Coach Education Blog

I am currently in the middle of the process to become an FA Tutor for the Level One Goalkeeping Award. When I did my Goalkeeping B Licence, Martin Thomas (Assistant National Goalkeeping Coach) and Tony Parks (Tottenham Goalkeeping Coach) were two of my tutors and they spoke to me towards the end about also going down the route of Coach Education and asked if I would be interested to which I was. Martin kindly organized to put me through my Generic Tutors course (classroom based course on how people learn) to start with. Now I have had to observe a level One GK Award course being done and I am currently part tutoring one down in Bristol and will probably have to do another then put one on myself and be assessed before I can be signed off.

Over the two Level One GK award courses I have been involved on so far it’s great to meet all the wide range of candidates who come on the courses. Goalkeepers have been neglected for far too long so its good that people are now showing an interest and want to have more knowledge on the subject to pass on to our young goalkeepers. Obviously the level one course is the starting point and gives knowledge on some of the basic techniques but importantly there is a focus on the safety issues which are involved such as how to dive in a safe manner. It’s important that our young goalkeepers aren’t put off goalkeeping at an early age by hurting themselves and therefore a coach needs to be able to give the correct advice.

I have seen in the past myself at various football facilities where grass roots clubs have been training and seen some worrying sights of so called “coaches” or parents taking the goalkeeper and not giving good advice or information to the young goalkeepers which could potentially cause injury. As I said, on these courses you get a real mix of candidate from a parent who just wants to help his son / daughter,  a person who wants to work through all his coaching badges and gain lots of knowledge and finally the ex-pro who is starting out on his now career pathway of coaching for a living.

Even if you have no intention of giving up your day job or wanting to be a specific goalkeeping coach I would recommend going on a course to gain that knowledge to help our young goalkeepers develop. If you have any involvement in a team, be it as a helper or parent it is worthwhile.

The course I must stress is different to the Level One outfield award which is just basically an organizers course whereby you learn different games to play, set them up and let them get on with it. This course actually involves learning coaching, in other words, identifying a fault and trying to correct it and improve the goalkeeper.

In May I am also attending a one day course with the FA to refresh my Goalkeeping B licence award which has to be done every three years to keep my licence valid so I’m looking forward to that. Then at the end of June I will be attending the week long FA Goalkeeping A Licence award course.

The way the system is in this country means you have to complete the relevant outfield course before you can do the goalkeeping course. You can do the Level one GK course and not do the outfield one but after that you have to go Level Two outfield – Level Two goalkeeping, Level Three outfield (B Licence) – Level Three goalkeeping (GK B Licence), Level Four outfield (A Licence) – Level Four goalkeeping (GK A Licence). It is not something I totally agree with to be honest but that is the route, so we have to abide by it. The reason behind it the FA say is because you have to have some outfield knowledge as this crosses over with what the goalkeeper does. I do agree with that but certainly when you get to outfield B Licence I think you have enough knowledge to then go straight to GK A Licence. What annoys me if that’s the case though is that why don’t outfield coaches have to do the goalkeeping courses?

I was unable to get on the outfield A Licence course last year as it was oversubscribed and I am unable to get on it this year for various reasons but I have been allowed to go on the goalkeeping A Licence course; however I cannot be assessed at the end of the course. Obviously I would like to be but I am going on it to at least get the knowledge from the course and therefore develop myself as a coach.

A year ago I put on a “Coach the Coaches” course in the summer for local grass roots coaches and managers. This is something I want to do again and I may well do one central one or I am willing to go out to grass roots clubs who have at least a few teams under their banner.

I can help the coaches/managers/parents of these teams with ideas on how they can help their goalkeepers develop, give them information on the safety aspects and also go through some of the techniques and pointers where young goalkeepers often struggle and how they can help. If you are reading this blog and are involved in a club feel free to contact me to discuss.

Need Help Developing Your Clubs Goalkeepers?

Steve Hale Goalkeeping is available to come out to your club and "Coach the Coaches" on ways which they can help the goalkeepers within your club develop.

• Learn basic techniques
• Ideas on goalkeeping drills that can be done even in small spaces
• Things to look for in your goalkeepers
• Goalkeeping match-day warm ups
• The Psychological aspect of goalkeeping 
• How you can help your goalkeeper

To discuss this further and book a session please contact Steve on 07711 275526 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Gloves Blog

I have noticed lately with young goalkeepers at both my goalkeeping school and at the Centre of Excellence at Swindon where I coach that a few have been wearing seriously worn goalkeeping gloves, some with virtually no grip left on them. I have also noticed a couple of young goalkeepers with gloves that are perhaps too big for them.

