5 questions for COACH MARK, our new GK coach
1) Why did you become a GK coach and what do you enjoy the most about it?
I coached teams in the UK and Germany, but I concentrated on Keepers aside from my teams when I came to the USA in 2005. I continued to play soccer in local leagues until 2016, then finally admitted my age and concentrated on helping the kids to be the best they can be.
My reward from coaching the kids is to see them learn a new skill or overcome a mental block in their game. I then love to hear the success stories from happy Coaches and Parents.
I have always stated that my dream is to be sitting on my deck in my rocking chair and to open the sports pages to see a story about a player I had coached. I had that pleasure once with Dylan Larkin back in 2010 when I coached him in soccer with the Waterford Warriors, before his rise to professional status in the NHL with the Red Wings.
2) Where did you play and what is your favorite memory?
Soccer has afforded me the opportunity to play in many countries throughout Europe.
I have played in England, France, Sweden, Germany, and Spain.
The pinnacle of any players memories are those moments when we are recognized and rewarded for all our hard work in training and games.
I remember well, being selected for the School team, the College team, receiving the letter inviting me to attend professional tryouts, receiving the letter inviting me to play for my County and eventually England Schoolboy tryouts.
I remember the excitement and the nerves in my first representative games and the butterflies of playing in front of a crowd of more than a thousand spectators.
I remember the noise of a big crowd and I remember all too well the 45 minute heckling of two old men standing behind my goal in my first semi-pro game.
There are so many memories, that even the bad ones mellow with time and are overtaken by the good ones.
3) How do you work in training?
Training is a progression for the body and mind. I train the body for the physicality and excersions of the game and I train the mind for the chaos and management of the game and the situation. I believe in learning a technique from the ground up and revisiting it regularly and as often as is needed in order for it to become second nature. I then create gameplay scenarios to induce that technique to be used at game speed and in-game chaos. In this way, we cement that technique into the keeper's DNA.
I like to integrate the younger keepers into the older keepers training in order for them to be inspired and driven to perform at a higher level both physically and mentally. The training and the game scenarios become quicker and more powerful as we rise through the ages and I think the younger keepers benefit greatly from that experience. In this way, they become accustomed to the speed, power, and size of the players, the ball, the goal and it trains away their fears. This also presents an opportunity for the older keepers to mentor the younger ones and to pass on their knowledge and teach. In these teaching moments, I can listen to the older keepers and can appreciate if they have fully understood my teachings. I can then help them to become better students of the game.
4) What do you think of the current state of youth goalkeeping and how is the position developing in your opinion?
Gone are the days that the Goalkeeper is the least skilled player with the worst first touch and an inability to strike a ball. The modern-day keeper has become a very skilled player and must perform many roles within the team.
First of all, the keeper must be a game/situation manager, directing the players to move and adjust their position constantly. They must also be able to communicate not only in a positional sense, but also as a fixer of players positions, but as a motivator and cheerleader to drive up the performance and spirit of the players and the team.
As for the ball skills, before we even mention the ability to catch a ball, a modern-day keeper is the last defender and the first attacker. They must have a great first touch, the ability to ping a ball 30 yards to a target, to be able to read and understand the game as it unfolds in front of them, and to anticipate the play of the attacking team. The modern-day keeper plays more and more with their feet and is expected to patrol outside their 18-yard box and help their team swing the ball around the defense and to hit a perfect 30 to 40-yard pass that can bisect an opponents formation.
And now to what we typically think of as a Goalkeepers job – handling the ball. The Goalkeeper must exude confidence and handle the ball without error. I push my keepers on handling technique and promote the attempt to catch the ball as often as possible. If the ball must be parried away, I am looking for the Keepers to push the ball out to safety and not back into the path of oncoming opponents.
Bravery is often spoken of but is almost impossible to teach. Therefore I rely on the teaching of great technique, correctly applied at the right moment. Good Goalkeeping is a mix of geometry and choreography, smattered with moments of pure reflex and calculated odds.
Goalkeeping is a wonderful sport of its own to watch and to play and is just plain awesome when done well.
5) How can parents help with the development of their children?
Encourage, encourage, encourage. That is the job of all coaches and all the team's parents.
The goalkeeper is in a solitary position. They wear a different uniform, gloves, they have their own special area of the field and their own rules assigned just to them. Their job is already a difficult one, often performed under the microscope of parents and teammates. Let us not forget that they are always trying their best in difficult circumstances. A mistake by a player is a loss of possession and 10 teammates will help win the ball back. A mistake by the keeper is a loss of a goal and no one can change that. Have a thought for your keeper and encourage them. They are learning 2 sports. The art of Soccer and the art of Goalkeeping.
If you are in any doubt and think they should do better, please come to a keeper training session and watch or join in to see what they are really doing and have to go through in their attempt to excel on the field.
