Regular training for keepers 10-18-years-old continues in November on Mondays (5:30pm) with Roland Sikinger and Thursdays (5:30pm) with Jim Walker.

Fee for regular training is $50 ($100 if not playing for Cy-Fair Youth Soccer Club or Dynamos) for 10 weeks of sessions. Please make check payable to Keeper Club and mail to Dynamos, attn: Loree, 10924 Grant Rd. #224, Houston 77070.

For more information, email JWalker332@aol.com or phone 281-217-1612.

 

My third year at St. Edward's University had a great beginning. A full academic schedule going well and I’m enjoying my classes. Ahead I believed would be the best season for myself and my team. Suddenly, soccer was on hold for six weeks. We were 3-0-1 into our fourth game of pre-season. We had dominated and defeated Missouri Southern, Central Oklahoma, tied Truman University, and beat Nebraska-Omaha, all shutouts. I was playing awesomely despite a small pain in my wrist. Last fall I had what I thought was a sprain, so I taped my wrists every practice and for games. During spring and summer, my wrist was weak with some pain but it didn’t seem to hurt my performance. I felt better as the beginning of pre-season training started. I was taping my wrists as usual and pre-season was brutal as always. There were a couple of times while doing pressure training during practice and taking tons of hard shots I thought I might have re-injured my "sprained" wrist. So rehab, ice, and tape, as usual. After our trip to Missouri, and my strong performance against Truman and Nebraska with two shutouts, I started to lose feeling in my right pointer finger, thumb, and inside of my wrist. Not excruciating, but on a scale of one to ten, the pain was around a seven. No decrease in performance, and it wasn't hurting badly enough to me to sit out. So once I realized there was some loss of feeling, along with numbness and tingleyness, I approached my trainer the weekend after the Missouri trip. He said it might be nerve damage or a broken scaphoid bone, located on the inner part of the wrist right above the thumb. This bone aids in flexion of your wrist known as hyper and hypo extension. So stopping shots with proper technique and my wrist taper wasn't too painful. Only hard, straight-on shots bothered me. My trainer decided to get a MRI scheduled, which I was definitely not rooting for. I wanted more rehab and precautions to take until the season ended. The MRI reveals that I have broken my scaphoid bone in half. The break was cutting blood circulation and without proper aid it could have resulted in worse damage. The good news is that the bone was not displaced. However, due to the placement of the break, it was dangerous to attempt to play again without having surgery. The doctor said it was a fairly new break, probably occurring in pre-season. So I decide on surgery. They put a screw straight through the middle of it, going from the distal to the proximal end, squeezing the bone together. I begged and begged and begged some more to finish out the season. I pleaded "if my performance isn’t decreasing why can't I wait to get surgery after season is over?” But with the severity and location of the break, continuing playing could have resulted in a loss of mobility, feeling, and range of motion in the wrist the rest of my life. And you know me, Coach Walker, I literally begged to keep playing despite the injury. I was, to say the least, devastated. I didn’t know what to do with myself. After a day of gathering my thoughts and making decisions I decided to go with surgery, which has the quickest recovery. The doctor said tops six weeks but has had athletes return in three weeks. This past Friday (October 2) was my third week after surgery. I had my followup two Mondays ago and was told I still had another five weeks before a catscan and then I would be released. I still couldn't believe I had gone through with surgery and had missed four games already. I am able to do most things with my wrist now other than proper detailed movements. I am moving my wrist up and down and to one side avoiding pain, as the doctor said I would. It has been probably the worst three weeks I have ever had. I know there are positives to this injury and I'm trying to stay focused on them. I still travel with my team for support of them, and for me. I’m hoping to return in time to play the end of season and hopefully step in for the playoffs, regionals, and nationals. I'm hanging in there. Just taking it day by day and doing some rehab awaiting my catscan in three weeks.

An update from Troi on October 29: GOOD NEWS!! I got released yesterday!! I am cleared to play! I was so happy I practiced within an hour of getting released! Hopefully I will get to play Sunday! It feels really good. There is a little tenderness and a little pain but that is normal.

Question from an interested observer: How many former Keeper Club members are currently playing in college? Answer:

0--Often seen on a goalkeeper jersey

1--Sometimes worn by keepers

2--goalkeepers in a game, also Keeper! sessions per week

10--Number of weeks in Keeper Club training package

12--Real dozen

13--Baker’s dozen (old-time bakers added a donut to avoid miscalculating the weight, which is the way they were sold).

