‘The Goal’ podcast from New England Soccer Journal’s Matt Langone debuts

NEFC's Nick Burke, right, joined Matt Langone on the inaugural episode of "The Goal."

MILTON, Mass. — Seamans Media, the leader in regional sports media, is excited to announce the launch of its newest podcast. New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast will be hosted by Matt Langone, the editor of New England Soccer Journal.

Like all Seamans Media platforms, “The Goal” will deliver inspiring, informative and insightful soccer talk for serious players, coaches and fans. We’ll discuss soccer at all different levels with some of the most interesting, accomplished and influential personalities in the region. We’ll seek to deliver information, advice and direction in the New England soccer world like you’ve never heard before.

“Seamans Media continues to expand its podcast network with The Goal,” said Seamans Media founder and president Eric Seamans. “Matt Langone will bring excitement and inspiration to all of our listeners with a lineup of influential guests the soccer community will enjoy getting insight and direction from.”

The podcast will typically drop every other Tuesday to start, and, in the near future, will transition to a weekly podcast. Episodes can be accessed at all major podcast platforms, so listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

“I’m thrilled to be hosting ‘The Goal,’” said Langone, who joined Seamans Media last year and has over 15 years experience covering New England sports. “It’ll be a real treat to play a part in providing compelling, informative and insightful content that our listeners will thoroughly enjoy. I’m excited to deliver the fascinating conversations that I know soccer fans across New England are always craving.”

The guest for the debut episode, which dropped Tuesday, is NEFC Girls Director of Coaching Nick Burke. Originally from Waterford, Ireland, Burke has been coaching in the United States since 2006, and he’s been with the Massachusetts-based club NEFC since 2008. He also coaches NEFC’s 2005 and 2006 girls academy teams. Burke is a former professional player for over 10 years, having had stints with Leeds United FC, Nottingham Forest FC, Swindon Town FC and Barry Town FC.

Some highlights from the inaugural episode of “The Goal”:

On his experience at NEFC:

Burke: “I’ve been here 13-14 years. In the club soccer landscape, that’s quite rare. (Having coaches) with the same ideas, same kind of vision. That’s helped.”

On why performance matters in club soccer:

Burke: “Club soccer’s a fickle world. But if you do a good job on the field, and you’re developing kids and the kids are having a good experience and having fun, a good club will stay around and keep attracting players.”

On rivalries among club soccer programs:

Burke: “I wouldn’t say combative. I would say competitive, which is a good thing. It makes NEFC better to have local rivals. We’re lucky in Massachusetts and New England where there’s a lot of good clubs. It keeps you on your toes.

“We know we have to be better and do a good job to keep the kids or bring kids in. To make sure the kids are happy and getting a good experience.”

On New England’s place in the hierarchy of regions producing U.S. soccer talent:

Burke: “A little biased, but I would say probably top five in the country. You’ve got California, Texas — certain pockets. But New England is top five, for sure. If you look at what it produces in terms of youth national team players, in terms of kids going to college, how competitive they are within certain leagues, how clubs are doing on the national level.

“Considering in New England we only have certain pockets of the year. It’s not like you can go 12 months of the year outside. We’re conditioned to fall, spring and then winter can be challenging. Considering we’re missing out on some of those training times, we’re very, very good.”

New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast is the latest in the Seamans Media Podcast Network. The others are New England Hockey Journal’s “RinkWise,” New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing The Goal” and “The New England Baseball Journal Podcast.”

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