2010 MARKS the 8th Year of CHAMPIONS' COACHES CLINIC AT MOHEGAN SUN

Hosted by Tony DiCicco and Ray Reid the Champions' Clinic is a tremendous opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches and clinicians in the country. At the 2010 Soccer Champions Coaches' Clinic at Mohegan Sun sessions will be run by women's soccer coaching legend Anson Dorrance of the University of North Carolina (pictured below working with SoccerPlus CT players in 2008), Emma Hayes - WPS Chicago Red Stars Head Coach and past Academy Director with England's Arsenal Soccer Club, U.S. U20 Men's National Team Coach and MLS Champion Coach Thomas Rongen, two-time MLS Champion Houston Dynamo Head Coach Dominic Kinnear and more.

All attendees who aren't currently members will become members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), "A" License Coaches can earn two CEUs, and as part of the partnership with the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association, coaches can earn their "E" Certificate.

Tony will present a session on Goalkeeping Friday morning with the help of SoccerPlus Director Laurie Pells George, whose article is featured in this month's RetroLine.

First, let me say, that no keeper can repeatedly save shots from close range. If the defense allows penetration and shots from inside the penalty spot, goals will be scored. Also, most goals are scored from the immediate area in front of the goal to the penalty stripe and just slightly wider than the goal. This situation is described as point blank.

Although rare, when a goalkeeper does makes saves on these close - point blank - shots, these saves are very often, game winners. When two equal teams are playing, scoring chances do not come that frequently for either team, the ability of a keeper to make this kind of save more often then his or her counterpart at the other frame very often will determine which team will win. And if the goalkeeper denies as clear a scoring chance as this, often times, the momentum of the game will shift.

In this situation, any save is a great save, whether it's made with the hands, shoulder, body, face or anything else the goalkeeper can do to keep the ball out of the net. Having said that, there are factors that can be trained and coached to maximize a goalkeeper's chances at success.

1. Body weight should be forward. Very often a keeper’s body weight falls backward when faced with a point blank shot. When this happens, almost all shots regardless of their speed will find their way into the net. The keeper can not adjust to save when he or she is falling backward.

2. Movement across the goal must be controlled. A common scenario leading up the point blank shots is the attacking team reaching the defending team’s line and then serving across the front of the goal. When the ball is brought that deep and that close to the goal (at SoccerPlus we refer to this as the 3-Goal Situation), the keeper is very often forced to play the front post. As the ball is played across the front of the goal, the keeper must move quickly to cover the unprotected side of the goal. A common fault is the movement across the goal is too fast and uncontrolled, almost every shot at or behind the keeper will go in and most shots to the far post still find the back of the net.

In this situation, the keeper must center their body weight just before the shot is taken, getting "set." They will probably not be in perfect position, but they must be in control of their movement, otherwise adjusting to the location of the shot is almost impossible.
 

In this picture SPGS Director and US Women's National Team GK Coach Paul Rogers shows great control in moving across his goal. Notice that he has made himself big, he is upright and in a balanced position. In the photo below, you see the continuation of this play. Because Paul has positioned himself well and he is balanced, he has increased the likelihood of making this save significantly and the ball hits him.

3. Step out and pressure the shooter. If a keeper tries to play a point blank shot close to the goal line, most deflections will still find the net. The keeper must take a step or two towards the striker. This accomplishes a couple of things:
 

Coaches, work with your keepers to respond to the touch of the ball off the foot or head and to react to that touch. Prior to that, work to get them establishing the best position and saving shape they can.

TRAINING EXERCISE:
The striker stands at the six yard line. The keepers line up at the post, each with a ball. The keeper tosses the ball to the striker (or rolls) and then steps into a reduced goal. With a cone or a glove reduce the size of the goal to a level where success can be obtained.

Goalkeepers, this is important:
Understand that not every ball will be saved, just as in a game this is a very difficult saving situation. Don’t be discouraged, just keep training and this big save will happen for you and your team.

Point blank saves are largely about the mentality of putting yourself between the ball and the goal. Be brave, be big and you will be rewarded.
 

The Jason Grubb Selection, this save kept West Brom from relegation. This save not only changed the momentum in this game, but the momentum for his team in their campaign.


