Do certain clubs have a reputation for developing GKs?

My little guy is 8, and wants to be a keeper. Are there certain clubs that have a reputation for developing solid goalkeepers? Or who have a good keeper coach that the club uses?

He’s still in Ayso, but I’m generally curious what the other keeper parents have noted in seeing different clubs. Also, what age did your keeper switch from rec to club (if that’s the route you went)?
 
There are top GKs at all sorts of clubs, but it's somewhat tougher to have good GK training at a very small club because there aren't the economies of scale to bring in dedicated GK coaches. That doesn't mean all big clubs are necessarily better though. The best clubs place a priority on GKs and generally hire a strong GK coach or two and offer age-focused GK training sessions (very important that the 8 year-olds aren't training with the 12 year-olds or 17 year-olds) by that dedicated GK coach who is exclusively a GK coach and not just a head coach of a team with a GK coaching side gig. The GK coach also supplements technical training by either attending games or doing walk-arounds at practices to see GKs in game-like situations. That both helps develop GKs and helps attract strong GKs to the club. Often, if a club has a strong GK coach who has an established private training business, kids who have done privates with the GK coach will join the club, which further strengthens the GK group. The stronger GK coaches also have college connections and end up helping to place more than their fair share of GKs in good programs.

My kid switched from AYSO to club at U10. He really wanted to play GK and that's difficult to sustain with the limited GK training in AYSO. They had a guy from UK Int'l doing training sessions once a week, which is much more than what other regions offered, but it was extremely basic and there was a 1:30 coach-player ratio. You also could only play GK for one-half in his region, which many people will tell you is ideal anyway so they get field time, but it actually was worse because you also had to sit out at least one period a game, which meant you had two periods in goal, during which nothing might happen since few kids could really shoot very well anyway, and then only a little bit of field time. It was kind of the worst of both worlds for him, but he also had a demonstrated desire to play GK as early as U7 when they didn't have GKs in their games (he always wanted kids to shoot on him at practices).
 
It is my humble opinion that clubs have no idea (at least not the ones that I have experienced) how to develop, train, or keep goalies. To give you an example, at Manchester City a few months ago my daughter and I counted four 2005 keepers that were all previously with a local club (including my daughter), that were ALL playing for other DA/ECNL (or now DPL)/flight 1 teams. Not to mention that club's former top 2006 goalie who is also playing for another club. IF you find a club that knows what it is doing, you are lucky and should try to stick around. Good luck to you and your kid.
 
The short answer to you question is "No." There is not a club that I can think of that has a significant reputation for being a keeper factory. There are very well known keeper trainers who are employed by certain clubs, but they often bounce around, so it's not easy to steer you to a particular club.

Good description above from Dargle about the way a club ought to handle the keepers. But I do have to agree with MDAK, most have no clue what they are doing, at least from an organizational perspective. It's all about the individual coaches and GK trainers, not about the clubs... and remember that as long as your kid plays. It holds true for almost any question you have about club soccer, not just this one.

You basically have to locate the individual head coach and an individual keeper trainer who know what they are doing and are a good fit for your kid. We had success when we scouted coaches from local clubs who had played the position in college (rare, but you do find them...just look up their names on Google or read their bios on the club websites). If you get a head coach who played keeper, you're going to have a much better time. But since that is rare, at the very least you need to find a club that has weekly age-segregated keeper training, like Dargle said. Depending on how much you're able to spend, if the club keeper training sucks, or if the club of your choice doesn't have dedicated keeper training, you will need to find a private GK trainer. At the older levels, my kid does team practices, plus the club GK training, plus private group sessions with her own trainer every week during the season. We also supplement that with one on one sessions with her trainer as needed. It will get pricey. But at your son's age, you should be fine with once a week club keeper training, as long as it is good quality.
 
@ForumParent,

Whatever advice any of us give you today will be outdated next year because keeper coaches tend to float around, always looking for a better/different gig. Its a part-time job and nobody is paying mortgages with it ... let alone car payments (well maybe a car payment). From my experience:

Best situation: Find a club with a keeper coach that also coaches your kids age group. This coach will by hyper-sensitive to the needs of keepers and become very familiar with your player.

