His work with professional goalkeepers is highly regarded and his dedication to the training of keepers and the progress of our sport is second to none. Here are a few things that have been said about Jager:

Stefan Postma

Ex-keeper of FC Utrecht (Premiership Holland), Dutch national team U 21, De Graafschap (Premiership Holland), ex keeper of Aston Villa (Premiership England), ex keeper of Wolverhampton Wanderers (1st Division England), ex keeper ADO Den Haag (Premiership Holland) and finally with De Graafschap again in the Dutch Premiership.

“Lambert is a very devoted coach with a great eye for details, who knows how to translate and control his trainings into real game situations in a perfect way. His analyses after the games are very realistic and honest, which always gives me something to work on. I am very pleased with my co-operation with Lambert during the last seasons. “

Jurgen Wevers

Ex goalkeeper of the Dutch national team U 21, ex keeper of De Graafschap( Premiership Holland) and now contracted by RKC Waalwijk (First Division Holland).

“The great thing about Lambert’s practice is that everything he does is pointed to “real game situations”. Because Lambert is a very intelligent person he also makes me mentally much stronger. He always listens to me about everything I tell him and in this he’s very strong in reading between the lines. “

Balázs Rabóczky

Ex keeper FC Norkoping. FC Kopenhagen. Hungarian National Team (21 caps), 3 times Hungarian Champion (2x with MTK, 1x with Dunaferr), Vitesse (Eredivisie)

“I think, a goalkeeper coach is very important in a goalkeepers life. Being a goalkeeper is an independent profession. In the last few years the football rules have changed a lot and that fact gives more difficulties to the keepers. Lambert Jager has accommodated to it very well and put his knowledge very well into practice. His trainings are filled with the requirements of the modern keeper play. (with lots crosses, playing with legs/feet (both right and left). He is a really hard goalkeeper trainer, but he is a good person as well who underlines the importance of the relationship between a goalkeeper and his goalkeeper coach. I feel that in spite of the short time with him and the fact that I am already 30 years old I was able to develop with him. I wish every goalkeeper such a good trainer as he is.”

Be on the lookout for his articles that will be shared with you shortly. Top Flight Football will be announcing some more exciting collaborators in the near future.

There are a couple of ways and I am talking about players who want it, who are hungry to learn……those are the best types of players to work with. I see all these books offering hundreds of ways to do this or that and well some of them are quite interesting,

For me coaching players at any level needs to be about the game, there are coaches that say “If it looks like the game then it is the game” and its difficult for many to truly understand what that mean. Its simple really, you take a part of the game and recreate it in a training session giving the player a clear picture of what he could or should have done and naturally allowing him to make his own choice, which isn’t very easy in a high-pressure match, from a big youth match, or a Div-1 college match, or for those who are lucky enough to play for tens of thousands of fans in one of the world’s great soccer/football stadiums.

Of course we need to work on technical stuff and that goes without saying the sessions we put on for our players must replicate the game, although I still see so many coaches at all levels doing sessions which well you would not see in a game and in many cases in their efforts to impress make the sessions so complicated it ends up confusing the players.

Coaching is about giving players choices, creating problems on the training field where they can learn on there own….you manipulate the session to coach the particular aspect of the game you feel needs working on it really is that simple.
The most successful coaches follow this methodology and aside from the players appreciating the sessions as it involves constant change and realism , you also get an idea of what the players can and can not cope with. Pressure via an opponent is a must as without pressure how will you ever know if the player can perform.

Of course for the most part this conversation is about senior players, but this methodology works in the same way with the younger players except with less intensity…..I know some will say but the kids need to master the technique which is of course true in fact mastering the technique never ends, but we must have an element of pressure be it in 2v2 3v3 and so on. You will achieve a great deal more putting the players in those kinds of situations then you ever will from line drills and hours of practice with no opposition. If those of us who are coaching at any level aren’t practicing this type of style, they are doing their players a dis-service and unfortunately not getting them ready to step on the pitch in a game situation.