Certainly gloves have in the past been very expensive, I know I used to pay between £40-50 for a pair of Sells gloves but nowadays every man and his dog are producing their own branded glove and this has brought the price down. I have my own branded glove and let me state that the topic of this blog is in no way a plug to get people to buy my gloves. I am not into "hard sell" as some are out there in the market place. Mine are readily available to purchase but I do not force them upon people, everybody has a choice and if they want to purchase mine, thats great.

The main reason for this topic of blog is that I feel it is important that each goalkeeper gives themself the best chance to to develop and improve and having a good pair of gloves will certainly help. "We used to play without gloves!!" will come the cry from past goalkeepers from the Seventies i'm sure but time and science has moved on particularly with regard the make up of the modern football used these days. Many have a shiny plastic like coating to them which when dry is hard enough to grip but when wet is like trying to catch the proverbial "bar of soap". Learning the correct techniques to catch the ball is clearly very important but a good pair of gloves will also help as they are the "tools of the trade" for a goalkeeper.

What size gloves should a goalkeeper wear? The glove needs to fit comfortably, it won't help if they are too tight and it certainly won't help if they are too big and your hands are flopping about inside them. As you get older you get to know what size gloves you are generally although different brands and styles can fit slightly differently. With regard a young goalkeeper its a case of trying a few pairs on to see what fits best and obviously kids grow quite fast so hand size can obviously change fairly quickly as well.

What style of glove should a goalkeeper wear? I get asked that question and often get asked whether a young goalkeeper should wear "fingersave gloves." These are gloves which have plastic inserts in the back of the gloves along the fingers which give support to the fingers. You can get "flat palm" style gloves, "negative cut" style gloves and "roll finger" style gloves. The honest answer is that it is purely down to what the goalkeeper feels comfortable in, there is no right or wrong. I would advise over a period of time trying a few different styles until you decide what you feel most happy with. My own personal opinion is that I don't like "fingersave gloves" as I feel it restricts my hand movement and doesn't feel comfortable and I have my doubts that it would really stop you injuring a finger. My own personal choice is a "roll finger style" as this is what feels comfortable for me and pretty much always has done and I feel that I have a good grip on the ball with these.

How much should I pay? Again this will come down to your choice or perhaps how much you can actually afford! Some gloves go up to as much as £100 a pair but I find that absolutely ludicrous and cannot see how anyone can justify selling gloves at that price or justify buying them for that matter. I feel that with the amount of people out there now producing and selling gloves you would reasonably expect to pay between £15 & £30 for a pair.

How long will the gloves last? This will depend on many factors:-

Firstly as I said there are many brands out there, though a big proportion of those brands will be buying from similar if not the same manufacturers with a big percentage of them coming from companies in Pakistan.

How often the gloves are worn will play a part as if you use them 3-4 times a week they will obviously deteriorate quicker than if used only once or twice a week. What type of pitches you use them on can play a part, be it muddy, hard, astro turf or the latest 3G surfaces as often when a goalkeeper has made a diving save and he gets up he may well push off the floor to get back up and this will produce wear & tear.

My advice would be to have a couple of pairs on the go at any one time so one pair as your best for matches and one pair for training. Then when the ones you use for training start to get bad, throw them away and start using your match gloves and buy a new pair for matches and keep repeating that cycle.

When you have used your gloves either for a match or for training its important that you then clean them as this will also have an affect on both performance of the gloves and how long they last. If you don't wash them the mud will dry on the glove and this will dry out the latex and reduce the quality of the grip and length of life of the gloves. My advice is against putting them in the washing machine as the chemicals used in washing powder will also harm the latex. I also advise against drying them in an airing cupboard, tumble dryer or on a radiator as this will also dry out the latex and affect quality of grip, performance and length of life of the gloves.