The second save, while an extreme case, following the goalkeeper heading the ball back to the bar, is an example of a great point blank save and as is often the case, the goalkeeper is having to recover (either from having just made a save or as a result of having to move across the goal).


Since we couldn't settle on one video that truly exemplified what we thought point blank was, we decided to post this, which may be the best Goalkeeper video we've come across. Lots of great examples of point blank saves in here.
 

It all started back when I was I freshman. I had never played soccer before, but I had been a pretty good athlete. I spent many hours before and after practice with my coach and the seniors working on my skills. I had become a master of the so- called "Superman" dive! By the end of that year the superman dive was no longer and my technique was starting to come around. The following summer I spent a week with SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School at Suffield Academy and learned the ways of a true goalkeeper.

My whole attitude of the game had changed. That following soccer season I was named 1st Team All-Shoreline Conference, and I would like to thank many of the coaches at SoccerPlus for that. I once again attended SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School the next summer and tuned up my skills. Working with Grubber was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I learned how to think, how to act, how to train, and how to live as a goalkeeper and in the following soccer season it paid off. I was once again named All-Conference 1st Team and I was also selected by the Connecticut Soccer Coaches Association to the All-State Soccer Team. I now know that it is through hard work, perseverance, and one's ability to learn from others that can help a dream come true. I have always set high goals for myself and I'm finding that the journey to attain those goals is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life.

JT Smith
Moodus, CT

Hi Mariel,

My name is Katie Pope and I attended the SoccerPlus Goalkeeping camp in Depauw! I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. It was the best camp I've ever been to and I was literally crying when I had to leave: I didn't want to go! Not only did I hone my skills, I learned new ones from true elite goalkeepers. I now know how to position myself for crosses and come out aggressively. I know what the proper catching shape and form is and I know how to smother a breakaway.The environment was fun, but serious and everyone there had the same goal: to get better and we all helped each other out. I've learned so much from this camp and I'm so happy I had this amazing opportunity.

Last year, I changed club teams and made my way onto a very elite team that was completely different from the team I had been comfortable starting at for a few years. This new team, Mockingbird Valley, has also been a good experience for me, but for the past year I've been scared. I've been scared of all the players and how good they are. I've just let myself be intimidated by the level of, not only my competition, but even my teammates. But going to this camp, I feel new. I am not going to be intimidated anymore because I've been through PT [Pressure Training] and I've trained at the best goalkeeper camp in the country. This camp has really helped my confidence and improved my technical and tactical skills, and I would recommend it to anyone who asks. I feel stronger and I'm ready to go back
and show my club team what I've learned, and hopefully, I can keep going and secure a starting position. I'll definitely stay in touch and I hope to come back next year.

Thank you so so much,
Katie Pope
Louisville, KY
Indiana NTC 2009
 

My daughter, Caitlin, has attended Soccer Plus camps the last 2 years (NTC in Bloomsburg, PA in 2009). These camps have been, undoubtedly, the best soccer experience of her life. She re-committed to making her game better after the camp and decided to change clubs so that she could compete at a much higher level. Even though it means 2 hours of travel over the mountains, her opening experience with her new club in the recent Surf College Cup in San Diego, was amazing. Their team is now committed to work toward a national championship this year. She would never have had the confidence to tackle this challenge without the work with Soccer Plus.

Specifically to vertical leap, this is probably her, biggest challenge at this time. I have read the recent article in the TKL and am looking forward to using the information to help her work towards increasing her vertical leap.

Thanks,
Chuck Tilby
Parent, PA NTC 2009

[Editor's Note: If you'd like to read the full article on Vertical Leap, here's the link.]
 

APF, 29 January 2010 on FIFA.com

Nigeria goalkeeper Victor Enyeama turned Africa Cup of Nations matchwinner by converting the decisive kick in a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Zambia on Monday after a goalless quarter-final.

John Obi Mikel, Obafemi Martins, Obinna Nsofor and Osaze Odemwingie also scored from the spot to give the 'Super Eagles' a 100 percent success rate from five kicks. Thomas Nyirenda was the unconsolable Zambian at the end after Enyeama saved his kick - the seventh of the shootout - and Nigeria scraped through despite having Onyekachi Apam sent off during extra time.
 

