David Check (Staff Member)

David Check played goalkeeper for Marquette University, finishing his eligibility in 2011. During his career he earned Big East Goalkeeper of the Week multiple times, and led the Big East in saves in 2010. He started 18 out of 21 games in each of the 2010 and 2011 seasons, leading the team to the 2011 Big East Blue Division Championship. Over the past years he has coached goalkeepers at Camp Shut-Out, working under many top level goalkeeping coaches, including former FC Wisconsin goalkeeper coach Hideki Nakada (currently an assistant at Stanford University.)

What are your memories of playing youth soccer?

"Youth soccer was a long time ago for me. Some of the best memories for me growing up playing soccer were making it to the Best of the Midwest Semi-Finals and the day I chose to play soccer at Marquette University. Once I decided that I wanted to play college soccer, the sacrifices, late night trainings, and early morning trainings became my life to achieve my goal of succeeding in college soccer. Once I stepped on the fields at Marquette the goal changed again. Just being on the team was not enough. I wanted to be a starter, so that journey of hard work and sacrifice started all over again."

What coaching did you do before coming to FC Wisconsin?

"Before coaching at FC Wisconsin I had done mostly coaching during the summer at Camp Shutout. For those who are unfamiliar with camp, it is a week-long goalkeeping specific camp founded by the previous head goalkeeping coach at Marquette. FC Wisconsin was my first full-time coaching position."

Why did you decide you wanted to be a soccer coach?

"I have known for a long time that I wanted to be a soccer coach, and more specifically, a goalkeeper coach. In youth soccer, goalkeeping is probably the most neglected position.  Especially when I was growing up, very few knew how to train a goalkeeper or what to do with them during training. For me, coaching goalkeepers is all about passing down the knowledge of this very unique position and making sure the next generation is better the one before it."

Why did you decide to coach at FC Wisconsin?

"My decision to be a coach at FC Wisconsin was a simple one for me. The club is DIFFERENT! This club expects and pushes players to be better in a lot of ways from training, tactical play, tactical and technical thinking, all the way to how the club dresses. This club trains and acts like the top college teams and professional teams in the country. Having the ability to train and coach girls who have the drive and desire to be a top player makes coming to work fun and exciting."

How would you describe an FC Wisconsin player?

"No one word can fully describe a player from this club. A player from this club is a dedicated, determined, smart, hardworking, and driven individual. The dedication and passion of our players is an integral part of the club; it allows them to compete with one another and push each other to be the best player that they can be.

How is coaching goalkeepers unique?

"Coaching goalkeepers is unique in a lot of ways. In training we can go from training proper technique, to how to save a shot in the top corner, to the precision and accuracy needed during distribution, not to mention the problem solving, communication and discipline that is required to run a defensive back line. There is more to goalkeeping than most people think. Teaching goalkeepers the proper technique to make the necessary save is critical, but it’s also crucial to teach them how to do it in a manner that keeps them as safe as possible. The mindset and thought process of a goalkeeper has vast importance as well. Goalkeepers must think about worst-case scenarios frequently, not think "better safe then sorry," and hold themselves accountable for them and their team."

How would you describe the FC Wisconsin experience to a parent?

"As I said earlier, this club is different. We compete at the top level in the country, so we push players in all aspects of soccer in order for them to become a top player. We hold players to higher standards than most clubs and expect more because we are training them to be the best of the best.  The club will test them in every aspect of the game, but in the end, when they walk off a field after performing at their very best, they will look back and say that it was totally worth it."

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