“Enjoy the game and become comfortable making mistakes” – that’s the message from 7 Elite Academy Head of Goalkeeping Chris Owens, as he lays out his plans for players in the UK, USA and East Africa.

Chris works with 7 Elite Academy goalkeeping coaches across the world, developing a curriculum for youngsters to fulfil their potential on and off the pitch.

He is the current LFC Women’s Under-21s Goalkeeper Coach, LFC Boys Academy Goalkeeper coach and also works with many other youngsters in the region in sport and in education. 

Chris, who was talking to 7 Elite Academy as the grassroots game prepares to resume in the UK following a three-month lockdown, said: “The most important thing is that our players enjoy the game.”

“Football is a game at the end of the day. The nature of goalkeeping is that it can be quite lonely, so players can find themselves isolated during training or a game”.

“As a goalkeeper, you need to be comfortable making mistakes from an early age. That’s something we’re encouraging all our coaches to communicate to our players.” 

“If a mistake is made, the GK can become isolated and at times that can be hard to enjoy. So if I was going to give one piece of advice it would be to ensure they enjoy the game and the responsibilities that come with being a goalkeeper."