Director of Goalkeeping: 
Greg O'brien 

What is it?

The WSA provides goalkeeper training for travel players at no additional charge. 

This program is a great opportunity to introduce young players to basic goalkeeping techniques and to provide experienced goalkeepers with a chance to practice and to learn more advanced skills and decision-making strategies.  

For the safety of all of the children, training sessions are grouped by player age/year of birth, which may or may not align with their team age group.  You will only be able to register for the session(s) that correspond with your child's year of birth.

Who's it for?

WSA travel players.

Training is strongly encouraged for all our u9-u10 players as it is a crucial part to the overall development as young soccer players. 

When and where is it?

SPRING 2024 SCHEDULE
Player must pre-register for a class. 
 

Registration will be available 3/11

Note: All new and returning players will need to create a new account first BEFORE registering for a block.

* If keepers age U11 and older have a conflict with their team weekly training sessions but would still like to attend goalkeeper training, they are welcome to attend every other week (attend team practice one week, attend GK the next, and so on). 

If there are any questions while registering, or about the program, please contact Greg O’Brien, Director of Goalkeeping.

Goalie gloves are optional, but recommended, for U9-U10 players.  Players U11 and older are required to wear goalie gloves during training.  There are two basic types of gloves:

Very basic, thin, youth gloves often called “junior gloves,” which provide some grip for handling the balls. They run roughly $15-$30 a pair. These are perfectly adequate for younger players who will only train for a few weeks and might goal keep occasionally in games.

Thicker, sturdier gloves (available in youth and adult sizes) provide better grip and more protection for the player’s hands. They range in price from $40 to $80 and higher. Some have “finger save” plastic supports behind the fingers, that prevent fingers from being bent back and sprained or from being jammed. Goalkeepers differ as to whether they want finger saves. Some like the protection, others feel the plastic prevents them from gripping the ball tightly. It’s a matter of personal preference.

More Goalie Gear

If your child "goal keeps" regularly, you may want to look into goalie shirts, which have padding at the elbows and sometimes behind the forearm, goalie shorts (which can be worn under soccer shorts or alone) with padding on the hips, or goalie pants which have padding at the hips and knees. 

You can buy goalie gloves and gear online.  For gloves, it helps if you know your child’s hand size and have a good idea of the type of glove they like. Some players have to try gloves on in person, whereas other players have a favorite model they buy over and over again when a pair wears out or they need the next size up.