Welcome to Sisu Soccer Coaching!

Sisu Soccer Coaching provides goalkeeper coaching in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The position of soccer goalkeeper is one of the most under-coached and least understood positions in soccer. We’re looking to change that in our community! 

There are not many training opportunities outside of club environments, specialized camps and clinics, or private training. For goalkeepers who are developing, do not have a dedicated goalkeeper coach already, or who only play high school soccer this creates a challenge.

Our pricing model is simple:
Group Lessons $10
Individual Lessons $20
If you cannot afford to pay for lessons, that's no problem.

The Core Commitment:

  • Provide affordable low-cost, group and individualized soccer goalkeeper coaching.
  • Ensure that any athlete wanting to develop as a goalkeeper has access to quality training, regardless of ability to pay.
  • Develop skills such as confidence, tenacity, grit, and leadership which will pay dividends well beyond participation in sport.
  • Create a contingent of goalkeepers who are passionate about the position, dedicated to their craft, and dedicated to sharing and improving other goalkeepers.
  • Design appropriate individual development plans aligned to a players specific goals. This could include referrals to other coaches, athletic trainers, self-study, or more.
  • Put the player and person first.

The Story Behind Our Why:
My daughter Anna had fallen away from the sport of soccer for various reasons, including at the core her own confidence. One day I came across a list of key player characteristics by position. I ran down the list without telling her the role. Quickly she associated with words like leadership, ability to recover from mistakes, predicting plays, knowledge of Laws of the Game, and more. This gave her a new outlook to the role of the Goalkeeper and she was hooked from that point forward!

At the age of thirteen, making a club change during the off season, she had to quickly catch up on the position. We drove to a few camps, clinics, and invested in some private coaching lessons at home. Our family couldn't afford to give her the opportunity we wanted. We knew that we'd need to start learning a bit on our own and doing our best to replicate at home. We would watch hundreds of YouTube videos, read books on goalkeeping, initiate conversations with goalkeepers, and watch games on video or in person whenever we could.

We found ways to continue investing in coaching classes following the basic adage of giving a man a fish, or teaching him how to fish.

What Is Sisu?:
My family surname (Tuuri) is Finnish. Over the years I have taken time to learn about Finland and its culture and have visited the country twice. Sisu is a bit difficult to describe, some might consider it as a bit of a religious feeling, a presence, or a core of an identity. It is an unwavering commitment to push through, to hold the course, to do the work. It is a determination and strength that guides you through what seemed impossible or against the odds.

For a goalkeeper it is that moment the decision is made to go for the save, nothing is going to get in your way and you won't stop with anything less than everything.

About Coach Dan

I started coaching about six years ago, first just being the dad that helped my daughters coach set up a few cones for practice. As I reconnected with the sport I started to experience the joy I had as a youth playing and quickly the spark was reignited. Since then I have coached multiple teams, and already impacted hundreds of athletes. I am passionate about adaptive and inclusive soccer. I have earned my US Soccer D License as well as United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping I & II diplomas. I am an active referee and referee instructor for AYSO and US Soccer. I am also a coach instructor for AYSO and lead the goalkeeping program for our local region. I have worked in education for fifteen years.

About Coach Anna

At just sixteen years old, Anna has already been coaching other goalkeepers for several years, quickly earning the respect of athletes she has coached that are older than herself. Anna earned the starting goalkeeper role on her high school varsity team during her sophomore year (2021), after the freshman season was cancelled to COVID. Anna will attend the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point where she will play soccer (GK) and wrestle in NCAA Division III competition beginning in August of 2022. Anna is entering her senior year of high school, graduating a full year early. She has also earned her United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping I & II diplomas. Anna will pursue a degree in Special Education with Adaptive Physical Education and Coaching endorsements. She currently works part-time at the City of Marion in the Parks & Rec department.

Location: Marion, IA 52302, USA

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