Over the years I have always done the following: Purchase some goalkeeping glove wash which you can get from between £7 - £9 per bottle from www.just-keepers.com. Fill a sink half full with warm water with a small amount of the glove wash and allow the gloves to soak in this for 5-10 minutes. Then I use an old tooth brush which has gone soft and I brush the dirt from the gloves with this. Next I rinse the gloves out thoroughly with cold water and squeeze firmly but not too hard to get the excess water out. I then lay them on an old towel in the corner of the room out of direct sunlight and allow them to dry naturally. This has always been the process I have used and its worked for me.

To repeat what I stated earlier its obviously important to learn the various goalkeeping techniques and how to catch the ball but having a pair of gloves that aren't worn through with no grip left and holes everywhere will certainly help.

Sessions Start Again

After the Christmas break sessions start again this coming Monday 9th January 2012 at the usual times of 5.15pm - 6.15pm for the younger group and 6.15pm - 7.15pm for the older group.

Goalkeepers are reminded to bring appropriate clothing for the weather and a drink with them.

See you all on Monday

Coaching Schemes Blog

Hopefully everyone has had a good Christmas, I certainly have as my waistline keeps telling me! It's been nice to have a short break from virtually all of my various coaching commitments with just one private one-to-one session taken on and a couple of Cirencester Town games in the last week or so. As much as I enjoy coaching it's nice to have a little break now and then and the same goes for goalkeepers who play and train throughout the year. The break is good both physically and mentally and i'm sure we will all be buzzing to get back into it in the new year.

Through both the Internet and through social media such as Facebook I look at all the various goalkeeping coaching schemes that go on across the whole country and overseas. It's interesting to look at how people run their schemes, how they advertise, how they structure their sessions or courses, what their background is etc. Again through Facebook I have networked and built up a number of friendships across the country and abroad with fellow goalkeeping coaches and its clear to see how we all have a real passion for goalkeeping and how to help goalkeepers develop. Many of us have different ideas and its good to discuss those ideas and our own opinions.

It must be quite tough at times for parents when looking for goalkeeping coaching for their children as to who and where to take them as there are more and more companies or individual coaches setting up. There are coaches that have more coaching badges than an episode of Blue Peter, there are ex-professionals that don't have any coaching qualifications but who work from their own past experiences and there are coaches who maybe advertise qualifications without perhaps actually having completed those qualifications and been signed off as such by the FA. There are also coaches out there who are still fresh out of nappies themselves and have gained just an FA Level One outfield coaching badge which to be quite honest anyone can get as there is no actual coaching as such involved on that course. These types of coaches often don't have the experience or social / life skills required to be able to actually "coach" and help a goalkeeper develop and are merely "childminders" for want of a better word.

It's perhaps not really for me to say what is right and what's wrong and who is good and who is bad as we are all different. I wouldn't criticise ex-professionals who don't have any or perhaps just limited coaching qualifications as obviously they have good experience from their own playing career behind them. They will have worked with top coaches and will have knowledge about goalkeeping through their own experiences in the game so can help goalkeepers develop by passing that on. However the flip side to that is that it is one thing to know how to do something yourself but it is another to be able to get that knowledge across to someone else as everybody learns in different ways. Former England midfielder Chris Waddle was once asked on a coaching course "how he bent the ball so well" and he couldn't actually explain it to someone else he just replied "I don't know I just do it".....

The good thing about the various courses and qualifications you can do these days with the various Football Associations is that they can help you get the information across in different ways to be able to help players / goalkeepers understand and develop so there is also alot to be said for gaining qualifications. Would you employ an electrician to re-wire your house who didn't have the necessary qualifications??? Having said all of that at the same time perhaps there are people out there who are very good at learning and passing courses but don't really have an understanding of the art of goalkeeping so like I said previously perhaps there is not a right and a wrong way but a different way.

I don't see it as my place to try and belittle others out there in the marketplace, I prefer to concentrate on what I and Steve Hale Goalkeeping School offer with our background.

I personally am not an ex-professional with hundreds of league games under my belt but I have played in goal from 6 years of age through to about 20 + years in the non league game so understand what a goalkeeper does and what a goalkeeper goes through mentally. I have also studied hard over the years gaining various coaching qualifications both outfield and goalkeeping qualifications. On top of this I have also worked in a college environment and also for the past 5 years worked part-time in a primary school so I have built up my knowledge of what makes children "tick" and how they learn. Therefore overall I have dealt with and coached 6 year old children right the way through in both grass roots and professional football (Centre of Excellence), to adults in both non league football and through my position at Swindon Town been fortunate enough to have some experience with full time professionals so regard myself as a "well rounded coach" (and i'm not referring back to my waist-line again!). My assistant, James Whitlock (Chippy) has also played in goal for many years and is still playing now in local football. James has also started working his way through coaching qualifications and is also running a boys team. Along with this he has children of his own so again he also has alot of experience and knowledge to give.

