Hi goalkeepers 😁
It's been a long summer but we've had a well-deserved break and I hope you have too? This summer is the first year that we've actually had a proper break from football and it feels great coming back for the new season fresh.
There's a lot of pressure on young footballers to keep training hard, to be the best and hopefully get signed into a pro club academy one day. But listening to ex and current pro's (there's lots of great goalkeeping & football podcasts out there), a break is as good, if not better, than regular training through the summer. Regular training in one sport can actually cause strain and injuries as you're using the same muscles constantly. Experts actually recommend you have a rest at the end of the season, or do other sports which use different muscles to give your footballing muscles a break.
At the end of last season we feel that I was suffering a bit from burn-out, perhaps doing too much of the same thing. I was also spending a lot of time travelling in the car to and from the various training sessions, camps, etc. Combined with other activities after school like studying for the 11+ exam, my week was so hectic and tiring. So we've decided this season we're going to cut back on a few activities, my studying will stop after 21st September and we're going to start doing a few other sports during the week, not all football/goalkeeping.
A year ago I was playing a bit of golf, tennis and swimming regularly. But last season that all stopped. So we aim to get back to it this season, doing one of those 3 activities once a week. Last night my Dad and I did an hour of tennis and having not done it for about a year, the improvement in my footwork, hand-eye co-ordination, power & speed was obvious. The trouble is, the tennis coach on the court next to us was trying to sign me up to weekly sessions!... Aaaaargh... no more 🤣
I had to have a small operation at the start of August which meant that I couldn't do any form of sport whatsoever for a few weeks. My Dad dislocated & fractured & tore his finger open too!! We did manage to keep the videos coming out on my YouTube channel though, by recording a few before my operation and rolling them out once a week to keep the content coming. I really enjoyed having Alex over from the US for the day and I hope you enjoyed the 3 videos we did together, we certainly did. I hope you kept watching over the summer in between any holidays you had and didn't feel there was any break in our service.
Please comment below what video you liked most to help us know what future content to provide.
Before our 1st match of the season, we had just 2 team training sessions and I did a simple 1-1 goalkeeper session to get my muscle memory back. My dad was worried that this wasn't enough but it's all we could fit in and actually, I felt I played well in our 1st match. It was a tough game in a new, tougher league which ended in a draw. So the whole team was pleased with the result.
You can read my match reports each week, by clicking on the 'Matches' drop-down menu and then by clicking on '2019/20 Match Results'. We'll also be trying to get more match footage this season and we'll put a link to any video in those match reports.
Just a quick mention about the new Panini Premier League football card collection... this is a new collaboration between Panini and the EPL. Here's a video on the awesome Starter Pack to get your collection going.
Please comment below to tell me what you did over the summer break, how your season has started or anything else goalkeeping, football or YouTube related.
Good luck this season,
Henry ⚽👐🏻