1. What was the thinking behind setting up a new club in the USL and why Texas?

TFF) I’ve been in Texas for over fifteen years now and lived in Austin for five years, so this is home. The game here is building all the time, we have 30,000 kids locally playing soccer. Combine that with a growing, vibrant city like Austin and this becomes the perfect location for a USL-1 team.

2. What are some of the difficulties you have faced thus far?

TFF) The biggest difficulty has been not having our own stadium. We have to rent facilities from the local school district. They are great stadiums, most of them sit over 5,000 fans very comfortably but at the end of the day you don’t have full control and that poses us a few issues.

3. What is ultimately the objective for you as an owner ?

TFF) I did this firstly and foremost because I love the game, especially seeing young players develop, so the ultimate goal would be to see one of our local players make it big in the game. Our objective is to be one of the leading player development clubs in the country.

4. What is your opinion on the current system where teams do not get relegated or promoted, is this good for the development of football / soccer in the long run?

TFF) Right now the game in the US is still in a growth phase, for that reason I don’t think promotion and relegation is a big issue here. Fans just want to see good competitive soccer, played in an exciting atmosphere. In the longer term I can see it coming into the game but there really isn’t a strong culture of promotion and relegation in other American sports.
You can make a case that without it we can give our Coaches more time to deliver and do their jobs.

5. The level in the USL has improved greatly over the last few years if you could change or add something what would it be and why ?

TFF) I would change the fixture scheduling system. It’s done by negotiation between all the clubs at the League AGM, it’s like being on the floor of the stock exchange for a day!! It’s chaotic, clumsy and poorly thought through in my opinion. In this day and age we should have software to take care of the schedule and do away with the mayhem.

6. We are seeing more and more European and South American teams link up with teams in the USL your club has a strong connection with Stoke City what are the benefits for both clubs?

TFF) From the very beginning we have had a link to Stoke City, we recently also added a formal relationship with Rayados of Monterrey. Both affiliations have great advantages, for instance we can scout for talent for the clubs, they get first option on our young players, we get to learn from two very established clubs, share best practices etc. Plus the Aztex are a stronger, more appealing option for players because of these relationships, we can get a promising young player an opportunity to be seen by either Stoke or Monterrey, or most European and US clubs for that matter.

7 You have invested in a club in the US what would you say to other potential investors thinking about doing the same?

TFF) Do your due diligence, understand your market place and in particular understand the youth soccer market in the area you are considering. If the investors aren’t familiar with the US, then they must bear in mind the size of the country. The US is a huge area to cover, scout and travel. That fact alone has big implications on both scouting and travel budgets.

8. Is the MLS a target for you in the future ?

TFF) No. The USL is a great fit for our market here in Austin and for our fans. There isn’t a big difference between the on-field performances of the two Leagues and the added advantage of being able to agree your own player contracts and not have to work through a centralised League system is a big bonus.

9. We are seeing more and more European players and coaches looking to come to the USL is this a sign that the level of football is starting to attract quality people?

TFF) Absolutely yes. We have been inundated with player and coaching requests since we opened our doors a year ago, this alone shows the level of interest in the USL and the Aztex. Those wanting to come here are far from at the end of their careers, they see what is going on over here and want to be a part of it, it’s very exciting.

10 Is the current season of 6 months too short and with only 11 teams in the league something to worry about?

TFF) If you include pre-season and the play-offs then it’s an 8 month season. I would like to see us add one more month, probably by starting a little earlier in April and finishing a little later. As for the number of teams, I think you will see a lot of new teams coming into the League over the next two years, I know of at least four serious bids right now. I can see the USL-1 at 16 teams within the next two years. That would be a great number for us.

Thanks very much it is much appreciated and we will hope the best for Stoke City and Austin this year!

Martin, please accept a warm welcome to Keeper Skool.

TFF) Walk our readers through your background in football. You grew up playing in your local area, how was the sport organized during your youth? How is the training different now compared to that when you were a youth?

MB) I was very lucky as a young player as sport for me was very organised. The f.a hadn’t brought small sided games for specific age group so I missed out on that. But I always had 2 coaches 1 manager for the age group and a goalkeeper coach. Sometimes we didn’t have lots of football to work with but because we always had coaches that ment that they could always get round the session without having a ball each. I think a big part of progressing players is being organised form having ball and cones ready to preparing session and providing video analysis for players development.

