Team Seek Goalkeeper

Wootton Bassett Town are looking for a Goalkeeper for the 2011/2012 season to play in their Under 9s team. If interested please contact either Jeremy Smith on 07501 470678 or Neil Timbrell on 07740 897860

Final Blog of the Season

May Bank Holiday Monday and I write my final blog of the season and the chance for a well earned break, though a relatively short one it will be. For the next four weeks my boots and gloves and can cleaned and put away and a chance to relax with no coaching of any kind and a chance to reflect and re-charge the batteries.

The last few weeks of the season at Swindon Town Centre of Excellence have been hectic to say the least. Firstly the tough task of the retains and releases where we decide on who gains another contract and who unfortunately at this stage isn't up to the required standard. Obviously it's great to see the young goalkeepers faces when you tell them that they will be getting a further contract but having to release a young goalkeeper is awful. When you have spent a few seasons with a goalkeeper week in week out you form a bond and you enjoy the weekly banter with them and for them they dream of becoming a professional so when you break the news to them most obviously get upset and I don't mind admitting I get a massive lump in my throat! I always hope they go away, keep working hard at their game and prove me wrong, I would love nothing more. The games schedule towards the end is also heavy and we have had some great games that Centre of Excellence Director Jeremy (Nutty) Newton has arranged for the lads. Over the course of the season we have played the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool, Birmingham, Aston Villa along with our normal programme against the likes of Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Oxford Utd etc. In the last few weeks we made the trip to Man Utd's Carrington Training ground for a series of games which was fantastic and this last week the lads got to actually play on Readings Madjeski Stadium which was again a great experience for them.

We also had a trip to Holland where we played a series of games and also visited Feyenoords ground and looked round the stadium and got to watch the First team train which was again great to see, especially watching the goalkeepers go through their routine. Seeing them so close up and seeing their amazing agility routines it shows what standards need to be attained to play at the top level.

Due to school half-term, various Bank Holidays and the Holland trip, members of my goalkeeping school had about 4 weeks off not long ago but were then back in for the first few weeks of May for the final sessions of the season. It's been a long hard season for us all so for the first session back after the mini break there was a certain lethargy about it but after a little pep talk the last two sessions were of a better tempo and we had some fun. The final leg of the season for Steve Hale Goalkeeping School was my May Two Day Course which we ran once again at Cirencester Town over Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th. Last year I had 20 on the course, this time round 28 so I was really pleased with the numbers. Also what was nice was that although it was nice to have some of my regulars on the course I had a big proportion of goalkeepers I had not seen or worked with before and from areas outside of Swindon so that was also really pleasing and refreshing. Credit to all of them, they worked really hard over the two days and we had a few characters on the course who kept all the coaching staff and other goalkeepers entertained! My two assistants, Chippy (James Whitlock) and Grubber (Jason Grubb) did a great job and Swindon Town goalkeeper Phil Smith helped me out by coming in to answer a few questions and give out the prizes which I appreciated. It's great for the young goalkeepers to get a chance to meet someone like Phil, and pick his brains as to what it's like to be a professional. A friend of mine, Andy Crook was in attendance at various times over the two days to take photographs and has done a fantastic job and last night I spent a few hours sifting through hundreds of great pictures and it's a hard task trying to narrow down which ones to use as there are so many good ones! These I hope to have on the gallery page shortly (they are already on my "Steve Hale Goalkeeping School Facebook Page")

I am really pleased with how my goalkeeping school and my two day course has gone this year and a massive amount of credit for that should go to the parents. Throughout the course of the season we have experienced all kinds of weather conditions and yet many a parent has stood outside in those conditions at Ruskin School while their child has been working on their goalkeeping techniques. Also in this tough financial climate they have paid their monthly fees without fail, some have incurred petrol costs while bringing their child in with some from outside Swindon making the trip. So I certainly say a big thank you to all parents and hopefully their child appreciates what their parents do for them in supporting them to improve. These days with so many distractions and home comforts such as X-Box and all sorts of computer games, laptops, I-pods etc many a youngster sits at home getting nowhere near enough the amount of excercise that they should so its great to see all the kids on a Monday evening getting out in the fresh air and being active.

As I said at the start I have four weeks off now before it all starts again for me with pre-season training at Cirencester Town starting on the 28th June!! (it just seems to get earlier and earlier each year!) and then in early July our Swindon Town Centre of Excellence preparations start for the Milk Cup tournament in Ireland at the end of July so i'll be back in working to prepare the goalkeepers for that tournament. I also have a couple of one-to-one sessions booked in early July with a young goalkeeper who lives in Norway but who is over here for a few days so its great that my website has been seen that far afield!

My final thanks go to Pete Matthews who not only setup this website but helps maintain it for me, I am extremely grateful to Pete.

As always I have waffled on but I would like to thank everybody who has visited my website and taken the time to read my ramblings over the course of the season, I hope you are as passionate about goalkeeping as I am.

Have a good Summer!

May Two Day Goalkeeping Course

Following on from the success of the two day goalkeeping course held at Cirencester Town FC last May it is now confirmed that another will be held on Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th May at the same venue.

Both days will run from 10.00am - 3.00pm and each goalkeeper will receive a certificate and plaque with further prizes up for grabs. Subject to availability on the day Swindon Town's Phil Smith will be in attendance on the Sunday to give out the prizes, answer a few questions and sign autographs / pose for pictures.

SH Ultimate grip goalkeeper gloves will also be available for sale over the two days with sizes 6-9 available at a cost of £20 per pair or two pairs for £35.

This course is based on a first come first served basis so don't delay, click here to download an application form or contact us today for one!

Click here for information sheet

Tel: 07711 275526 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Development Blog Part Two

Since my last blog I have taken in a grass roots junior game and also experienced junior football in Holland.

Its not often that I get the opportunity to watch my nephew play for his local team as i'm normally involved with watching my goalkeepers at Swindon in the Centre of Excellence games programme on a Sunday morning. However a few weeks ago all the age groups were away so I went to watch him play. He isn't a goalkeeper, he plays in midfield or an attacking role so it was great to see him play and good that one of my goalkeepers from my goalkeeping school was also playing as he plays in the same side as my nephew. I don't often get chance to see my goalkeepers in game action and see if they are putting into practise the techniques we work on each week so it was good to watch the match on two fronts. The goalkeeper in question had a good starting position for through balls and swept up well behind his defence and made a couple of good saves so I was pleased with how he did. There was one thing that disappointed me though, and this was no fault of his. We are talking under 11 football here and nearly all young goalkeepers at this age will struggle to get big distances on their kicking from goal kicks / free kicks etc. The ball went out for a goal kick and a biggish lad playing at the back picked the ball up placed it down on the floor and took the goal-kick and kicked it as hard and as far as he could. I turned to my brother-in-law and said "Why is he taking the goal-kick and not the goalkeeper?" to which he replied "Apparently he gets it further up the pitch" I have two points to make here; firstly how is he going to improve and develop his kicking if he doesn't get the opportunity to take goal-kicks? Secondly from a coaching and team point of view if this is the case why can't the coach actually coach the team how to play out from the back working on the defenders positions to receive the ball and also the midfielders making runs? This would benefit both the goalkeeper and the outfield players, then the goalkeeper could mix up playing out from the back and kicking longer and help him develop his game. Often we all learn by making mistakes and then finding a different way of doing something to be successful, this would be achieved by trying to play out from the back, yes it may cost the odd goal but in the longer term the players overall will benefit.

I have just returned from a week away in Holland with Swindon Town Centre of Excellence where we took the Under 11's, 12's & 13's. Over the course of the week we managed to have two 2 hour long training sessions and we played games against top professional teams such as Feyenoord and Sparta Rotterdam and games against non league sides such as FC Emma and Gravezande. In the games against the professional teams we played the relevant age groups against the relevant age groups but against the non league sides we played our lads against the age group above so they were tested over the course of the games technically, tactically and physically. What I like about the Centre of Excellence games both here and when we go abroad is that the results are irrelevant, we won some games, drew some and lost some but there is no pressure that we must win and gain 3 points. This allows far more learning and experimenting to take place which can only benefit the lads. Over the course of the week I got to have plenty of time working with the goalkeepers we took away with us on the training ground, seeing them in games and seeing how they were in a social environment being responsible for keeping their rooms tidy and reporting for meals and departure times for games and training etc. While we were away we also managed to watch Feyenoord first team train from close up which was great. The goalkeepers were put through their paces and some of the agility work with hurdles was superb and demonstrated the levels of agility and mobility that a goalkeeper needs at the highest levels of the game. What I will also say about the trip, I was surprised at just how good the facilities were in Holland and it really puts us to shame in England. Even non league grass roots teams seemed to have at least two 3g flloodlit pitches and a few grass pitches with railings and in some cases small stands combined with a really nice big clubhouse which seemed to be a focal point in the community of that particular town, it certainly made us jealous as coaches!

This week I was also pleased that I got to see another of the goalkeepers in my goalkeeping school perform when he turned out for the North Wilts Rep team against one of our age groups at the Centre of Excellence. It was the first time I had properly seen him play in a game and he did really well making a number of great saves so I was very pleased for him.

Well the season is coming to an end shortly and its the time of year most goalkeepers don't like as its no fun playing on rock hard pitches with very little grass in the goal-mouths, balls bouncing high and awkwardly and the sun in your eyes! Still we all need a break to re-charge the batteries. Having said that, I am close to finalising a two day course which will be towards the end of May or early June.

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Coaching Style Blog

Many years ago there was no such thing as a goalkeeper coach. Goalkeepers were made to train with the outfield players or do a bit on their own but over the years gradually at first this started to change. At some levels there is still nowhere near enough attention paid to our goalkeepers but there has been improvements and nowadays there are specialised goalkeeper coaches around all with their own styles.

There are plenty of aspects to consider when coaching goalkeepers. General handling, footwork, shot-stopping, diving techniques, positioning, 1v1's, dealing with crosses, dealing with back-passes, distribution (throwing & kicking), recovery saves, communication to name some of the areas that goalkeepers need to be aware of and work at. When you break each area down you then look at ways to coach and practise those techniques to give the information and technique to the goalkeepers and to re-inforce it by visiting each topic regularly.

In this modern era as coaches we all strive to try and keep our sessions interesting and fun at the same time which is important to keep the focus of the goalkeeper. However I do think there is a fine line between being innovative and making things unrealistic. You may find an old school goalkeeping coach who is happy with just a ball and a goal and a modern goalkeeping coach who has to have every little tool and gimmick going such as rebounder nets, response balls, poles, ladders, hurdles, and every toy going. Personally I feel that I am somewhere in the middle. One very experienced goalkeeping coach who I have worked with and have a lot of respect for said to me one day when talking about a goalkeeper working on a speed ladder "I can't remember seeing many ladders laying round the 18 yard box when that whistle blows!"  I did laugh when he said that and I understood what he mean't but at the same time I also understand that the speed ladder is to work the goalkeeper to improve his quick feet movements. Going to the other end of the spectrum I think sometimes some coaches use so many tools and gimmicks and lose sight of the basics. I've tried a few bits of equipment such as a response ball (which is a ball with small soft triangle like shapes sticking out of it at various points) which is designed to travel and bounce off in awkward angles to replicate deflections. Some of the young kids find that fun to have a play with but personally I just don't find it very realistic and at times if it catches them in the face it can be uncomfortable for them, not dangerous I should add before I get sued by the makers but certainly uncomfortable so it hardly builds their confidence.

I try to work on themes of goalkeeping and use different drills as much as I can to get that particular theme across but you cannot re-invent the wheel! Often I like to go back to the basics and have a bag of balls and either serve them at a goalkeeper in goal or let the goalkeepers do the serving and stand back and observe and step in and try and help correct errors. Depending on the age and / or level of the goalkeepers you are working with serving can be a problem. In an ideal world someone else should be doing the serving so that you as a coach can fully observe the goalkeeper all through the process making sure they are getting into line, how far off the line they are, what their set position is like then what method of technique they use to make the save. However more often than not you have to do the serving yourself to get the quality of serve that is needed for the goalkeepers to make the saves. Its pointless observing if your goalkeeper faces 20 shots and only 1 is on target!

I read one article by a well known goalkeeping coach on the circuit about how more often than not the ball should be moving when serving such as a ball coming across the server, moving away or serving on the move as apart from free kicks and penalties most shots aren't struck from a stationary position and I thought that was a great point. I agree with that point but also its not always easy to replicate it especially if you are working on a muddy bobbly surface and you want to ensure good accuracy. However I have tried to bring that more into my sessions over the last 6 months when I can.

I feel its important to break down different technique work and work on it regularly as in house building terms its the "foundations" of goalkeeping you are building. At the same time certainly over the past 6 months I have also tried to concentrate time to quite simply having shots come in from different distances, different angles and with different degrees of pace on the ball for the goalkeepers to ultimately work on what they are there to do "keep the ball out of the goal"!

In closing, I do not think there is a definitive right or wrong way to coach goalkeepers, I just think there are different ways and we all have a different style and people learn in different ways. The key to it is finding what works for you and most importantly what works for the goalkeepers you are working with to help them improve.

