Friday 30 December 2011

David James On The War Path




Interesting article in today's Sun newspaper with David James expressing his views on English goalkeepers, and specifically goalkeeping coaching. And he asks a question that has always perplexed me - why do you need to qualify as an outfield coach (Level 2) before you can take the goalkeeper coaching level 2 award? Madness! I am going to lobby the FA and ask some questions!

Anyway here is the article:

DAVID JAMES has blasted the quality of goalkeeper coaching in England.

The No 1 at last year's World Cup insists that is why there is a real lack of English top-flight keepers.

He said: "I'm frustrated with the situation. Time and time again, I've looked at our keeper coaches.

"If you do basic work, you get basic keepers. What they are doing is wrong. As a result, the players are not coming through.
"English clubs have had goalkeeper coaches for a long time. Inhad one at Watford as a schoolboy and although I signed for Liverpool in 1992, they had one in 1993-94. Down the years we've not had the English keepers to show for it."

Bristol City keeper James got 53 England caps and is taking his coaching badges.

He insists there are only a couple of top keeper coaches in this country.

James said: "Asmir Begovic at Stoke is a great lad. He is Bosnian but had a top coach at Portsmouth in David Coles.
"David also got me back into the Prem. Paul Barron, who was at Newcastle and Villa, was also great. He trained Shay Given and Mark Schwarzer. Good coaches make good keepers."

"Most of our English keepers in the Prem come when Championship clubs go up. It frustrates me nothing has been done. You have to become a qualified outfield coach before being a qualified keeper coach. It doesn't make sense."


Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Thursday 29 December 2011

The Development of Young Goalies




The following article was featured in the Scuola Calcio Magazine. Was written by Marco Stoini, Director of Coaching for San Luigi Calcio Trieste and Techncial Director of the Ascoli Soccer Academy from the Italian Professional Soccer League and translated by Antonio Saviano.

It is been said that the role of the goalkeeper is a single role, but as we know it is always a child that is in the goal and that will become a man through the frequent goalkeepers development stages. The program of the goalkeeper’s technical work can be divided in two great age groups:

1. From 6-12 years old
2. From 12 years old up

From 6 to 12 Years Old

In reality the very young goalkeeper is not a complete goalkeeper yet. The child playing in the goal does not have the mental and physical structure characteristics in order to be a goalkeeper as an adult would. We are dealing with a child that must be developed and we must stabilize his motor and coordinative abilities, which in many cases are harder for a goalkeeper than a field player. Example of some coordinative abilities:

- Trajectories to save
- Agility
- Relation – ball – ground
- Relation – body – ground
- Relation – eyes – hands
- Relation – eyes – hands – body
- Etc.

Furthermore the physical structure can often prevent the correct execution of many technical fundamentals (sometimes it can also be impossible): for example, the simple size of the hands will not allow easy stops, it will not allow an easy re-start play and so forth.

With these premises it is logical that under the 12 years of age (and in particular until 10 years old) the goalkeeper follows a program integrated with the team, therefore the program should have a general broad activity necessary to all the players on the team and that has objectives to reach based on the age we are working with.

Perform normal practices that all teammates benefit, one of them should be using the feet, which in part is very important under most useful ways. However, at least two times per week the activity should be provided, in specific part, to the particular of the goalkeeper and divided in groups of at least 3-4 goalkeepers and for a duration of approximately 90 minutes. As for all the roles of the soccer players as well as for the goalkeepers the techniques must be placed in first place when training. When speaking about goalkeepers, especially “strong ones” we often refer to goalkeepers with solid technical bases developed from a younger age, and that are like a strong foundation for the rest of their career.

The young goalkeepers psychological side is also very important. Much attention goes to those activities that should not exceed the actual abilities of the student, in order not to create failure feelings, having the young goalkeepers overcome fears that begin with the contact body-ground and development of body movement.
To free their strength is a physiological necessity of the children, but to let them have fun and satisfaction, but also have a feeling of authority and prestige, it is a primary task of a good instructor.

