Tony Earp
Senior Director of Soccer Programs Tony Earp directs SuperKick/TeamZone Columbus' Soccer Skills programs. Tony has a Masters in Education from The Ohio State University. Tony was a standout player both academically and athletically at The Ohio State University, earning multiple honors both on the field and in the classroom. Tony's achievements included 2nd Team All Big Ten in 2001 and 2002, serving as Captain in 2002. Tony was named Most Inspirational Player in 2001 and 2002, as well as achieving Scholar Athlete status in those same years. Tony was a member of the 2002 MLS Draft Pool. Tony was a history teacher at Licking Valley High School in 2005 and at Dublin Scioto High School in 2006. In 2007, Tony Earp accepted a position at SuperKick as the Director of Soccer Training where he continues to serve as the Senior Director of Training managing training programs, establishing training curriculums, and coaching SuperKick athletes. In addition, Tony serves as a staff coach for Classics FC and is the Director of the SuperKick Classics Juniors Academy.
Matt Weiss
Director of Facility Operations/ Soccer Skill and Speed Coach Matt graduated from Otterbein College in 2008 with a B.A. in Sport Management. During his time at Otterbein, he played for the Men’s Varsity Soccer team and was a two-year starter. Since graduation, he was the assistant coach for the Dublin Scioto Boys soccer team and now coaches the Olentangy High School Boys team where he was awarded the Division II Columbus Assistant Coach of the Year in 2010. He is an OSYSA “D” license coach and is also the assistant coach for the ’99 Boy’s State ODP team. He is a 2004 graduate of Worthington Kilbourne High School where he also played soccer for 4 years as well as playing club at the National League level for Worthington United. His favorite club is FC Barcelona and Zinedine Zidane is his favorite player of all-time.
Joe Pennell
Assistant Director of Soccer / Brand Awareness Manager Joe is a 2009 graduate of Franklin University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Digital Communication and E-Marketing. He graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.86, with the Academic Honors of being named to the President’s List and Dean’s List multiple quarters. Joe has been playing the sport of soccer since the age of 4. He has played in a natural defender’s position for most of his career, but enjoys applying an offensive mentality even from the back line. Joe is a graduate of Pickerington High School where he played out his HS career on the Men’s Soccer Team. He also played club ball for NASA X-Tabi (u13-u19) under the coaching instruction of Denison University’s Rob Russo and Keith Laughlin. Joe currently plays in the Columbus Premier Soccer League as well as in various Men’s A/ 1st Division leagues and tournaments across Ohio. A main focus for Joe’s coaching style is to help players build confidence in their playing abilities with consistent training repetition, as well as an emphasis on being able to attack from any position on the field.
Alex Conti
Head Trainer, Speed and Strength/ Boot Camps Alex Conti is a 2006 graduate from Olentangy Liberty where he played soccer all four years. He played for the club team Blast FC out of Westerville, Ohio. As a member of that team Alex competed in 3 state Cup finals and went as far as the regional semi's. Alex was a part of the u19 Blast FC team that was ranked among the top 16 in the nation. In 2010 Alex graduated from Otterbein University with a degree in Exercise Science. During his time at Otterbein, Alex was a member of the men's soccer team that competed in the OAC conference. In the fall of 2010 Alex was selected to be the University of Notre Dame's strength and conditioning intern. From his time there he received valuable experience and knowledge coaching several different teams including: Men's and women's basketball, hockey, baseball, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's lacrosse, women's soccer and women's cross country. Alex directs our Superkick Speed and Strength, Soccer Speed and Agility and Adult Boot Camp programs.
Jack Santora
Soccer Skill and Speed Coach / Sports Performance Coach Jack Santora graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Education degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Nutrition in 2008. During his time at OSU, Jack was a part of the men's club soccer team which had finished with a winning record of 9-3-2 in 2006 and the following year was one of the top twenty-four clubs in the nation. Prior to playing club soccer at OSU, Jack had played for Greater Akron and Cleveland area clubs Greater Akron Premier, Spectrum Soccer School, Ohio Premier and most notable the Cleveland Force Juniors. Aside from success on the field, Jack has recently become certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). Currently, Jack will be entering his third season of coaching a Dublin Scioto High School. He began coaching the JVB team at Scioto for the 2009-2010 and became the JVA Coach the following season. His A team finished the 2010-2011 season with 8 wins, 5 draws, and only 3 losses. Jack will be the Assistant Varsity coach this coming 2011-2012 season.
Nate Booker
Soccer Skill and Speed Coach Nathan is a 2004 graduate from Pickerington North High School. He was a 2 time OCC Semi-finalist and was voted Captain and Team MVP. Nate played club for Ohio Thunder under Mike Thomas and Ohio Premier under Steve Serr. During those years, he was a 2 time State Cup Finalist, 2 time State Cup Champion, Regional Champion and National Runner-up. Nathan attended college at Philadelphia University where he started as a true freshmen until he was sidelined with a knee injury. In 2009, Nathan went on trial in the Croatian professional soccer league (HNL) where he played against clubs such as NK Orijent, NK Medulin, NK Istra, NK Rijeka, and Dinamo Zagreb.
