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Ring ring. Hello… may I help you? Yes, may I speak to …. Yes, who is calling please? Jeff Nelson. What company are you with? The National Goalie War Association. The National Goalie WHAT?? This is a typical exchange that I encounter on a daily basis. To help clearly define our mission, I thought it best to write my first article on who we are and why we formed.
The National Goalie War Association (NGWA) is an organization of goalkeepers, coaches, parents, affiliate and corporate members, partners and sponsors. Our mission is to support the development and promotion of soccer goalkeeping through the sport of Goalie War. The NGWA presents and sanctions local, state, regional and national Goalie War tournaments. The NGWA provides education and training to its members through its web site, publications, tournaments, clinics, corporate and affiliate members, partners and sponsors.
We are all shaped by our life’s experiences. Here is my story…
The year was 1978. I was twelve and the phone rang one day. It was my friend’s father. He asked if I would be interested in playing a game of soccer against an all girls traveling team who needed practice. I was a little hesitant because I never played soccer before. He encouraged me to give it a try. I thought, “What the heck? How bad could it be playing against a bunch of girls?“. Well, the following week I found out just how bad it could be. These girls showed no mercy. I stopped counting goals after fifteen. This was my indoctrination into the world of goalkeeping. I think most kids would have stopped playing goal at this point but I loved the action, the challenge of stopping shots and most of all, diving on the ground and getting dirty. After that game, my friend’s father formed a recreational soccer team in town. I tried out for goal.
The try out basically consisted of who was crazy enough to dive head first into the goalpost. Whoever proved themselves fearless (or stupid, whichever you prefer) won the job. Well, let’s just say that I wasn’t that bright of a kid. I played one season in goal before moving on to high school.
I was encouraged by a number of people to try out for the high school soccer team but was warned that the junior varsity coach had already chosen a player for goal. His name was Billy. At fourteen years old, measuring 5’11” in height and weighing in at 175 pounds, Billy was a formidable specimen. Given my size of 4’11”, 120 pounds, I thought I was forever destined to be a field player. During preseason conditioning camp, I saw Billy in action. To my surprise, Billy wasn’t that good in goal. He was slow, awkward and couldn’t punt past the eighteen yard line. Since Billy was even worse on the field, the junior varsity coach had him slated for goal. Yup, you guessed it, throw the fat kid in goal syndrome. Well, it wasn’t long before Billy got hurt and I got my chance to play goal. My coach was reluctant at first, given my size, but gave me a chance since I could punt the ball to half field. I eventually won the starting job but had no idea what I was doing.
I received no coaching or training my freshman year. My training consisted of throwing a soccer ball back and forth with the other keepers while we talked and joked around. Although I was chipped a lot, I did fairly well my freshman year.
By my sophomore year, I had grown about ten inches and attended my first soccer camp. At camp, I learned many goalkeeping techniques and how to stop shots. I quickly soaked up this knowledge and began practicing on my own. After school, I practiced high dives over my yellow Schwinn bicycle and played catch with any hard surface that I could find. Now, I had some height and confidence. My shot stopping abilities were noticed by the varsity coach. He pulled me up to varsity and started me in goal against every team that was expected to crush us. Needless to say, I got a lot of experience stopping shots in my sophomore year but again received no coaching or training during the season. During my last two years of high school, I attended some specialized goalkeeper camps and trained a lot on my own. I became pretty proficient at stopping shots and received many honors. I thought I was ready for college. Boy, was I wrong!
The level of play I was about to experience required more than the ability to stop shots.
I decided to go to college because I wanted to continue playing soccer and dreamed of becoming an FBI agent someday. I attended an NCAA Division II school and walked on to the team as a freshman. To my surprise and dismay, I received no coaching or training throughout the season. Practices again consisted of throwing the ball back and forth with the senior varsity keeper and various shooting drills while the team learned and practiced the nuances of the game. I didn’t see much playing time my freshman year. I just continued to develop my technical skills through practice. Those technical skills earned me a starting position my sophomore year but I had no college game experience to go along with it. In just a few short games, I went from starting keeper to warming the bench. What happened? I thought. Obviously, I did not possess the necessary skills to play at the college level.
