Why DA may be the worst path for keepers

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Development at the keeper position can definitely happen independently from the DA system. Parents can find very good independent training to work on the fundamentals. After that it’s just game experience. Playing the highest number of quality games possible should be the goal for a keeper, no pun intended. If that means high level club and a grueling high school season so be it.

Yes but most have to weigh the cost of acquiring that training against the potential rewards. On the men's side there is so little money available so then when you add in the realities of GK recruiting that it often makes that cost/reward balancing act work out unfavorably. It is one of the very real reasons why when the big clubs do offer specialized GK training that you seldom see many boys attending and almost none once they reach the high school years. The training IS actually out there but most male keepers just don't take advantage of what's out there. It sets up almost a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Unregistered]

Yes but most have to weigh the cost of acquiring that training against the potential rewards. On the men's side there is so little money available so then when you add in the realities of GK recruiting that it often makes that cost/reward balancing act work out unfavorably. It is one of the very real reasons why when the big clubs do offer specialized GK training that you seldom see many boys attending and almost none once they reach the high school years. The training IS actually out there but most male keepers just don't take advantage of what's out there. It sets up almost a self fulfilling prophecy.

There a few non DA clubs that have good GK trainers, but you definitely have to search them out and do you homework. And just being in DA doesn't guarantee good GK training either. No matter where they develop becoming a top GK often means outside training and that costs $. You do it because your kid loves it, not because you're expecting a reward at the end. That said a top keeper can sometimes get better than average offers because it is such a vital position and good ones are hard to find.

[Unregistered]

Yes but most have to weigh the cost of acquiring that training against the potential rewards. On the men's side there is so little money available so then when you add in the realities of GK recruiting that it often makes that cost/reward balancing act work out unfavorably. It is one of the very real reasons why when the big clubs do offer specialized GK training that you seldom see many boys attending and almost none once they reach the high school years. The training IS actually out there but most male keepers just don't take advantage of what's out there. It sets up almost a self fulfilling prophecy.

The GK is one of the positions on a college team that will get money if the boy is starter material. The problem is that most programs will only give money to 1 Keeper on the team.

[Unregistered]

There a few non DA clubs that have good GK trainers, but you definitely have to search them out and do you homework. And just being in DA doesn't guarantee good GK training either. No matter where they develop becoming a top GK often means outside training and that costs $. You do it because your kid loves it, not because you're expecting a reward at the end. That said a top keeper can sometimes get better than average offers because it is such a vital position and good ones are hard to find.

At the upper levels of club soccer private training becomes sort of like owning a 60' Cruiser for a boat. If you have money to burn maybe that's what you spend it on but then again it's not like owning one is universally viewed as a requirement. The key thing is you can also be pretty sure that most of those who don't have that sort of money won't even dream of throwing their money at such a frivolity as a 60' Cruiser and even if they really do dream of owning a boat they will purchase something more in line with their wallet. When it comes to soccer, the thing most people will often find is it's not like there is a direct correlation between spending money on private training and scholarship opportunity. It most definitely is not a case of the more you spend on private training the more scholarship money you get. Often it seems that the ones that do end up spending all sorts of money on extra training outside of their clubs aren't necessarily the ones that are going to end up having the talent to actually get a scholarship offer. In many respects it truly is like their parents do look at the training as though it were that 60' Cruiser and nowhere near like someone who buys a 60' foot fishing trawler as a means of making their living. It's more a case of conspicuous consumption than training in order to prepare to move up to and play at another level.

[Unregistered]

The GK is one of the positions on a college team that will get money if the boy is starter material. The problem is that most programs will only give money to 1 Keeper on the team.

Keepers and Strikers typically do have the richest deals on a team but its not like there is a whole bunch of scholarship money just being thrown around on the men's side such that any random keeper can expect a lucrative scholarship deal. In fact the lack of money makes it even more difficult for keepers to find any sort of a deal because if a coach is going to allocate some of their scarce money to one, they had better be good.

[Unregistered]

Keepers and Strikers typically do have the richest deals on a team but its not like there is a whole bunch of scholarship money just being thrown around on the men's side such that any random keeper can expect a lucrative scholarship deal. In fact the lack of money makes it even more difficult for keepers to find any sort of a deal because if a coach is going to allocate some of their scarce money to one, they had better be good.

Nobody should be doing any of this for the hopes of money, least of all on the men's side. For field players privates can be helpful if the trainer is good (many are not) and the player is working on something specific. GK privates also can vary in quality but many clubs don't have good GK training. If your kid loves it and you can afford it once in a while, great, but don't go crazy.

[Unregistered]

The top keeper in the New England area seems to be doing just fine.


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