Mean, confident, annoying, fearless, intense, focused.
Those are the adjectives Max Watkin used to describe himself as the starting goalkeeper for the Malibu High boys soccer team.
His presence in goal has been a major reason why Malibu currently has an overall record of 12-4-4. The Sharks are in second place in league at 6-1-2, only three points behind league-leading Santa Paula.
Watkin, 16, is as tough-minded as they come. Now in his second full year as the Sharks goalie, he’s showing both teammates and opponents what happens when an extremely self-confident goalkeeper walks between the goal posts with the personal belief that no one will score upon him.
“I consider myself really good because you got to have supreme confidence in yourself to be a goalkeeper,”
Watkin said. “You have to believe that you could stop any shot. I’m confident to the point of annoyance at practice and games. I don’t think anyone can score on me and if they do, they won’t do it again.”
The confident young goalkeeper has been a major force in goal for MHS. The junior goalie has recorded 10 shutouts and allowed only 16 goals through 20 games this season, including surrendering a mere six goals in Tri-Valley League action through nine games.
Since the age of three, Watkin has competed in soccer and only since the seventh grade has he played goalkeeper.
With aspirations to play in college and specifically at the division one level, Watkin trains weekly with Ian Feuer, the goalkeeper coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Watkin says that Feuer has done an amazing job with developing his hand and eye coordination, footwork, and the ability to read and react to an oncoming attacker’s shot.
“I’m improving every day,” said Watkin, who has logged more than 1,500 minutes on the pitch this season, making 49 saves in the process. “He has helped me out a lot and I use his advice in games.”
While Feuer works on his physical abilities, Watkin is also working on the mental aspect, which he says is particularly important for goalkeepers.
Just like a hockey goaltender or a pitcher on the mound, the life of a soccer goalkeeper can be a lonely one. On any given day, you can be the hero or the goat. One moment a goalie can make a spectacular diving save and the next instant a ball bounces by as the goalie looks on helplessly.
“During the game people will say things to try to throw me off. I’ve learned to feed off of that,” he said. “The other part is you can’t let anything that you do negatively affect how you will do later in the game. You have to wipe away any bad mistakes, have a clean slate and not dwell upon it during the game.”
With the regular season winding down, Watkin is looking forward to the playoffs and an extended run of success in the postseason.
“The season has gone well. Malibu is such a close community that we’ve known each other our whole lives. The chemistry we have is amazing,” he said. “We should have made a deeper run the last two years. We are all upset about that. We are not going to slip up again.”