Before coming to Indiana, Webb was involved with the U.S. Youth National team in both the U15 and U17 pools. But his experience goes much further than state side. During his time in the youth system, Webb traveled over seas on multiple occasions matching up with some of the world's best academies. Storied club Tottenham Hotspur in London, England would be his first destination, only to be one upped by a trip to Sporting Lisbon of Portugal. Webb would conclude his youth academy exploits with a valuable experience at Zico FC in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.Freshman year at Indiana would be one to remember for Webb. After shutting down Northwestern, earning his first ever Big Ten win and shutout, Webb would be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Following his impressive regular season, Webb found himself in a pressure filled environment heading into the Big Ten Tournament against conference rivals, Michigan. But Webb would shine throughout the tournament solidifying wins against Michigan, Penn and Michigan State on his way to a Big Ten Championship and a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Tournament selection to add to his accolades.
Webb's second season with the Hoosiers came beckoning and the San Diego, California native answered the call. The IU Goalkeeper was named Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic All-Tournament team after gritty performances against #9 Georgetown and #12 Marquette to open up the season. But directly following his opening weekend heroics, Webb would be named to the Mike Berticelli Memorial All-Tournament Team due to a shutout and penalty kick save over Dartmouth. Webb would go on to accumulate yet another Big Ten Defensive player of the Week honor as well as an appearance on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
#CollegeSoccerExposed caught up with Webb to get his point of view on college soccer, his international ventures and the experience of playing for one of the best college programs in the country.
CSE - Fundamental: What's the best part about college soccer?
Webb: The best part of college soccer for me is the platform it provides me to develop as a goalkeeper while also receiving a degree from one of the best business schools in the country. Without the time crunch to jump to the pros that many field players experience I am able to set myself up for a life after soccer.
CSE - Fundamental: What's the worst part about college soccer?
Webb: The worst part about college soccer is everything that has to do with the NCAA. From the structure of the season that packs too many games into a short amount of time and then forces maximum regulated hours, to the rules that are not FIFA official, there is a lot that needs to be done if college soccer is going to continue to play a role in the development of soccer players in this country. The good news is that a lot of progress is being made and changes could be seen within the next 2-3 years.
CSE - Player Specific: What kind of pressure, if any, comes with being the starting goalkeeper for such a decorated program like Indiana?
Webb: Playing at Indiana which has such a decorated history means that good isn’t good enough. You don’t come to Indiana because you want to play in the NCAA Tournament, you come to Indiana expecting to win a National Championship. You’re surrounded by these accolades and many of the people who won them on a daily basis and you feel that if you leave Indiana without winning a National Championship or being an All-American you haven’t left your mark on the program. At most schools the bar isn’t set to that standard so you don’t feel the same amount of pressure to get better day in and day out in order to leave your mark on the program.
CSE - Player Specific: Before you came to Indiana, you had the opportunity to train at Sporting Lisbon and Tottenham Hotspur; compare the level of play and the atmosphere at those academies to college soccer in the US.
Webb: Having trained internationally in those academies, there is no question that there was a different desire in those places to become a pro. For many of the players in those academies soccer was all they had. There wasn’t a backup plan if they didn’t make it so that pressure brought out that extra edge in training. In college I’d say maybe 3-5 guys per team at the top 20 programs actually believe that they are going to make a living being a professional soccer player so the desire to make sure all the little detail boxes are checked day in and day out isn’t the same. Where this intrinsic motivation of the entirety of the team may be lacking I think the culture of a program like Indiana provides the extrinsic motivation for the individuals on our team to push every day.
CSE - Player Specific: What's the next step for you in your soccer career?
Webb: The next step for me personally is to build off of the season I had last fall. I saw a lot of development between my freshman and sophomore seasons that came with maturity and experience and I would like to carry that momentum into next season. With a lot fewer games between now and August I’m able to really to refine some of my technique and work on the areas that will take my game to the next level. My goal is to be the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the year next year and the little details day in and day out are what it’s going to take to make that happen.
The United States is renowned for producing world class goalkeepers and Indiana might have the next one on their squad. Webb was also named to the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2014.
Keep it here for weekly installments, as we expose some of the greatest and poorest aspects of college soccer as told by the players.
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