Inside The Game
Inside The Game is a weekly podcast with Stuart Sharples, hosted by Steel United, designed to support coaches, players, and parents by breaking down key topics from our coaching curriculum. Each episode dives into a fundamental aspect of the game, explores a core value that shapes player development, and features a special guest offering insights on the weekly theme. Whether you're on the pitch or in the stands, this podcast will help you understand the game on a deeper level. Let’s step inside the game!
Inside The Game
Episode Three - How to Include Goalkeepers in a Session
In this episode of Inside The Game, part of the SSCS Podcast – Spring 2025, we dive into the curriculum topic of defending, one of the most crucial yet often overlooked areas in youth soccer development. We also highlight this week’s core value, integrity, and how it plays a key role in building trust, accountability, and discipline within a defensive unit. To wrap it all together, we’re joined by Jeremy McManus, Teams Director at Steel United Hudson Valley, who shares insights on how to effectively include goalkeepers in team training sessions.
We explore key defensive principles like compactness, delaying attacks, and transitioning quickly, while showing how integrity guides communication and decision-making in high-pressure moments. Goalkeepers are spotlighted as essential contributors to defensive organization, not just as shot-stoppers but as leaders on the field. Jeremy shares simple, effective ways to integrate goalkeepers into team sessions and build trust between them and the back line.
Tune in and step Inside The Game.