February 2017
SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE
There are three Keeper Club training sessions per week through May 22: Junior Keepers (beginners and 10-and-under boys and girls) with Jim Walker on Mondays at 5:30pm; Intermediates (ages 10, 11, and 12 boys and girls) with Roland Sikinger on Tuesdays at6:30pm, and Seniors (U14 and older boys and girls) with Eddie Bloise on Thursdays at 6:30pm. Keeper Club members may join other sessions if they miss, or if they wish to attend more than one session a week.
February calendar for goalkeeper training at Dyess Park:
2—Senior Keepers, 6:30pm
6--Juniors, 5:30pm
7--Intermediates, 6:30pm
9--Seniors, 6:30pm
13--Juniors, 5:30pm
14--Intermediates, 6:30pm
16--Seniors, 6:30pm
20—Juniors, 5:30pm
21—Intermediates, 6:30
23--Seniors, 6:30pm
27—Juniors, 5:30pm
28—Intermediates, 6:30pm
About the Keeper Club
Membership fee: $100 for the Spring training season, Jan. 9 through May 22; $200 if not playing for the Cy-Fair Youth Soccer Club or the Dynamos; $50 for Junior Keepers (age 8-10). To join, please send goalkeeper’s name, birthdate, email address and phone number, along with check payable to "Keeper Club" and mail to Dynamos Keeper Club, attn: DeNiece Herrod, 5827 Pinellas PK, Spring TX 77379. For more information, email jwalker332@aol.com (phone 281-217-1612) or dherrod@me.com.
BYOK WORKSHOP
For coaches and parents, tips on working with your goalkeepers will be the topic of the Keeper Club's BYOK (Bring Your Own Keeper) workshop Sun., Feb 5, at 3:30pm at the Dyess Park Gazebo. It's free, and coaches and parents who register are invited to bring one or more girls and/or boys, of all ages, and join in exercises that will assist keepers in effective ways to warm up for training and games, and how to deal with the successes and setbacks that come with the position. Keeper Club members are welcome to attend and assist Coach Walker as demonstrators in presentation of the workshop. To register, please emailjwalker@dynamossoccer.com, with names and ages of keepers who will be attending. There also will be prize drawings and a Treasure or Trash table of used equipment, from which each keeper will be able to select item(s) to take home.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
“I can’t do that,” said Joe, attending his first Keeper! Club session, when asked to execute a quick hand exchange with the ball. “Yes, you can,” piped up Rosie, an older keeper, “I couldn’t do it either three weeks ago, but look at this.” She proceeded to do 15 before dropping the ball. “And look at Steven,” said Rosie, pointing to an older keeper a few yards away, “he can do about a hundred.” Steven thrust his chest out proudly. “But I thought I couldn’t do that when I started. In fact, I didn’t think I could do anything right.” “Yeah,” said Rosie, “and now Steven starts on the high school team.” “Hey,” said Joe, “I just did three in a row. Guess I just need practice.” Turning “I can’t” into “I can” is perhaps the most important step taken by a young goalkeeper, whose first mistake often is the belief that mistakes matter. When a new keeper arrives to Keeper Club training and can’t perform some of the handling exercises, the older keepers don’t make fun. They nod knowingly as they spin off 50 ball exchanges, with a soft touch and nary a dropped ball, and recall their own first fumbling attempts at switching hands as the ball is suspended a foot from the ground. It matters not that you did something “wrong” or “badly,” but whether you use the mistake to do it better the next time. “No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better,” said Samuel Beckett, the writer who must have fielded a few shots in his day. Rather than punishing yourself over mistakes, take a new route to self-confidence that leads the way to better skills.
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Here are some strategies for building confidence, courtesy of Managing Your Mind, by Gillian Butler and Tony Hope:
**Practice
**Behave “as if” (“as if” you are more confident than you feel)
**Take the zig-zag path (be flexible in your behavior)
**Learn from your mistakes
**Limit self-blame
**Be kind to yourself (speak encouraging words to yourself)
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LOOKING BACK
A little history
1871--The goalkeeper is first mentioned by name
1905--Keeper restricted to goal line for penalty kick; previously allowed to move out 6 yards.
1913--Keeper could now handle ball only within penalty area, rather than within entire half.
1929--Keeper was banned from moving sideways on the line during a penalty kick
1938--Goal nets, though already widely used, are first mentioned in “Laws of the Game”
1992--Keepers banned from handling passes from the feet of teammates
1998--Keepers again allowed to move sideways on the line during a penalty kick
2000--Four-step rule for goalkeepers is abolished
NOTE: Some histories tell us that in 1909 Scottish goalkeepers were instructed to wear a different colored jersey from other players, but otherwise up until just before World War I the only way a keeper was distinguished from his teammates was the fact that he wore a cap.
