Busch wins the MLS goalkeeper of the year and Barack Obama wins the Presidential race!
November 4, 2022
Today is a day when the whole of America wins. Barack Obama is voted into the White House as the first President of African-American heritage to sit in the Oval Office, and of course Busch (not George W. Bush), but Jon Busch of the Chicago Fire, was voted Goalkeeper of the Year for the Major League Soccer season of 2022. America rejoices, and so do us goalkeepers, especially those of the shorter ilk (I’ll get to the point in a minute)! Read more
Van der Sar urges Manchester United to never underestimate their opponents
November 3, 2022
History dictates a firm lesson that you should never underestimate your opponent, and victory favors the brave..well almost, in this instance, for Hull City. Manchester United and Dutch goalkeeping legend Edwin van der Sar has suggested that his team mates should learn from the close call experienced with their recent clash against Hull City, which almost cost Machester United three points. Read more
Ross Turnbull turns on the heat at Middlesbrough
November 1, 2022
Over the past few years many English fans were possibly scratching their head as to whom could reliably fill the void of the number one jersey. With poor form from both Paul Robinson and Scott Carson, many may have questioned the future of goalkeeping for the national squad. Read more
Manchester United young guns battle it out for No.1 jersey
October 30, 2022
It takes many years to have both tenure and clout at the highest echelons of football. Manchester United have over the years invested in a wealth of talent in their goalkeeping department, which had for a long time (since the departure of Peter Schmeichel at least), not lived up to much expectation. Read more
Keeper Skool Interviews Scott Vallow of the Rochester Rhino’s (USL Division 1)
October 27, 2022
Keeper Skool recently caught up with current Rochester Rhinos goalkeeper (USL Division 1) and owner of the “Train like a Champion with Scott Vallow” Goalkeeper Development Program. Scott gives his unique insight into what makes a champion goalkeeper , how he develops goalkeepers at his academy and why he decided to start his new soccer clothing line Rockstar Soccer Clothing Co. Read more
Joe Hart pens 5 year Manchester City deal
October 26, 2022
It’s exciting times for 21 year old Joe Hart, as the Manchester City shot stopper signed another 5 year extension to his contract with The Blues. Manager Mark Hughes was delighted to see that the youngster has opted for a long term stake at the club, and has cited the importance of youth development for the Premiership outfits success. Read more
5 Super Circuit Routines for Goalkeeping Strength
October 21, 2022
The previous article I discussed the planning stage of the GK’s program and how to incorporate testing results into the overall plan. I also stated that too often coaches do not have a plan that extends beyond the present session. It is imperative that we move away from the style of coaching and add some science to what we are doing. This month I want to look at training the GK. Read more
Developing a complete goalkeeper: Tips on how to read the game
October 20, 2022
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Machester United keeping tabs on Valladolid’s Sergio Asenjo
October 17, 2022
Recent reports are speculating that young Spanish shot stopper Sergio Asenjo may be on Sir Alex Ferguson’s hit list. Asenjo is valued at approximately 5.5 million Euro’s by the Spanish La Liga team, whereas some reports are suggesting the Spain U-21 International is being sighted by Manchester United in the vicinity of $12 million (AUD). Read more
Alarming use of drugs and nutritional supplements by World Cup footballers
October 15, 2022
Isn’t it amazing when we see our favorite footballer running the gauntlet. The crowd watches in awe, and shouts a roar of approval as he/she dazzles their skills effortlessly past their opponent. Many of the things that we are not exposed to, especially behind the scenes of high level sport, is the use of drugs and nutritional supplements to enhance performance.
When we speak of the use of performance enhancers, it is usually taboo, and possibly thought of as a once off occurrence in an Olympic event. Performance enhancers have been widely used since at least the 1950′s at a competitive level (don’t quote me on that number). We usually refer to these substances as anabolic (growth) primers, or corticosteroids in popular literature.
In recent years, with the advancement of sports science, we have seen that even at a recreational level of competition, the use of nutritional supplements have become the basis for a multi million dollar fitness industry. In international competition, the level of sophistication around masking certain performance enhancing agents has become an art form.
Football clubs are one of many sporting institutions, whom utilize and invest in high end research and development facilities to constantly test, measure and enhance their players performance. Many of these scientific institutes house sports scientists that work around the clock to maximize the output of a top tier footballer.
In a forthcoming interview that Keeper Skool had conducted with one of the leading goalkeeping schools in Spain (out next month), we probed one renowned youth goalkeeping expert about the La Liga club he trains, and their scientific department’s methodologies. We were left with a limited knowledge around how they go about their business of performance enhancement.
Clubs certainly do pay high amounts of money in taking their players to the next level, and clearly they want their testing and training protocols under very tight wraps. Anyone got the formula for Coca Cola? You get my drift. One recent study (thank you Steve Amoia for pointing this information out), pointed to the overarching use of drugs and nutritional supplements by World Cup footballers.
The New York Times discussed it in their weekly email newsletter: Prescription drug use and vitamin supplements at the last two Wold Cups.
Objective: To examine medication use in male top-level football players prior to and during international tournaments.
Design: Prospective survey.
Material: 2944 team physicians’ reports on players’ medication intake.
Methods: Each team physician was asked to document all medication and nutritional supplements taken in the 72 h prior to each match.
Results: A total of 10 384 substances were reported (1.8 substances/player/match); 4450 (42.9%) of these were medicinal and 5934 (57.1%) nutritional supplements. The medications prescribed most frequently were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (n = 2092; 20.1%); more than half of the players took these at least once during a tournament and more than 10% prior to every match (156 out of 1472). β-2-Agonists were reported for 1.4% (n = 20) and inhaled corticosteroids for 1.6% (n = 23) of participating players. Injected corticosteroids were reported for 73 players.
Conclusions: The high intake of medication in international football – especially of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – is alarming and should be addressed. The results raise questions as to whether the medication was taken solely for therapeutic reasons. In view of the potential side effects, more restrictive recommendations for sport need to be developed.
(Source: http://bjsm.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/42/9/725)
Over 10,000 substances is a highly alarming amount to be used by elite footballers. The use of injected and inhaled corticosteroids shows that elite level footballers are pushing their bodies to their limit. Whilst the use of these substances may initially help overcome deficiencies in the players game, the long term repercussions are yet to be measured extensively.
I’m all for utilizing nutritional supplements alongside a structured diet and training plan. Though, many younger athletes may not be informed of the risks of steroid use or long term repercussions associated with its utilization. It begins with awareness programs at a grass roots level, and also the investment by grass roots clubs into physicians and nutritionists to help structure proper dietary plans to help maximize younger football performance.
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