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Practice Makes Perfect 11.11 Training adds another layer to Upstate’s booming soccer scene WORDS BY TREVOR ANDERSON PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS
India Trotter and Blakely Mattern know soccer is a game that thrives on passion. In the rapidly growing world of competitive women’s soccer, however, passion is a trait that will take aspiring footballers only so far. That’s why the two former professional players created their concept 11.11 Training at 125 Industrial Drive in Greenville. They hope it will serve as a point of confluence for confidence, drive, ability, skill, experience, and opportunity — all of the attributes that will help their young customers become successful on the field, as well as off. “The pure enjoyment for us is when we see players succeed,” said Trotter, 33, a former U.S. Women’s National Team player and second-team All-American at Florida State University. “For example, we had a kid come in and we were going over and over something with her. One day, she was doing it. I turned to her mom and said, ‘I think she’s got it!’ That’s what’s so exciting.” What exactly is 11.11 Training?
Let’s start with its leaders: Trotter, the owner, and Mattern, her head trainer. Trotter grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and after a standout youth career, she decided to take her game up a level to the collegiate ranks. She said she had an offer to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a perennial women’s powerhouse. Trotter also considered offers from the University of Georgia and University of Texas at Austin. While her parents pushed for Texas, Trotter said Florida State grabbed her attention because the program was growing and she wanted to “play for the program that was going to beat [UNC].” As a Lady Seminole, she started and played nearly every position on the field and led the team to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I tournament three out of four years. Her proudest memory from college is from her junior year when the team had graduated seven of its 11 starters. “We weren’t supposed to be any good,” Trotter
Former professional soccer players Blakely Mattern (left) and India Trotter (right) founded 11.11 Training to provide players with supplementary, high-quality training focused on speed, strength, and agility.
said. “But we came together and played really well as a team. … It was a great experience. We had a lot of players from overseas, so I got to learn about a lot of different cultures.” After college, Trotter became a resident of the U.S. Women’s National team during the 2007 World Cup and the 2008 Olympics. From there, her career took off as she played professionally for teams in Germany, Missouri, New Jersey, Atlanta, Sweden, and New York. During her stint in New York, Trotter got her first taste of coaching when she served as a volunteer assistant at Syracuse University, where she met the program’s then-assistant coach Abby Minihan. Trotter decided to retire from pro soccer in 2011. It wasn’t long before she got a call from Minihan, who had just been named head coach of the women’s team at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Minihan, who eventually left USC Upstate, asked Trotter to be her assistant coach. 6.1.2018 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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