2014

Beestera Soccer Training, LLC (BST) was originally formed in Albany, New York as Beeston Soccer Training, LLC by James Beeston. James had just graduated from Siena College, and had been building relationships the local soccer clubs. Having coached various teams both in the UK and the US, he felt as though players weren’t maximizing their potential in a team-setting, and wanted to focus on individual development.

 

2015

Mike Matera joined the company, and partnered with James to form Beestera Soccer Training, LLC. Mike shared James' passion regarding development of the individual, thus, a club-neutral, supplemental training experience was established. By offering one-on-one and small group training, Beestera became one of the first 'companies' in the country to do so. Soon after, BST introduced summer camps and clinics. The first week-long camp took place in Latham, NY with twelve players in attendance.

 

2016

James left the company in order to pursue a master's degree and became the assistant coach of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. He was replaced as an owner by Matt Needham, a former Siena teammate of both James and Mike, who brought with him his own portfolio of supplemental clients. This also allowed BST to launch a new service of team training, with local youth organization Brunswick Soccer Club becoming the first club on board. BST started to amass a book of dedicated clients doing weekly individual sessions. Camps also expanded, with three week-long camps held during the summer and the first two day elite soccer clinic, averaging 20 registrations at each camp.

 

2017

Supplemental sessions remained steady, with Mike and Matt still part-time, yet camps expanded, with a fourth week being added to the summer schedule. Beestera also became an official partner of equipment provider SKLZ.

 

2018

The company saw growth in both supplemental training and camps, and also saw James Beeston return as the company’s first full time employee, taking the lead on supplemental sessions and marketing. As demand for private sessions grew, Matt was soon able to follow, expanding his role inside the company into a full-time position, heading up the finance and HR sections of the company.

 

2019

The year started with BST becoming official youth partners of New York City Football Club. Josh Binfield joined the BST staff on a part-time basis. With the addition of Josh, operations increased in the Team training sector, with Averill Park SC, Rip Van Winkle SC, Rotterdam United SC and Niskayuna SC added. Mike Matera took the role of Camp Director and as a result expanded to eight weeks through the summer, averaging 50 players at each camp. BST also expanded the business with the creation of Beestera Goalkeeping, led by Ryan Brooks-Newton.

 

2020

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a year of opportunity. With the lock-down taking effect in mid March of 2020, in-person operations were put on hold, however, BST introduced an interactive online training program. In-person operations started back up in June, and BST posted its most successful summer to date.

Camps had over 900 registrations over ten weeks and multiple locations. Beestera Sports, a company dedicated to individual and small group training in all sports was created, and the first sport Beestera Football was soon to follow, with Billy Pine beginning operations in October of 2020. James Beeston contributed in Doug Lemov’s book ‘The Coaches Guide to Teaching’ and sessions were videoed as an educational tool for US Soccer.

 

2021

Latham Saints and FC Dutchmen were added to the team training. BST entered an official partnership with Nike Sports Camps, and led its first Nike soccer camp at Afrims Sports Park in Colonie, NY. With 190 players in attendance, it became the largest Nike Soccer camp in their history. Summer camps expanded into four new locations, and introduced multiple camps in the same week.

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BST added numerous coaches to lead supplemental sessions, Leigh Howard (Former UAlbany Women’s Head Coach), Graciano Brito (Siena College Men’s Head Coach), Allison Clark, Carlos Menjivar, Kurtis Smith, and Brendan Griffiths. Carlos and Kurtis all joined the staff on a part-time basis, each taking up a specific role within the company. The 'Breakfast Club' was also introduced in the summer months, led by Matt Needham.

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The Beestera Foundation was announced in 2021. Led by Josh Binfield, the new philanthropic initiative was created to improve the quality of Youth Soccer throughout the Capital Region.

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2022

Fifty FC, Albany SC, and North Star Premier were teams that hired us for team training sessions. Kurtis Smith led coaching education seminars for volunteer and current club coaches in the area. Beestera Futsal was created, and led by coach Carlos Menjivar. Training through the winter months, Coach Carlos and Coach Mike took a team to Atlantic City to represent Beestera at the US Futsal Northeast Regional Championship.

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Beestera expanded day camps into new locations, with Ballston Spa, Saratoga Springs, and Stillwater hosting our camps. Our first two Residential camps were also held at Golden Goal Sports Park in Lake Ann, New York and Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts.

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The Beestera Foundation hosted it's first ever 'Open' - an annual golfing event with proceeds going towards providing opportunities for underserved children in the Capital District and beyond.

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Coach Tucker Stern joins the staff on a part-time basis.

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Towards the end of the year, Beestera announced 'The Academy' a subscription based online platform that educates players, parents, and coaches through courses, modules, lessons, and other resources.

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2023

The beginning of the year saw Beestera announce their summer camp schedule, with 10 weeks of day camps being offered in 15 locations across the Capital Region. New locations included Glenville, East Greenbush, and Bethlehem. It also saw the expansion of the Residential Camps into Connecticut (Pomfret School), New Jersey (The Lawrenceville School), and another location in Massachusetts (Curry College) in addition to Mount Holyoke, and New York (Golden Goal).