My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach/Obsession (69)

Two nice little trips to Scotland out of the way to but came back with a thumb that was bent back, numerous scrapes, burn marks and bruises but you know what it was worth it!. Keeper wars turned out interesting as i was put up against a few good keepers one of which was Ryan Marshall who is one of the current Stranraer GKs, 22
years old, not really that tall and pretty slim.

So does the concept that academy’s use of if they are small or classed as average height and there biological parents are fairly small (below 6 foot) that its a “sorry, you didint make it” or “not tall enough” really acceptable???.

Obviously if someone really is un-natuarally small then you could possibly see why they dont go with him/her but surely GKs who are anywhere from 5 foot 7 upward who and ive seen are a great talent should be given the chance to prove themselves regardless of what size their parents are.

Are academys really doing things wrong???

My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach/Obsession (68)

That was surreal!, i was working with a club that i regularly work with last night
and while me and the GKs were working i noticed this man in his what looks to be 50s
taking a great interest in what we were doing.

Towards the end of the session he introduced himself, Barry Siddall!, if you dont
know who he is i suggest that you google him and have a word with yourself. i must
admit that at first sight i was unsure of who he was but recognised him from
somewhere, my Sunderlands Number 1s book. He was a very helpful, as i was taking the
rest of the session after chatting to him he had a few words of wisdom with the 2
GKs who didnt know who he was but couldnt believe that he was a ex SAFC GK.

Sometimes coaches dont like people dont like anyone interfering with there session
but to be honest i didnt mind one bit!. I just only wish that he could of stayed
longer as his grandson was just finishing playing on the pitch two down from us and
maybe got some contact details as i would love to of picked his brains and got to
know what his thoughts really are on all things goalkeeping.

So ive met a goalkeeping legend, damn im a happy bloke but for a lot of reasons.....

My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach/Obsession (67)

The myth of someone with a non pro background even daring to try and make waves in
the world of coaching especially GK coaching seems like a myth now to be honest. No
doubt i will come across people who wont entertain me but you know what ill prove
them wrong in every way possible.

Back at school days when bullying was bad and the ones who have read this blog from
the start will know what things i had to overcome will understand a little of what
kind of person i am. I have a shear determination to be one of them people to prove
to the sometimes cruel world that you can survive things and you can do things that
you only dreamed about as a kid.

Anyone who has doubt in your minds, going through things that are not nice,
sometimes it isn't the end of the world and if you really want it, you damn get
yourself out there and you do it......

My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach/Obsession (66)

Wow i wasnt expecting that! After doing a one on one session i was approached by a lady who is the Newcastle United Womens FC scout who offered me the Goalkeeping
Coaching job!!. She had been trying to contact me for a while and now she had found me and boy am i happy she did.

I start at pre season and possibly next week if they have a last training session before the break. The other coaches who i know of are Gary Mutimer and Dean Gordon,
Dean you probably will remember from his days at Crystal Palace and Middlesbourgh but Gary is straight talking, take no crap kind of coach who is highly regarded at NUFCW so im really looking forward to the new challenge with a different set of coaches around me.

Ive been put in complete control of the goalkeeping area so as you all will know or don’t that also includes the choice of who gets the number 1 jersey, now that is
something that i have mixed emotions about…what do you think??

My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach (65)

 

Im back!!!! the internet is a wonderful thing and when you dont have it or in my case it went mad on me its bloody annoying. Im playing catch up at the minute but nearly there with replying to all so bear with me im on it..

I must tell you about the text i received from a GKs parent it goes like this “Adam played outstanding today, pulled off some unbelieveable saves and saved a penalty which he dedicated to you”. Damn! wasnt expecting that, im not the one to blow my own trumpet and not the one to think what we work on in training that comes good during games is of my doing, its the GK that your working doing the hard work so to read that i have to admit it caught me out big time and im not going to lie to you i did have a little lump in my throat.

I know that you read this every week Adam so thank you but you are the hard worker in this and since the start you have worked hard at improving so man of the match awards and penalty saves will be a regular occurance.

Keep up the hard work as you always do, keep enjoying the game and keep that smile on your face. Well done!!!…

My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach/Obsession (64)

Pot holes!!, bloody pot holes!. Got myself a new car and on my first outing with it managed to hit every flamin pot hole in the road. Sound familiar? what about pot holes in coaching?, have you hit so called pot holes in your coaching life?. Im sure as i did during my playing days you have hit a dip in form/confidence, how did you manage to get over it?,did you get over it?.