Originally published in TKL 137, May/June 2001.

Training a National Champion Goalkeeper: The Coach’s Viewpoint
By Laurie Pells, SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School Director
(Editor's Note: Laurie Pells George is currently the Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach at the University of Maryland and she will be a presenter at the Champions' Coaches Clinic taking place February 25-27, 2010.)

To become a National Champion Goalkeeper is easy. It all begins in the month of August.

August, a month where most college athletes are dreading the start of pre-season. You ask any college athlete what they are doing in August they will say with a deep, monotone voice, “pre-season.” This is a time where athletes become warriors and goalkeepers become insane.

As an Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Coach at The College of New Jersey, where we just finished the season being crowned Division III National Champions, I find this time for me as a beginning to another run at a championship. I find new and exciting ways to train my goalkeepers. I have individual meetings with them, I read them motivational stories, I make copies of positive thinking quotes, and I ask them to write out their short and long term goals that they have for the season. I feel that I want to be apart of their training as much as possible, and lead them to a championship. My role as the goalkeeper coach I take very seriously. Day in and day out I come up with an agenda for the daily training session. I ask the head coach each day what he has planned for the training session and work around him. I am also very fortunate that I have two talented goalkeepers that work very hard for me and to this day never complained once about any training session.

The starting keeper at The College of New Jersey, which I have had the privilege to train, is also a SoccerPlus Staff Coach, Victoria Nusse. Vicky is going to be entering her senior year and I have coached her since she was a tiny freshman. Vicky wasn't the starting keeper when she first came to the college, but through hard work and self-motivation she moved herself to the starting role during the Regional finals. She was able to do this because the coaching staff had confidence in her to step it up in the big games over the junior that was playing before her. At first I was hesitant for her to start a big Regional Final being that she was a freshman and never played at that level before. But with confidence and determination she has started every game since her freshman year.

To become a National Champion Goalkeeper, what must one do? I don't think I have the answers, but I am willing to share what I do with Vicky and the back-up keeper each day that we are with each other.

1. Most importantly, we must have good interpersonal skills with each other. I have a wonderful relationship with my two keepers. Why, because it is important to me and to the girls for them to have someone to go to for guidance, answers, opinions and as a player/coach friendship. We laugh each day at practice, and at times we are rolling on the ground in tears.

2. Some days we have 30 minutes to work with each other and other days 10 minutes. With the time we have, we work our tails off before we go back to the team. A keepers work rate needs to be at its highest when you are practicing. You are a leader to all, a different breed, and you should be an animal when you train. By doing this, others will believe in you and your ability that will one day lead you and your team to a championship.

3. “Pressure Training.” If you are a SoccerPlus veteran then you know what this powerful two worded phrase means. I love pressure training, for myself and for the keepers. I do believe in it as well. You use every part of your body as well as your mentality towards the training session. I tell my keepers in advance on what day we are going to do during pressure training. I do that so they have the focus and right mentality for it. The amount of exercise vary each week. I never do it prior to a game. We usually do 8-10 exercises, two-three days before a game. I push my keepers to the limit. I tell them that there is no one else in the nation doing pressure training like they are now. Sometimes I even say to get them mad or even more pumped up that there are other keepers doing pressure training and they are doing it harder than you guys are. I do whatever I can to push them through this hard training session. I sometimes even jump in the drill just to motivate them even more. During the pressure training I tell them to think of a goal to push them through the session. I tell them to think of being a National Champion and that you have to work harder. Who knew that my keepers look forward to it at times and get upset if we had to skip one week because of our game schedule? I have embedded in Vicky's mind the wonderful benefits of pressure training. And after telling other college coaches that I do this with my keepers they are following in my footsteps.

4. Vicky is very “coach-able”. Coach-ability is so important when you play for someone. Vicky listens and asks questions. She trains so hard and never in my three years coaching her has complained about a session being too hard or too easy. She is a leader on and off the field, as well as a positive role model for others. Vicky has a passion for the game. She has a passion for goalkeeping. By her being so coach-able, she makes my job easier and a lot more fun for all of us.

