057: Andre Blake of the Philadelphia Union

With an MLS Goalkeeper-of-the-Year award, the CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Gloves and a Caribbean Cup winner’s medal, the Philadelphia Union‘s Andre Blake has already established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the Western Hemisphere. But this summer, he has the Union eyeing their first professional trophy and the Reggae Boyz dreaming of their first Gold Cup.

In today’s episode, Andre talks about a goalkeeping journey that has taken him from the small town of May Pen, Jamaica, to three standout season with the UConn Huskies, and now leadership roles with the Union and the Jamaican men’s senior national team.

Andre discusses the qualities that prepared him for college, professional and international soccer, and about the importance of making mistakes, learning from them, and being able to put them behind you. He also talks about the deep disappointment of being cut from a team – the Jamaican U15s in Andre’s case – and importance of how you respond to such a crossroads.

And with injuries threatening to undermine his and the Union’s fast start to the 2019 season, Andre also talks about the importance of the relationship between starting and backup goalkeepers. I hope you enjoy the show!

Special thanks to Andre Blake for joining me!