The young goalkeepers see and admire some champions on TV who rise to be their idol, they may have and wear their jerseys, may be their caps or gloves, but for sure will not be able to copy the technical movements, because their mental and learning abilities will prevent them from making does decisions. The instructor should remember this important information and convey to the young goalkeepers in a simple way.

From 12 Years Old and Up

At this age the young goalkeepers begin to assume the abilities of the “true goalkeeper”. Now the techniques can and must be learned and without any limitations, they can and they must be repeated to the intend to create the complete necessary development that will stabilize the specific abilities. Now, the mental and the tactical aspect of the development can also be trained:

- Concentration
- Subsequent choices – understanding the game

At this stage, the athlete training will be able to assume greater weight in the activity: for the role of the goalkeeper the strength is the base to support the major part of typical body movements (jumps, quick sprint, executions, etc), the agility, the flexibility and the acrobatic training are an integral part of the development.
The aerobic component should cover the importance of general conditions.

Regarding Strength:

- High expressions: (fast – maximum resistant)
- Under expressions: (flexible volatile – reflected flexible volatile – resistance to the maximum strength – resistance to the instantaneous strength)
- Types of reduction: (concentric – eccentric – isometric – ply-metric)

All of the above has to be taken into consideration with a specific development, but at the same time we should be careful to the structure of a body that is still unbalanced and in a developing stage. In fact the speed or the rapidity is influenced from the strength level of the goalkeeper and are naturally unavoidable qualities. In the training the complete development aspect of the goalkeeper can not be neglected: it is true that the standardized repetitions are important for the reflex, but is also true that if we work in different situations, it will be possible for the athlete to decompose the technical body movements and to use only those parts that time to time will be necessary for that specific need.
I would like to point out that with two-three weekly training sessions of approximately 80 minutes each, we should attain good results.

With the goalkeeper who by now, at this age has exceeded the evolutionary phase, it is moreover fundamental to work on the specific errors. The instructor must maintain a direct contact with his own goalkeeper students. Because it is important to have a direct contact, it is better not to have many goalkeepers for training. But the instructor must also be careful, along with the head-coach, not to isolate the group of goalkeepers from the team, something that happens more then we think.

This article was featured in the Scuola Calcio Magazine.

Scuola Calcio Coaching Magazine is aimed and dedicated to providing first class soccer information for instructors at all levels throughout the North America and the World.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Monday 19 December 2011

The World's Most Underrated Keeper and Why He Hated Playing





Victor Valdes became a goalkeeper because his brother needed someone to practice his shots on. He started in a team because his dad thought he was good and he joined La Masia when he was 10 because they saw a talent in him. He left because he hated being a goalkeeper but came back because he wanted to be on TV.

Victor recently said that Josep Guardiola taught him to enjoy playing football, to enjoy being a goalkeeper. Before that, Victor Valdés had always hated his job. As a child he used to dream about another life where he didn’t have to be a goalkeeper. Every week he felt bad knowing that at the weekend he would have a game where he would stand in the goal. The only reason why Victor kept on was because he was born to be a goalkeeper.

He was a hard worker even if he hated his job; he always trained hard to get better. In the 2002/2003 season, when he was only 20 years old, Victor made his debut for Barcelona’s first team. By the time the season was over, he was the first choice keeper and he has been ever since. His dream of being on TV had become reality, but his nightmare as a goalkeeper kept going.

For all that he has achieved, Victor Valdés remains one of the world’s most underrated goalkeepers and he deserves some real recognition.

A lot of football fans can’t see how good Victor Valdés is; they often say that he would never be good in any other top European football club, that the only reason he let in so few goals is because Barça has a fantastic defense and that they often have 70-80% possession. And then they can never forget the mistakes a young Victor Valdés made in his first years at the top level.

