Focusing on Goalie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also know that 99% of most coaches were field players and have no comprehension of the goalie's skillset or abilities. They usually aren't paying much attention either sadly it's often an afterthought even with a goalkeeper coach on staff.

I can't agree with this enough! You absolutely need to be at a club that has dedicated GK training run by an actual GK staff. If you can't get that, then private training would serve the same purpose (albeit at an added cost to you). At age 10, a lot could still change but if he ends up loving it and wants to stick with it, you'll almost certainly end up doing private training eventually, anyway.

[Anonymous]

Just a heads up - our good keepers play 2-3 games a weekend and tournaments are crazy for them.

It’s a great gig for a kid with the right mentality and skill.

[Anonymous]

Be careful - at 10, highly unlikely has solid touch and footwork and that is done in field and during games and helps to understand entirely of team, which will make a better keeper. Teams will love a dedicated keeper at that age, but it will be disservice to a 10 year old to only have them in goal and not in field too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...it will be disservice to a 10 year old to only have them in goal and not in field too.

As the parent of a kid who started playing GK exclusively at age 10 (and is U19 now), I'd generally agree with this, too. My kid was hell bent on wanting to play GK for some reason and, of course, not many kids want to so the coach (and everybody else on the team) was just fine with that. Even though DC ultimately enjoyed it and decided to stick with it, I still think it would've been a good thing to try some different positions on the field, as well (especially at that age). It does give them a better understanding of the game and a (rudimentary) appreciation for the different positions.