Club GoalKeeping Training   Where: Keystone Soccer Complex When: Starting August 27th Time:  U10 - U14 @ 5.30 - 6.30pm             U15 - U18 @ 6.30 - 7.30pm

NorthStar will offer starting Friday, August 27th. two goalkeeping specific training sessions for U10-U14 and U15-U18 NorthStar Club Players age groups. 
We recommend that all the players in the club take advantage of these goalkeeping specific training. If we get good numbers, and the demand for the training is there from our players, we will continue to offer the goalkeeping training to our players on a weekly basis. We want to provide the players within the club the opportunity to take their game further an enjoy supplemental training opportunities, thus the introduction of the goalkeeping program. 

Why should you attend

Goalkeepers often feel isolated at team training, thus the need for functional training on a weekly basis to stay connected to the team. The average coach can only work on one topic at a time, and in team practice sessions the goalkeepers are not always active within their position at a high intensity. This training will be 100% goalkeeper specific, which will give it's players not just the technical training, but situational awareness and more knowledge to the position, which ultimately improves each NorthStar team. 
This program is for everyone. For young players, We encourage all players to attend the goalkeeping, receive the technical training on offer and be prepared and introduced to the demands of the goalkeeper. For older players, attend the training and get the functional training that you don't always get from your team practice session.

How to register for the training

Players should register for the training by emailing myself directly at CoachMcGuinness@northstarsoccer.org by no later than Wednesday, August 25th. All participants must email to confirm attendance to be placed upon the register for the goalkeeping training. Please reserve your place on the register now. When emailing me to confirm your place on the register, please include the players name, team age, and the best number to contact you on should we ever need to cancel due to weather etc. 

Please take advantage of this Club training opportunity. Being a goalkeeper is an important position, and must be trained successfully in isolated and team environments for successful player progression . Please join Coach Paul at Bowers Harbor Park for this NorthStar goalkeeping specific program.
We look forward to hearing from you aspiring and accomplished goalkeepers. 

Please contact me should you have any questions. 
Warm regardsPaul
Paul McGuinness

231-468-7342
CoachMcGuinness@northstarsoccer.org

"Excerpts from an interview with US National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo in the October 2006 issue of Fair Game magazine:

How is your training different from field players?
Obviously it’s a lot more plyometrics. It’s a lot of diving and getting up and diving and getting up which a lot of times people don’t realize is just as taxing on your legs and on your body. You still have to be fit. I like to compare it to more of wrestler-type fitness not necessarily aerobic-type fitness. It’s definitely a fitness that we have to have. More endurance. The game has evolved to this day where we have to be good with our foot skills. We need to have quick feet just like a field player. There are times at training where we still jump on the field with the team.

What qualities do you think all great goalkeepers possess?
The number one thing that I think a goalkeeper should have and should always work on is their footwork. A lot of people think that having good hands is the key but really your feet are what make you cover the entire goal. Mentally, every great goalkeeper has courage.

Do you have any pre-game rituals that help you to focus?
I used to be pretty superstitious and I guess I kind of grew out of it. The only thing I really do now is make sure that I wear a hat on the bus ride on the way to the game. My warm up I always cut short so that I can go relax right before we go out onto the field. What do you do to calm your nerves after you’ve been scored on?
It really is just sucking it up mentally and it’s gotten easier as I’ve gotten older. When I get scored on, I pick up a handful of grass, I throw it as hard as I can and I let all my frustrations out with that and then I just take a deep breath and settle back into the game and know that I have to be just as prepared as I was five minutes before.

Do you ever get mad at your teammates when they make a mistake that causes you
to get scored on?
That’s a good question. I don’t get mad at my teammates when they mess up or an individual messes up because that’s just part of the game. They do it. We all do it. I do, however, get the most upset when I can tell that we’re not mentally engaged. What I mean is maybe we’re not thinking to shift early enough and we’re reacting instead of preparing. That’s really when I lay on my defenders. It’s my job to make sure that everyone is in place early and where they need to be and when I sense a let down is when I really get on them.

What’s the best advice you can offer a young goalkeeper?
Keep working on your foot skills. That’s one of the most important things in the game. I’m not only talking about with the ball. I’m talking about quick feet and foot work. People think it’s all in the hands but you’ve got to get to the ball".