Of the few bits and pieces I’ve written about junior football and specifically goalkeeping on this blog, most have in some part been in relation to change.
The changes have been either how my lad’s developing or how the game he and his team mates play evolves as they move up to the next age group. Any changes to the game or changes in the way my lad plays affect me, the same as they will any other parents watching on as their own child tries to get to grips with new obstacles to navigate.
In my opinion the move up from u12’s to u13’s is the biggest change between any two age groups in junior football.
It’s the first time they play 11-a-side. That means proper, real football formations; 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 (even 3-5-2 if you’ve got enough centre halves) which also means a greater need for the outfield players to be positionally aware and to know where they should be in relation to their team mates and the opposition and also how they need to adapt as play develops on the pitch.
For the keeper, the bigger goal to defend is the most noticeable change. But there are plenty of other differences for the keeper to contend with, although they might not be as obvious. The size of the penalty area – the keeper’s domain – is not only a much larger area to defend but also a much bigger space in which you could get caught out of position. The size of the pitch in general, brings in another factor that could give young keepers the odd sleepless night.
The distance they need to get on their goal kicks. As they place the ball on the edge of the six yard box and retreat to start their run up, the outfielders take up their position in proportion to the size of the pitch, so the midfielders, who last season were reachable, now look tiny, 50 yards away on the halfway line. Even centre halves and full backs appear a long way off. A poor kick from the keeper means it can be difficult enough just to get out of your own half, never mind mounting an attack. Add to that a slow reaction from defenders to the kick and the keeper might be under the cosh straight away. We’ve done a lot of work on goal kicks and generally it shows in his play, but not always.
One of the major changes for all goalies in recent years is the emergence of the ‘sweeper keeper’. These days there’s an emphasis on keepers, old and young, to advance outside the safety of their area when their team are on the attack and if needed, become an extra defender – another thing to put more pressure on the young keeper. Although there’s been an emphasis on the keeper to be more comfortable using their feet ever since the introduction of the backpass rule, you’ll still find that the majority of young keepers are less confident than their outfield team mates when it comes to using their feet. Especially being the last man. Any misjudgement or mistake with the feet could be costly.
These are all elements that are just part of the young goalie’s learning curve.
Up until earlier this year, the biggest change for me, since my lad started playing has been completing my first coaching badge, meaning I’m officially his coach. It was partly a selfish decision because it meant I could coach him, help him develop and spend time with him but it was obviously in his interests as well. Plenty of goalies in junior football don’t have a goalkeeper coach at their grassroots club which is a real shame and to be honest, I didn’t want my lad to fall into that category.
A lot of the time, no specific goalie coach means the goalie training with the rest of the team and then probably a bit of time at the end of the session where the outfield players have shots at the them. If this is done in the right way, it can be better than no training at all for the keeper. But for this to have any kind of positive effect for the keeper, there needs to be a pause every so often, so that a coach can at least give the goalie some pointers with regards to their technique and how they’re doing. Unfortunately from experience, this very rarely happens and the keeper has to try to stop what seems like endless shots going in all directions. Coupled with this, they’ll never get back to their set position to prepare, before the next shot is fired at them.
The latter is no help at all – in fact, it will only have a negative effect on the keeper.
Since the start of the new season though, there has been an even bigger change for me. Bigger even than doing the coaching badge. Now, I’m on the ‘other side’.
It feels now, on a match day at least, as though the balance has shifted and I’m more his coach than his Dad. Of course I’ll always be his Dad but when the lads are playing, all the other parents are watching from the other side of the pitch, behind the respect line. I don’t dislike the experience but definitely feel like I can relax even less than when I watched from the parent’s side. I’ve always been nervous when he’s played, afraid that any little mistake will be punished, result in him conceding a goal and deliver a blow to his confidence. Those nerves are in full flow now that I’m his coach. And it might be my imagination but it feels like there’s less of a hiding place for both of us.
My wife, my Dad and me watch every match laddo plays. When we all watched together from the parent’s side, I very rarely talked to other Mums and Dads during the game, not because I didn’t want to but because of the position we’d take up. Whichever goal he was in, we’d walk down to his penalty area to offer him our support. His Mum and Grandad still do and I can’t imagine they ever won’t be stood there, as it’s just part of the routine. In the few games he’s played while I’ve been in the technical area, I’ve felt a little bit jealous of them but I know my time is better spent opposite, being his coach and offering words of advice at half time, or a thumbs up after a good bit of play. Even though they’re on the parent’s side, I know they get just as nervous for him as I do.
No doubt after a while I’ll get used to it and will eventually forget what it’s like to be stood on the other side.
Until then, I’ll keep the faith.
Keeper of the faith 