TFF) What initially attracted you to the goalkeeping position?

MB) To be honest it was my turn to go in goal at Grasshoppers Youth who were a Sunday League side (in the UK) who I started playing for as a young 8 year old. But after that first game that I played in goal I wanted to stay there and ever since I have never looked back. I loved every part of it from getting really dirty to making saves and shouting to all my players telling them what to do.

TFF) Wycombe Wanderer’s playing strip was created around the famous sporting colours of Oxford and Cambridge Universities (light blue quartered). You began your first team football with Cambridge United. Tell us about how your training day was set up during your professional playing career?

MB) A training day for me would consist of a really good warm up which could have ladders for quick feet and hurdles to improve spring. The goalkeeper coach would then get us keepers in some kind of passing drill to work on our touch and short passing which has become a big part of the goalkeeping game. After doing around 10minutes of passing we would then go into handling drills covering all the technical hand shapes to keep our eye in. We would do handling for up to 30 minute some days and then the goalkeeper coach would go into his topic of the day which could be anything from kicking to 1 v 1 situations.

More than often the team would need 2 goalkeepers to either have a game or do some crossing and finishing,that’s when we would go over and work with the team. If after the team are finished with us the goalkeeper coach may continue with his previous session all depending on how hard we had worked with the team. Training days would vary from day to day so we covered lots of topics in a week and also so we didn’t over train.

TFF) Hans Segers brought you over to Tottenham Hotspur to train Academy and Reserve team goalkeepers. Seger’s was known for his role in a match fixing scandal alongside Bruce Grobbelaar (although they were cleared of all charge). Apart from the controversies, Segers was a great goalkeeper (hailing originally from PSV Eidenhoven in the Netherlands), having played 262 games with Wimbledon. What did you learn from Han’s Segers that enhanced your own goalkeeper coaching ability?

MB) Hans Segers has played a massive part of me progressing on from working at Tottenham to getting a first team job at Wycombe. Hans is clearly the best goalkeeper coach I have worked with as a player and also as a coach. I learnt so many things from hans from how to deal with professional goalkeepers as a coach to some fantastic training sessions. Hans had a great selection of session plans and would work with all the professional goalkeepers who are at the club. The goalkeepers had great respect for him and all had a belief that he could help them al in one way or another.

What I have noticed from being a goalkeeper coach is that when things are going well its a great feeling but when things arnt going well that when the job really starts and you can’t afford to analyse everything your goalkeeper does.

5) In your time developing young goalkeepers at Tottenham Hotspur, what did you feel were the key qualities that made up a junior or youth goalkeeper? How did you structure your training sessions at Tottenham for these age groups?

MB) What I found working with the youth team keepers at Tottenham was that they are all very keen to improve and get better. I think they need to have quality in all areas of there game because if they didn’t then they wouldn’t be at Tottenham. Distribution is a big part of a good young goalkeeper at big clubs in todays game so that they can be an extra player on the field which can help out the defenders out lot. Also if you look at Paul Robinson and how many times he would put his wingers in on the counter attack from a long throw or a long controled kick.

Monday – Would be hard session which may contain a few fun games and to work on real basic handling drills.
Tuesday – Would be the hardest day of the week working on lots of jumps [hurdles] and maybe some med ball work. I would also work them in the gym after with some c.v work.
Wednesday – Day off.
Thursday – A real technical day working on just 1 specific session.
Friday – Would be a technical session but would work on a few things.

TFF) You currently train both Scott Shearer and Jamie Young in the Wycombe Wanderer’s first team. What does the typical training day comprise of for your senior goalkeepers at Wycombe?

MB) Working with the first team keepers at wycombe is very different to working youth team keepers at Tottenham. For the difference is that with young keepers you can always change things that they may struggle on but with first team keepers they can be very set in there ways and just need ticking over. I would try to make the sessions enjoyable and work on topics without going into to much detail. The reason I say this is because like I said earlier some older keepers are a little set in there way and its very hard to try and change to many things which you could end up making worse. So I would sit through my notes and dvd of the game saturday early on in the week before going out to train to go over the good and bad things that happened in the game. Then go out to train for around 2 hours and after for some days would finish in the gym on some C.V.

