PROMOTING PROGRESS IN WOMEN GOALKEEPER TRAINING

Sergio Vizcaíno, CEFARQ Women’s Group Coordinator, and Memo Velázquez, goalkeeper coach of the Mexican Women’s National Team, gathered goalkeepers’ coaches from Latin America to share experiences to help guide the progress of women goalkeepers in the region.

From the first conversations, the image emerged that in many countries there are similar problems regarding the training and performance of women goalkeepers, due mainly to the lack of early specific and general sport training. This is different from other regions where women’s football is greater developed and much more competitive, such as the United States and Europe. The lack of sufficient trainers with a vocation to work in women’s football was pointed out, as well as the importance of geting the vision of trainers of all ages and levels of competence, from football academies to National teams.

It was proposed to generate activities to reach more goalkeeper’s and other female football trainers from all Latin American countries in order to share information and make a realistic diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of the goalkeepers and their coaches, and to propose strategies to improve the training of both.

The first workshop took place on August 8, beginning with the vision of female coaches. Verónica Fuster (Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata) and Jeniffer Fernández (Nicaraguan National Team) chaired the session in which also participated Bárbara Jesam (Colo Colo, Chile), Stephanie Díaz Quiroga (Universidad Católica, Chile), Karen Gómez (Querétaro, Mexico), Sofía Olivera (goalkeeper for Peñarol and the Uruguay National Team) and Daiana Enriquez (CEFARQ).

The coaches talked about what motivated them to be goalkeepers, the effects of not starting training at an early age, what disadvantages generates late initiation in football, what motivated them to become coaches, what challenges they had to face, the importance of specific training and how to motivate to more female coaches. The exchange between the coaches, and with the almost one hundred attendees, was rich in analysis, concepts and proposals.

Coaches from all over Latin America and other countries, such as the United States, Spain and Egypt, were present. Almost without noticing, the meeting extended for two and a half hours, leaving the feeling of the need to go for more.

The organization of the second workshop is already underway.