‘Own The Goal’ GK Showcase providing additional exposure at Jefferson Cup

(Via Jefferson Cup) – Goalkeepers attending the 2016 Jefferson Cup will once again have the opportunity to train extensively in front of college coaches while refining their physical and mental skills as ‘Own The Goal’, a Richmond-based goalkeeper training company, continues its partnership with the event.

Along with Goalkeeper Showcases for the older age groups, ‘Own The Goal’ will also host Goalkeeper Clinics for younger players and a Shot Stopping & Finishing Clinic for U16-U18 boys players. The U13-U15 boys and U11-U14 girls clinics will include a 90-minute session at the start of the tournament, providing a valuable tune-up leading into the games. Meanwhile, the Shot Stopping & Finishing Clinic will not only put goalkeepers in the spotlight but will also provide a limited number of field players the opportunity to showcase their finishing skills.

Headed by longtime goalkeeping coach Celia Mosier, Own The Goal specializes in preparing players for sustained development in all aspects of the position beyond simply stopping shots, including ball distribution, 1v1 situations, crosses, flight of the ball, footwork and the various psychological components. A former NCAA Division I player, Mosier has made a career of coaching goalkeepers, working for State and Regional ODP teams, multiple U.S. Soccer Development Academy and ECNL clubs, college programs and the US Club Soccer Player Development Program, among others.

Mosier and the Own The Goal staff, which includes Commonwealth FC Goalkeeping Director Danny Huerta as well as US Youth Soccer Region I Goalkeeping Staff Coach and Richmond Strikers Tournament Director John Faircloth, possess an extensive network of relationships with college coaches, helping the Goalkeeper Showcases supplement game action at the Jefferson Cup where keepers typically have limited opportunities to show the range of skills necessary to succeed at the next level.

+Read: Jefferson Cup 2016 Championship Division Preview: U-16 Girls

“Having been a college coach myself for a long time at the Division I level, at a showcase event you don’t always get to see much of what the goalkeepers are all about,” said Mosier, who currently serves as the Director of Goalkeeping for Richmond United and the Richmond Strikers, while also coaching at Randolph-Macon College. “Our goal with the Goalkeeper Showcase is always to create an environment where players can show the full range of skills that best prepares them for their future.”

Even at the highest levels of college soccer the goalkeeper coach position is often times a volunteer assistant position due to budgetary restrictions, putting professional knowledge of the craft at a premium. For that reason, the 90-minute sessions at the Jefferson Cup provide college coaches not only with additional chances to watch the potential recruits but also a chance to compare notes with Own The Goal instructors.

“One of our top priorities is to always bring a staff with a very high level of expertise so that the coaches really trust us when they come with questions about certain players,” Mosier said. “The coaches are really comfortable with our guidance because they know we understand the position, which is useful to them because even major ACC and SEC schools that regularly go to the Final Four only have coaches who were field position players traveling to showcases.”

For players, the Goalkeeper Showcase provides an avenue to getting in front of college coaches that may not be attained by simply playing in games, particularly in the lower divisions of a larger tournament. Highly skilled players that may have otherwise fallen through the cracks, going unnoticed due to an especially poor defense in front of them or even a great defense in front of them limiting their opportunities, have often made a name for themselves among some of the premier college programs in the country at the Jefferson Cup.

Mosier, who over the years has trained players that have gone on to play top level college soccer, professional soccer and for Youth National Teams, said that the finer details of the position have made all the difference for her most successful former players, including 2015 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Michelle Betos and U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team keeper Rose Chandler.

+Read: Jefferson Cup 2016 Championship Division Preview: U-16 Boys

“We are all about focusing on the little things instead of just trying to make save in the short-term,” Mosier said. “We build for the long-term and we believe everything is connected, taking the time for enough repetitions so that the right habits are cemented in a player forever.”

For younger players participating in the Jefferson Cup Goalkeeper Clinics, Own The Goal coaches will seek to instill those crucial habits that players such as Betos and Chandler cultivated during their early years, while also shaking off the winter rust heading into the event.

“It helps a lot of kids work on things that they need to brush up on because they weren’t able to get much training in the winter,” Mosier said. “Some of those kids have just traveled 8 hours and are just getting back in the swing of things. We go out of our way to make sure our situations are as game-like as possible, which helps them adjust back to getting position on the ball, going 1v1, and just sharpening up for the tournament.”

The 2016 Jefferson Cup kicks off March 11-13 with the Boys Weekend, followed by the U10-U14 Girls Weekend March 19-20 and the Girls Showcase Weekend March 24-26. For the first time ever, the Strikers will also host a Memorial Day Boys Showcase for U15-U17 teams from May 28-30.

+Read: Jefferson Cup 2016 Championship Division Preview: U-15 Girls

Jefferson Cup Goalkeeper Showcase & Clinic Schedule

• Boys U13-U15 Goalkeeper Clinic: March 11
• Boys U16-U18 Goalkeeper Showcase: March 11-12
• Boys U16-U18 Shot Stopping & Finishing Clinic: March 12
• Girls U11-U14 Goalkeeper Clinic: March 18
• Girls U15-U18 Goalkeeper Showcase: March 24-25