basketball, like baseball, like,
football, and, and then they were
ending up playing soccer in goal
eventually, and all these other sports
help them to develop different skills.
And I have the same,
experience with my son.
The, the, the, the playing ice hockey gave
him a lot of lower body mobility, change
direction quickly, all this kind of stuff.
So of course, now I have the feeling
that they either specialize very soon in
a sports or the ones they are starting
playing soccer, later in their development
is because they already try all the other
sports and they were not good enough,
so they are just a very great athlete.
Liron: This was so worth
it, Coach Sebastiano.
there's still so much to talk about, but
obviously I know that, we're gonna have
some viewers looking at this video going,
"Wait, he's spending time talking to you
instead of training my kids?" I can't
have that on my conscience or pressure
Sebastiano: I mean, by the time I was
talking with you, we had a, we had a
session in Manhattan with one of our
coaches, so I mean, we didn't waste that
Liron: I am thankful for that.
Listen, I wanna thank you personally.
I wanna thank you personally
for everything you've
done for me and my family.
Matt, I wanna thank you for
everything you've done for me
and my family, and that's it.
Mille grazie, my friend
Sebastiano: Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you guys for, uh, having me.
Wow.
A personal wow.
So Sebastiano is uh, he truly is one of a kind.
Before you decide a goal was the goalkeeper's fault,
ask or watch what actually happened.
Sebastiano reviews games with his players because the
ball going in doesn't tell you enough.
What could the keeper have done differently?
What was beyond their control?
A kid deserves more than everybody turning around and looking at them.
You asked whether training was about preventing mistakes.
His answer was, "We actually try to expose them
to mistakes as much as possible."
He wants them coming for the ball and learning when to take that risk.
Then you can coach the decision, repeating the same mistake needs
attention, but avoiding difficult decision
doesn't give him much to work with either.
I feel 2% less anxious today.
So thank you, Sebastiano, for that.
Careful, we'll take it.
That makes me a little bit less anxious or you're less anxious.
Yeah, well, I mean, that's the basement energy.
So, you know, but at least it's something.
Look, when you hear a coach at this level, explain
that mistake can be part of what needs to learn helps.
helps me as a parent.
I don't have to treat every ball that goes in as evidence that something went wrong.
And think about what these kids do afterwards.
They made the mistake in front of all those eyes looking, and the game still goes on.
They have to be willing and ready for the next ball.
One thing goes wrong at work for me and, man, I can talk about it at dinner for hours.
So we can learn something from them and give them more
credit than in what they're trying and exposed to every every week.
Yeah, you have to stop talking to yourself so much.
We also need to ask whether they're getting the coaching to do it.
Who works with your child?
How often, how much individual attention do you get or do they get?
Sebastiano puts a lot of weight on consistent goalkeeper
coaching at the younger ages.
As players get older, playing time and being seen become
more important from his perspective.
The right situation at 14 may need another look at 17.
Knowing the game, which is contrary to everything I thought, doesn't
make it easier to be a dad.
Sebastiano had joined NYU to understand
the process better, be on the inside and help
his son out.
It didn't work out that way.
So even before going to Seton Hall for Giacomo,
was a very arduous and long process.
So expertise in being on the inside doesn't mean that you
can arrange the outcome for your kid.
His advice was you just need to be patient.
That's hard when you're waiting for somebody to call back.
His family had another plan ready while they waited.
So ask what your child needs next.
Better coaching, more games, give that more attention
than somebody else's timetable.
Yeah, well, thank you, Mister, as they say in Italy
for those coaches, and thank you for the conversation, everything you've
done for La Ve, and for my family, and especially for me.
And to those kids who let one in, you know, pick up the ball, get ready to play again.
Um, I don't think we adults really appreciate how hard it is.
And I hope you people appreciate how hard it is to do a podcast every
week while you have a full-time job and two kids.
We need you to subscribe, right, Matt?
Yes, sir.
Yeah, well, this is Chasing the Game.
The taking responsibility episode.
Bye, man.