Episode 49: Dublin To Greenville, Trials To Game winners And Everything In Between ; a chat w/ Jake Keegan

01/10/22 • 68 min

2 Listeners

Welcome to the 49th episode of the In The 11 Podcast! Today we are joined by Jake Keegan Stiker for the Greenville Triumph and former player for the likes of Forward Madison, FC Edmonton, Galway United, St. Patrick’s Athletic, FCA Darmstadt and Binghamton University.

How the career started: Jake’s career was met with a lot of “no’s” early on as he partook in 9 trials before finding a club to call home. He reflects on those times as some of the most stressful and difficult in his career but also ones that he remembers very fondly. As he continued to grind his way through the professional soccer world he began to find success through the help of grit, determination, hard work and a few connections that provided some lucky breaks.

About Jake Keegan:

Played 4 seasons of NCAA Division 1 soccer at Binghamton University, He became the school’s all-time leading Division 1 goal scorer and was drafted in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft by the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.~On September 1, 2013 Keegan signed with FCA Darmstadt in the Verbandsliga, the 6th division of German soccer. After being drafted by the Philadelphia Union in January 2013, Keegan trained with Maccabi Haifa (Israel), FC Lustenau (Austria), Harrisburg City Islanders (USA), New York Cosmos (USA), Austria Lustenau (Austria), FC Hard (Austria) and Usinger TSG (Germany) before signing in Darmstadt.

On January 29, 2014, Keegan signed with Galway FC in Ireland First Division, the 2nd division of Irish soccer. On December 1, 2015 Keegan signed with Canadian side, FC Edmonton who played in the NASL

On February 4, 2018, Keegan signed with St Patrick’s Athletic who play in the Ireland Premier Division, the 1st division in Ireland. Keegan finished up the season as Pats' top scorer with 9 league goals, 12 in all competitions.

On January 10, 2019 Keegan signed with Greenville Triumph SC who play in USL League One, the 3rd division in the United States.

On January 26, 2021, it was announced that Keegan had signed with Forward Madison FC of USL League One.

After spending the 2021 season in Madison, Keegan returned to Greenville on December 21, 2021.

Outline of the Episode:

[02:18] What made Jake decide to change teams
[07:06] The Jake then versus the Jake now
[09:36] What is the MLS draft
[16:10] What are some of the sacrifices Jake and Brendan made
[19:40] Jake’s experience in the Haifa Trial in Israel
[23:00] How the trials helped Jake grow his career
[27:32] Jake’s advice to players going to their first trial
[33:54] The feeling of when everything’s culminated
[37:31] The thought process of being a forward
[45:04] Jake’s FC Edmonton experience
[47:28] The toughest thing to go through as a player
[51:17] Jake’s relationship with the sport
And many more!

Connect with In the 11 Podcast!

Become a Patron:

https://www.patreon.com/inthe11pod

MYSTERY SPORT:

https://www.mysterysport.com/

(At checkout, use code: inthe11)

Follow the Show:

https://linktr.ee/inthe11

Subscribe to the Show on Youtube:

About Jake Keegan:

On January 29, 2014, Keegan signed with Galway FC in Ireland First Division, the 2nd division of Irish soccer. On December 1, 2015 Keegan signed with Canadian side, FC Edmonton who played in the NASL

On January 10, 2019 Keegan signed with Greenville Triumph SC who play in USL League One, the 3rd division in the United States.

On January 26, 2021, it was announced that Keegan had signed with Forward Madison FC of USL League One.

After spending the 2021 season in Madison, Keegan returned to Greenville on December 21, 2021.

Outline of the Episode:

[02:18] What made Jake decide to change teams
[07:06] The Jake then versus the Jake now
[09:36] What is the MLS draft
[16:10] What are some of the sacrifices Jake and Brendan made
[19:40] Jake’s experience in the Haifa Trial in Israel
[23:00] How the trials helped Jake grow his career
[27:32] Jake’s advice to players going to their first trial
[33:54] The feeling of when everything’s culminated
[37:31] The thought process of being a forward
[45:04] Jake’s FC Edmonton experience
[47:28] The toughest thing to go through as a player
[51:17] Jake’s relationship with the sport
And many more!

Connect with In the 11 Podcast!