TFF) You started The One Glove Co. a few years ago with much praise from the goalkeeping community around the world. What are the key components, in your professional opinion, that make up a top quality goalkeeper glove?

MB) My opinion on producing and good goalkeeping glove is keeping it as basic as possible. Being an ex pro and now working with professional keepers all they want in a glove is a latex that they can rely on and a glove that is really comfortable. If you survey the pros in the game most of them would say that, and I think to many gloves are trying to be to technical and fancy. Gloves are goalkeepers tools for work and when you have basic and easy to use tools it makes your job a lot easier.

TFF) Goalkeeper’s in The One Glove stable include Welsh internationals such as Paul Jones, and Chris Day to name a few. What are some of the difficulties you faced as a new glove brand, competing with well established glove manufacturers for the sponsorship rights to a particular goalkeeper?

MB) When I first starting the One Glove Company I sold the One Glove as a non league goalkeeping glove. The reason for this is because I felt that there wasn’t a quality cheap glove on the market and this new One Glove would be perfect for the non league level. So I first started to push the glove in non league and at the same time asking a few pros for there opinion on the One Glove. After several pro goalkeepers wore the one glove I started to get a few phone calls, Chris Day being one of them.

Chris was playing for QPR at the time so I went down to the training ground which he tried a few pairs. After chris wore the One Glove for a few games he decided that he would be very interested in wearing the One Glove all season.

So dealing with Paul and Chris was fantastic because they were really high profile goalkeepers and they wanted to wear the One Glove because they wanted to.

9) With sports science being such a prevalent part of the modern game, do you consider goalkeeping an art form and/or a science? Why?

MB) I see goalkeeping as an art. I really believe if the young lads with gloves on are being coached in the correct way then they can creat goalkeeping into an art for themselves. We as goalkeepers create this fine art by working hard on it everyday and try to correct and continue to improve the good.

10) What do you see will be the key developments in goalkeeper training and performance in the coming decade?

MB) I think goalkeepers will need to be a lot fitter due to the balls getting lighter every year and I think coaches will need to coach there goalkeeper to just keep the ball out of the net. Also I think the keepers will need to do a lot more with the team in the keep ball and touch drills they do everyday. My reason for this is because of the back pass role and the managers wanting their goalkeeper to play a lot higher to sweep up behind. Now the more comfortable they are with their feet the easier they will find it.

11) Share with our readers one of your favorite goalkeeper training drills. What makes it so effective?

MB) The session that I enjoy and always goes down well with the goalkeepers is a drill were I put 3 or 4 manikins about 6 yards out and sevre balls into the keeper. So what I’m trying to create her is a real game situation with bodies in front of you. Ball may hit or may not hit the manniquins as it travels through and some times the ball deflects off of manniquin which could create and fantastic save or could end up in the other corner to were they are diving.

12) Who are some of your favorite goalkeepers in today’s game, and who did you admire most when you were growing up as a goalkeeper and playing professionally?

MB) One of my favourite goalkeepers at the top level at the minute would be Shay Given. One reason I feel he is because he has an all round game and for all the young keepers that get released for being to small he is fitting there case fantastically.

Martin, thank you for your contribution to Top Flight Football, and all the best wishes for you this year with the Wycombe Wanderers F.C.

1. Don’t be a line hog. I’m seeing this over and over with many of the young goalkeepers I train of late…hesitation. Thinking with the mind frame of the attacking goalkeeper, we should be leveraging momentum at all times. What I mean here is that if the player has moved into a shooting position in our 18 yards we attack the ball at all costs. Moving off your line entails that you have effectively cut off, or at best, limited the attackers vision of the goal area. Therefore, movement off your line helps you cover more of your goal area and allows you to cut the choices an attacking player has of attacking your goal.

