Sisu Soccer Coaching

I thought this would be a good place to share a moment from a recent game I watched. The decision on the field was offside, the ball was shot and entered the ball frame. Which of course as a result 50% of the players on the field appreciated and 50% of the players on the field were frustrated by. It's worth noting that although there was a quick reaction "come on", there was nothing that rose to dissent and the game continued without incident. To start, lets recall the two major elements to offside. 1: Where players were in relation to the offside line at the moment the ball was played by a teammate. 2: If the player became involved in play. In this case the player does shoot the ball, so we know that condition is met. This moment from the video stream is as close as we can get to the actual moment the ball is kicked, it's currently blocked from view by the white player (1). With higher quality tools and feeds I might be able to get it closer, but this is what we'

As a dad of a goalkeeper, a goalkeeper (and team) coach, and as a referee instructor I have a unique perspective of seeing things through multiple lenses. Being in a smaller community many recognize me around the field as someone who wears all three hats at various times. One of the greatest things I’ve learned over the past years is which ‘hat’ to wear, and when. I’ve also found that when wearing the ‘dad hat’ if I so much as take a deep breath or a sigh when an official makes a decision a parent sitting to my right or left picks up on that and I need to be mindful of those non-verbal moments and think tactfully when others ask me about a call. Recently I had a coach approach me about high school soccer officiating with a question about goalkeepers, about a week later, a parent approached me with a similar question, so I thought I’d share my perspective. Again, take it as a grain of salt, as someone who wears three hats – and not an official position of any of the organizations I offi

One of the amazing things in Anna's development as a GK is that she has had an opportunity to work with a number of different goalkeeper coaches. Some of these are professionally trained and developed coaches, whereas others are players who have passion for the game and are excited to share their knowledge. As you start to study goalkeeping it's quick to notice some things that are pretty common. An example is the set position, or the goalkeepers stance. We almost always see a similar bent knees, shoulders pulled back, equal balanced feet with heels slightly raised. But, now let's look closer. One goalkeeper will have a lean more forward than another. One prefers hands up with palms facing outward, while the other might have thumbs upright but hands in a blade type shape, as if they were preparing to shake someones hands. What's super is that goalkeepers can take each of these approaches in and determine what works best for them. There are a few things that I hold dear

If you're not working with a goalkeeper coach or have never been taught how to review your game film it can be a bit overwhelming. With a video review we will connect on a web conference and review film that you've collected from your recent games. As an example we can use this video of Anna making a save. The ball is saved but what else can we learn from this moment? Instead of simply presenting compliments or corrective instruction we will instead have a two way dialogue where you, the goalkeeper, develops the analysis with the aid of some guided questions. Using this clip as an example, I would ask the following questions. Note, there is not always one correct response, much like the fluid nature of the game it is more about engaging cognitive thinking and reflection than only the perfect result. 1. What do you think of the GK's stance and ball line when the video starts? 2. Do you feel that the GK has good awareness of supporting and opposition players on the field? 3.