Over the last 35 years as a goalkeeper, coach, manager, and goalkeeping coach, with more than 20 years involved in coaching, leadership and development roles, I’ve had countless conversations with goalkeepers and parents that all tend to come back to the same frustrations. A goalkeeper makes a mistake, and the feedback is often immediate and reactive: “You should be saving that.” “You can’t get beaten at your near post.” “Your positioning is wrong.” “Unlucky.” But very rarel

Last week I got a message from a local coach. His team had just won the county cup. One of our keepers had kept a clean sheet. He thanked me for making such a difference with the lad. I had to be honest with him — I'd only worked with the young keeper a handful of times. I had very little to do with what happened on that pitch. What actually made the difference? His family driving him to sessions. His brother coming along to join in. His own willingness to get out of