Meet Your Coach

I am Alaina Lange, and here is my personal story:

I began playing the game of soccer when I was 5 years old. Neither of my parents had played soccer before (both multi-sport athletes), but a recreational tryout was happening around the corner from my house so we went. It was there that a local travel coach saw me play and asked if I had thought about playing travel soccer. This was the spark of my life-long passion for the game of soccer.

As I got older, soccer became more than a priority in my life, it was my life, but not just for me. My family jumped into the soccer lifestyle with me head first. Both my family and I had to make sacrifices or rearrange our schedules so I could fulfill my dream of playing soccer at the highest level possible. Our vacations were extensions of my soccer tournaments, I would show up to church service in my soccer uniform and maybe even leave early from service, and often times a holiday gift from my parents was paying for me to play year-round at a premier level. I was more than happy with all of that. More importantly, so was my family (okay, just don't ask my sister because I'm sure she didn't always enjoy being dragged along to soccer things as she was not as into soccer as I was, but she was always a good sport about it).

I played on many premier soccer clubs in the capital area, including Capital United, Alleycats, CP Premier and BlackWatch. I was the first 7th grader to make the junior varsity team at Scotia-Glenville, was moved up to varsity during my 8th grade season, and was named captain of the varsity team my senior year. I then went on to play at the DII collegiate level at The College of Saint Rose.

Throughout my soccer career, I have been privileged to be coached and trained by some of the best in the capital region, including Laurie & Jason Gutheil, Brian Bold, Lise Williams, Skip Dawson, Steve Freeman, Keith and Liz Villamil, PJ Motsiff, Danielle Hummel (Wolfe), Nick Southworth, Mark Van Leuven and more. It was one of my coaches and mentors, who pulled me aside when I was about 16 and told me that he believed I had the traits to be a great soccer coach one day. I have since then gotten the opportunity to coach along side many of those greats who once coached me (or coached against me) as a player.

Now, I am known in the capital region as one of the elite soccer coaches in upstate NY, having coached at RYSC (Rotterdam Youth Soccer Club), Alleycats Premier SC, BlackWatch Premier SC and Schalmont High School. I have been privileged to coach for and alongside many of the aforementioned coaches as well as the likes of Angelo Caschera, Afrim Nezaj, Emmie Doin, and more. I have led the Schalmont Girls' Varsity Soccer Team to 2 NYSPHSAA Class B State Championship titles, 3 Class B Regional Championship titles and 6 Class B Section II Championship titles as both an assistant and head coach. I have coached athletes who have been invited to the US Youth National trials and athletes who have gone on to play at the DI, DII and DIII collegiate levels, either soccer or another sport.

While I always have a passion for team coaching, I have decided to take my team coaching experiences, skills and successes and channel them into a program for the individual athlete with A+ Athlete Coaching.

Why?

Of course I have a passion for the game of soccer that I want to pass on to the future generation of players, as most coaches do, but in addition; I want to provide such a program that I wish I had available to me when I was a young soccer player:

• A program for individual athletes who desire to maximize their potential, achieve their goals and become the best soccer players they can be.

• Personalized Coaching that trains all aspects of the game and educates you about what it takes mentally and physically to be your best, focusing specifically on you; your goals, abilities, needs and more.

Partnering individual commitment and hard work with A+ Athlete Coaching, it is my mission for you, as an athlete with a passion for soccer, to maximize your potential, achieve your goals and become the best you that you can be!"