Potentially just as good situation: Find a club with an good keeper coach that holds at least 2 sessions per week (for olders) and 1 session per week for youngers and a club that has team coaches that actively accommodate and work with the keeper coach. Example, team practices on Mon/Wed and keeper training is Tue/Wed. The coach that sends his keepers to keeper training on Wed, rather than forcing them to be on the field as shot fodder is the coach for you. Likewise, the coach that moves practices to different times to accommodate the needs of the keepers to attend training, is the coach/club for you.

As others have stated, it can be hit or miss. Smaller clubs (fewer teams) tend to miss more than hit. Larger clubs (many teams) tend to hit more than miss. Be prepared to have found a good situation and then all of a sudden the coach (field or keeper) leaves and you are on the move again.

My final piece of advice. Do not have any kid under the age of 12 become a full-time keeper. These are development years and both soccer IQ and foot skills will be retarded for those stuck in goal at these early development ages. Its not until ages 14-16 that keepers can fully appreciate the additional nuances of the position (tactics, strategy, etc.). You also need to take into account the projected height of the keeper when making a decision to go full-time in goal. Opportunities to play at the position at higher levels for olders are greatly impacted by the ultimate height and skill set. Kids that love soccer and are great little goalkeepers find themselves on the bench and/or cut, when that 6'3" 16 year old joins the team. Continuing to concentrate on soccer skills keeps kids in the game.

Edit: I Second @Mystery Train's advice, which basically mirrors mine.
 
Everyone else has done a good job on the club question. I agree if you can keep him from being the sole FT keeper it's best, but it's hard (see, for example, the goalkeeper shortage thread).

I'll address the timing question...when? To answer that fully we'd need to know more about your boy and why he wants to be a goalkeeper. Does he really love soccer or is it just goalkeeping? Does he love other sports or is he prepared to dedicate himself at such a young age to one sport year round? Is he a rising 8 or will he be turning 9 this year ? Are you willing to pay the cost of club sports? Goalkeeping can be tough mentally....is he prepared for the competition and stress?

If you think he's outgrown the core program you have a few options. You can do the AYSO Extras route....generally the coaches and the competition are better than in the core program and it will give him some time to figure out if he really wants to try out GKing (particularly if he's only a rising 8) but you won't get a lot of goalkeeper training beyond the very basics, he won't play more than a 1/2 in goal and they tend to rotate all the kids in and out of keeper (tryouts tend to be in spring and can be political but he also needs to be a good soccer player and not just a GK). With Extras, for example, he'd have the time to do additional sports and practices are generally 2 times a week. The cost is usually a couple hundred dollars and if you aren't sure he loves soccer as oppose to goalkeeping it's a good way to explore.

If you go the club route he'll be in training 2-3 times a week at first (usually 1 being a goalkeeper training, if the club has one since many of the smaller ones don't). There's usually a spring league (or winter futsal), summer tournaments, the fall season and the early winter state cup games. The cost runs at least $1000 for the smallest clubs (which may not have keeper training) to several thousand for the mega clubs (where you can usually find keeper training). There are still some places advertising for keepers both here and on the soccer boards, but otherwise tryouts vary from late December- roster freezes in late summer. There are some 2010 clubs out there, but really things only start getting going at 2009 for this fall season. Also note some regions now have AYSO United...the coaches are the best in AYSO and they compete in the lower level club circuits, they do have basic goalkeeper training (nothing too fancy), they have a 50% playtime requirement but quality may vary coach to coach and league to league (for example, some regions pay their coaches, and some don't) and the fees are on the lower end of clubs.

My 2 cents are I wouldn't pick a club based on a goalkeeper trainer at that age. Lot's of things can happen...they move clubs, club can't afford them anymore, classes get too big, the technique turns out not to be great. Look for a good coach that really knows about keeping and doesn't just want to use your son for a shot stopper. If you can get some field time even better at that age. Most of the real good goalkeeper trainers are outside of the club world (they don't need the modest club salaries to survive) and many don't take on kids until age 9 or 10.
 
You could have a great goal keeper coach but if your teams coach doesn't require players to play back to the keeper, then you are missing out on half the game. I think it might be better to find a coach first that plays the right way, and you can always get outside keeper training from a number of different coaches, training sessions, and camps.
 
I'm a coach and a goalkeeper parent - this is even better situation:)
As long as your player continues to listen to you. Whenever I tell my 15 year old son to do XYZ or think about this he looks at me with disdain ... despite the fact I'm a E-Licensed Coach, Grade 7 Referee, and studied the NCSAA/USC goalkeeping program material.
 
