A retired goalkeeper is hoping to shape the number ones of the future, after setting up his own goalkeeping school.
Oldhamer Matt Gilks, whose playing career began at Rochdale and included spells at Norwich City, Blackpool, Burnley, Glasgow Rangers, and Scunthorpe United before ending at Bolton Wanderers, launched 'Matt Gilks Goalkeeping' in Shaw this summer.
The coaching sessions are open to goalkeepers aged nine upwards, from amateurs to professionals - but Gilks' one-to-one and group sessions for young keepers are proving the most popular.
Former Fir Bank Primary School and North Chadderton School pupil Gilks, who started out as an outfield player for Heyside Juniors before eventually realising his dream of becoming a goalkeeper, is aiming to play a key role in other glove stories.
Gilks, who spent more than four years with Bolton as both player and coach, and is now the first team goalkeeping coach at Accrington Stanley, said: "It's to give them as close to an academy feel as they can get without being in an academy set-up at a football club, or replicating what an academy does if they are lucky enough to be in one.
"I didn't have a full-time goalie coach until I was 24 when I went to Norwich. I used to train at Bolton one or two days a week and then me and Neil Edwards used to do the rest ourselves, replicating what we did at Bolton."
But it's not just goalkeeping skills that Gilks focuses on, it is the strength and stamina required in that position, as well as the means to concentrate, react and anticipate.
"We're finding at club level a lot of these kids, when they go to clubs at 15/16 they've never been in a gym. I know there's a certain age where you can do certain things, but there's no gym at all at grassroots level and a lot of injuries occur, especially with young lads. At that age it's really important," Gilks, 44, explained.
"I'm a big believer in the gym. I was big on the gym. I used to train with (power and development coach) Mick Clegg when I was playing. My hardest day was my day off, I used to get battered on a Wednesday and pay him for the privilege.
"You use different muscles than an outfield player. As goalkeepers we're almost rugby players. We don't do the tackling, but we're landing, we're getting hit, we're hitting the floor 30-40 times a day in training and then in games you're doing it several times.
"We need to be strong, reactive and robust and that's what the gym creates. I'm a big believer in the gym and building your body specifically for the position."
Gilks, who won three Scotland caps during a playing career that spanned more than two decades, added: "Back in my day keepers were deemed a little bit thick. But now you've got to think and you've got to see patterns and identify when to go and when to play short, recognising triggers to bounce passes now, so I have training equipment designed for making kids think.
"We've got cognitive function technology, which is really relevant to what we do because you've got about three or four attacking the ball, wingers coming in. It's on a screen, tracking multiple objects bouncing off each other.
"We've got technology to train peripheral vision. You're reacting to a cue, a movement out of the corner of your eye then you can react to it.
"There are so many things now that help goalkeeping, especially when you're tired and fatigued after an hour, hour and a half, you've still got to make that right decision every time as a goalie, because it's scrutinised so much.
"It's worse when you've not got a lot to do. There are so many games I've come off and I've got a sore throat.
"I remember once being at Rochdale and someone said 'what's up with you, you've had nothing to do?' But that makes it even harder because you can't switch off. Everything happens so quick now with back passes, playing through lines, starting attacks, that's what the modern day keeper does and the coaching we offer is geared towards that.
"I wanted to provide a quality facility that give kids something I never had.
"I'd still be playing now if this was available when I was starting out.
"I'm training anyone from any age from nine years old, we had pros over the summer and semi pros. A lot of the pros will come on a Wednesday on their days off and do a little bit and maybe use some recovery equipment we've got."
For more information or to book a coaching session go to www.mggoalkeeping.co.uk
Share