2. Timing is everything. Come off your line too quickly and you risk being stranded in your 18 yard box. Move too slowly off your line and you provide the atttacking player with a smorgasbord of attacking options on your goal area…you have effectvely left your goal area wide open.  The key to effective timing when attacking the ball in your 18 yard area is in matching the pace of the ball and the attacking player. So, if the player has broken through your line of defense quickly, then you reach the attacking player at his/her pace.  On the other hand, If the attacker has broken through at a slower pace we make a gradual movement off the line toward the player to make ourselves bigger in goal and cut the angle.

Usually, under these circumstances, the gradual movement allows us to slowly close the gap with shooting options the player has on our goal, and allows the goalkeeper to attack the ball at the players feet (especially if the player also has your defensive players on his/her back).

3. The 1 second rule. In many cases an attacking player will have a short window of time whilst taking a shot on goal that can be vitally advantageous for a goalkeeper in a one on one situation. Whenever an attacking player takes a shot on goal, you will notice that their leg (and hip) is in flexion, before hyper extension, whilst their head is lowered to take aim on the ball before the shot is conducted.

Taking rule 2 into perspective, the above analysis would prove advantageous for the attacking goalkeeper whom has timed their momentum correctly to attack the ball at the players feet. Hard to pull off, but extremely effective in curbing attack. I say it is hard because it requires:

• Full alert attention
• Pefect timing
• Utmost agility and strength to reach the ball in a timely fashion.

An excelllent drill to help provide the groundwork for effective goal coverage (making yourself big in goals) would entail something like the following dril that we  conduct.

Brought to you by our partnership with

TFF) A little bit about yourself and what led you into this career.

TKK) I gave up playing properly in my late teens but through a great passion for the analytical side of the game, I decided to pursue a career in scouting and player assessment. I’m originally Norwegian, moved to London at the age of 21 and got my first proper scouting job at Watford in 1998. Since then I’ve also been on the staff of Bayer 04 Leverkusen (International Scout) and Hannover 96 (Chief Scout).

TFF) What does it take to be a top level scout such as you?

TKK) Apart from the obvious – being able to determine the quality and level of a player – a sense of seeing ability and potential in relation to price, adaptability and the quality of the team you’re scouting for are critical. You also have to be able to identify the right markets (leagues) in which to look for players and allow a lot of time to research and preparation. Watching the player live is just one part of a long chain of action.

TFF) What are you looking for in a player?

TKK) That’s a very broad question. But being very general, to become a top footballer today you need athleticism, well developed technical abilities, a natural understanding of the game and an excellent winning attitude. Slackers with poor attitudes get found out early in today’s demanding environment.

TFF) How much depth do you go into researching information on the player

TKK) Extensive research and background info on the targets are absolutely crucial. Before recommending a potential signing I prepare a dossier on the player that touches on his character, background and personality – as well as the obvious technical and tactical aspects. Ultimately it’s the money of the club, investors and supporters that you spend. And therefore you have a moral obligation to make your recommendations as bullet proof as possible.

TFF) Dealing with clubs and officials are never easy how do you deal with this and what problems do you encounter?

TKK) There’s a lot of politics involved when it comes to transfers, whether you’re on the buying or the selling side. The key is to focus on your job and the tasks ahead. You can’t land every target you set your eyes upon. Seeing a hugely talented prospect slide away due to reasons beyond your control is frustrating and disappointing, the only way to deal with it as a scout is to move on and look for the next superstar!

TFF) What is the toughest place you have gone to see a player and why?

TKK) If you’re well-prepared you’re more than often fine, even in the most challenging surroundings!

TFF) As a coach for me its vital that the scout is reliable and trustworthy, what do you look for in a the manager or coach your working with ?

TKK) Trust and the understanding that you’re actually working towards one goal – improving the squad and creating a winning team – are vital. The key is mutual respect and enjoying each other’s expertise and knowledge, rather than feeling threatened by it. A coach must also be open to field youngsters and to work actively to improve them as players on the training ground.

TFF) What are you doing now ?

TKK) I’m about to take up my new role as Sporting Director of the Norwegian top league side Fredrikstad FK (at the time of the interview). But before that I’m going to South America on a seven week scouting mission.

Tore thanks a million and we wish you the best in your future endeavors!