I have no idea how good Victor Valdés would be if he played at another club, but I know that he is the perfect goalkeeper for FC Barcelona. This has to do with the possession, that the anti-Valdés people often use as an excuse, saying that anyone could be a goalie for a team that keeps the ball so much. In their recent history, FC Barcelona has always had that kind of possession in their games and yet still they have always had huge goalkeeper problems. That’s an equation that doesn’t fit. The fact is that the kind of possession FC Barcelona has actually makes it harder to be their goalkeeper. Just like the other players, a goalkeeper needs to be warmed up, but what if he doesn’t get to touch the ball for 80 minutes? Doesn’t get to make a single save? It will then have been 80 minutes since he warmed up. When suddenly the shot comes, the keeper who hasn’t had a thing to do will need to be there and he will need to be ready. This can be a very complicated situation and had given Barcelona a lot of problems until Victor Valdés came.

Another thing that is different for a goalkeeper in Barcelona as opposed to other teams is that Valdés needs to be a extra outfield player. Which means he needs to be really good at passing and at seeing where to pass. Victor is basically an outfield player that can use his hands. When Victor was younger, just 20 years old, he didn’t have the same level of confidence as he does now. It happened that he failed with his outfield playing duties and this led to huge mistakes like giving the opponents the ball. These kinds of mistakes don’t happen as easily for goalkeepers in other teams because they don’t need to play with their feet as much. Often Victor did a great job, but it so happened that he failed on occasion too. The people who didn’t understand the difficulty of Valdés’ job as Barcelona’s keeper started to complain. On youtube, videos went up with names like “Victor Valdés, the world’s worst goalkeeper”, highlighting his mistakes.

But in Barcelona they never stopped believing in the young keeper, and he would make important saves. Like in the Champions League final in 2006 when Victor was only 24 years old. He made it impossible for Henry to score and was probably the best player in the game. Later on, no one talked about Victor because no one ever talks about the goalkeeper for Barça.

Just as he hated to be keeper as a child watching his teammates celebrate a goal without him, or the team’s sadness every time and when he let in a goal: it was the same now. No one talked about his amazing saves but everyone remembered his mistakes.

He hated his job and all over the world people complained about what he was doing, saying he was Barça’s weakest link. Still he kept on doing what he had always done. Because he knew he had people believing in him.

When journalists criticized him, he would say: “I find it very hard to take any criticism from someone who has never been a goalkeeper.” The only thing the criticism did was to make Victor work even harder, to show everyone that they were wrong.

At the age of 24 Victor had won La Liga twice as well as the Champions League. He had also won the Zamora trophy as the keeper having the lowest “goals-to-games” ratio in La Liga. Still he had never played a game for the Spanish national team.

The reason why I think Victor wasn’t a part of the Spanish national team, even after he had won all those titles, was because people only saw his mistakes. The comments were that he would fail in any team other than Barcelona, and he was lucky to play for Barça because there he didn’t need to do much. But they didn’t even give him the chance to perform well for the national team and show how good he was. I’m not saying that he should have been the first keeper in the national team, because back then Casillas was better then Victor. I’m just saying they at least should have given him the chance as third keeper.

Since Guardiola took over at Barça three years ago, Victor has changed. He himself says that for the first time, he is actually enjoying being a goalkeeper. That has shown on the pitch where he become better than ever. The mistakes Victor Valdés is famous for have disappeared for three years now. He has won the Zamora every year since Pep’s arrival. For me, Victor Valdés has these last two seasons been the best goalkeeper in the world. I know that many agree with me on that, but sadly, most still view Victor as a goalkeeper who makes mistakes. For the World Cup in South Africa, Victor finally got called up for the national team, he was third keeper and didn’t get to play a single minute at the tournament. But still, the fact that he finally got called up shows that Spain couldn’t hide anymore the talent of Victor Valdés.

