Orlando Pride (NWSL) Goalkeeper Coach, Lloyd Yaxley, joined us yesterday for a presentation and discussion around the Periodization of Goalkeeping. He was very clear at the beginning to point out that 'periodization' was a little bit of a buzz word in the soccer coaching community and he wanted to define it as managing the individual player's loads throughout the season. He also declared that he was not a sport scientist so his work would be centered around the position itself, rather than the numbers. I watched Lloyd deliver a presentation last year in Miami on different goalkeepers specific skillsets and loved how he looked at defining goalkeepers based on their strengths. Individualization was a key characteristic of this presentation but it was more about Lloyd's current environment in Orlando and how the training is planned, both in terms of intensity and in terms of technical content.
A key takeaway for me was the relationship component that Lloyd discussed. He not only trains each keeper differently, but he also has different ways to communicate with them. When he talked about taking a young goalkeeper who was struggling with the pressure, away from the environment and out for a coffee, it's a great little insight into a player centered approach. While many claim the player is at the heart of everything they do, there are not a lot of coaches who will adapt their environment and processes to accommodate this and make it a priority. As an outfield coach, it does make you think that if that level of individualization is going on for each goalkeeper, then surely we should be giving serious consideration to how we view players who play in the same positions. Food for thought for sure!
You can watch the a free trial of the presentation below. You can watch the full webinar as well as getting access to TWENTY THREE webinars that we did during the Lockdown by clicking here.
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