Fredericksburg FC welcomes Joseph DeMartino as goalkeeping director

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (Via Fredericksburg FC) – Fredericksburg FC has welcomed Joseph DeMartino to the club as its new full-time Goalkeeping Director, beginning Jan. 1, 2019. Coaches Matt Cruz and Matt Eby will remain with the club as Goalkeeping Staff Coaches.

DeMartino is a Chesapeake, Va., native who currently resides in Thornburg after recently moving to the Fredericksburg area from Kansas City. He graduated from Richmond The American International University in London in May 2018 with a degree in Business Administration: International Sports Management.

The 23-year old has coaching experience with Beach FC, as a 1-on-1 personal trainer while living in Kansas City and with Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) while in England. He is scheduled to begin seeking goalkeeping licenses through United Soccer Coaches beginning in January of the new year.

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As a youth, DeMartino played with Beach FC in the Virginia Beach, Va., area. He also had an extensive playing career with RIASA while living in Leeds, England, at the semi-pro level, seeing showcase action against teams from clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday FC, Burnley FC, Bradford City, Leicester City, Barnsley FC and Middlesbrough FC. While with RIASA, he also saw action in games played against teams in Norway, Finland and Slovenia.

“I am looking forward to what I will learn while working alongside the coaches within the club,” DeMartino said. “There is a great deal of high-level coaching experience here and I can’t wait to tap into that as much as possible to improve myself as a coach.”

“We are excited to add another new staff member as the spring 2019 season approaches. Joseph will help us expand our Goalkeeper Program by allowing us to have a consistent presence for our young goalkeepers,” said FFC President and Executive Director Grover Gibson. “This new change also allows us the ability to work toward a full-time goalkeeping staff presence in the office, which will allow us to continue to improve our day-to-day operations of the program. With coaches Eby and Cruz also still on staff, it will allow us to keep a good balance within the staff and an appropriate goalkeeper-to-coach ratio at all training sessions.”