Santa Rosa United
Goalkeeper Program
Chris writes ... "I have been coaching goalkeepers since I was 17 years old. I worked at (coached) different local soccer camps, including the soccer camps, Santa Rosa Junior College Soccer Camps and the University of San Francisco Soccer camps. I learned at an early age how to train young goalkeepers. I was goalkeeper coach for the Santa Rosa Junior College Men’s Soccer program from 2008-2009. I am the goalkeeper coach for the Sonoma State University Women’s Soccer program starting this year. Approximately one and a half years ago I started my own goalkeeper academy, training young goalkeepers on a one on one basis. I have coached over 25 goalkeepers at the Sonoma County Goalkeeper Academy, which is the name of my business. I trained and coached at Machnik’s Goalkeeper Academy for two years, learning the necessary skills to incorporate training for senior level goalkeepers. I was assistant coach and goalkeeper coach at Montgomery High School under Dave Shaffer from 1996-1997. I bring 34 years of experience as a player and coach to the Santa Rosa United Soccer Program."
This project was founded to create competitive Goalkeepers in the Northern California area and to prepare them to compete at the USA National Team, collegiate and local club team level. It is the fundamental objective of this project to create an ongoing program that will improve the competitive level of every goalkeeper trained.
Because a winning soccer team starts with an excellent goalie, it is SR United’s philosophy to develop players with all the physical, technical, physiological, and tactical skills needed to compete at the highest level possible. It is also our goal to develop a community of student players by teaching and instilling in them the basic values that lead to a successful and dignified life both on and off the soccer field.
Santa Rosa United offers a progressive program that has continuity from the very beginning stages through the advanced tactical stage, and which will also give greater purpose to the lives of these young people.
The process begins with the new player or keeper and will follow a basic stage developmental program aimed at encouraging athletic, social, and moral values as well as improving the specific needs and skills of a goalkeeper. This program will develop these skills based on the individual’s current skill level and potential.
This program represents a considerable commitment of our club and our families, both economically and organizationally. It could not be justified to only provide an unorganized recreational activity for children who would play soccer or as a simple distraction from the realities of the street and the daily exposure to social ills.
We are creating an avenue for every committed young person to become a great goalkeeper and for all our students to improve their overall soccer skills in a safe, organized, and well supervised environment. Equally important, we are assisting in the development of a valued and productive member of the community by instilling in them not only athletic prowess but also a good moral and ethical foundation.
This program will develop an individual’s athletic talents through the following means:
- Acquire the basic knowledge of body coordination needed to play the position of Goalkeeper through a repetition of technical skills advancing from basic movements of Goalkeepers to more advanced techniques needed to compete at a higher level.
- To understand and be able to execute the rules and fundamental strategies of the position of Goalkeeper.
- To learn specific techniques and theories needed to play Goalkeeper at the highest level.
- To be able to move and coordinate the body in such a manner as to play at the highest level.
- Will learn sportsmanship and a sense of fair play through interaction with the competition and be able to interact with fellow players in a competitive yet fair manner.
Triangle Shape for success