Why will Victor never be the first choice keeper in the Spanish National team? To start with, you just don’t change a first choice keeper, as the team needs to have someone they trust and feel safe with. Spain’s keeper today is Iker Casillas, and even if Victor has been the better keeper the last two seasons, Casillas is the team’s captain and you just don’t change your captain either. The third factor may have more impact than we’d like to believe. That is the fact that Spain’s National team today has a lot of Barcelona players. To change the keeper from a Madrid player to a Barça player would pretty much make the team FC Barcelona and that wouldn’t look good for Real Madrid. I know it sounds a bit cheeky but I sadly believe this point has an impact.

Victor Valdés, whether a Spanish national team player or not, is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world and the only thing I wish for is that people around the globe would forget about the mistakes made by a young boy standing terrified in the Camp Nou goal almost a decade ago. I want people to forget about that and see the fantastic saves this man now makes with confidence while proudly standing in the Camp Nou goal today.

Honours

Zamora Trophy 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011
La Liga 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
Champions League 2006, 2009, 2011
Copa del Rey 2009
Spanish Supercup 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011
European Super Cup 2010
World Club Cup 2010
World Cup 2010



Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Sunday 18 December 2011

Krul vs. Vorm - Interesting!

Following on from the previous post about Krul and Vorm we now know that the score ended 0-0. Anyone that saw the match would know that Vorm was the busy of the two Dutch keepers; something backed up by the two charts below showing their distribution in the game (blue arrows are successful, red arrows are where distribution has gone to the opposition).

Interesting.






Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Friday 16 December 2011

Merry Christmas




Guys,

Merry Christmas from the MINDSi Team to all our clients, wherever you are in the World.

Looking forward to a successful 2012.

Enjoy!

Gavin, Jessica and Tom

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Thursday 15 December 2011

Krul vs. Vorm




It is probably safe to assume that Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg will be taking an acute interest in events at St James' Park on Saturday. Although the 6ft 5½in Stekelenberg is still widely regarded as Holland's first choice goalkeeper he knows he is coming under severe pressure for his place at Euro 2012 from Newcastle United's Tim Krul and Swansea City's Michel Vorm.

Arguably the two outstanding goalkeepers in the Premier League this season, Krul and Vorm will be at opposite ends of the pitch as Newcastle's aim to rediscover how to win and Swansea seek an eighth clean sheet of the campaign.

It is interesting to remember that, when Vorm arrived at the Liberty Stadium for £1.5m from Utrecht last summer, Brendan Rodgers, Swansea's manager, was seen as taking a gamble as, at a mere 6ft, the 28-year-old was regarded as rather small for a keeper. Similarly Krul, who joined Newcastle for £200,000 from Den Haag nearly seven years ago, prompted considerable raising of Geordie eyebrows when, back in August, it became clear that he, rather than the experienced Steve Harper, would be Alan Pardew's No1 this season.

Pardew's decision has been vindicated by a series of quite brilliant performances from a 23-year-old whose progress is reportedly being closely monitored by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Two inches shorter than Krul, Vorm did not have the benefit of the sort of loan spells which saw his Newcastle counterpart toughened up by stints at Falkirk and then Carlisle. Instead Swansea's last line of defence works regularly with rugby tackle-bags in a bid to harden him for Premier League combat.

"It's so different from Holland," he says. "In your head and, of course, physically. After playing Premier League games you feel broken. You can get battered and I'm not that big so I have to be smart."

Boasting excellent footwork, Vorm's sure touch, incisive distribution and, on occasion, willingness to leave his area, not only earn him a "sweeper keeper" label but are a big part of Swansea's build-from-the-back style. Big on psychology he has further burnished a reputation for saving penalties begun in Utrecht where he was known as "the penalty killer". Apart from devoting hours to studying penalty takers and their habits on his home collection of DVDs, Vorm also aims to psyche out his opponents.

"The secret is in the eyes," he says. "I like to look at penalty takers straight in the eyes and then I can tell what they are thinking. Then I leave it [the decision as to which way to dive] as late as possible. In training Danny Graham [the Swansea striker] almost always scored penalties against me but I've told him that he wouldn't be able to do it if he was up against me in an actual match."

