Park Life News reporter Ben Ware was one of two goalkeeper coaches in Gloucestershire to be invited to St George’s Park to attend The FA’s ‘Developing the female GK’ event, here are five things he learned.
- A TROPHY IS COMING SOON
The FA plan to win a trophy by 2024 in what will be the culmination of over a decade’s work, whether it be mens’ or womens’ at least one piece of silverware will be heading to England soon enough. England are hosting the 2021 European Championships this year in what will be a huge occasion and fantastic chance to win a major piece of senior silverware with the home advantage playing a big part. England won the She Believes Cup in the USA in 2019 and host Spain, Germany and Canada in their own version to warm up for the Euros.
- WE DON’T NEED SMALLER GOALS
A somewhat common point made in reference to female goalkeepers is that the goals are too big given their lower height. The average height for a goalkeeper in the Womens Super League is five foot eight, with them having to defend a 24x8ft goal. The better answer was to have the goalkeepers play smarter, and that’s just what The FA have done. Diagrams depicting how we defend the space in front of the goal, marshal the defence to keep shots off target and when to come and went to hold have meant England have become world leaders in goal keepers with the likes of Ellie Roebuck and Mary Earps among the best in football. Identifying triggers and cues and identifying the best course of action wherever the ball is has given ‘keepers an advantage better than height.
- WE’RE COACHING AGAINST EVOLUTION
Any self respecting goalkeeper knows that when you catch the ball, you use your ‘W’ and let it come in and nestle in your hands, you don’t move. This action creates a gender divide between men and women, with men just letting the ball nestle while female shot stoppers always latch onto or bring their hands towards the ball (known as clamping to some). While it may sound sexist, some at the national governing body believe this to be down to the women’s role in raising and protecting their child throughout history leading to them being more cautious and defensive leading to the extra actions. Agree or not – it’s an interesting point to have made.
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- HOW WE GET FROM COUNCIL PITCHES TO WEMBLEY
Part of my and (any most others there) job within the England Pathway is to identify talented young keepers in grassroots games, sign post The FA’s scouting network towards them and get them into our High Performance Centres, of which there are eight in the country. After we as coaches work with and develop the keepers, we send them to Talent ID days and put them in the age group’s eyes to earn some youth caps. It will still be some time before we see the fruits of our labour with girls as young as eight on our books, but give it ten years and we can have the best goalkeepers in world football.
- ACL TEARS ARE A GROWING WORRY IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
It’s an awful sight to see any player with an ACL injury, but the threat and result is far more prevalent in the women’s side of the sport. There are various reasons for this, for example the intercondylar notch (which is the groove at the bottom of the femur) is larger in men and the narrower room restricts the ACL’s movement in women. Another reason is the angle of the hips and knee, putting more stress on the ligament, adding to the fact that women’s tendons and ligaments are more lax and easy to tear, especially during menstruation.