As long as your player continues to listen to you. Whenever I tell my 15 year old son to do XYZ or think about this he looks at me with disdain ... despite the fact I'm a E-Licensed Coach, Grade 7 Referee, and studied the NCSAA/USC goalkeeping program material.

Kids respect those that can do it, not those that tell them how to do it.
 
Kids respect those that can do it, not those that tell them how to do it.
The most important thing a keeper can learn is to stay coachable. I tell my keeper the exact thing his coaches are conveying. The is the toughest position to learn because of all the different ways you can fail. Just stay positive and try and help them along.
 
Kids respect those that can do it, not those that tell them how to do it.
You are correct ... I'm not about to go flying 6 feet through the air to cover the addition 10 feet and land on my ribs (at 6'3" 275 its a wonderful way of winding up in Urgent Care). That said, kids tend not to listen to their parents and we reach a point where coaching your kid becomes a detriment for most kids (maybe yours is the exception).
 
It is possible to play AYSO and Club soccer at the same time. For field players - not advised.
But for a young goalkeeper it can work. Reach out to your local club and tell them that you have an 8 year old that loves to play in goal and that he'd be interested in being their full time keeper when the schedule allows.
Many teams at this young of an age are rotating a few players in the net. And the kids that are somewhat decent in the next also happen to be the players that are pretty good on the field too (they are athletic and more fearless- Good qualities for a keeper to have).
They should allow him to be on the roster for a minimal cost (or nothing at all). At the very least, they probably have some tournaments or scrimmages coming up over the next 6 weeks for him to give it a try.
 
This is all so helpful—thank you! Really, really insightful answers. He is doing AYSO extra in the fall, so making an incremental step along.

To answer some of the questions. We are in Orange County. He says he likes being the goalie—he’s more defensive minded. But, honestly we did kind of push him there since he’s just so big for his age.

On the mindset side of things. That’s a tough one. He’s hard on himself if he gets scored on. He might not be one of those kids who can leave it. We are cool with the cost of club when he gets there, but I’m definitely not yet ready to focus on one sport year round. We’re still doing little league and rec basketball.

I definitely appreciate the point about needing to play positions other than goal. And keeping him training with kids close to his age. I remember the horror story someone here had about a daughter breaking her wrist / hand from the coach taking a hard shot. It really is an intense position!
 
This is all so helpful—thank you! Really, really insightful answers. He is doing AYSO extra in the fall, so making an incremental step along.

To answer some of the questions. We are in Orange County. He says he likes being the goalie—he’s more defensive minded. But, honestly we did kind of push him there since he’s just so big for his age.

On the mindset side of things. That’s a tough one. He’s hard on himself if he gets scored on. He might not be one of those kids who can leave it. We are cool with the cost of club when he gets there, but I’m definitely not yet ready to focus on one sport year round. We’re still doing little league and rec basketball.

I definitely appreciate the point about needing to play positions other than goal. And keeping him training with kids close to his age. I remember the horror story someone here had about a daughter breaking her wrist / hand from the coach taking a hard shot. It really is an intense position!

Sounds like you are on top of it. You have the fall in Extras then to decide and see how he does. Keep your ears open, an eye on the announcements, and if you decide to make the move to club start looking around starting in December (maybe do winter camp at clubs you are interested in, if offered). You have time, though and doing two sports (particularly baseball since trainings and games tend to conflict) is difficult though some have managed once you go to club.
 
There are top GKs at all sorts of clubs, but it's somewhat tougher to have good GK training at a very small club because there aren't the economies of scale to bring in dedicated GK coaches. That doesn't mean all big clubs are necessarily better though. The GK coach also supplements technical training by either attending games or doing walk-arounds at practices to see GKs in game-like situations. That both helps develop GKs and helps attract strong GKs to the club. Often, if a club has a strong GK coach who has an established private training business, kids who have done privates with the GK coach will join the club, which further strengthens the GK group. The stronger GK coaches also have college connections and end up helping to place more than their fair share of GKs in good programs.

SOOOO TRUE!!!! We have never experienced a GK coach that also supplements technical training by either attending games or doing walk-arounds at practices. That would be so incredibly helpful!
 
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