Scott Forster
Soccer Skill and Speed Coach Throughout his life, Scott has experienced many things in the world of soccer. He was a standout soccer player in high school at Granville Christian Academy. Scott went on to play four years of college soccer, one at Malone College and finished his last three at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. During his junior year he helped his team reach the NAIA National Final Four. Scott has seven years of head coaching experience with the club team NASA XTABI, along with 7 years of assistant coaching on the high school varsity level. He spent 6 years assisting at Granville Christian Academy and one at Granville High School where he remains for the upcoming season. Scott also holds a OSYSA “D” license. As of 2011, Scott received his degree in social work from the Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
Shannon Flahive
Soccer Skill and Speed Coach Shannon Flahive graduated from Olentangy Liberty High School in 2011. She plans to attend Miami University and is enrolled in the Honors program where she will major in pre-med and spanish. Shannon started playing soccer when she was 6 years old with OYAA, then moved on to Olentangy Classics, and from U-12 to U-17 played club with Ohio Premier. Her OP team won state cup in 2007 and made it to the semis and finals every year. In high school, Shannon made varsity as a freshman. However, she played club instead of high school her sophomore and junior year. Shannon played varisty soccer again her senior year where she had the second most points, assists, and goals for her team. She lost in the district finals to UA in overtime. She plans to continue playing soccer in college at the club level. Shannon works with the younger kids at Superkick where she shows her passion for soccer and working with children. Shannon simply enjoys teaching young kids the basics of soccer and shows the importance of loving the game.
Brendan Vazquez
Soccer Skill and Speed Coach Brendan is a 2009 graduate of Big Walnut High School where he played two years on the varsity team. He played 5 years with the New Albany Freedom Club team in the Buckeye Premier league. He is currently a sophomore at Ohio State University. Brendan has an “F” coaching license. He has coached several teams for BWSA recreational league; he coached the Big Walnut Middle School boys team in their spring 2010 season and coaching the BWSA Heroes U9 Boys team in their fall 2010 season. Brendan enjoys coaching and the opportunity to work with youth as they develop their soccer skills, their understanding of the game, and confidence in their abilities.
Lindsay Vittorio
Sports Performance Coach Lindsay is a 2001 graduate from St Francis DeSales high school, playing sports year round in soccer, basketball, and softball until her senior year making softball her focus to continue onto college. While playing for DeSales they had made tournament runs to making it to regional finals (2000) and district finals (2001). Playing summer softball (NSA-national softball association) for the Columbus Crush, they has finished 5th place (2000) in the World Series held in Columbus, OH as well as finishing in 2nd place (2001) in the World Series held in Rock Hill, SC. After high school, Lindsay graduated from the University of Akron in 2006 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science. While attending Akron, Lindsay was a high contributor both athletically and academically for the Akron Zips softball team 2002-2005. Her achievement include multiple semesters on the Dean’s List, academic and athletic scholarships, and was named the team’s Clutch player as well as Most Improved Player in 2005. Lindsay has an appreciation for all sports and loves being able to teach kids how to become not just faster and stronger athletes, but confident and mentally tough as well.
Mike Coury
Goalkeeping Skills Coach Mike is a graduate of the Ohio State University. He was captain of the OSU Men's Club team for all four years of his playing career. Mike has been training goalkeepers for 7 years, including 2 years with the Classics/ Classics Eagles program. He is currently the Varsity Assistant Coach at St. Francis Desales High School.
Tara Carter
Goalkeeping Skills Coach Tara is a 2011 graduate of Otterbein University where she served as the starting goalkeeper for all four years of her career. She was one of three senior captains on the 2010 team that advanced to the final four in the NCAA tournament and finished with a 3rd national ranking. The team finished first in the country in Goals Against Average, Save Percentage, and Shutout Percentage after allowing just 4 goals and posting 21 shutouts in 24 games played. Tara was named the 2010 National Goalkeeper of the Year by d3soccer.com and is ESPN the magazine’s 2010 Academic All America Player of the Year for the college division. She ends her career as the all-time conference leader in minutes played (7,815), goals against average (.430), and shutouts (54). Tara is a coach for the Classics Eagles Organization and has been training goalkeepers for the past five years. She has recently signed on to serve as the Graduate Assistant Goalkeeping Coach at Otterbein University for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Tara is very excited about the opportunity to push young goalkeepers to the next level at SuperKick Columbus.
Chris Weisgarber
Goalkeeping Skills Coach Chris is a 2010 graduate from St. Francis DeSales High School, where he was valedictorian, an All-State soccer player, and a member of the Super 12 Central Ohio Boys Soccer Team. His senior soccer season ended with a State Championship trophy, and he allowed only five goals in 23 games. In 2008, Chris’ club team, Columbus FC, won the U.S. Club Soccer National Championship. Throughout his high school and club soccer career, he accumulated 14 penalty shootout victories out of the 15 shootouts his teams encountered. Currently, he attends Capital University, where he is majoring in Biology/Premed. For Capital, he was the starting goalkeeper his freshman year and was named team captain at the end of his freshman soccer season.
Brian Smith
Executive Director
Brian graduated from The Ohio State University in 1997 with a Bachelor of
Science degree of Physical Therapy. As a licensed physical therapist, he
has specialized in sports medicine and orthopedic injuries.
In 1998, Brian
became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the
National Strength and Conditioning Association. Brian served as Strength and
Conditioning Coach for the The Columbus Crew from 2002-2005. Brian has co-
authored 2 training manuals: Protecting the Athlete’s Knee: A Complete Guide
to Knee Injury Prevention and Athletic Excellence, and The Fitness Secrets of
Championship Golfers.