KeeperTalk
Dynamos Volunteer Coordinator Sue Easley is still looking for volunteers to assist with Puma Cup games (nearly 200 teams), which will be played Feb. 11-12 on the fields of Dyess, Zube, and Burroughs parks. If you can help, check the Puma Cup section of this website for contact information. . .Payton Salinas (Cy-Woods). Isobel Herrod (Klein Oak) and Steven Franke (Cy-Fair) are Dynamos goalkeepers playing in high school. Are there others? Please advise if other Dynamos are playing in goal for their high school team. . .When the regular backup keeper was injured, Norwegian-based Adam Straith played the last 35 minutes in goal for Canada last weekend in its 4-2 victory at Bermuda. "I had never even worn keeper gloves,” Straith told the Canadian Press, “That was the first time. I think you could probably see that with my attempt at a punch.” Relate that story to that of U16 Dynamos netminder Isobel Herrod, a Keeper clubber who recently made her debut as a high school keeper at Klein Oak. After starting and seeing no action in goal in the first half in a pre-season game, Isobel was asked by her coach to play left back in the second half. She borrowed a jersey from an injured field player, but wasn’t sure how to get to her new position. “I went on the field and asked the other girls what to do,” said Isobel. . .Goalkeeper Groaners: Did you hear about the goalkeeper who started a gardening service because she wanted to rake in some cash? And Steven Franke suggests it’s a good idea to play soccer in a graveyard, because you can always dig up another player. . .A newcomer to Keeper Kwiz drawings, Ethan Bayliss was the happy drawing winner of a new soccer ball with his answer of “January 9” as the 2017 beginning for goalkeeper training. For this month's drawing, please send in the name of your favorite goalkeeper, anyone you’ve seen perform as a goalkeeper anywhere, in person, on television, even in Keeper Club training! To enter the drawing for this month’s prize, another new soccer ball, please email the name of your favorite goalkeeper to jwalker332@aol.com. . .If you have news items, photos, anecdotes, or tips on goalkeeping, please send tojwalker@dynamossoccer.com
KEEPER LOG
Goalkeepers who attended Keeper Club training during January 2017:
9—Ethan Bayliss, Victoria Finidori, Sophia Wilkinson; assisting: Samantha Nichols
10—Samantha Nichols, Amber Zlatich, Claire Juenke, John Steadman, Robbie Steadman, Andrew Nelson, Zac Cannon, Noah Bar
12—Audrey Faucher, Bryant Brooks
16—Victoria Finidori, Sophia Wilkinson, Ethan Baylis; assisting: Samantha Nichols
17—Lotta Raines, Marsha Fields
19—Tommy Thunder, Soggy Bottoms
23—Victoria Finidori, Sophia Wilkinson, Ethan Baylis, assisting: Samantha Nichols, Steven Franke
24—Andrew Nelson, Andy Garcia, John Steadman, Noah Bar, Alli Thompson, Sam Nichols, Robbie Steadman, Zac Cannon, Montse Mendez, Claire Juenke, Amber Zlatich, Ben Jones, Kate Nguyen
26—Bryant Brooks, Payton Salinas, Maddie Saucedo, Kaeden Johnson, Audrey Faucher, David Graham
30—Ethan Baylis, Victoria Finidori, Anderson Fisher, Sophia Wilkinson
31--Samantha Nichols, Robbie Steadman, John Steadman, Zac Cannon, Claire Juenke, Alli Thompson, Alex Kissamis, Andrew Nelson, Noah Bar, Ben Jones
QUOTABLE
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” --Albert Camus (1913-1960), French writer who played goalkeeper for his university team in Algeria.
TIP OF THE MONTH
A few Keeper Club bywords:
1. Work to be perfect within your range. Learn, practice and focus on technique.
2. Any ball that drops, go with it
3. If you're already on the ground, arise quickly and collect the ball
4. Don't cheat yourself; if you make a mistake, correct it
5. Ball line and goal line. . .constantly check your position in goal
6. Keep your eye on the ball until the ball is secured.
KEEPING SECRETS
“Keepers need to be soccer players first, then keepers second. They need to improve their touch on the ball. Juggle the ball each day (yes, keepers, with your feet) to improve your kicking game, and to receive back passes. Get out of the goal and into the game. Anticipate where the ball will be next, organize your team, to minimize the opponents’ chances.“—Roli the Goalie