Galbraith keeper for SeaWolves
Goalkeeper Joe Galbraith has all of the
ingredients to play at soccer’s highest level. His 6-foot, 4-inch
frame provides a deadly wingspan that nearly covers half the goal.
His in-game instincts are coming into focus, and as the last line
of defense, he’s as cool as a Pacific breeze.
This year, the 2009 Whitefish graduate
took a leap toward the top level when he was selected to play for
the Everett, Wash., SeaWolves soccer club in the Premier
Developmental League.
The PDL is the ground floor of Major
League Soccer, the top-tier league in the U.S.
Galbraith decided to tryout for the
SeaWolves on the off chance he might be selected.
“About 150 people showed up for
tryouts,” Galbraith said. “Of the 11 keepers, they picked three. I
was just going to give it a shot and I ended up making the
team.”
He played in three games in the
SeaWolves inaugural season and the team finished with a 4-7-4
overall record. They travel across the West for games, taking on
clubs from Portland, Seattle, Tacoma and Canada. Everett’s game
against Victoria drew a crowd in the thousands.
Galbraith is also the starting keeper
for Northwest University’s soccer team. College ball is in the fall
and the PDL season runs in the spring and summer.
“I’m playing soccer all the time,” he
said. “I’m constantly having fun.”
Galbraith says the transition is
massive from high school to college, and then to PDL.
“Being form Whitefish and coached by
O’Brien Byrd, we had a fast squad,” he said. “But going to the
college level, it’s so much faster. That was a huge jump for me.
Then the step up from college to the PDL level is even larger.
You’re playing with the fastest and smartest guys from all
over.”
After three games with the SeaWolves,
Galbraith knows he has some work to do before moving up in the
ranks.
“I have to be quicker,” he said.
At that level, players shoot with a
swerve on the ball and their crossing is more accurate.
“Everything is more of a challenge,” he
said.
His favorite situation is the
one-on-one fastbreak.
“It’s just you and him,” he said. “And
if I make the save — I love it.”
Galbraith says prep players in
Whitefish with aspirations to play collegiate ball or with the PDL
have to market themselves to coaches.
“You have to look for the college,
recruiters do not look for you,” he said. “You have to make the
effort to be seen.”
Galbraith sent letters to 30 schools
all over the Northwest when he was a senior.
“It’s a huge effort to make yourself
known, especially from this area.”
He admits, though, that the Bulldogs
two-season record of 27-1-1 while he was at Whitefish may have
aided him in the recruitment process.
“It probably helped me a little,” he
said, laughing.
As for the future, nothing is out of
the question for Galbraith. He’s young, healthy and has a long
career ahead of him.
“If the roads line up, I would love to
play in the United Soccer League or the MLS,” he said. “I want to
go as high as I can. I’m working on being the fastest, smartest guy
in the back.”