Coach Connor became an assistant coach at HGKA for multiple reasons, but the biggest being Coach Hillsy’s mentorship and the close knit training environment being hard to let go of once his playing career ended due to injuries. He also listed that his love for the game of soccer and passion for helping others was a major driver in his decision to begin assisting at HGKA. Long term, he plans to use Coach Hillsy’s mentorship and his experience at the Academy to further his pursuit of becoming a goalkeeper coach.

Why did you enjoy the HGKA training?
“I enjoyed training with Hillsy because [he] would expect and demand you to be the best you can be, regardless of your talent level. There is a standard that is asked of you. Being surrounded by players who play at a high level helps push yourself and others to be the best you can be.  Coach Hillsy as well as your training partners do an amazing job providing feedback that allows you to learn from your mistakes and/or tweak small things about your game that can help elevate it to the next level. Additionally, the players and Coach Hillsy all get along really well with each other and have built a sense of camaraderie. [He] has done a really great job building a community of goalkeepers that feels like a family. Going to practices was something I looked forward to knowing that I was going to have moments of fun and professionalism all combined in the training environment.”

Connor Burgei
Senior at Ohio Northern University
Jonathan Alder HS Girls Soccer GK Coach