Young goal keepers improve skills at clinic

A group of Sanders County kids received some special coaching from the University of Montana last week at Plains.

Jay Landham, a coach for the Lady Griz soccer team, spent two hours with youth soccer players from Plains, Thompson Falls, and St. Regis with his "Coach J's Keeper Clinic" at the Amundson Sports Complex. He spent an hour with each group last Tuesday teaching the fine points of defending the goal.

"Goalkeeping is all about efficiency," said Landham, who's been a coach for the Lady Griz for four years. He also played semi-pro soccer in Colorado and Tennessee for four years prior to joining the university. He is the university's associate head coach and their goalkeeper coach for the women's soccer program.

Landham broke the kids into two groups, one for kids 8-11 and one for 12-17. For the six kids in the younger group, he made the lesson plan more simplified. He also reduced the exercises and increased the playing time for the little ones. "Their attention spans are shorter at that age so it's important to get them into games as quickly as possible and let the game do the teaching. I was really impressed with their energy from start to finish," said Landham.

Plains resident Nick Lawyer, who coaches the U17 Clark Fork Valley Soccer Alliance girls and who periodically serves as a referee, was responsible for once again bringing the UM coach to Plains. "It's always a great opportunity when we get coaches from different clubs to come and help us. They have great skill work and tons of things to show us," said the 13-year-old Ava Lawyer, the primary keeper for the Clark Fork Valley Soccer Alliance. She said the clinic helped her with the basic skill work of a keeper, such as diving for the ball, throwing, rolling, catching, and punting. Nick Lawyer said there are still six weeks of soccer to go in the season for the kids to be able to apply what they've learned from the clinic.

"I felt like the clinic went really well. I knew from the start that I was working with some great students who were eager to learn. As a coach it's always exciting when the athletes are excited and respectful," said Landham, who traveled to Plains last year to provide a soccer clinic, although it was more general than his keeper lessons, and last year he was accompanied by two Lady Griz players. They couldn't make it this year because of final exams, but he said he plans to bring them along in the future.

He said that it was an off season for the Lady Griz soccer team. "We made the conference tournament but just couldn't quite get into our groove. We had an amazing spring season though and our incoming class for fall 2023 is very strong. This next fall is going to be an exciting one," he said.

The older group ranged from 13-year-old Tristan Allen to 17-year-old Mikiah Cook, both of Plains. The keeper trainees included Jacob Howell, Kellan Roberts and Madison Toyias, all of Thompson Falls, Arrow Hyde and Ava Lawyer of Plains, and Shylah Dalka of St. Regis.

"Any more the modern goalkeeper is more than just a shot stopper. It's a midfield player with gloves," said Nick Lawyer, a coach with more than 10 years experience. "I think I'm pretty good at training the midfielder part, but training the shot stop is not something I have a lot of experience in. Bringing in Jay, who has great experience of teaching the shot stopping part, can help ensure our players are programmed to be better," he added. Ava, his daughter, is one of the main keepers for Clark Fork Valley Soccer Alliance. "I like playing goalkeeper because it opens up a whole new level of play to the game. I see a lot in the back that can help my teammates. And it also helps them because nobody else really likes playing goalkeeper," said Ava.

"The goalkeeper has the ability to be a game changer for their team. One big save, one big game moment, and your team wins while the other team loses," said Landham. "It's a hugely important position in sports. We spend a lot of time at Montana developing our goalkeepers and defensive unit," he said. Landham shaped the training session into three phases, first getting the body moving and focusing on one or two specific drills. He called his second part the learning phase, which were the coaching points introduced in the activation phase and were more focused on specific skills. His final phase was a fun game time, where he observed their moves and continued to provide his coaching points, which he said is an important learning moment.

"We played a goalkeeper's version of team handball, a game where you cannot move when the ball is in your hands so you have to pass it to your teammates and then move to support them," he said. "It's a fun, fast paced game that looks a lot like soccer except it's played with the hands."

Landham said there are a lot of different formats they like to use as coaches to connect with Missoula's surrounding communities. "Sometimes we go solo, sometimes we bring some Griz athletes, and sometimes bring along the whole team. It really depends on what time of the year it is for the players and their school work," said Landham.

"We love these camps because Montana is such a special place. Even in just living here for the short time I have, Montana feels like home to me and I know the rest of our staff feels the same way," said Landham. "We want to give back to our community of incredible supporters while also growing the state's awareness of how great Griz Soccer is."