The Importance of a Goalkeeping Program
Youth Soccer Clubs Need GK Programs
SoccerToday News is pleased to feature the youth soccer news series with San Diego’s Albion Soccer Club. Technical Director Noah Gins and Albion Soccer Club are featured in a new column every week with information on player development and what is happening at his elite youth soccer club. This week: Albion SC provides goalkeepers specialized training and education through a goalkeeper program led by Goalkeeper Director Wayne Crowe and featuring a staff of three dedicated goalkeeper coaches.
The goalkeeper is one of the key positions in a team and the only truly specialized one, and having a good goalkeeper can make or break a team and determine the success that it has. The goalkeeper is such a specialized position that players need the correct training and attention to properly develop their skills.
Generally goalkeepers cannot get enough specialized training during the week to prepare for an upcoming game or tournament, and they need to feel good about themselves and confident in their skills as they step into the game. It is only by consistently getting the correct instruction and repetition during the week that they will have the necessary confidence as they approach a match.
A serious goalkeeper should be looking to get a minimum of two specialized goalkeeper training sessions a week, as well as their team training.
Along with this, they should be on their own individual program of working and training on footwork, distribution, flexibility, strength and handling during the week. They should also spend the time during team training to get additional education and repetitions on different game situations, such as collecting corners and crosses, and shot stopping.
If players are not yet fully serious about the position, they should still focus on getting one session a week that can help them in their desire to become better goalkeepers. Playing in a position where mistakes are highlighted – and one mistake as a goalkeeper could be the difference in a team being successful or not – they need to give themselves the best chance for success. That is the responsibility that goalkeepers put on their shoulders, and it is key that they get the needed training.
Albion SC has a specialized program with three full-time goalkeeper coaches and a Goalkeeper Director who provide four age-specific sessions per week for goalkeepers.
The club holds an annual meeting that provides goalkeepers with a full understanding of the year’s program. The Goalkeeper Director goes over the importance of the position and what is needed to play it successfully. In addition to all this, the club provides all goalkeepers with a full GK Kit each year that sets them apart in the position.
“We take the goalkeeper program very seriously and understand that this is a position that requires functional training,” says Albion SC Technical Director Noah Gins. “Without a specialized training program, we know that we would not have the strength inside our teams that we need. We would also not be fully developing our goalkeepers to be ready to play at the college or professional level.”
The Albion SC Goalkeeper Program gives the club the ability to provide goalkeepers with the training and support they need to reach their goals.
A number of goalkeepers who have come through the program have represented or are currently representing ODP, Regional and National Teams, and many are playing at some of the biggest universities in the U.S. Some have even been among the top recruits in the nation.
“We look forward to continuing to produce top goalkeepers and giving them the needed fundamentals to be successful in the position,” says Goalkeeper Director Wayne Crowe.
