Best Football Coaching Links of the Week: Goalkeepers, Preventing Injury & More

Goalkeepers are different.  So wrote the great Brian Glanville and it is difficult to fault him for, in a game where those who score get all the glory, goalkeepers devote themselves to doing the opposite of that.  The mentality of goalkeepers has long intrigued me which is why I try to speak to those involved in this role as often as possible.  Justin Bryant is one such person.  Having played professionally in England he has now returned to his native America where he coaches the role.  In this in-depth interview he spoke about dealing with anxiety, what frustrates him about commentators and how the role of goalkeepers will evolve.

This is something that perhaps isn’t considered often enough: how to prevent injury in youth sports.

Michael Calvin is one of my favourite football writers and, given the awards that he has won, it seems that I am not the only one who shares this opinion.  His previous books on scouting (The Nowhere Men) and management (Living On The Volcano) have delivered equal measures of insight and empathy.  His latest book on youth football looks like it will be just as good especially if this extract is anything to go by.

A drill that coaches players on how to close down space.

TEAM TALK
“Ball possession is fundamental: if you keep hold of the ball for ninety minutes you make certain that your opponent won’t score a goal” – Nils Liedholm, one of the most successful managers in Italian football history