The high-level AFC Goalkeeping Coaching Tutors’ Course 2019 concluded in Kuala Lumpur on Friday with participants praising its comprehensive curriculum and expressed their willingness to impart their knowledge to coaches in their respective countries.
Combining the best standards in theory and practice, the four-day course was led by internationally recognised goalkeeping coach and tutor Frans Hoek, formerly of Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and the national teams of Netherlands and Poland, with a specific focus on strengthening the development of specialist coaches.
AFC Goalkeeping Coaching Tutor Dean May from Australia said: “Modern football demands goalkeeper tutors to take on a more integrated approach to training. In the past, specialised training, particularly for goalkeepers was organised in isolation, but increasingly, we are seeing the need for more emphasis on match simulation.
“It is essential that goalkeeper tutors and coaches understand their roles in assisting their head coaches and a big part of that process involves assisting them to look at the larger picture.”
The intensive course also presented the 49 participants with the opportunity to widen their knowledge in the latest goalkeeping trends, updates on the AFC’s coach education programme and examine as well as exchange insights on football and goalkeeping development.
Former Lebanon custodian, currently the goalkeeping coach for the national men’s team, Jihad Mahjoub said: “Even after 20 years of coaching goalkeepers in my country, there is still so much to learn and take away from this course.
“All great teams need great goalkeepers and this course has been beneficial in teaching us the best practices, new methods and techniques in developing our future generation of goalkeepers.
“This is our way of helping Asia reach its potential. Coaches from all over Asia, coming together to learn from one another and our hope is to see our teams succeed against the rest of the world, starting from producing excellent goalkeepers.”
Another former goalkeeper, Chu Fang-Yi from the Chinese Taipei women’s team, joined the chorus of participants in praising the impact of the course, adding: “This is the first time I have attended a goalkeeper’s course outside of Chinese Taipei. It has been an eye-opening experience and I have really enjoyed listening to the insights from experience instructors as well as the in-depth sharing sessions from my colleagues.
“I look forward to transferring the valuable lessons with my coaching team in Chinese Taipei and there is so much that we can implement from this course.” – www.the-afc.com
