10 “power” quotes from the goalkeeper trainer masters

Nothing is more powerful, than to wind down the year with some reflection of where we are, and also, where we have come from. Keeper Skool had an awesome transition this year. From a single blog, with a handful of authors, to now, a membership portal with interviews from some of the best goalkeeper trainers around the world…and then some!

The latter point has truly been a revelation. It has taken great effort to contact and track down many of the goalkeeper trainers whom you see (and hopefully interact with in our forums) in our Keeper Skool Certified membership area, but their insight has truly been a “golden nugget” to not only our readers development, but to the growth of Keeper Skool as a trusted resource for goalkeepers all around the world.

Following are 10 awesome quotes from elite goalkeeper trainers we have interviewed, and from interviews on the horizon that have yet to be published in our Keeper Skool Certified membership area. Take time to reflect on these words, and utilize them to enhance your game during this holiday season:

Caludio Rapacioli of Piacenza Calcio, (Serie B) on what he thinks are the key qualities a young goalkeeper can utilize to enter the world of professional football:

“Not to ever beat yourself up in cases of bad times and don’t…too much in cases of good appearances. Work firmly and with great attention to the details in each training session. Each training session should be taken with the same intensity as a real game so that you will train in the right manner at the proper concentration level. Moreover, great personality in your dealings with teammates, demonstrating that the #1 on your back is not merely a goalkeeper’s number but also the number of the most important person on the field and in the dressing room”.

Mike Toschack of the Houston Dynamo (Major League Soccer, USA) answers the question about the qualities he and his scouts look for (physical, technical and tactical) when evaluating a young player:

“…for me, what I look for right away is the athleticism and that is something I can measure very quickly watching a goalkeeper. Does this player have the physical qualities to be able to play at the professional level? You can answer that question pretty quickly by watching the way they warm up and watch them do goalkeeper specific things. So, the physical qualities for me right away, that’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for, if a goalkeeper is athletic enough…”

Dr. Craig Duncan defines the analysis of athletic performance, and the specific athletic requirements for the competitive goalkeeper:

From a player point of view, speed/strength/stability/power/agility/coordination and endurance are essential to be successful. However, I think too often the development of these physiological requirements are not specific to football. You must view the game and analyse the movements to than determine how to train. Re: goalkeeping, well the GK should be the best athlete in the team. A GK needs to be powerful/fast and agile and these qualities need to be developed through specific training.

Catherine Gordon of Net Edge Training, LLC. and goalkeeper coach for Farleigh Dickinson University talks about the differences in training regime’s between collegiate Women and Men goalkeepers:

“I alluded to my own belief in the last question, that you train the athlete not the gender. At the senior level you are dealing with a disciplined athlete with a high work ethic. The goalkeepers who make it at this level tend to have a level of maturity and leadership that make training both men and women highly productive and not that different from each other.

I think some will say that the physical game is different for male and female GK’s, but that fact is it is relative, the game is peer to peer, women play women men play men, so there is no reason that training sessions should not mirror each other. Where I do occasionally see a difference is in effective control of the box. I believe this is the result of women being trained in a conservative fashion not a result of physical capability.”

Scott Vallow of the Rochester Rhinos (USL, USA) and owner of Train Like a Champion With Scott Vallow gives insight into how he prepares mentally for top flight competition:

“You must be mentally tough to be a pro athlete in any sport. I do a lot of visualization before every game and try to remember some of my best performances. Also, during the game I try to stay vocal. I find that if I am too quiet, my mind wonders a bit, so I try to constantly give direction and instruction to my teammates to keep me in the game”.

Jose Luis Navas of RCD Espanyol (Spanish Primera) on what key qualities he looks for in his youth goalkeepers:

“Key points we look for in our keepers is height (bit taller than average for their age), well coordinated, fast and agile, with those basics we then work on the technical aspects”.

1974 Australian World Cup goalkeeper legend and owner of the International Goalkeepers Academy (Sydney, Australia) Jim Fraser talks about the influence of sports science and the differences in training prescriptions between the goalkeeper and the outfield player:

“By stepping up and developing our athletic skills and field skills we get more involved in the game as we are tactically more available and more useful to the team. We can take the pressure off the defense when they are under pressure by calling for the ball receiving it and either holding up play or releasing it quickly enabling the team to play out from the back. Altering the tempo of the game and switching play with good accurate distribution are an essential part of the game and these skills should be included in every session”.

In an upcoming interview, one of the best goalkeeper trainers in the world, Frans Hoek (current Polish National team goalkeeper coach) talks about how he developed Manchester United’s Edwin van der Sar and what made him one of the very best of his generation:

“Edwin was not the prototype of a goalkeeper when he was scouted (by Louis van Gaal and myself) if you looked at the best of the world at that moment. But its all about what you need as a goalkeeper and especially at a club and the way of playing at AJAX. So you have to make a clear profile of the AJAX goalkeeper and then scout. Edwin was 18 years when he came over. He started as the number 4! Became soon the number 3 and then number 2 and it too a little longer to be the number 1. So he had a good preparation time to get used to AJAX and the very high needs there and the goalkeeping part for this club and team. He was a quick learner and a very good professional. He picked the necessary things very quick up and could do it as well. The perfection of all these needs took a little longer but that is normal. He also is a winner (different then Kahn) and very disciplined”.

Bury FC, Fitness & Performance Coach Jim Petruzzi talks about the importance of periodization (as outlined in The G-Code by Keeper Skool) for athletic performance:

Periodizing training is essential as different times of the season we can adopt different training methods. The goal of every athlete is to peak physically for their sports championship event. The best method to achieve this is to break the training calendar into phases to gradually stress the athlete toward reaching their best fitness level for maximum sports performance. This sequential training plan is commonly referred to as periodization. All the programs at High Performance Sports employ the concepts of periodization training to prevent sports related injuries and to help the athlete reach their performance/fitness goals.

In an upcoming interview, former Tottenham FC goalkeeping coach and current Wycombe Wanderers goalkeeping coach Martin Brennan talks about where he sees goalkeeping development heading in the coming decade:

I think goalkeepers will need to be a lot fitter due to the balls getting lighter every year and I think coaches will need to coach there goalkeeper to just keep the ball out of the net. Also I think the keepers will need to do a lot more with the team in the keep ball and touch drills they do everyday. My reason for this is because of the back pass role and the managers wanting their goalkeeper to play a lot higher to sweep up behind. Now the more comfortable they are with their feet the easier they will find it.

Nothing is better than uncovering a wealth of knowledge from some of the best goalkeeping trainers around the world. Over the coming year, Keeper Skool will continue to provide you with a lot of “golden nuggets” with insights into goalkeeping development from the best goalkeeper trainers in the world, new training articles from leading football experts, and exclusive video training sessions from top flight trainers. All of this will be available to you as a Keeper Skool Certified member.

I hope you have an awesome Christmas, take time out with your families and some much needed rest. The team at Keeper Skool will also love to thank all of you for the continued support you provide for the team and myself. Look forward to a great year in goalkeeping with you all.

God Bless!

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