Coaching Staff

A 2018 graduate of Utica College and a 4-year member of the Utica College Men’s Soccer team, I took over the program in 2019 following a year of assisting Bubby in coaching. Prior to joining the coaching staff, I spent  7 years training with Bubby. Currently, I am the Head Women's Soccer coach for SUNY Canton. I have held positions including goalkeepers coach for the men’s and women's soccer programs at SUNY Cortland,  goalkeeper coach for Invictus FC and Syracuse Rush, and assistant coach at Sage College and SUNY Cobleskill.  I hold my USSF National D License, USSF Grassroots 11v11, and 9v9 coaching licenses, as well as the United Soccer Coaches GK Level 1, 2 and 3 diplomas. I am currently pursuing the Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma, to further my career as a coach. I am currently enrolled in a master's program in Sport and Performance Psychology to continue helping athletes reach their potential, and in hopes to help address the mental health crisis affecting athletes in our communities. I enjoy coaching, working out, playing golf (and staying active in general), and spending my free time with friends and family. 

I have always had a great passion for the game, and after my playing career concluded I immediately reached out to Bubby to continue being involved in the program that had given me the tools to continue playing the game I love for another 4 years. Bubby helped me grow as a coach during my time under his watch, and through both training and coaching, he has instilled in me the same attention to detail and expectation of hard work. The key to becoming a better keeper is to focus on the smaller details of the position that ultimately build into the grand scheme of being a keeper. This includes making sure every action in a training is done with a purpose and every rep during practice and warmups repeats the techniques that have been done in training and to the best of the keeper's ability. I will do my best to provide every resource for my players and keepers to succeed, just as Bubby had done for me. 

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Bob Miller, Steve Sawyer
 

Bubby, along with the support of Bob and Steve, envisioned a premier goalkeeping academy right here in Central New York, citing a need for goalkeepers to get the elite level training that their competitors in other parts of the country had access to. Thanks to this need, along with Bubby’s love for the game and coaching, BLGK (Bubby Leasure Goalkeeping) was born in 2013. Both Steve Sawyer and Bob Miller made efforts to secure a wonderful training space in 481 Sport Center. We continue that partnership, allowing us to train at one of the best indoor facilities in the area, with ample space for the highest-level training possible. Beginning with a small group of 6 keepers, Bubby continued to grow his academy into what it was when he stepped away, with more than 20 current members, as well as over 25 graduates who have both concluded their college soccer careers or continue to play in college as we speak. Bubby’s hard work (as well as each and every player who put the work in) culminated with the graduation of the class of 2019, many of whom started training in their 7th and 8th grade years, which saw every player find a home with strong college soccer programs, as well as 5 of those graduates earning Division 1 scholarships. While we look forward to what is to come for each and every one of us, it’s important to reflect on how we got here, and how thankful we are that Bubby, Steve, and Bob made this possible.y are.