José Manuel, what does being a goalkeeper coach mean to you? What is it like to train professional goalkeepers for a La Liga team like Real Valladolid CF?
Being a goalkeeper coach means maintaining an emotional connection with what football has been for me since my early days, which in my life has been a passion, a way of life and a competitive belief in everyday life. Having a competitive spirit will always make us grow and achieve things.
Training professional goalkeepers not only makes you feel privileged to be who you are, but I also think it means knowing how to manage the knowledge acquired through experience in goal (if you have been lucky enough to have that), shaping all the methodological concepts that training provides us with for this area. In addition to updating and filtering the competitive factors that help us in our own methodology, thus providing the most powerful tools to those we try to help in their journey through the profession.
Logically, in professional teams, it is usually more difficult if you are in one of the teams fighting to avoid relegation. In this type of club, we have to provide extra psychological support. It is not enough to try to do things well; we also have to avoid, in many cases, that possible mistakes are not exaggerated, or that opinions expressed without professional rigour are not taken into account.
Moving on to Futbol Emotion Academy, from your perspective as coordinator, how would you rate the Christmas Clinic held in Valladolid?
The FUTBOL EMOTION VALLADOLID Clinic, held at Christmas, has not only meant developing specific days of coexistence with our profession, but has also allowed us to attract the affection, enthusiasm and development of our own style towards our goalkeepers. I clearly perceived the commitment, complicity and closeness, not only of the participants themselves, but also of the parents who thanked us for the quality of the event and the dedication and professionalism of all those who were in charge of the clinic, which, as could not be otherwise, the strong backing of a company like ours, which already lends solidity and seriousness to everything that is done by all of us who are at the forefront on its behalf.
What was the structure and what was done at the Clinic? Tell us the ins and outs so we can learn more about the Valladolid venue.
At our Valladolid venue, working hand in hand with CD SAN PIO X both at the school and for the aforementioned event, I structured the clinic in agreement with the other coordinator, Asier Calvo, together with the highly skilled and knowledgeable instructors Carlos Rodriguez and Mario Cid, who are experts in working with grassroots players. We all agreed to follow several unbreakable rules throughout the clinic.
One was the methodological training adapted to the different ages of the participants; another, fundamental in my view, was to have as much fun as possible during the hours we spent together, with the final touch to each day being the possibility for the participants to take part in a different competition on each day. We divided the goalkeepers into age groups, thus enabling the relevant rotations by all the monitors each day, with different tasks at each stage and providing variety in the exercises, always with the aim of ensuring that learning took place in a progressive manner.
Our headquarters in Valladolid are located in a neighbourhood relatively close to the city centre, in the “Los Cerros” Municipal Complex, which is very easy to get to and, as I mentioned earlier, has a great team of people running it. The main objective for this club is to give its people opportunities and promote them as much as possible to new opportunities, which this time is unbeatable for their aspirations, coming together with our company FUTBOL EMOTION ACADEMY, giving them greater exposure and with events such as the one we are referring to.
During your career, you have coached professional clubs. Is there much difference in grassroots football in this regard?
Logically, each club tries to bring its own identity to the training of its youth teams, and the criteria used are legitimate in all cases, as there is no objective other than to try to train future professionals. And most importantly, to instil personal values that will serve them well on their path to the society of the future. Each club may vary in its methodological concepts, but as I mentioned earlier, they will try to provide each goalkeeper with the highest level of training, always making it possible for them to fulfil the common dream of one day defending the local goal as a home-grown player.
What is the most important stage in the training of a goalkeeper in terms of basic technical and tactical fundamentals?
I think that all ages are of the utmost importance, as from an early age they must not only learn the craft of goalkeeping, but also understand the game they are playing, in addition to the logical acquisition of the fundamental technical and tactical fundamentals for this. We must bear in mind that we have to introduce them to the psychological aspect, which is extremely important for our position, as their mental strength will determine how long and fruitful their career will be.
José Manuel, speaking of training, how would you define yourself as a coach? How do you like your training sessions to be in our technical training sessions?
It's difficult to define oneself, as it's always up to others to say how they perceive your work, but I am disciplined, upright and have a methodology based on current concepts, without ever forgetting where we all come from, that is, from what has already been invented and called old-fashioned football.
I firmly believe that if we pay attention to the roots that have brought us this far, we can move forward progressively. But if we try to skip steps, or if we focus on implementing exercises that are more or less impressive but without a goal to improve our players, we will become more entertainers than coaches, which is not in my goalkeeper's genes, as everything I do, I do with a single purpose: to see improvement, progression and application to the game of what I execute. Everything has to serve to make those who stand under the goal wearing their gloves more powerful in their area.
My colleague Asier and I adjust the training sessions by mutual agreement, adding nuances to them session by session, trying to ensure that all the goalkeepers assimilate what they are doing, and if, on the contrary, we do not see such progress in any of them, we pause and establish the relevant guidelines so that none of them are left behind in their learning. It is always better to repeat than to progress without foundations.
How has the start of the season been at the Futbol Emotion Academy for goalkeepers, which you coordinate in Valladolid?
At the academy, we have noticed from the beginning, despite the delay in getting started for reasons related to establishing a new project in the city, that everyone feels identified with us. What's more, the number of goalkeepers has been growing and progressing, and one of the important nuances is that goalkeepers who signed up for just one month have not only renewed their commitment to FUTBOL EMOTION ACADEMY, but have also seen it through to the end of the course, which I think shows how satisfied they are with the work we do.
Why would you recommend goalkeepers to sign up for technical schools, clinics or camps like ours?
They should come with the same enthusiasm they have for becoming part of the FUTBOL EMOTION family, knowing that the experience is serious, rigorous and very satisfying, because it's not just about being together, but also about sharing experiences with other goalkeepers who are learning side by side, that they will always have moments of competitive enjoyment, that what they receive will be completely different from what is offered elsewhere, but above all, that those moments will remain among their most important memories of the profession.
And finally, what advice would you give to all those boys and girls who are going to read your interview and who are just starting out?
My advice would be to never lose your enthusiasm for being a goalkeeper, to let your desire overcome the laziness or adversity that comes with being or trying to be a goalkeeper, that we are different, but also the best, because not only do we have to try to do our job well, but we also help to correct the mistakes of others. So our profession will fill us with pride in knowing that we are useful, important and indispensable.
STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO EVERYONE, BECAUSE THE PROFESSION IS TOUGH, BUT IT IS FULL OF INDESCRIBABLE MOMENTS. ONLY SUITABLE FOR THOSE OF US WHO KNOW IT TO BE ABLE TO SAVOUR IT.
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