We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miguel Angel Gutierrez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Miguel Angel , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

UNMATCHED Performance started as supplemental goalkeeper training provider based out of a local community park in San Ysidro back in 2016. At this point in time it I was trying to my best to bring to life the vision I had in my head, which was to provide goalkeepers in my area an opportunity to develop and maximize their potential on and off the field.

As our goalkeeping community, grew so did our staff. At the beginning of 2019 I was lucky enough to bring Becky Acuna-Diaz along this journey and I’m happy to say that she’s been a key contributor in the development and growth of our company. With her experience in customer service and attention to detail I believe she’s done an outstanding job managing our day to day logistics.

The most recent addition to our staff came in earlier part of 2023, which is when Mario Miranda joined our coaching team and has been in charge of overseeing the development of all the goalkeepers within our system. Mario has played an integral role in the development of many goalkeepers throughout the San Diego area while also functioning as the Goalkeeping Director for Albion SC MLS Next Teams.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

At the conclusion of my playing days, I directed my passion for the game towards coaching goalkeepers. My life experiences and exposure to different coaching styles throughout my career have played a pivotal role in shaping the way I train goalkeepers.
As the founder for UNMATCHED Performance, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with goalkeepers across all levels from youth, college and now professionals.

At UNMATCHED Performance we aim to maximize the development of every goalkeeper we work with by committing to a long term process in which we arrange a set of clear key performance indicators and work together towards a common goal. We understand that great accomplishments take tremendous mental resilience and unwavering dedication which is why the right guidance is crucial when facing the adversity and challenges that are part of the growth process.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As a small business owner, resilience is a non-negotiable. Whether it’s attending local soccer tournaments in search of potential clients and getting rejected over and over again or whether it’s breaking past your limiting beliefs.

Challenges and adversity will always be present when we’re seeking to accomplish something outside of our comfort zone. From an early age it was very clear to me that coming from an underserved community and being raised by a single mom could be an impediment to my progress or serve as fuel to amplify my vision and turn my goals into reality. Ultimately, I would like my story of resilience to serve as an example to all of the young athletes that share a similar upbringing to me and help them realize that failure is only temporary, adversity builds character and success is what you make of it.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I’m a firm believer in organically building trust within the goalkeeping community by adhering to a set of values that are based on trust, respect and honesty. This along with our ability to produce results and help goalkeepers move on to compete at the next level has helps us set the standard for our reputation.

We’ve been fortunate enough to be entrusted with the development of many very talented goalkeepers that have gone on to play at different prestigious universities around the country while also serving as a platform that helps facilitate opportunities within various Major League Soccer Academies. In essence, our goal is to help you evolve your skill set and prepare you to compete at the highest level.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @unmatchedperformance
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguel-%C3%A1ngel-gutierrez-a64110184?trk=contact-info