Washington East Surf SC – Goalkeeping Program

The WE Surf SC Goalkeeping Program is designed to provide high level goalkeeper training and is committed to providing the best training opportunities to all our goalkeepers, at all levels. The program incorporates the Four Pillars of player development (technical, tactical, physical, psychological) into all goalkeeper training sessions, as well as promoting the long-term development of our keepers. We provide the specialized training required to prepare our goalkeepers, physically and mentally, to be able the meet the demands of today's modern game.

We work to develop high-level quality goalkeepers with certain physical, technical, tactical, cognitive, psychological, and coordination capacities.

For our goalkeepers at Surf, we are proud to offer:

• 1x a week GK training with a professional/trained coaches (during Spring/Summer)

• 2x a week GK training with a professional/trained coaches (during Fall/Winter)

• Goalkeeper education - where players participate in classroom sessions (in-person and/or zoom) that help shape minds and mentalities

• SportsEngine communication App used for scheduling and player communication

• Several GK camps or clinics throughout the year

• Annual Evaluation

• League or Tournament assessments (Assigned keeper coaches will attend a game, if possible, and provide immediate feedback via email and/or in person after the game to the coach and/or player)

• Brief verbal evaluations during goalkeeper training sessions

The Four Pillars of Goalkeeping that we focus on are:

• Technical (handling, footwork, distribution, position, diving, etc.)

• Tactical (decision making, reading the game, directing, etc.)

• Physical (Speed & agility when moving, recovering from saves, power, etc.)

• Psychological (Presence in the box, vocal with the team and providing direction, recovers from a mistake, remaining mentally sharp when tired, etc.)

Meet our staff:

As a goalkeeper staff, we take great pride in our program and developing our players to be great goalkeepers!

• Erik Lewis – Goalkeeping Director. Coaching experience: Div 1 Collegiate (Miami Univ, OH), State Level ODP (OH South), several high school teams, and 20+ years of club coaching.

• Kellie Fitzpatrick – Goalkeeper Coach

• Leland McEuen – Goalkeeper Coach

• Jonathan Sharpe – Goalkeeper Coach

Training Groups will be broken down into groups by skill level:

• Academy (Beginners) – Juniors/Select

• Intermediate – Select/Premier

• Advanced – Premier