David O'Keeffe brings his soccer ‘religion’ to LWA

A new era is underway for the Lawrence Woodmere Academy Tigers varsity soccer team as Ireland native David O’Keeffe brings his love of the game to the Woodmere school, while also serving as a health teacher.

O’Keeffe, 34, a Glen Cove resident, came to the United State a decade ago to pursue a college degree. He played two years of soccer at Nassau Community College. He then transferred to Dowling College where he earned a degree in physical education in 2016.

“I played throughout my life, but realized I wasn’t going to play professionally,” he said, referring to his passion for soccer. “I just loved the sport and knew I always wanted to be involved with it, so that’s what led me to coaching.”

One thing O’Keeffe noticed when moving to the states was that while soccer has its fans, he noted that it’s nowhere near the popularity the sport has in his native land. “Soccer has a nice following here in America, but there are other sports that are more popular,” he said. “Soccer is the only sport we have in Ireland. It’s like a religion for us.”

LWA Director of Admissions Luke Davis said he has known O’Keeffe for a “few years” and told him about the job opening. “I played in an indoor soccer league with David a few years back,” Davis said. “He had been seeking a full-time teaching position and we were in need of a health teacher. I reached out to David and the stars aligned perfectly for him to be here right now.”

O’Keeffe said the transition to LWA has not only gone well on the field with the Tigers currently holding a 4-0-1 record, with a 5-1 home victory over Kew Forest School on Sept. 27, but it also has been good in the classroom teaching health. “It has been a really good experience at LWA so far,” he said. “It’s nice to teach here where the classes are smaller than my previous part-time jobs, it really allows you to develop a one-on-one relationship with each student.”

Junior Ian Geraghty, a forward on the varsity squad, said O’Keeffe has been embraced by the team and the student body in his brief time at LWA. “Coach has brought a multitude of playing styles to our team,” Geraghty said. “He’s also brought character and a love of soccer to our community.”

Leading the way for LWA soccer is not the only coaching gig O’Keeffe holds. He’s currently in his third season as an assistant coach for Adelphi University’s women’s soccer team and obtained his master’s degree in health education at the Garden City school.

Coaching at two different levels provides O’Keeffe a unique perspective. “We have a wide variety of talent on our team,” he said. “What I enjoy about coaching the most is coaching the players who are still developing their skills, rather than the highly skilled players. It’s very rewarding for me to help players further develop their skills.”