Become a Patron:

https://www.patreon.com/inthe11pod

MYSTERY SPORT:

https://www.mysterysport.com/

(At checkout, use code: inthe11)

Follow the Show:

https://linktr.ee/inthe11

Subscribe to the Show on Youtube:

Previous Episode

Episode 48: The MLS Academy Difference; a chat w/ Steve Covino

1 Recommendations

Episode 48: The MLS Academy Difference; a chat w/ Steve Covino

Welcome to the 48th episode of the In The 11 Podcast! Today we are joined by Steve Covino, one of the coaches selected for the 2-year coaching course hosted by the French Football Federation. Steve shares his journey to becoming a coach and how things have changed in the field of Soccer over the years. Steve shares the hardships that are necessary for an aspiring coach to go through to make sure that they are as seasoned as a person as they would want their students to be. Taking both inspiration and lessons from the people that have been a part of his continuous path in coaching, Steve perseveres and shares more about his insights on Soccer as a coach.

How the career started:

Early mornings, late nights, and 24 hours of passion for the sport made Steve want to coach the youth and help them not only improve but to be able to build a career out of the sport. Being inspired by his father and previous coaches from Siena College, he experienced different hardships just so he could realize his goal of wanting to guide children into becoming great athletes.

The changes in the playing field: Stepping out of college years ago, was a difficult start for Steve because the sport, popular as it is back then, is not as properly promoted in the US as it is now. Not only that but as one does when pursuing a career out of passion, albeit, Steve believes that the US is a sleeping giant in global terms as national team players continuously compete with other countries in different leagues and the numbers are steadily rising in both players and promotions.

About Steve Covino:

A native of Bristol, Conn., Covino was named to the NSCAA/Performance Subaru All-North Atlantic Region Team and to the All-MAAC Second Team as a senior midfielder for the Saints in 2010. That season he posted career highs with eight goals and 20 points. Covino played in 71 games over his career with the Saints, making 69 starts. He was also named to the All-MAAC Second Team following his sophomore season.

Outline of the Episode:

[02:28] How Steve Covino started in the field
[05:58] What inspired Steve to become a coach
[08:11] What happened next after Siena College
[10:49] How professional Soccer changed over the years
[16:38] How Steve decided to coach rather than play
[23:31] How the professional field grew
[24:58] What Steve does to progress his career further
[26:44] The ups and downs of the journey
[33:28] How did Steve maximize his opportunities
[42:36] The intricacies of the sport and coaching
[45:33] The experience with the French Football Federation
[49:18] Impact of the experience with learning from other cultures
[52:26] What’s it like for Steve to see his players develop
[56:43] How Steve sees the US in the professional field

Connect with In the 11 Podcast!

Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/inthe11pod

MYSTERY SPORT: https://www.mysterysport.com/

AT CHECKOUT USE CODE: inthe11

Follow the Show: https://linktr.ee/inthe11

Subscribe to the Show on Youtube:

Next Episode

Episode 50: Here's to Fifty

1 Recommendations

Welcome to the 50th episode of In The 11 with Brendan Griffiths. Today we have a special episode with Brendan looking back on what he’s achieved so far with the In The 11 Podcast. This episode has got to be the most personal that Brendan has created. He talks about what the podcast was a product of, what his relationship with football actually is, what he went through and how it has affected his mental health. Brendan expresses his gratitude to all of his listeners that made In The 11 a success and lets it be heard that whoever is listening that is going through a dark time as he is, he wants them to know that they are not alone. More details from Brendan on the most honest episode yet so stay tuned!

What could have been:

Brendan shares that the pandemic was the reason why he didn’t push through with playing in Germany. He actually signed with a club in Bremen, Germany, but decided that it was not the best course of action given that there’s a pandemic. The sudden change of plans actually gave way for Brendan to try out something that he’s always been interested in, and that’s how the podcast came to fruition. He wanted to provide a platform for the community especially for the listeners who would like to become professional football players.

Brendan’s growth along with In The 11:

The podcast was a two-way street. It provides educational and inspirational content for the community as much as it also helps with Brendan. He’s realized that the sport cannot be a crutch of some sort, that it should not be the only thing defining him after the most recent dark time he’s gone through and now he’s more open to other possibilities and these would not have been even thought of if he did not push through with the podcast. Brendan also stated that as much as this podcast aims to inspire and help aspiring professional football players, this is also his way of communicating with every listener to let them know that the mental toll of the sacrifices and the ups and downs in the industry is not something that they have to go through on their own.

Outline of the Episode: