Academy Futsal Goalkeepers

Guest post by Nick Conklu, Academy Futsal Goalkeeper Lead coach and ASA goalkeeper coach extraordinaire!

Many say that goalkeepers are “a different breed” or that they are “built differently.” I believe goalkeepers are unique! They must have the same universal skills as any soccer or futsal player, but also possess specific attributes or techniques to play their position. Goalkeeping is a ‘specialized position’ within a team sport, and arguably one of the most important role players on the team; therefore specific training is required for the overall development of a goalkeeper.

The Academy Futsal Goalkeeper Program at ASA provides role specific training for any & all Academy Futsal players interested in playing & learning about goalkeeping. The eight week program (one session/week) focuses on providing futsal goalkeepers of all ages (U8-U19 boys & girls) with fundamental futsal goalkeeping techniques to improve their understanding of the roles and actions needed.

This holistic-approach to training goalkeepers is enhanced through a combination of technique-based training and game-like scenarios. This helps create a dynamic environment for the goalkeepers to problem solve, overcome challenges, find success, and effectively prepare for the game situations they will encounter in futsal matches. The ultimate goal of the the program is to develop consistent, proactive, adaptable & smart futsal goalkeepers that have a strong foundation, solid game understanding/awareness, and can use their fundamental techniques in combination with their constantly developing instincts to problem solve & find solutions on the court!

Futsal goalkeeping has complimentary technical movements and game understanding to soccer goalkeeping and it’s important for us to demonstrate and train these in a futsal specific environment. Did you know that many futsal goalkeepers don’t wear gloves?!

As the lead of this program I am so impressed by the potential of all the talented young goalkeepers we have at ASA! We are just about halfway through the season now & lots of progress has already been made across the board. There has been excellent turnout at our futsal GK training (also known as “GK school” by many young ASA goalkeepers) over the past three weeks! I’m very proud of the effort, focus, & learning that has already been accomplished by the 45+ ASA futsal goalkeepers enrolled in the program. The best days of the week are the ones when I get to step on the court with my futsal goalkeepers for training! The Futsal goalkeeper coaching staff at ASA is 100% committed to the overall development of the players. I am looking forward to the next few weeks as we continue to work through our futsal goalkeeping curriculum and take more steps forward in our goalkeeper learning-journey together!