Pathway · Step up
Academy Coach to Goalkeeper Coach
How to move from Academy Coach to Goalkeeper Coach: what to learn, what to prove and what formal steps, if any, are needed.
Qualification check for Goalkeeper Coach
Strongly preferred
Most employers will expect a qualification for the new role, but evidence of experience also counts. Specialist licences are expected for full-time posts at professional clubs. Many keepers start coaching after a playing career or while still playing.
2 to 4 yearstypical timeline
3new skills to build
1qualifications to consider
+84%mid-point UK pay change, illustrative
The move at a glance
Academy Coach
Coaches players in a professional club's youth development programme.
Goalkeeper Coach
Trains goalkeepers and works with the team on defending shots, crosses and build-up play.
Skills and knowledge to build
Experience and routes that help
The routes into your current role also work for this one. Focus on a wider scope of responsibility.
Qualifications to consider
What the new role asks of you
- Plan technical goalkeeper sessions
- Analyse opposition shooting and crossing patterns
- Prepare keepers for matches and set pieces
Practical steps
- Ask for a small piece of the new role's work before you apply, for example one of the tasks above.
- Close the top gap first: Goalkeeping Coaching.
- Keep a record of two results that show you working at the next level.
- Talk to three people who do the job. Ask how they got in, and who they would recommend you speak to.