Today we cover a few topics within the US goalkeeping scene. We start off comparing US men’s national team goalkeeping standards from now vs. 20 years ago. Where were we and where we now? How are our gks (specifically Zack Steffen, Matt Turner, and Ethan Horvath) performing overseas? What is going right/wrong? From there we jump to the US Open Cup debacle, where MLS attempted to pull their first teams out of the most prestigious tournament in North America. We look at micro level in how the Open Cup helps goalkeepers in both MLS and lower leagues, as well as macro level in how the Open Cup and MLS operate and should be operating together. Lastly, we finish with the NWSL draft and how young gks get drafted only to (most likely) sit the bench for a year or two. Is this healthy for gk development or are there better ways to grow our young goalkeepers?

Chad Prickett is a former goalkeeper from the University of Kentucky and is now the founder of Columbus Goalkeeper Academy. His passion for the position made him the perfect person to talk to about development for teenage goalkeepers, specifically the connection between three training environments: individual training, team practice, and games. Although those three areas have a lot of nuance that we don’t quite get all the way into - the difference from coaching male and female gks, areas of the country, styles of play within certain clubs - our main focus with this podcast was to survey how our country approaches each of the three - again, individual training, team practice, and game. We talk about why they’re important, how we’re connecting the three areas to one another, and where we’re currently succeeding/failing within each one.

FC United’s Stan Anderson and Bill Reno take a deep dive on the USMNT goalkeeper depth chart. Prior to recording, Stan and Bill ranked their top USMNT goalkeeping options, then averaged the lists together, then counted up the list from 25 to 1. Check the episode notes to jump to a specific section in the podcast As an aside: I’ve been wanting to do something similar for the USWNT yet I’ve been unable to find a buyer. If you or someone you know knows the USWNT goalkeeping pool and can talk about it beyond a couple of names, please reach out to me at [email protected].

Stan Anderson and Bill Reno discuss the current pecking order with the men’s national team after the most recent national team starter, Zack Steffen, had two poor games back-to-back, one with Manchester City against Liverpool in an FA Cup semifinal and another with the national team against Costa Rica to round out World Cup qualifying. If you haven’t watched the highlights, I’d recommend taking a look, as we loosely describe the errors - but it might make a little more sense if one were to have seen the games. We then take a look at the micro and the macro of it all, diving into the positives and weaknesses of Steffen’s game, as well as problems with the entire iceberg that is American goalkeeping. We cover what needs to happen going into the World Cup, as well as some outside the box solutions that the internet has been kind enough to through out there.

Round 2 of the MLS goalkeeping core review, once again featuring Stan Anderson from FC United and Camp Shutout! We’re finishing up with the eastern conference today, going through all 14 teams’ goalkeeping depth charts. We dive back into the same approach as we did yesterday, going over history and expectations for the goalkeepers and then a grade for the entire goalkeeping core. Check the episode notes if you’re wanting to hear about a certain team! If you missed the western conference review, that episode dropped previously if you’re looking for even more MLS goalkeeping content.

FC United and Camp Shutout legend Stan Anderson and I take on the monumental task of reviewing each and every MLS goalkeeping core for 2021. It’s a two-part episode so we’re starting with the western conference today, as we dive into our expectations out of each team’s goalkeepers, various historical notes, recent performances, and then cap it off with a grade at the end of each section. If you’re just looking for your favorite team, check the episode notes to skip to the correct time. And stick around for tomorrow’s release of the eastern conference goalkeeping cores.

Stan Anderson of FC United fame returns to talk about how goalkeeping in MLS has changed since 1996. In 1992, FIFA introduced the back pass rule, which limited goalkeepers from picking up a kicked pass from a teammate. Obviously there’s a heavy emphasis on playing out of the back in today’s game but what did that look in 1996? How did teams attack and what did teams require of their goalkeepers? And finally, what demands are put on a goalkeeper in 2020? Stan and I compare and contrast the two eras and discuss how modern goalkeepers would fair in 1996 and how goalkeepers from 1996 would fair in today’s game.

After catching up a little bit and looking back on the summer, Stan Anderson (Camp Shutout, FC United) and I open up with Reggie Cannon and the response certain fans made with seeing players kneel during the national anthem, which included booing and throwing things on the field. Cannon would later come out to say how disgusted he was and while this isn’t directly tied to goalkeeping, the fracturedness of the issue is something I’ve found in every facet of life in America. It’s obviously a difficult topic to navigate but I picked Stan because I know he’s willing to be upfront about what he thinks but not in a way that shuts down the conversation. We don’t solve anything there but there was a good conversation about trying to “keep people at the table” instead of having fractures push people away. Stan and I continue on to talk about backup goalkeepers and why they’re not trusted with the keys to the car more often, citing many MLS and NWSL examples, how coaches should/shouldn’t approach their goalkeeping cores, a contrast and comparison of Neuer and ter Stegen, and then finally Stan Anderson gives us a Jon Busch story to cap it off.

Bill Reno asks current Fort Lauderdale CF goalkeeper coach Chris Barocas what an "American" style of goalkeeping entails, as well as discussing what is working for the US in goalkeeper development and where we need to improve. Timestamps in the episode notes!

Stan Anderson and Bill Reno discuss their three wishes for 2020 in the American goalkeeping landscape + our top goalkeepers from 2019. Timestamps in the episode notes!