Steve Hale Goalkeeping School has been established for five years now so we have coached hundreds of children along the way, all of whom have been different in terms of their technical ability, physical ability and mental ability. I pride myself in that we try and cater for all and our main priority is trying to help goalkeepers develop both in terms of their goalkeeping ability but also we want them to improve and work on their social skills at our sessions which is also very important in life.

I would like to finish by thanking all of the young goalkeepers and parents that have been involved at my goalkeeping school and who are currently involved, for their efforts in 2011 and like to wish everybody a Happy New Year and an enjoyable 2012 ahead!

17 Year Old Goalkeeper Looking For Team

I have a 17 year old goalkeeper looking for an under 18 team or even an adult team. He currently lives in Ramsbury and has previously been at Swindon Town Centre of Excellence. For more details please contact me, Steve Hale on 07711 275526 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Under 14 Team Seek Goalkeeper

Blunsdon Colts U/14 are looking for a full time goalkeeper.

We are a FA Chartered Standard club and all managers and coaching staff are CRB checked.

We train at Isambard school on the flood lit astro turf on Friday evenings 6pm - 7pm ,our home ground is Lydiard Park.

We play most Sundays at 12pm (home games) and between 10am – 2pm (Away games) and are in the North Wilts Youth & Minor League Div 2.

For Under 14's you need to be a Year 9 student (Born on or after 1st September 1997 / Born on or Before 31st August 1998 )

Please call Nigel Sawyer 07763048446 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested.

Under 15 Goalkeeper Available

Steve Hale Goalkeeping School has a current Under 15 goalkeeper available. This goalkeeper I have personally coached for a period at Swindon Town Centre of Excellence and he was previously at Chelsea. If you are looking for a good young goalkeeper then please make your enquiries to me giving me more information about your team such as training nights, venue, coaches etc.

Email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

General Blog

The cold weather is now upon us and I don't mind admitting I don't like it! Out has come my beanie hat and my under armour top and leggings. Obviously i'm not the one diving, jumping and generally moving around the training pitch in short sharp intensive bursts so I get colder quicker than the goalkeepers themselves. However it is important for any young goalkeeper in particular to dress according to the conditions. Unlike outfield players who generally will be running and on the go alot of the time during a session, goalkeeping work is slightly different. Goalkeeping is more about short sharp intensive bursts of work and as much as you can do as a coach to keep the goalkeepers active there will be times where rest is needed between drills and a bit of standing still. Therefore it is important that goalkeepers wear clothing that allows them to move freely but also keeps them warm and dry if possible.

With my position as Centre of Excellence Goalkeeping Coach at Swindon Town not only do I coach and look after the goalkeepers there but I can also keep my eye on grass roots goalkeepers with my goalkeeping school. If I feel that goalkeepers at my goalkeeping school are showing good potential and we are maybe light at Swindon at that particular age group I am more than happy to then bring them into Swindon for a further look. At times in the past it has actually cost me as I lose a monthly fee from a regular goalkeeper who we may actually take on and can no longer attend my school. However I don't mind that as my role is to help goalkeepers develop and if I can improve a goalkeeper and push him / her onto the next level then great, job done.

When I first setup my goalkeeping school some five years ago one of my first students was Conor Thompson. Conor is now a first year scholar at Swindon and has played for Northern Ireland Under 15's and is now in the Northern Ireland Under 17 squad. His younger brother Jared was also at my goalkeeping school in the early days and he too is also at Swindon in our Under 13 team there and progressing well. Although not at Swindon now, Calli Smith also progressed into the Centre of Excellence and was with us as a contracted goalkeeper for a year. Our present under 15 goalkeeper was actually on the first two day course I put on when setting up my goalkeeping school so its been great to see how he has developed over the years. There have also been others who have been in for us to have a closer look at in a more intense environment. They have been given game time to see how they get on against better opposition than they would face in grass roots football. Young Oli Whiteley is currently a member of my goalkeeping school and is also training and playing games with our under 7/8's at Swindon and is showing good potential and we are keeping a close eye on how he progresses at the moment. Oli has bags of enthusiasm, always has a smile on his face and his goalkeeping techniques for someone his age are showing up well. We tend to have two goalkeepers per age group, though in a couple of our age groups at the moment we only have one. We are always looking but we won't just take someone on for the sake of it, they have to be better, as good as or certainly look like they could develop quickly for us to take them on a contract. Along with our regular Centre of Excellence programme against the likes of Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Swansea City, Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City, Torquay Utd etc Jeremy Newton the Centre Director does a brilliant job getting us fixtures against all the top premiership sides. We have played Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Everton to name a few so its fantastic for the players and obviously goalkeepers in particular to test themselves against the best young talent in the country. We also undertake overseas tours and have played professional sides in Holland and South Korea along with our regular trip to the Milk Cup in Ireland which is a fantastic experience.