Incredibly agile, Vorm's height has long since ceased to be an issue. "People said we were taking a big gamble with Michael because he wasn't 6ft 4in," says Rodgers, who reckons the Dutchman will probably earn Swansea at least 10 extra points this season. "But his agility is such that he makes saves most 6ft 4in keepers can't manage."

If Krul had not made it as a professional footballer he intended to train as a pilot and the articulate, supremely calm Dutchman certainly seems to possess the sort of unruffled, unfazed, temperament which would be ideal for coping with mid-air emergencies. Having made his full international debut for Holland by keeping a clean sheet against Brazil in June, Krul hopes to follow in the glove-prints of his hero Edwin van der Sar, who now serves as his mentor and with whom he is in regular telephone contact. Krul's prized possessions include one of Van der Sar's old shirts and a pair of the former Manchester United and Holland star's gloves.
He was marked out for great things when, at the age of 17, he made an impressive Uefa Cup debut in a 1-0 win at Palermo in Sicily after being thrust into the first team at the last minute by the then manager Glenn Roeder due to injuries. Shortly afterwards a knee injury required two operations and six months on the sidelines but Roeder, who engineered his arrival from Den Haag, never had any doubts Krul would make the grade.

"From the moment he joined Newcastle's academy, it was obvious Tim was a fantastic talent," he says. "In my opinion Tim is now Newcastle's most valuable player; he has been in unbelievable form this season. He is now one of the best keepers in Europe."

Such praise is widely echoed. As Martin Jol, the Fulham manager and a compatriot of Krul, puts it: "Newcastle have a young goalkeeper who is a great talent." Yet if his reflexes, capacity for acrobatic saves and polished handling were never in doubt, until this season, Krul was, albeit sporadically, prone to making some bad decisions under pressure. Now, though, it appears that nerves rather than major technical flaws were primarily responsible for those, admittedly occasional, moments when he ill-advisedly left or stayed on his line, showed off some uncharacteristically clumsy footwork or misjudged a cross.
"Tim still had a lot to do when I came to Newcastle this time last year," says Pardew. "When he played in the first team last season he looked a bit nervous." Things improved radically when he began working with Pardew's specialist goalkeeping coach, Andy Woodman. "We've given him self belief," says Newcastle's manager. "Tim's been outstanding this season."

With Rodgers equally complimentary about Vorm it promises to be quite some beauty contest on Tyneside this Saturday.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Saturday 3 December 2011

Tom Fawdry Joins The MINDSi Team

MINDSi Sports Performance are delighted to announce the arrival of Tom Fawdry to our team of experts.

Here is a bit about Tom:


TOM FAWDRY
Sports Performance and Goalkeeper Development Coach



Tom successfully completed a full time degree in Football Studies (BA Hons) at Southampton Solent University and as a result his approach to coaching combines academic study in tandem with practical coaching experience. Tom’s range of skills includes performance analysis, applied sports psychology, and more specifically, goalkeeper coaching.

Tom has specialised in goalkeeper development for several years, implementing his ideas and philosophies at all levels of football. Tom has successfully gained several coaching qualifications including FA Level 2 in outfield & goalkeeping, FA Youth Module 1 & 2, and various other qualifications, including SAQ & futsal.

Tom has a very modern approach to goalkeeping, through the study of goalkeepers and coaches at the highest level, and he looks to frequently apply new techniques and coaching methods. Furthermore, Tom has been given the opportunity to study goalkeeping all over Europe, learning from coaches and goalkeepers from Norway, Sweden and Spain. Additionally, he has written goalkeeper development programmes for various different football clubs and has undertaken specialised research in the study of goalkeeper development.

If you would to book an appointment with Tom, please contact us on 01752 696756 or email us at info@MindsiOnline.com


MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Friday 2 December 2011

Caption Competition

Guys, a chance for you to win a pair of KA goalkeeping gloves plus our very own goalkeeping performance CD. (http://www.mindsionline.com/goalkeeper-shop.htm).

All you need to do is come up with a hilarious caption for the photo below.