• HFC Haarlem – 1985-1989
• Everton – 1989-1992
• Bristol City – 1992
• KSV Waregem – 1993-1994
• Vitesse Arnheim – 1995-1997
• FC Groningen – 1997-1998
• ADO Den Haag – 1999-2002

Raymond, We would love to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to provide Top Flight Football the opportunity for this interview:

1. Walk our readers through your background in football. You grew up playing in Holland and started your professional career at FC Haarlem, how was the sport organized during your youth?  How would you say the training is different now compared to that when you were a youth?

In Holland there is a very good amateur structure, so you play in well-organized competitions and therefore professional clubs can easily notice the better players. The trainers are better educated right now, the demands for becoming a trainer is high and therefore the training sessions are better and players learn more. Don’t forget that we have to catch up with the time that players played on the streets and learned the hard way. We have to integrate that in the youth training.

Professionally, there’s more room for video-analyses and a lot more focus on the mental side of things. The game is quicker and we have to adapt to that.

1. You have both played and have managed teams in the Eredivisie, Dutch 1^st Division, can you tell us how you feel the Eredivisie is improving in recent years compared to the other top leagues in other countries.

We play a lot more European. That is, in Holland for many years the only thing that mattered was to play attacking football, never mind that you lost games as long as you play attacking football. Now we see a Champion, AZ, who plays more European with the result as main thing. They don’t forget to attack where possible but they are not “open” anymore. That is a real difference with the years before.

Part from that we still loose our best players to the top leagues and even our promising youngster go on very early age. Therefore we have to be creative in bringing in talent and bringing back experienced player who went abroad like Ooijer and beforehand Davids. Our younger player will benefit from there experience.

1. How active are you in the day to day training sessions of your teams?  What particular drills do you use to get your teams ready for big matches?

I organize the training sessions every day and give my assistants there role. The sessions are based on what you have seen in previous matches and what idea you have as a coach. Two days before a game we always play a tactical 11v11 to prepare the players on the coming opponent and the day before a game I try to give them a good feeling. So they go into the game prepared and with a good feeling. The last session is short but active with a lot of finishing on the goal from various situations. The players have at the end of the session the opportunity to work on what they want.

1. What part of your training includes both mental and nutritional elements, and can you describe their importance compared to physical training?Every training contains mental and nutritional elements. First of all you have to make sure as a top athlete that you have the right diet to perform every day. This is an ongoing process to educate the players. Also in every session there is a mental opponent, they have to understand what it’s all about, being a pro.

We had, in the last games of the season, trouble holding the lead which we gained. Once we conceded the first goal against us, players started to act differently. So as a trainer-coach you try to reproduce that in training sessions and talk a lot about what to do when this happens again. It’s all about doing the right things at the right time.

1. What advice would you give up-and-coming coaches who have aspirations to one day become a professional coach?
   
   Keep reading, you are never ready and the finished article. Broaden your horizon and look at other sports, like Hockey, and look at other coaches. Talk to them, ask questions, they will help you become a better coach. But most import of all, players are people so treat them as people.
   
   
2. (At the time of this interview) you are currently in the Surinam, educating youth players and trainers and helping grow the sport of football in that part of the world.  Tell us how you think football is expanding in popularity in these areas and what needs to be done to help them progress even further.

Football is very popular in Surinam and they have a lot of talent. What they are lacking is structure and discipline. We went there on invitation of Surinam Airways and the SVB, Surinam Football Union, to educate the trainers and youngsters. What we could see is that they are so willing to learn, they eat out of your hands. But the circumstances in which they train is still poor and they have to work on that, which they are doing with artificial pitches etc. But they need structure and tactical discipline.

1. If you could pick the next managerial position that you could add to your CV, what would be your dream job?
   
   

Managing Everton FC, but with David Moyes there doing a great job I think it will be a while. For now I’m very happy at Ado Den Haag.

Raymond, thank you again for your time and contribution to Top Flight Football, we wish you the best in your future and hope to see you soon!

We just ask that you remain patient and we will do our best to get TFF online and operational again!  Looking forward for the ride!