Development Blog

I recently saw that Sir Trevor Brooking and the FA have started to look and make plans to re-develop youth football in this country and i'm glad. Its fantastic that so many young children play football but to start with at local level its just become far too competitive at too early an age. I've personally always wanted to win whatever game i'm playing be it football, cricket or a game of cards and i'm not saying its wrong to be competitive, far from it. However at such a young age up to I would say around 11 or 12 you look in the local paper and see all these league tables. Then you go down your local parks pitches and you see "Fabio Capello Wannabes" ranting and raving on the touchline screaming at these youngsters!! Now i'm not saying that all coaches and managers of Junior teams are like that as I know alot of people myself who run Junior teams that give their free time and do their best for the children. However I have seen situations myself at first hand, i've heard re-counts of situations from managers and coaches I know and my brother in law who is a referee has been on the end of abuse from some managers/coaches/parents and players all that desperate to win 3 points to see their team move up the table or win a league.

I repeat myself here "There are lots of good people running Junior sides giving up their free time to provide football for children"....However there are also alot of people who get an FA Level One coaching badge, which to be honest you can get with your next packet of Kellogs Coco-Pops. These people then proceed to use their team as a means to feed their own ego and are not so much interested in developing a young child as a footballer or as a person.

I have experienced on a few occasions now where I have sadly had a parent come to me and say that their child was giving up goalkeeping because of the stick they had taken for making a mistake or letting in some goals. Their confidence had been hit badly and one lad I know who I had alot of time for sadly gave up the game altogether which left me also feeling sad!

Being a goalkeeper is hard whether you are in your thirties and 50+ international caps behind you or whether you are just starting out at 6 or 7 years of age. Young players and particularly goalkeepers need our support to develop and flourish, they do not need to be put under so much pressure. GOALKEEPERS WILL MAKE MISTAKES that is a fact. Often those mistakes will then lead to a goal being conceded. What you gain in age and playing in many games is experience. That experience will come in the form of using your techniques of goalkeeping you have learn't but also then knowing what technique to use in different situations in a game and what the best option is.

I have two questions that any young goalkeeper or parent reading this needs to ask themselves when looking for a team to play for:

Do you or your son/daughter want to have a trophy cabinet at home brimming full of medals as your main priority?

If the answer to this question is "Yes" then go and find the best team in the league to play for. However...........

Do you or your son/daughter want to become the best goalkeeper you/they can possibly be?

If the answer to this question is "Yes" then find a team in the middle of the table or even at the bottom end of the table.

Why? You may ask.........because the way to learn is to be put in different situations frequently to help you apply the techniques that you learn and practise and understand when and why you use them. You will also learn to deal with the mental side to the game and become stronger for it. Playing for the top side you may hardly touch the ball and have very little to do so how can you develop and become better? Playing for the weaker side you will have more to do and will learn and improve by applying your techniqes time and time again and will learn to make more correct decisions than poor ones.

When I see a coach showing his/her anger and upset how his/her goalkeeper has cost their team a goal I always think to myself the following: Have you helped that goalkeeper in training in the week practising his/her skills? Before that shot has gone in, did his/her defenders work hard enough to stop the shot coming in? Were his/her team-mates marking the player properly who scored? Did his/her team-mates give the ball away easily allowing the opposition to get the shot in, in the first place? Its just so easy to just blame the poor young goalkeeper and then dent his/her confidence and make them more likely to make another mistake. 

To be allowed to develop properly a young player needs to learn from mistakes they make. To do this they need to know that if they do make a mistake they are not going to get screamed at. That its ok to make a mistake, its not the end of the world and can they find another way of doing something or can they improve their technique through practise so that mistake doesn't happen again in the future.

One aspect of goalkeeping which I believe is the hardest is dealing with crosses. Its very easy for a goalkeeper to just stay on his/her line and hope that their defenders deal with them. However I encourage my goalkeepers to be positive and come and try and deal with as many as possible within reason. They are bound to make errors in judgement but I would rather they try and fail, then learn from that than hide away from it in the first place.

If you or your son/daughter is currently playing for a coach/manager who screams abuse or doesn't handle your situation in a caring and responsible manner. Who doesn't offer ways to help you improve, then I would suggest you are in the wrong club and you need to look elsewhere as there are plenty of good clubs/coaches and managers out there so much better to try that than just give up on goalkeeping or the game itself.

Goalkeeper Seeks Adult Team

18 year old goalkeeper Simon Randlesome having finished playing Under 18's football with Wootton Bassett Town is looking for an adult team. Simon is approximately 6' 2" and can be contacted on 07972 395125 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Importance of Kicking Part Two (Updated)

Following on from last season where I compiled stats on goalkeeper Matt Bath in our Zamaretto South & West Division Promotion campaign I am also in the process of compiling the same stats but on Matty Bulman who has taken over between the sticks in our Zamaretto Premier Division campaign.