Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in athletics coaching but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jordan Santiago, coach of Summit Goalkeeping, located in Calgary, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Summit Goalkeeping is the largest Goalkeeper Academy in Alberta and works with all ages of goalkeepers, from beginner to professional. We have sent over 50 goalkeepers to universities across the world & 4 goalkeepers have come through our academy and are currently with professional teams.

Professional goalkeepers travel from out of province and out of the city to train with us, including Nathan Ingham, Niko Giantsopolous, Marco Carducci & Tyson Farago. We have had the pleasure of coaching Olympic Champion Stephanie Labbe in her off-season training for over five years. Chituru Odunze came through our academy and is now at Leicester City & part of the USA National team.

Tell us about yourself

I am currently the goalkeeper coach at Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League and have been there since the league was created in 2018. Under my guidance, two backup goalkeepers have become started in the CPL & Marco Carducci got player of the year and got called into the Canadian national team.

I was given his first opportunity to develop young, aspiring athletes at West Ham United in the English Premier League. West Ham United approached me for the role of Lead Academy Goalkeeper Coach in the Youth Development Phase in August 2013. My duties involved developing U8-U21 goalkeepers on a daily basis and coaching First Team Goalkeepers Jussi Jääskeläinen and Adrián a number of times throughout the 2013-2014 Premier League season. I was responsible for developing two young goalkeepers into England Youth Internationals at the U15 and U18 age groups during his time at the club.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Seeing the over 50 goalkeepers progress from junior high into high school, get a scholarship to a University, or Contract with a professional team. To see someone grow from a ten-year-old into an adult and have them thank you for the impact you have had on their lives is something I will always cherish and remember. It is not just what we do on the field but how we develop characters off the field that we take the biggest pride in.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is overcoming difficult times during COVID with multiple shutdowns to growing the business to the biggest it has ever been within one year of our Country re-opening up. The personal and professional relationships built over the last few years have helped us massively.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Take a passion and turn it into a business. Find what you love and figure out how you can change people's lives. The income will follow.
  2. Start small and build a solid foundation to grow your business. Lots of people have big ambitions, and some succeed. The tallest buildings have the best foundations; start there before you grow.
  3. You have to work hard and be committed through good times and bad. There is no clock in and clock out. If you put in the work & trust the process, good things will come.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.summitgoalkeeping.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summitgoalkeeper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summit.goalkeeping/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordansantiag0
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordansantiago/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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