 

When ive joined a new club or have been working with a new keeper there are going to be pot holes which possibly not be yours but you make it yours, know what i mean?. Instead of you having a dip in form/confidence you have a GK who is looking to you for advice, for a reassuring talk/session, so now you may have been through the pot hole and recovered but can you get someone else through it?.

 

Goalkeepers are a breed apart and i dare any outfield coach to say otherwise, i understand outfielders can go through a simular thing but GKs have usually the whole world looking at them more intensely and when something goes wrong our world can simply collapse around us with no where to run. We take it and get on with it, dont we?.

 

How would you personally deal with a general situation of a dip in form for one of your GKs you work with?, is it simply every GK will deal with it different or have you found that the majority tend to follow a certain pattern….

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Didn’t ever think i would say this but ive managed to condense my coaching so i now get a extra day off to spend with the family. Thanks to good advice from a couple of people i respect for who they are and for giving there time to help me out i had a good think about what coaching i was doing and how could i condense down without affecting the Gk’s and myself.

 

One of the people i heard from completely out the blue with a nice email going into detail what he does, his coaching time table etc helped alot. I’m sure we all know as ive already said that its easy to over load yourself with coaching as the passion for it is beyond what some people can imagine.

 

I’m sure GK coaches are more passionate a coach, obviously im not knocking other coaches in general as we all have to have a passion to do what we do but im sure i don’t speak for myself when i say i really couldn’t get any more passionate about what i do but it has started to bug me about how much im not around my family and that is not what i want and needed to be changed.

 

Now im happy and found the balance between family,coaching and work to where we are all content. Making sure i got the balance between these was essential to move forward with a clearer mind, over loading can bring everything down and not just coaching so i would like to say to everyone who is in the situation i was take a look at what you are doing, get sound advice as i was lucky enough to have around me and find a balance.

 

Thank you Bob for always been there to ask anything i want with a brutally honest answer and to Neil Ebbrell for your gratefully received sound advice, two of many coaches who really do give the world of coaching a great name…..

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Another week goes by is this what seems like a life that is flying by, family time, work, coaching all involved in my life but it seems to be flying over and life is going to quick to keep up.

 

January has flown by without even hardly recognising what actually happened, i dont mean to not remember but im either losing my mind or things are getting just too hectic which may mean i need to calm things down a bit…

 

On that note ive had a think about how to maybe condense coaching down to less days, as most will know when your trying to get your name around in the football world you do every bit of work you can get to get the experience you crave. Now im at the point where im happy in what i do and have a good reputation for it i want to smooth out the rough edges if you know what i mean.

 

 Is it too early in my life as a goalkeeping coach to want to do this……

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Well its that time if you haven’t already to look at and potentially book up holidays, done that now or my wife has more to the point. We are off to sunny Wales in June which i cant wait for as i just love Rory the Tiger (not!!, but my kids do). I may send them a email to advise a GK coach to be there so i can have a work out as dancing on the stage or near it does me no good at all.(look like Bambi).

Work wise im as busy as ever but i like it as im gaining more experience all the time and that cant be a bad thing, can it?….. I think as long as you prepare for anything it can achieved and done correctly and that is something i do is prepare. The old saying of “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail” is well and truly stuck in my head. So just how many pairs of gloves can i accumulate before my holidays?………

My Life as a Freelance Goalkeeper Coach/Obsession (60)

Phew!, damn im a busy boy! If im not working with Goalkeepers i work in a lab as a Environmental Scientist in the Asbestos sector so apart from looking at the nasty Asbestos through a microscope their is cleaning and tidying to do. Me been like a monkey on redbull and been a little funny about things (OCD) i get quite passionate about the cleaniness of the place. I hope my wonderful, beauiful best wife(is that enough crawing) isnt reading this as im sure she will totally disagree as im waited on hand and foot by her at home…..
 
I take this passionate approach onto the pitch wether im coaching(no i dont start cleaning the goal posts, but it has crossed my mind..), oh and  im a little funny about the way the weekly shop is put away but besides the point im obsessive about the game of football and pretty much everything that goes with it apart from refereeing as i wouldnt touch it.
 
 Referees have my total respect now that i see it from a different view plus i have a friend who refs in the championship so its nice to be able to get a inside view from time to time aswell which does stop me from giving refs a little undeserved (or sometimes deserved) headaches. Should i undertake a refereeing course?…….