Podcast: NEFC’s Christian Battaglia on the ECNL Boys Playoffs

NEFC Boys Director of Coaching Christian Battaglia instructs players. (Courtesy photo)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast is NEFC Boys Director of Coaching Christian Battaglia.

Battaglia has been with the Massachusetts-based club for 16 years. NEFC will have numerous age groups competing at the ECNL National Boys Playoffs, which begin on Sunday and will be held at Bryan Park in the area of Greensboro, N.C. The club also sent teams to the ECNL Regional League playoffs this past weekend.

Battaglia joined host Matt Langone to preview the national playoffs, and discuss the 2022-23 season for NEFC and how the club has progressed through the years.

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review.

Here are some highlights from our discussion with Battaglia:

On NEFC’s playoff participation:

Battaglia: “We’re pretty excited that we have seven NEFC teams being represented for the ECNL playoffs. We have our top four national teams — our U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19s are heading to Greensboro — and we also had three of our ECNL regional teams down in New Jersey (last) weekend.”

On how playing in the Northeast Conference prepares NEFC’s teams:

Battaglia: “These games are very competitive every single weekend. Whether we’re playing a single game or doubleheaders, every club has their own specific playing style. So, as a staff you have to adjust and adapt every single weekend. You play home and away, so you get to play them one time away, and then you get to come home. You might have to make adjustments with your personnel, your team, your system of how you’re playing. It’s been very competitive. The national showcase events have been fantastic. I think that for our players, in terms of getting seen by college coaches going down to Greensboro for the U-19s, U-17s and U-16s, there will be over 400 college coaches down there for our players to get noticed.”

On working with NEFC for 16 years:

Battaglia: “I enjoy the people I work with. I always tell our kids when we’re coaching them, you have to enjoy what you do to be successful. And just the people I work with, I really enjoy them. They’re good people, who make good decisions. I think they’re about the club and about the players. I think that’s why the past 16 years we’ve been successful. It’s great to win games, but we have an under-23 boys program that we started three years ago. We got 40 players that came back this summer, and a lot of those kids have played for us, so it’s nice to see them.”

On what he’s hoping to see from his teams in Greensboro:

Battaglia: “Hopefully, we get the visibility of college coaches down there. If we’re lucky enough to play for a national championship, that would be great.”

The Goal” podcast is brought to you by the New England Revolution.

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