Episode Details

Are We Asking Too Much of Young Goalkeepers?

Your young goalkeeper lets in a goal. Before you decide what went wrong, what was it reasonable to expect them to do?

Sebastiano Mana, Met Oval's head of goalkeeping, wants young keepers to attempt things they haven't mastered yet. He explains why mistakes belong in training, how he reviews what a child could have done differently, and why some expectations from the sideline don't match the player's stage of development.

Liron and Matt ask what this means when parents choose a team. Sebastiano's answer comes with ages: up to U15 or U16, he says, consistent goalkeeper coaching matters more than minutes, and splitting playing time is fine. From U17, when colleges start looking, the minutes matter and it may be time to move. He also talks about size in scouting and the basics he finds some experienced young keepers were never taught.

Then he speaks as a dad: his smaller midfielder son playing a year down with a younger birth year, a frustrating college search, and the backup plan his family had before a late opportunity.

In this episode:

• What Sebastiano looks for in a young goalkeeper beyond saves
• Why technical details still matter after years of playing
• How size influences scouting without telling the whole story
• Why he puts coaching over minutes up to U15 or U16, and minutes first from U17
• Why he encourages mistakes while teaching better decisions
• How video review separates responsibility from unrealistic expectations
• His family's experience with bio-banding and a late college opportunity
• Why his family kept a backup plan during recruiting

SR Goalkeeping: the NYC goalkeeper training program Sebastiano runs with Alex Rando. srgoalkeeping.com

Chasing the Game is a weekly show for parents trying to navigate youth soccer in America: the money, the leagues, the pressure, and what actually develops a player.

• (00:00) - Intro: One Mistake and Everyone Sees It
• (02:14) - From Turin to Coaching in New York
• (03:50) - Fundamentals Without Losing the Fun
• (07:44) - The Commitment He Found in New York
• (09:56) - What Shows Goalkeeper Potential
• (12:37) - Size and the Longer Development Path
• (18:27) - Training Quality or Playing Time
• (21:15) - Bringing Goalkeeper Coaching Closer to Home
• (23:07) - Learning Through Mistakes
• (25:28) - What Can Your Child Reasonably Do
• (27:56) - A Smaller Player Finds His Pace
• (31:34) - College Recruiting and a Backup Plan
• (37:39) - Other Sports and Goalkeeper Development
• (39:55) - Outro: Before You Blame the Keeper

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