Funniest entry wins.

Email your "answer" to info@MindsiOnline.com

Closing date of competition is 31st December 2011.


Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Spot The Difference Competition

Guys, a chance for you to win a pair of KA goalkeeping gloves plus our very own goalkeeping performance CD.

All you need to do is play Spot The Difference with the two photos below. I'll give you a clue - there is only one subtle difference.

Funniest entry wins.

Email your "answer" to info@MindsiOnline.com

Competition ends on 31st December 2011.






Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

A Goalkeeper's Guide For Coaches




Goalkeepers are special.

The position of goalkeeper is one of the most psychologically demanding on the soccer pitch. Mistakes are final. The glory is usually reserved for the players at the other end of the field. It's not a position for everybody. You can't be stupid and play goal, but perhaps you must be a little crazy.

A coach must, of necessity, be a part-time psychologist, and nowhere is this more important than for the goalkeeper, where confidence is key. Here are a few ideas I have found a coach can use to help a goalkeeper's mental toughness and attitude.

Only play those who want to play in goal. In youth soccer, everyone is encouraged to try all positions. However, I would not include goalkeeper in that category, at least in game situations. It does no good to put someone in the box who simply does not want to be there. It can be shattering for a youngster to be scored upon. If you must, try everyone in practices, but limit game play to those who want to be (or at least, don't mind being) in net.

Stay positive when goals are scored. It can be tough to be positive, especially when a simple lapse has just let in the game-losing goal with seconds to play. Goalkeepers need to be able to put mistakes behind them quickly and recover, so try to put a positive spin on things:
Credit the shooter. Sometimes the opposing team has just made a great play; give them credit - it's not always a mistake by the keeper that lets a goal in.

Don't dwell on it. Help the goalkeeper shake it off quickly, make a fast coaching point if necessary, and move on once the kickoff has been taken. You can cover problems in more depth at the next practice.

Look for the technique that needs improvement. Focus on the skill that needs work, not the fact that the goal was scored. Very often it's just basic footwork or catching that needs brushing up.

Give credit for other than direct saves. A keeper can keep the ball out of the net in more ways than making a direct save - forcing a missed shot gets the job done too. Aggressiveness goes a long way here - by making the striker decide too early, a keeper can force a miss or a pass on an otherwise open shot. A goalkeeper who can get into the heads of opposing forwards early has a huge advantage.

Don't panic after a save. This applies to both coach and goalkeeper. Give the keeper time to internalize the save (builds confidence), calm down, give outfield players time to recover, and look upfield to restart the attack. Six seconds is plenty of time to do all this. If you stay calm, you're showing that you have confidence in the keeper's ability to control the ball and the game.

Help the keeper develop good habits. Teach them good technique, then build on it with repetition. Don't allow any lazy or sloppy technique, even when they're not officially doing drills or playing. Good habits will show themselves in games just like bad habits. Repetition is the key; doing it right every time (consistency) is what separates a good goalkeeper from a great one.

Don't allow less than full effort, every time, every shot. Every shot deserves an attempt at a save, even if it seems futile. Eventually, the shots that seemed impossible to stop before will start coming into range. If the effort is there, the results will start to come.

If things aren't going well, handle the goalkeeper with care. Many coaches will criticise a keeper if they are getting easily beaten but be aware of the repercussions of this. Some players will take this as a sign you lack confidence in them, and only go downhill. Make sure you stay positive, and point out you're not pulling them because they are a poor player or person, just that it's not their day.

Encourage additional training.
There isn't always time to properly train a keeper in normal practice sessions, especially when that player needs to develop foot and out field skills as well. Encourage them to attend club or private training sessions, goalkeeper camps, buy books or DVDs or visit the MINDSi website (www.MindsiOnline.com) and purchase the Eye On The Ball goalkeeping performance CD.

A player who is serious about goalkeeping needs all the encouragement, motivation, support,extra training and practice they can get. As a coach, it is in your interests to develop them.

Goalkeepers are special.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com