10 year - Does playing Tennis skills help with Goal Keeper skills?
My son is a strong tennis player for his age (currently playing at county level and making steady progress every week). He also plays football, but we’re at a bit of a crossroads with his position and schedule, and I’d love some perspective.
Aged 7/8: Started as a goalkeeper. His team folded, so he moved to a new club as a midfielder**.**
That team also folded. He wanted to get back in net, so I got him 1 coach to 5 children goalkeeper training with a former pro keeper. He did really well compared to the older children, but because it was mid-season, no local clubs needed a keeper.
He joined a solid local team as a winger. He’s done really well, scoring plenty, passing well, and his fitness is really good (hitting 9-10 on the bleep test). His best friend plays keeper for this team, so he was happy on the wing. Around this time, he also developed a fear of getting hit in the face by the ball, and his team training overlapped with his keeper training session, so we dropped the keeper training.
He’s now talking about wanting to go back in goal again.
I’ve always felt he was a natural keeper, I bought him a full size goal (age appropriate) and I used to struggle to score past him in the garden, and I love practicing with him. That said, I’m not sure what the best move is. I’d love for him to restart his goalkeeper training, but I don't want him to lose his winger spot on his current team, where he's thriving and playing with a couple of his school class friends.
Has anyone seen a strong carryover between playing tennis and goalkeeping (footwork, reaction time, reading angles, etc.)? And for coaches or parents who've been here: how would you balance keeping his outfield spot while re-introducing goalkeeper training?
Its crazy as he does 10 hours tennis training a week, where football is 1 hour training. The football level he is playing at is all parent led, so volunteers.