Karsten Smith

College Education:

4 year starter, 3 year captain, 77 games at American University, an NCAA Division 1 college soccer program that competes in the Patriot League Conference. I won All-Conference honors my Sophomore, Junior and Senior years. My college success led me to an invite only tryout with DC United, followed by trials in France and Vietnam before signing professionally in the USL.

I was a student-athlete from 2006-2010, graduating with a BS in Business Administration with a specialization in International Marketing.

During my time at American University I was a part time youth soccer coach with Sal Caccavale's soccer program, former NY Red Bulls Professional Player and college teammate/roommate, Founder of Achilles FC, a top MLSNEXT club in Bethesda, MD. (https://www.salsoccer.com/achilles-fc/)

Coaching Experience:

-Head Coach at JA Elite FC, Boys 06/07 Team (Filled with the top FCIAC and FAA talent in CT).

-Currently a Youth Coach for New York City Football Club of the MLS.

-Currently the Owner of my own high level soccer training academy that tackles the technical, physical, tactical and mental aspects of the game. (Website coming soon)

-Currently coach with JA Elite Soccer Academy, an organization ran by my close friend, Jhonny Arteaga, former Professional Soccer Player for the NY Red Bulls in the MLS. The organization is based in Stamford, CT. (www.jaelitesoccer.com)

-Former Co-Owner of Train With Pros, a high level training company that was started with my 3 former professional teammates during my time in Edmonton, Canada. We focused on training kids of all age groups, additionally trained top level professionals including Best 11 winner Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich and Montreal Impact and former teammate, Shamit Shome. 2017-2018. (website is www.trainwithpros.ca)

-Youth soccer coach for Albertson Soccer Club. 2018. (www.albertsonsoccer.com)

-Youth soccer coach for Massapequa Soccer Club. 2018. (www.massapequasc.com)

-Youth soccer coach for Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy. 2016. (https://www.riverhounds.com/academy)

-Camp coach with Arsenal FC @ KA Akureyri in Akureyri, Iceland. 2014. (https://www.ka.is/fotbolti)

-Youth soccer coach for Lonestar Soccer Club down in Austin, Texas. 2012. (https://lonestar-sc.com/)

-Youth soccer coach for Gold Coast FC. 2012. (https://goldcoastfc.org/)

-Youth soccer coach for Player Progression Academy down in DC. 2012. (www.ppateam.com)

-Youth soccer coach for BW Gottschee, one of the best clubs in NY. 2011. (https://bwgottschee.org)

During my time as a professional soccer player I had the ability to coach across the world with different clubs, as well as run my own private sessions, using what I learned from my own career and sharing valuable knowledge with my players. I bring untapped knowledge to my players that I personally wish I had access to during my youth career.

I also possess a US Soccer Federation National D License.

I am a former professional soccer player who possesses a special gift when it comes to coaching future generations. I started playing soccer at the age of 4 with my local boyhood club, Huntington Boys Club (HBC) in Huntington, New York. At the age of 12, I played for the Long Island Select A team and continued my youth career with BW Gottschee, winning the NY State Cup two times and ranking as high as a top 10 team in the nation.

By December of my senior year in 2005, I had recruiters from UConn, West Virginia, Princeton, Wake Forrest, University of Albany, Hofstra, Stony Brook University and American University reaching out to me to play college soccer. I didn't know too much about this process, something I make sure my players today are up to speed with. I committed to American University who offered me a full scholarship and by Fall 2006 I was officially a student athlete for the Men's Soccer Team at American University, a Division 1 NCAA Program.

During my time in college, I also won the Virginia State Cup with the Mclean Celtics. After serving as a 3-year team captain and playing in 77 games, I decided to chase my childhood dreams of playing professional soccer. Following stints in both France and Vietnam where I didn't sign with a professional team I signed with FC New York of the USL (The second tier of professional soccer in the USA). Below is a quick summary of the teams I played on.

FC New York, 2011
San Antonio Scorpions, 2012
VPS Vaasa, 2013
KA Akureyri, 2014
Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 2015
Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 2016
FC Edmonton, 2016-2018
Jacksonville Armada, 2018

In total I played over 100 professional games in 4 different countries over a 7 year span.

Awards:

Youth Level:

-Long Island Select A Team
-2x New York State Champions
-All County Suffolk Team

College:

-All Conference 2nd Team, Patriot League, 2007 (sophomore year)
-All Conference 1st Team, Patriot League, 2008 (junior year)
-All Conference 2nd Team, Patriot League, 2009

Professional:

-NASL Regular Season Champions, San Antonio Scorpions, 2012
-Veikusliiga 3rd place finish, VPS Vaasa, qualifying for Europa League
-NASL Semifinalists, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 2015
-NASL Semifinalists, FC Edmonton, 2016

My sessions are very detail oriented and apply specifically to the player. Depending on whether the player is a defender, midfielder or striker, determines how I prepare the lesson. As Arsene Wenger would say, the key focuses on building a successful soccer player is by starting from the ground up, similar to a house. On the 1st floor of a house, is the focus on the technical aspects of the player. On the second floor, is a focus on the physical side of the game. The 3rd floor addresses the tactical approach and the roof is the mental/psychological approach.

A typical session will consist of a warm up, soccer specific mobility routines to help the player's flexibility, some band activation work, dynamic movements that require agility, ball mastery and skill work that pertain to the topic of the day, followed by more and more game realistic exercises. I would describe my training sessions as a professional level experience, filled with a ton of fun and challenges. My sessions typically run for a hour and 30 minutes.