Some Questions With… Andrew Booth

Charleston Battery winger Andrew Booth was on hand to answer questions this week. After spending last year with Greenville Triumph, Booth made the step up to be another of Conor Casey’s first signings upon his arrival. Read on for his answers…

BYP: Was it easy to make the switch from Greenville to Charleston? Did the fact that you weren’t moving too much make it easier to settle?

AB: Yeah, I think it was easy. I’ve heard a lot about Charleston. I played last year in Greenville and some of my teammates and even my coaches played here in Charleston. I’ve known AJ for a long time, we used to play against each other, so I sent him a message when I knew they were interested in me. They were familiar with the city and were able to tell me a little bit about it. I was excited about that part. Obviously, moving up a league was a big thing for me [and] something I wanted to do So I think from that standpoint it was easy.

You did play here once in a friendly…

AB: That was a long day. We were stuck in traffic for like four hours… They had to postpone the match and we ended up being on the bus for about seven hours because we traveled on the same day. And then the game was pretty uneventful. 0-0 draw (laughs) But the setup was nice and everything, so I knew it was a good place to be. I’d heard a lot about the Battery, it’s obviously a very historic club.

The two clubs have a bit of a sense of partnership being so close together, is that a reason why Charleston was a good option for you?

Yeah, like I said, I spoke to a few people, like my teammates, my coaches, and AJ too. It definitely was a factor. Being close and kind of knowing the state and how the fans are here, it’s really not been a hard decision. it wasn’t like it was going to be so different.

While the team has struggled, it seems like you’ve settled in on the pitch well. What can you say has been key to that and is there something you feel you can improve on?

I think obviously it’s been really tough as far as results go. For me, when results don’t go well, that’s the most important thing. Every player focuses on doing what they can do to help the team, but when the team is not winning, which of course is the ultimate goal, I don’t really look at what I’m doing too much. I’m just trying to help the team as much as possible. But I feel really confident, and the minutes the coaches are giving me help you feel really confident in what you’re doing and giving 100%.

Are there any massive differences in between the leagues?

I think the physical level is definitely higher. That first game against Tulsa felt like “Yeah, this is definitely a step up.” Even when I came in in preseason, it was easy to see that the guys we have on the team are really good athletes as well as soccer players. I think that’s probably the biggest difference.

Who have you gotten closest to within the group?

There are a lot of guys. I’m like the chauffeur for the younger players (laughs) I’m probably closest to the guys I sit next to in the locker room, so Leland, Roma (Romario Piggott) Pat (Hogan)… I drive EJ (Johnson) to training every day. Thankfully Augi has a car now! The more cars the better, because it’s easier! And AJ I’ve known for a while.

What are some short-term goals as we head into the middle part of the year?

Obviously winning some games. I think we’ve had better performances in the past couple of games. There has been an upturn as far as performance-wise goes. If we keep building on that, hopefully we see some better results soon, but of course, that’s the ultimate goal.

Thanks again to Andrew for his time, and as always, we hope to see him play well in our match on Saturday, May 21st as the Battery welcomes The Miami FC to Patriot’s Point. Kick-off is at 7PM, and if you can’t make it to the match, it will be streamed on ESPN+.

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL WISER