Youth Development ● Apr 16, 2016
More Opportunities For Young Goalkeepers At Goalkeeper Academy Singapore
SINGAPORE, 16 APRIL 2016: Singapore and Tampines Rovers goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, together with Garena Young Lions counterparts Benjamin Bertrand and Zharfan Rohaizad, delighted 35 young custodians with a special appearance at today’s Goalkeeper Academy Singapore (GAS) training session at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
The GAS was launched this year with the vision of educating Singapore’s young goalkeepers aged 10-16 on the modern vision of goalkeeping. It was conceptualised and brought to fruition by former Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Consulting Goalkeeper Coach Guy Martens and FAS Goalkeeper Coach Frederic De Boever, with both coming up with the coaching manual for the Academy. Mr Martens is renowned as the goalkeeper coach who developed English Premier League club Chelsea FC’s Thibaut Courtois and many others such as Sinan Bolat, László Köteles and Logan Bailly.
“Goalkeeping has been completely revolutionised in the past few years. You can see with top goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer and Thibaut Courtois that there are more and more demands on the position now, so the purpose of the GAS is to prepare the best young Singaporean goalkeepers for this modern style. It will provide them with more learning opportunities and educate them on the technical, tactical and physical requirements of goalkeeping, such as positioning, game reading, decision making, action and performance,” said Mr De Boever.
“Aside from nurturing these young goalkeepers, the Academy also aims to build a platform where all the goalkeepers and coaches can share and exchange information and knowledge during our weekly sessions. This will help goalkeeper coaches in Singapore grow and develop further as well,” he added.
The GAS has weekly sessions every Saturday from 9.45-11.45am at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS), or at Yishun Stadium if JBS is unavailable. All goalkeepers aged 10-16 are welcome, but they must at least be in their school team and must first be registered. On-the-spot registration is not allowed due to planning requirements for the sessions. Interested participants may register via email to Mr Rosman Senin ([email protected]).