5. Our daily training schedule consists of what I think the goalkeepers need to work on. Each day we do some sort of footwork/footskills for warm-up, then we go right into training. Whether it is breakaways, diving, tipping, shots, or crosses, we do it all. I am always open for suggestions as well as comments on how they think the training session went. I do tend to do many crossing drills, since I believe when you get to this level you see more crosses in a game than shots. I train a lot of Vicky's strengths and not play into her weaknesses that much. I don't want Vicky to lose confidence in herself because we keep training her weaknesses. It is important as a coach that you work on the many parts of goalkeeping and also keep in mind the weaknesses that they might have but keep training the strengths so they will become a vital part of their game.

6. The day before each game no matter whom we play or where we play we have a game that goes on between the two keepers and me. It is called the cross bar game. The keepers love it and strive for it. We play the game after we have done our daily workout (I love this game because I always win). The game consists of the goalkeeper lying on their stomach 6 yards out while I am out on the 25 yard line. As I move to the ball, that is the moment that the keeper gets up and tries to make a tipping save or a highball save. If they make the save the keepers are rewarded with a point. If I hit the cross bar that is 2 points, if I score 1 point. This game brings on competition between coach and player, and many laughs as well. We play until someone gets to 20 points and keep a running tab of how many wins we have during the season. The excitement after this game is indescribable. For the ones who watch us compete in this game might not understand the childish behaviors that we have when we score a point, but to the eyes of a goalkeeper it is a game that brings out sheer madness and competitiveness to beat each other.

7. I am very into motivating my keepers and the rest of the team during practice or during the games. I believe in help motivating people because some players might not know how to motivate themselves. Before each game I ask Vicky what her mission is on the field for that game. I ask her who trains harder than she does. I ask her what her role is as the goalkeeper for this team. I tell her to keep thinking positive thoughts as she plays no matter what happens. I tell her she is in charge and to get an attitude when she plays, an attitude that consist of no one coming in to my box and no one pushing me around. It works. Vicky only had 2 goals scored on her and the back up had one, a Penalty Kick.

I am not quite sure what it is that brought us to a National Championship. I know that I am very proud to be a part of a stellar program that has won a National Championship 3 times. I know I grew as a coach at The College of New Jersey and where ever I am off to next I will inscribe the same training ethnic that I instilled into Vicky. I take pride knowing Vicky is now a 2 time All-American, Division III National Player of the Year, and other numerous awards under my tutelage. As I move on with my career, I only hope that I come across a goalkeeper like Vicky again. She is such a determined young lady that is always striving to improve on her skills. The passion she brings to the game, the willingness to improve and the team unity she brings on and off the field is what brought her to a National Championship. I only hope that I made each training session for Vicky and my other keeper rewarding, fun, and a learning experience. For me it was all of the above. One day you can become a National Champion, knowing how hard you work for it. All the pressure training, all the sessions in the hot sun, diving on the hard ground or even training in the cold wind paid off. The endless sprints and the amount of travel that is spent to reach that one goal is all worth it. So you really want to win a National Championship, just ask Vicky how it is done.


Training a National Champion Goalkeeper: The Goalkeeper’s Viewpoint
By Vicky Nusse, SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School Staff

The concept of training goalkeepers is a topic often avoided in the soccer world. Not many coaches are aware of the specific physical, emotional and mental training that their goalkeepers need.

As a young athlete, a great extent of my training was not specialized. I was usually just thrown in goal as soon as the rest of the team was ready to shoot. But as I grew older I realized that the training for a fieldplayer versus the training for a goalkeeper are totally different realms of the game. Not only are the rules different for goalkeepers, but so is the mentality, the skills, and the training ethic.

People often joke about what it takes to become a goalkeeper. I would never want to turn people away from the position, but it truly takes a special attitude for an athlete to become a talented goalkeeper. I use the word "talented" because I have met and competed against many goalkeepers. All of them have talents as an athlete, but only a select few possess the right combination of skill and mental vision to overcome all of the challenges of goaltending. I have had the privilege to be coached by a talented goalkeeper for the past three years. As a freshman entering The College of New Jersey, I had high expectations. I didn't have much experience but I did possess a strong work ethic. SoccerPlus Director Laurie Pells evolved that work ethic into confidence before the net. That same confidence, in addition to the skills Pells developed in me, exists due to our training regiment.