Although I believed that I had tremendous technical proficiency, which is the cornerstone of quality goalkeeping, I lacked what I later discovered to be another important facet of goalkeeping - shot prevention. I didn’t know how to organize and position my defense, how to defend against set plays, how to position myself on the field, how to read the game and communicate with my players. Nor was I ever taught the importance of physical conditioning, the mental and psychological aspects of the game and the importance of having a presence in goal and being a leader on the field. By the end of the season, I was confused and devastated! My self esteem hit an all time low. I decided not to play the following year and contemplated giving it up all together. However, I wouldn’t let myself quit.
Instead of giving up, I decided to examine and fix what went wrong my sophomore year. Initially, I focused on why I wasn’t able to stop more shots on goal. Then came the epiphany - if I can somehow prevent my opponent from shooting on goal or at least reduce the number of shots on goal, then I just increased my chances and my team’s chances of success. My mindset began shifting from being a shot stopper to a shot preventor. I began evaluating, in writing, every goal scored. I asked myself, “what could I have done differently to prevent or save that shot on goal?” Maybe, I could have organized or positioned my defenders better and had them mark, contain or force the shooters outside. Maybe, I could have positioned myself better on the field. Maybe I could have come out further or sooner to cut off the angles. Maybe, if I was stronger or in better physical condition, I could have made that upper 90 save.
Maybe if I was more of a leader on the field or had more of a presence in goal, I would be challenged less. I questioned every technique and tactic in the year that followed, I played as much as I could to gain experience. But most importantly, I started coaching and training young goalkeepers. I found that coaching forced me to verbally explain my actions in goal. The more I coached, the more things started to make sense. I found myself stressing the importance of conditioning, tactical play and being a leader on the field as well as technical proficiency, of course. In doing so, I became strong technically, tactically, physically, and psychologically. When I returned to finish out my last two years of college soccer, I was on fire. I broke the school’s record for having the lowest goals against average in my Junior year and went from sitting the bench to being named MVP, First Team All Conference and Regional All American.
I stopped playing competitive soccer after college. However, I continued to train goalkeepers of all ages and worked as an assistant college soccer coach while earning my law degree and ultimately fulfilling my goal of becoming an FBI Agent. Well, its been twenty-five years since I first stepped in goal and was shelled by the all girls traveling team. I find that my love for the sport and passion for goalkeeping hasn't changed. So, in keeping with the old cliche that goalkeepers are crazy, I gave up my secure government job to pursue my passion - The National Goalie War Association.
I find that my story still resonates with many goalkeepers today. Unfortunately, many coaches still do not provide any coaching or training for their goalkeepers. They fail to recognize the importance of technical, tactical, physical and integrated training for goalkeepers to develop their shot stopping and shot prevention skills. Many camps and trainers repeatedly teach technique and neglect to address the tactical, physical and psychological aspects of the position. Many people still do not understand or appreciate the demands of the position and the needs of soccer goalkeepers.
In short, goalkeepers need to be coached, trained, supported, appreciated, understood and recognized. The NGWA serves the needs of today‘s goalkeepers by providing a forum to increase awareness and help educate coaches, parents, players and fans about the demands and special training needs of the position. The NGWA is using the sport of Goalie War to address the needs of today’s goalkeepers because Goalie War is a tremendous training and evaluation tool that is fun and exciting to play and watch. Through the sport of Goalie War, keepers can develop their technical proficiency in a fun training environment while increasing their level of fitness. Specifically, keepers can work on stance, movement, positioning, catching, tipping, deflecting, diving, throwing and kicking. Coaches can evaluate these skills as well as a keeper’s speed, agility, strength, reflexes, fitness, determination and maturity.
Through NGWA tournaments, goalkeepers can develop and showcase their technical proficiencies in a fun and exciting forum while coaches and spectators can learn more about the position and come to appreciate the many talents of soccer goalkeepers. With your support, the NGWA can reach goalkeepers of all ages and abilities and help them achieve their true potential.
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