Sorry for not blogging for the past few days. I was traveling with the President of our company presenting the 2015 Reusch GK range to several retailers. The new 2015 Reusch catalog is out, and if you'd like a copy, please shoot me your mailing address and we'll get one in the US Mail to you asap. The new range is pretty cool.
I have been training club GKs at 2 Clubs recently. The first is Tennessee Soccer Club in the Nashville TN area. It's a large, and growing Club and I train GKs from ages U-10 through U-20. The second Club I train is Northern Warren County Alliance in south Dayton OH. NWC is a sort of "feeder" Club to Ohio Galaxies Soccer Club which is High School age and older GKs. NWC GKs are U-8 through U-14. In November I will begin training both NWC and OH Galaxies GKs. When I compare both the TN and OH Club GKs I find that all the GKs are good at shot-stopping. Most of the GKs in both clubs are proficient in their movement and footwork, and ALL of the GKs from both Clubs are really very poor in their abilities to Play the Ball with Feet. (I know you have heard me "harp" on this before, but it is a serous short-coming in our GKing throughout the US. I work occasionally with the GKs from Real Colorado--which has US Soccer Academy and ECNL teams--and the GKs there are not good playing the ball with feet.) So.....let me tell you a soccer story:
I trained a young man named Jon Busch when he played at UNC-Charlotte. Prior to Jon arriving at UNCC, he had been on the U-17 US National Team. He was--and is--an outstanding GK. He currently plays in the MLS for San Jose Earthquakes. Right now he is leading the league in Saves and Save Percentage. (His defenders are not too good). Jon has been a professional player for close to 17 years now, having started in the soccer "minors" at Worcester Wildfire in 1997 and has played for Carolina Dynamo, Hampton Roads Mariners, Hershey Wildcats, Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire, and San Jose Earthquakes. He has served with the full US Men's National Team and continues to be one of the top GKs in the United States.
When Jon first came to UNCC, he was an exceptional collegiate level GK (All American). He had a single-minded focus to become a professional player, and put in countless hours of training toward that end. As a college GK, Jon needed a LOT of work on Playing the Ball with Feet. We worked on this aspect of his training, not just at UNCC practices, but throughout the year. During the off-season, Jon would take a sack of 10 balls and go up to the practice pitch EVERY day and hit 100 goal-kicks, 100 volleys (punts), and 100 half-volleys (drop-kicks). He would hit 50 of each with his Left foot (his natural side) and 50 of each with his Right foot. In addition to this, he would always be first into the '5v2' warm-up games, and would play in the field whenever possible to improve his foot-skills. Young GKs take note: All of the above-mentioned 'foot skills work' was in addition to his regular GK training of shot-stopping, crosses and serves, distribution from hands, etc. (Remember my Blog on work ethic? Jon and several of the other GKs I have worked with who became professionals had 'work ethic in Spades')
Jon's long and hard work at playing the ball with feet made him comfortable with the ball coming to his feet. And that is what you should strive for as a young GK. You need to feel totally comfortable when your defenders play the ball back to you--even if it is a bad pass-back--and when offering yourself as an 'outlet' to take the pressure off of defenders who are being chased by opposition forwards. You need to develop the confidence to play the ball and connect passes, and contribute to your team's build-up and possession of the ball. There is no secret ingredient to this--it's just a matter of time. Time spent with the ball and working on control, serving, passing, and playing the ball accurately with feet.
So if you want to get to the top level....learn to play the ball with feet.....and go out to the garage, gather up 10 to 12 old soccer balls, head to the nearest field, and begin hitting ball after ball after ball. Do it day after day after day, and you will begin to see improvement. You'll begin to be comfortable with the balls played to you, and most important--your TEAM will begin to have the utmost of confidence in your GKing.
Good luck, and may the ground be soft beneath your dive. May the forwards always shoot straight at you, and may your goalposts be 3 feet wide.
All the Best--EV
I have been training club GKs at 2 Clubs recently. The first is Tennessee Soccer Club in the Nashville TN area. It's a large, and growing Club and I train GKs from ages U-10 through U-20. The second Club I train is Northern Warren County Alliance in south Dayton OH. NWC is a sort of "feeder" Club to Ohio Galaxies Soccer Club which is High School age and older GKs. NWC GKs are U-8 through U-14. In November I will begin training both NWC and OH Galaxies GKs. When I compare both the TN and OH Club GKs I find that all the GKs are good at shot-stopping. Most of the GKs in both clubs are proficient in their movement and footwork, and ALL of the GKs from both Clubs are really very poor in their abilities to Play the Ball with Feet. (I know you have heard me "harp" on this before, but it is a serous short-coming in our GKing throughout the US. I work occasionally with the GKs from Real Colorado--which has US Soccer Academy and ECNL teams--and the GKs there are not good playing the ball with feet.) So.....let me tell you a soccer story:
I trained a young man named Jon Busch when he played at UNC-Charlotte. Prior to Jon arriving at UNCC, he had been on the U-17 US National Team. He was--and is--an outstanding GK. He currently plays in the MLS for San Jose Earthquakes. Right now he is leading the league in Saves and Save Percentage. (His defenders are not too good). Jon has been a professional player for close to 17 years now, having started in the soccer "minors" at Worcester Wildfire in 1997 and has played for Carolina Dynamo, Hampton Roads Mariners, Hershey Wildcats, Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire, and San Jose Earthquakes. He has served with the full US Men's National Team and continues to be one of the top GKs in the United States.
When Jon first came to UNCC, he was an exceptional collegiate level GK (All American). He had a single-minded focus to become a professional player, and put in countless hours of training toward that end. As a college GK, Jon needed a LOT of work on Playing the Ball with Feet. We worked on this aspect of his training, not just at UNCC practices, but throughout the year. During the off-season, Jon would take a sack of 10 balls and go up to the practice pitch EVERY day and hit 100 goal-kicks, 100 volleys (punts), and 100 half-volleys (drop-kicks). He would hit 50 of each with his Left foot (his natural side) and 50 of each with his Right foot. In addition to this, he would always be first into the '5v2' warm-up games, and would play in the field whenever possible to improve his foot-skills. Young GKs take note: All of the above-mentioned 'foot skills work' was in addition to his regular GK training of shot-stopping, crosses and serves, distribution from hands, etc. (Remember my Blog on work ethic? Jon and several of the other GKs I have worked with who became professionals had 'work ethic in Spades')
Jon's long and hard work at playing the ball with feet made him comfortable with the ball coming to his feet. And that is what you should strive for as a young GK. You need to feel totally comfortable when your defenders play the ball back to you--even if it is a bad pass-back--and when offering yourself as an 'outlet' to take the pressure off of defenders who are being chased by opposition forwards. You need to develop the confidence to play the ball and connect passes, and contribute to your team's build-up and possession of the ball. There is no secret ingredient to this--it's just a matter of time. Time spent with the ball and working on control, serving, passing, and playing the ball accurately with feet.
So if you want to get to the top level....learn to play the ball with feet.....and go out to the garage, gather up 10 to 12 old soccer balls, head to the nearest field, and begin hitting ball after ball after ball. Do it day after day after day, and you will begin to see improvement. You'll begin to be comfortable with the balls played to you, and most important--your TEAM will begin to have the utmost of confidence in your GKing.
Good luck, and may the ground be soft beneath your dive. May the forwards always shoot straight at you, and may your goalposts be 3 feet wide.
All the Best--EV