This training includes technical ability, fitness training, learning how to handle game situations as a team and mental preparation. It is so difficult to give a goalkeeper confidence. Their mistakes on the field are magnified. Meanwhile field players sometimes have the luxury of making mistakes that go unnoticed to spectators. One of Laurie's biggest themes is to stay positive. Even after three years, I still struggle with it. But I know that my attitude will affect not only my team, but also the confidence of the other team.

For goalkeepers it if often difficult to focus for the full game. Therefore, Pells also always tells me to visualize every save I could have to make in the game. Goalkeepers could see only one shot or as many shots in ninety minutes. It is vital that the goalkeeper stays in the game and that each skill is trained specifically with the goalkeeper ensuring their preparation for whatever action the game may bring. Pells and our goalkeepers have a private session during each team practice. That time, however long it may be, allows us to work on each arena of goalkeeping, ranging from crosses to breakaways, diving to distribution, positioning to footwork. Each day the focus of the session is different. The drills also vary from working on technical fundamentals to using those skills in game situations where perfect technique is not always possible. The key to our sessions is the idea of training the situations we see most in games. In our game at The College of New Jersey, and the women's game in general, most of the saves goalkeepers make are not so much direct shots but crosses. So Pells will train crosses much more frequent than direct shots. And crosses have so many more elements to them (i.e. positioning, judging the flight of the ball, offensive runs, etc.), whereas shots more often than not are in a goalkeeper's close range saving area. Thus it makes sense to train certain situations more than others.

A large part of our training also incorporates the entire team. This part of practice allows the goalkeeper to apply the skills Pells teaches us during the specialized session. It also presents different situations that I face in game circumstances. I know that when I train crosses, I need an eighteen-yard box packed with people to understand how to approach each type of cross. Only a full team practice can create game situations for the goalkeeper. I cannot stress the importance of specialized training, however, practice with the rest of the team is also crucial to developing
knowledge of the game and positioning.

Yet another aspect of goalkeeping is fitness. Fitness is an everyday task for our team, and the goalkeepers participate in every sprint or fitness test that the rest of the team performs. In addition, our goalkeepers endure pressure training once a week for the entire season.

Some weeks I love Pells for putting us through the training and, in all honesty, some weeks I hate her for it. But it is through pressure training that an athlete really learns how to perform. Some of the drills are individual, so self-motivation is essential. Some of the drills are performed with a partner, so teamwork is also essential. By the end, you are exhausted, but becoming fit is not the only gain I receive from pressure training. The difficult part is finishing practice after pressure training - my legs burn, my lungs burn, and sometimes I can't keep up. But if I can execute in goal under those conditions, I should be able to perform the same skills in a game when I am not as fatigued. So for everyone that thinks goalkeepers do not need to be fit, you are sadly incorrect. I attribute a lot of what our goalkeepers have accomplished over the past three years to our regimented, weekly pressure training.

Sneaking away from the physical and technical training, goalkeepers also need to be able to read the game, recover from team and individual mistakes, and perhaps have the ability to pick the entire team out of a weak period in a game. The skills used to handle these situations are often learned the hard way through experience. Pells has always shared her experience and her knowledge on how to get through certain circumstances. And if she doesn't know, which doesn't happen often, we would work together to find the best solution. She is a great teacher who creates an atmosphere where serious training is first and foremost, but the jokes are never far behind. We work hard, but have a great time doing it. A good combination of work and fun is often hard to balance, especially in very competitive programs. The ingredients of the combination will be different for every goalkeeper and their respective coach. Nonetheless, the balance we have keeps me working and improving day after day not only for myself, but for Pells as well.

It is hard to say what elements of our collective training brought our team to a National Championship. And even if your team or your goalkeepers were to copy our sessions, you may not find the same success that we found.

As I said earlier, the combination to becoming a talented goalkeeper varies. However, the answer lies somewhere within a mixture of specialized technical training, appropriate team training, fitness training, and mental preparation.