Steve Hood says the goalies of Prince George youth soccer are in for a treat next week.
Starting Monday, they'll be learning the tricks of the trade from Mike Norris, who runs the Simon Smith Goalkeeping Academy in Vancouver. Norris will be in Prince George at Rotary Soccer Field for Monday to Friday camp sessions, instructing two different age groups daily.
"Goalkeeping is a very specific position," said Hood. "If you look at an outfield player, the tools [they need to playthe game] are very similar, but a goalkeeper is very unique and so you need someone specialized."
Norris coaches the goalies of Mountain United, an elite team program in the EA Sports BC Soccer Premier League in Greater Vancouver and also works as a goaltending coach at UBC.
The goalie school has 20 players signed up, 10 for the under-nine to U-12 age group and 10 for the U-13-and-older crowd. The younger age group sessions are from 9-11 a.m. each day, followed by the older group sessions from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Hood says there still room for more young goalies and people can register over the weekend through the website pgysa.bc.ca. Cost is $150 per player.
n Hood assumed his duties as the PGYSA's technical director on July 1, following a move from North Vancouver, where he was the director of North Shore Soccer Development and a staff coach. He replaced Joel MacDonald, who resigned from the PGYSA in November 2012.
Hood earned his coaching credentials in his native England, where he achieved a Higher
National Diploma Science of Soccer from the University of South Bank in London. He also has a English Football Association Level 2 coaching certificate and is certified in Canada as a national B-level coach. He's a former staff coach for the European Football School in Vancouver and at the Cardiff City FC Academy in Wales.
