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Perfect Touch Sports Puts Mark on SV Soccer

Est. Read Time: 4 mins

Last week 60 Saucon Valley youth soccer players ranging in age from 8-13 gathered at the Grist Mill fields in Hellertown to participate in 15 hours of organized soccer drills and instruction offered by Matt Baker and Perfect Touch Sports (PTS).

Perfect Touch Soccer campers lined up and ready to go at the Grist Mill fields in Hellertown.

Perfect Touch Soccer campers lined up and ready to go at the Grist Mill fields in Hellertown.

Anybody familiar with Matt Baker knows he is a busy guy who takes his soccer very seriously. If you don’t know Matt, he has been involved with soccer since he was–ironically–dragged kicking and screaming to his first organized soccer practice when he was four years old. Now 27, Matt enthusiastically leads, inspires and encourages his clients to excel in a sport he surely loves.

A Saucon Valley resident, Matt’s soccer resume is impressive and deep: the University of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Brazil and the Philadelphia Union.

Matt found that if he wasn’t training or playing, he was making a few bucks on the side by providing private training sessions to youngsters.

Matt Baker

Matt Baker offers instruction to some young soccer players

He used the same drills he was practicing as a professional and passed them along to the younger players. In 2013, however, Matt’s soccer career took a sudden turn. Two weeks after signing a professional indoor contract from the MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League), Matt suffered a torn ACL and meniscus.

The injury may have ended his playing career, but it did not stop him from pursuing his passion. Matt, who always trained with a purpose of excellence, moved on and developed a thoughtful soccer curriculum that was based on his own intense training experiences. Matt created a service that proved to be in demand. The success of his methods led to the birth of Perfect Touch Sports LLC.

Enlisting the help of former and current Lehigh University standouts like Ali Famili and Ashley Blanks, along with seasoned soccer veterans like Fernando Carrizo, Matt’s customized curriculum of professional soccer skills is carefully adapted to fit the level and abilities of each particular group of players.

Headquartered in Saucon Valley, PTS offers year-around training opportunities in private, group, team and camp settings.

“We try to motivate players to work harder in order to achieve their goals, and that success is earned both on and off of the field,” Baker said.

PTS has worked with teams from all over the Lehigh Valley, including Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh. Starting this week, Matt and his staff will begin training most of Saucon Valley’s travel soccer teams to help them prepare for the upcoming season.

Hoping to have their own training facility in the near future, Perfect Touch Sports LLC is currently soccer-focused with the vision of offering other sport-specific training, fitness and general wellness programs.

If you are interested in learning more about Matt or Perfect Touch Sports, check out www.perfecttouchsports.com for more information.

About the Author: Keith Riefenstahl is a deeply-rooted sports fan, former coach and freelance writer. A Penn State grad and veteran educator, he lives in Saucon Valley with his wife Jill and four children: Brooke, Kiele, Travis and Tanner.

Practice makes perfect for Perfect Touch Soccer campers.

Practice makes perfect for Perfect Touch Soccer campers.

PTS campers working hard

Perfect Touch Soccer campers lined up and ready to go at the Grist Mill fields in Hellertown.

Perfect Touch Soccer campers lined up and ready to go at the Grist Mill fields in Hellertown.

Matt Baker

Matt Baker

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About the author

Josh Popichak

Josh Popichak is the owner, publisher and editor of Saucon Source. A Lehigh Valley native, he's covered local news since 2005 and previously worked for Berks-Mont News and AOL/Patch. Contact him at josh@sauconsource.com.

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