I devised a specific goalkeeper pack for the young goalkeepers at Swindon over a year ago. The pack contains a host of pages with information and tips on goalkeeping, quotes from goalkeepers who have been in the system and from the first team goalkeepers at Swindon. Also they have sheets they have to regularly complete stating the sessions they have done, goalkeepers they have watched and most importantly their self analysis sheets from matches. On these particular forms after a game they have to write down aspects of their game they have done well in and specific incidents and also aspects they found hard that day and again specific incidents if there were any. It's not only a way that gets them thinking about their game but it also helps me build up a picture of areas they are doing well in and areas they need work on as I cannot see them play every game. An awful lot of young goalkeepers at any level will say that they find kicking and dealing with crosses the hardest part of their game and goalkeepers at a professional club are no different. I had their packs in this week and have been through them and looking at their match forms, most have made comments about finding kicking and crosses hard so it's something we try to do a fair bit of work on.

In 2012 I am being booked on the Goalkeeping A Licence course and I am looking forward to this immensely. I am unable to get actually assessed at the end of it unfortunately as I need to complete the outfield A licence course first (which is ridiculous in my opinion). That course takes at least two years and costs about three and a half thousand pound and is not easy to get in on but I still want to gain the knowledge from doing the Goalkeeping A Licence course which is the highest qualification a goalkeeping coach can achieve.

Next week I start on the second phase of the pathway to become a Coach Educator for the FA as I would like to be able to do some work for the FA delivering the FA Level One Goalkeeping Award certificate. So for three full Sundays in December I will be alongside the Tutor for the Level One course being running by the Wilts FA at Stanley Park, Chippenham. Mike Byrne who I have alot of respect for is the Tutor and I will observe the course over the three Sundays and then the next stage will be to assist on a course in the future. After this I will have to put the course on while the Tutor observes me to see that I am delievring the course to the correct standards. I have already completed my Generic Tutors Course which was the first stage so it is quite a long process. I have a big passion for goalkeeping and we need more goalkeeping coaches or coaches with goalkeeping knowledge to help all of our young goalkeepers throughout the country develop and improve as currently not enough support is given to players in what is a specialised position.

Finally as you will see from my latest news item, my own branded glove which has sold well will be coming into stock again shortly. I have made some slight changes to it but didn't want to change it too drastically as I was very happy with how they have performed. Ideal for christmas presents too, so keep your eye on my website and Steve Hale Goalkeeping School Facebook page for more news on them.

New Glove Stock

The new look "Ultimate Grip" gloves are now in stock! Maintaining the popular Roll Finger style there have been some changes to the back of the glove with a grooved design to help gain more grip when punching the ball. There has also been a colour change to the glove and a slight change to the wristband to make the glove fit more snuggly.

The gloves are once again available in sizes 6, 7, 8 & 9. I once again decided against supplying sizes 5 or 10 due to the limited amount of enquiries I get for gloves of that size. When I order my gloves I have to order a minimum of 20 in a size bracket. However if you are interested in these particular sizes and I get enough interest an order will be placed with my supplier.

There has been a slight cosmetic error made by my supplier on the left thumb with the words "Ultimate Grip" printed upside down but this obviously has no affect on the performance of the glove.

These were to be priced at £24.00 per pair or two pairs for £40.00, however they are now priced at £20.00 per pair or two pairs for £35.00.

A picture will shortly go on this website, however they can be seen on the Steve Hale Goalkeeping School Facebook Page already.

For more informatiion or to order contact 07711 275526