Genesis of IAGK™

Two games into his first season in competitive soccer, the rough road ahead for my son as a goalkeeper was clear. While his self-inflicted mental punishment for goal score was considerable and immediate, the criticism from his young teammates cut even deeper and lasted longer. Unreasonable expectations—his own and from the field—topped the list of root causes for the ever-present psychological battles.

I realized after participation in social media groups for goalkeeper parents that I was not alone. Yet he was. Not only isolated physically as guardian of the net, the absence of appreciation for the uniqueness of goalkeeping became evident with each game as the season progressed.

For example, the core indicator of a team’s success—the score—only reflects the negative side of goalkeeping. Even a 4-3 win points to three goals allowed. Nobody calculates save ratios or perfect downfield passes that trigger strikers’ attacks. And there’s certainly no accounting for blown coverages on the part of defenders, errant passes by middies, or missed shots by strikers.

This stacked deck of lopsided measurement served as the inspiration for BrillSheets—a manual scorekeeping system based on my comfort level keeping score of baseball games. Given his age, I didn’t use my obsession with data to add to the pressure he felt. But with game details at my fingertips and the ability to track performance over time gave me some basis to encourage him whenever he initiated his own post-game analysis. For example, I could tell him how many saves he had irrespective of goals scored.

Fast forward to a conversation with a former goalkeeper sitting across from my kitchen table on a Saturday afternoon. She needed an internship for her sports management degree. An improvisational rant about the need to change how goalkeepers are supported (and how it could be done) became the International Association of Goalkeepers™.

Four principles anchored the development process over the months leading to our launch:

1.     Making motivation and support of goalkeepers along their unique journey both visible and meaningful.

2.     Integrity in the evaluation and feedback process brought to life in the Vïdé-tier system.

3.     Honoring the role played by coaches.

4.     Commitment to a global view honoring the international heritage of the sport.

What initially could be described as a personal passion-project now drives the obsession shared by every member of the IAGK™ team. Join us! Whether you are patrolling the box yourself or cheering from a distance, together we can finally bring to life what goalkeepers deserve.