Another day, another interview with a goalkeeper who has international experience! Thank you to Barbados international goalkeeper Keasel Broome for taking the time out to talk with us about his career both collegiately and professionally. Read all about his unique college experience, the adjustment to the professional game playing with international stars, and his goals for his international career!
You're a goalkeeper w/ international experience who has played for various professional teams over your three year career so far including the storied NY Cosmos but I want to start with what got you into soccer? And more specifically, how did you choose the goalkeeping position?
I started playing soccer when I was three. I honestly couldn’t tell you what made me play soccer at that age but I guess everyone was doing it so I did to. I became a keeper because I had asthma and was a little chunky and couldn’t run so my coach stuck me in goal and it was a match made in heaven.
You made 59 appearances over 5 seasons w/ Providence, talk a little bit about your time there. More specifically the ups and downs as well as the highs of your NCAA tournament run.
My time at Providence College was very special. I started my junior season (2012) and we ended the season 4-10-2 with only two clean sheets. Tough first season between the sticks but we bounced back and my senior and red shirt senior year we went to back-to-back Big East championship games, winning one. We broke school records on our way to our program's first final four appearance as well and that will be a season I will never forget.
During your college career, you played for two pretty consistently successful PDL clubs in Reading United and Ocean City Nor'easters, what were those experiences like? What was the competition level in training like and how did you deal with the change in scenery each summer? My PDL experience with Reading United and Ocean City were two very different experiences but both helped me tremendously as a player. Reading was my first PDL experience and to be playing with talent like Ryan Findley, Deshorn brown, Steve Neumann and coached by Brendan Burke; It prepared me for that first season at providence and exposed me to what higher level soccer was. Ocean city was a great experience because I was able to play on a team that made it to the PDL final four that year and to experience such a great and successful season with that team was unbelievable. Both those experiences paved the way to where I am in my career currently.
You were drafted by the San Jose Earthquakes in 2015, what was that preseason experience like? Was there a noticeable step up from college and if so, how did you deal with that adjustment?
Being drafted by San Jose was a dream come true for me. It was crazy to be in the California sun and wearing shorts and t-shirts at the end of January. The experience there was one to remember; I was able to go up against forwards like Chris Wondolowski. It was great being around the team and organization. I really felt at home there and everyone was so welcoming to me. I thought there was a step up between college and the pros but once I was there and in it, you adjust quickly to the speed of play.
You ultimately ended up signing with the NY Cosmos of the NASL in the 2015 season playing alongside some legendary players like Marcos Senna and Raul, was it at all intimidating being in training with those high quality international player? Being able to share a championship locker room with guys like Raul and Marcos Senna is something I will never forget. I remember going on trial and I think I was more nervous for what they thought then the actual coaching staff but after one session I felt right at home and they both accepted me into the group as if I was family and made my time in New York memorable.
You've played in a few different teams over your career, do you find it tough adjusting to new cities, teammates, and training environments? More specifically, adjusting to different goalkeeper coaches and goalkeepers that you are competing with day in and day out? I actually love the new city, new team and new goalkeeper coach. I love to travel and see new places and soccer has allowed me to do that so far in my life. Different goalkeeper coaches is tough in the beginning because each one has their own style of what true goalkeeping is. Training with new keepers who I’m competing with isn’t tough either, I think I would clash with more of their personality off the field then them as a keeper on it but so far I’ve been blessed to work with some great guys so far in my career.
Lets talk about your international experience, you've made 8 appearances for Barbados so far. Talk about what it means to you to play for your country and how your international career has gone so far? Playing for Barbados has been absolutely a treat for me. I never take a call up for granted. I bleed the trident blue and gold and it’s something I treasure every time I get to go out there with my teammates and represent the country. Out of eight games so far I have four clean sheets to my name, but that’s not without the help of the entire team. We defend well together and fight for each other. I’m most excited for what’s to come in the coming months for Barbados being in the League of Nations this fall.
Barbados as never qualified for a major international tournament, do you and your teammates use that as motivation moving forward? What are some of your goals for you and your teammates? We’re looking to change that this year. With the League of Nations, we can automatically qualify for the 2019 Gold Cup if we can grind out some positive results against Guyana, El Salvador, USVI, and Nicaragua. If we do, we can play teams such as the USA, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica next summer here in the states.
How much do you think your USL & NASL experience has helped you to be successful at the international level? I think there are a lot of quality players (goalkeepers specifically) at the lower levels in the United States and it is great to see guys like you succeed at the international level. Getting games is the most important thing. Having that dual citizenship allowed me to represent the land of my father and a opportunity to get more games and play meaningful games every time I’m called up. Playing against other professionals in the USL/NASL prepares myself and the Barbados national team to play against other pros from other countries.
What's more memorable? Your first international cap or your YouTube viral video of your penalty kick shootout in college? First international cap for sure! I always imagined walking out with the song playing in the background and when that came true I couldn’t help but smile and grin because a lot of hard work goes into it and when a dream becomes a reality it just made me ecstatic and I’ll never forget it.
