I learned attacking soccer from a goalkeeping coach.

One of the first coaching courses I took was the old NSCAA State Level Goalkeeping course.  I was extremely fortunate to have Tony Waiters, Tony DiCicco and a young man named John Murphy as the instructors for this course.  Tony Waiters and Tony DiCicco were each stars in their own right before becoming clinicians and I thoroughly enjoyed their presentations and learned so much from each of them about the fundamentals and some of the nuances of goalkeeping, but it was John Murphy who stole the show, in my opinion.

Before becoming the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's first Director of Goalkeeping, Tony Waiters had a long and distinguished playing career in England before turning to coaching / managing. He coached Team Canada in the '84 Olympics and '86 World Cup.   Waiters is the founder of World of Soccer which led to Total Player Development which in turn spawned  Byte Size Coaching.

Tony DiCicco is probably best known as the coach of the United States Women's National Team compiling an impressive record of 103-8-8. A lesser known aspect of his career is he started as the USWNT and Men's Under 20 National Team goalkeeper coach before getting the head women's job. In 1982 DiCicco founded Soccer Plus Goalkeeper School.  In 2006 he succeeded Waiters as Director of the Goalkeeper Institute for the NSCAA. 

John Murphy has coached in the college ranks and is currently at Anderson College. At the time of the coaching course I took he was the goalkeeper coach for the New England Revolution and soon to become goalkeeper coach of the Columbus Crew. Murphy has also coached Livingston of the Scottish First Division and in doing so became the first American to coach British professional soccer. Murphy remains on the National Staff for the NSCAA.

So, yeah, I was not exaggerating when I stated I was extremely fortunate to be a member of that particular goalkeeping course. I was also not kidding when I stated John Murphy stole the show.  The one point Murphy made and illustrated for us in both film sessions and on-field work was the fact that to be a good goalkeeper you must understand attacking soccer. In the film sessions Murphy broke down goals allowed by tracing them to their point of origin out on the pitch. More often than not he could trace a goal to a specific breakdown 30, 40 or even 50+ yards out on the pitch....  but he didn't just focus on the defensive break down. No, Murphy was interested in what the attacker(s) had done to create or force the break down.  Then he would look for, define and detail what defenders could have done differently to recover position preventing a cross or shot from being taken.  Murphy would then show us film of defenders and goalkeepers making the correct plays in similar situations.

The bottom line for me was coming out of that course with improved knowledge about goalkeeping and a vast appreciation for becoming a student of the art of goalkeeping and the overall game. Any goalkeeper I have worked with over the last couple of decades will surely tell you that I make them analyze every goal scored in a match - both allowed and scored for their team.  We trace goals back to their point of origin on the pitch and discuss what went right and / or what went wrong on the play. It is through studying the game from this perspective that I have come to understand attacking soccer.

Knowledge has a ripple effect as one thing learned leads to another avenue to explore. The cycle of learning never stops. And so it was that I realized there is real value to rotating players through a variety of positions. The back line positions are especially valuable in helping players learn a broader perspective of the game. Think about it for a minute, the whole of the game is before the backs. They are able to see the game unfold before them and if they are astute and wise, it is a learning experience for them in terms of attacking soccer as much and perhaps even more so than learning to be a defender.

This, of course, goes back to the idea of Total Soccer that advocates a nearly complete interchangeability in players manning positions on the pitch.  Versatility combined with specialization is the epitome of a modern soccer player.  It goes back to the 1980's business mantra of cross training employees in various roles within a business. Each player has a role to fill, but each players value is enhanced by his ability to fill multiple roles.

I have learned if a forward is struggling, the key to unlocking his potential might be a stint as a back and vice versa. We must be able to learn from the players we play against and then apply that knowledge against them. Some high school players are exceptional at this while others will obviously still need to work on developing this ability.  Make no mistake that as the modern game continues to evolve the value of an individuals Soccer IQ continues to increase in value as well. Close no doors to education. Kick them all in and learn as much as you can from every available source. That is the lasting lesson one John Murphy imparted to me.