15--Keeper’s Dozen (because keepers are special they get five ground balls, five flighted balls, five shots on goal in training activity)

16--Years Keeper Club has been a gathering place for boys and girls seeking goalkeeper training

17--Proposed date in December for the 2009 Keeper Christmas party

20--Patty's version of keeper's dozen ("One more...one more...one more...")

30--Times “getting on the ground” in Keeper Club warmup routine

39--Coach Roli’s age (at least that’s what he says)

50--Catches in “hitting the eyes” warmup activity

70--Sprinting yards in dreaded fitness activity called '70's.

90--It’s the 90^th minute. . .do you know where your goal is?

92--Coach Jim’s age (at least that’s what he says)

100--Per cent effort given by Keeper Club members

 

Welcome to new member Zoey Mottershaw, who plays for Coach David Urrutia‘s U13 team. . .Kaylee Barrett’s email tag is “goaliegirlie.“. . Houston Fireman Clayton Harris, a goalkeeper who played in the Dallas-Fort Worth area men’s leagues for a number of years before moving to the Spring area, volunteered his help with Keeper Club sessions and was an immediate hit with the members. Eager to train and play, Clayton said he would be on hand whenever his schedule as a firefighter allowed. . .Brenden (Chubbs) Kowalski, who in the evenings at Dyess Park does a little bit of everything--play, coach, move goals, lift low spirits, douse big heads--has added levity to keeper sessions by popping up at opportune times to provide shooting, or serving, or even taking a turn in goal. . .Kaitrin Miller reported to assist with the BYOK workshop and when no one else showed up, she got in an hour of work on breakaways with Coach Jim . . .Ex-Keeper Club member Michael Bouchahine was named Goalkeeper of the Week in the American Southwest Conference for his role in the Huskies’ 2-1 upset victory over Adelphi. It was the senior’s fourth win of the season. It also marked HBU’s first night ever at Sorrells Field. . .Longtime Keeper Club member Seth Sojka has opted to play rugby at the University of Tulsa. . .Mari Edwards has found herself under fire in virtually every game as the freshman starter for the St. Mary’s University team, but acquitting herself well with numerous awesome saves among the flood of shots coming her way. . .Braden (Striker) Mann’s dad, Jim, was featured in a Sunday Chronicle story about his job as part of the stats crew for the Houston Rockets. Mr. Mann has been associated with the Rockets since 1995. . .Kevin Hobart put together two strong performances as his U14 Dynamos played their best soccer of the fall, losing 2-0 in the final minutes of a match on Saturday, then posting their first victory, 3-2 in Conroe. . .A visitor to training on Oct. 27 was Sabrina Pasier, who trained as a keeper for almost three years before a back injury sidelined her. A senior now at Cy-Woods HS, Sabrina hasn’t been playing competitively, but is considering joining a recreational team. . .American Brad Friedel was in goal for Aston Villa, 2-1 winners over Chelsea, Oct. 18. Chelsea went up in the 15th minute through Didier Drogba, but Villa got two back. "Brad came back brilliantly after his error," Villa manager Martin O'Neill said. "He didn't dwell on it. He didn't get an opportunity within two or three minutes to rectify it either so that would have been playing on his mind. But he pushed the mistake to one side and got on with what he is very, very good at.". . .Seen on a goalkeeper’s t-shirt: “My only goal in life is to deny yours.”. .If you have items for Keeper! or KeeperTalk, please email JWalker332@aol.com or call 281-217-1612.

 

Listing of players who attended training in October:

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”--Unknown, courtesy of Veronica Pierce

Studies show you have a 20 per cent chance of retaining possession on a punt, 80 per cent on a throw or roll distribution. There are times you should punt:

1) to get the ball to the other end quickly to an open player

2) to give your defenders and yourself a break if under pressure

3) when everyone’s covered and there’s space at midfield

4) against teams that are weak in the air.

 

It’s no secret, except to those goalkeepers who lamely insist, “I don’t do it right at practice, but I always do it right in games.” Goalkeeper guru Lawrence Fine calls it “Proper Practice Prevents Poor Performance.” Condition yourself to do the right thing in training and often you’ll surprise yourself in a game by doing it even better. Realize that you are developing habits all the time: why not make them good habits?