Paul Blodgett had a unique opportunity to be interviewed by John Stevanja from Keeper-Skool.com. John praises Coach Blodgett as "the master goalkeeper coach" and adds, "Paul has developed some of the best male and female goalkeepers in the US. Karina LeBlanc and Jon Conway are just two of many goalkeepers that have excelled under the tuition and leadership of Coach Blodgett."

When talking about the interview wth Coach Blodgett, John states, "This interview was probably one of the best I've done to date, and really provides some remarkable insight for any goalkeeper or aspiring goalkeeper coach."

Please see below to read the intriguing interview!

Also, take the time to visit Keeper-Skool.com for an exciting look into the latest training tips from coaches around the world. These tips include tactical tips such as positioning, physical tips like footwork, and mental tips as well. You can also see the latest goalkeeping news and soccer headlines from around the world-wide soccer community.

INTERVIEW WITH KEEPER SKOOL

Coach Blodgett, Please accept a warm welcome from Keeper Skool.

Thank you very much, John. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you.

1) Talk our readers through your background in football. You graduated from Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, how was football organized in your youth?

I grew up in Hilton, NY, a small town outside of Rochester; our high school had no football, only soccer; I was actually into basketball at the time and that was the sport that dominated my competitive desires. Our high school soccer coach was from Czechoslovakia and he tried to get me to play soccer, but it was basketball where my interest lay.

The Rochester area had a good level of soccer; the Lancers were a good club back then and then the Rhinos emerged as a quality side.

I played basketball at Hartwick College my freshman year, and it was at Hartwick where soccer captured my spirit. The team was excellent with national and international experience and the game was incredibly exciting to watch. I had no idea how good the game really was. I became a fan. I played intramurals while in college and I gravitated to the goalkeeper position because I enjoyed what it took to play the position.

I met Bob Reasso in Graduate School at Springfield College, MA and it was through his influence that I turned my attention fully to the game.

After getting my Master’s Degree in Education, I taught and coached soccer at the high school level for five years. Bob eventually became the head coach of Nasson College in Maine and asked me to join him as his assistant, and then he moved on to Rutgers University in NJ in 1981, and I joined him there as his goalkeeper coach and assistant.

2) What initially attracted you to the goalkeeping position?

Watching the games at Hartwick, I was fascinated by how good the goalkeepers were and was impressed at the level of athleticism that was required to play it. I was hooked. I really liked the fact that a team’s success depended a great deal on having a good goalkeeper. I felt as if the position matched my abilities and my mentality, so I started playing it. For some reason, even when I was young and fooling around on the ice with hockey, I always seemed to gravitate to the goal.

3) At Rutgers University you worked alongside Bob Reasso to build the football program. Rutgers under Reasso, went on to become a football powerhouse for almost 3 decades. At Rutgers you developed some of the best young goalkeepers to be produced in American football. What do you believe Reasso and yourself brought to Rutgers to make it so successful?

Bob brought passion, knowledge and a driven spirit to the program at Rutgers. His quest to learn, understand and stay at the cutting edge of the game exists to this day. He taught me a great deal about the sport and offered me great opportunities to travel abroad with him to learn the international game. I was basically self-taught at the position and I used the traveling experiences to observe how others trained the position. Bob helped me to understand the game and he allowed me to experiment with training keepers in any way that I saw fit.

It was the combination of passion for the position and the freedom to be creative with its training that helped to establish goalkeeping as a cornerstone for the Rutgers program. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I worked with some incredible athletes at Rutgers and I think they all appreciated how much I supported them during their development at the University.

4) Three goalkeepers (out of many) whom have benefited from your goalkeeper training expertise include Billy Andrecki, Jon Conway and Saskia Webber. What does a typical training day consist of for your senior goalkeepers, and what made goalkeepers such as Conway and Webber so successful in men's and women's football?

We start all sessions with a good dynamic warm-up then we ramp up the heart rate a bit to get them fully ready. I always stress footwork development and athleticism in my training. Goalkeepers know how much I stress perfecting technique and they are prepared to train with that in mind. My keepers are very good with their feet and we develop our foot skills in every session. I combine footwork and technical skills daily. I also continuously work on keepers getting their heads and bodies down quickly on all low balls since my weakness as a keeper was a shot low and to my right (nobody taught me how to collapse properly). We usually end up the session with some type of shooting drill/game.

Jon and Saskia were very dedicated athletes who worked hard at their craft. Jon was a great dominant force in the box – we always felt very confident on any ball driven into the box. His 6’5” frame was imposing. Plus he was a great leader. Saskia was an exceptional athlete and quite fearless. She commanded her area very well and she was a great leader, as well. Both possessed tremendous personalities.

5) Karina LeBlanc is considered by many to be one of the best female goalkeepers in the world. Walk us through a typical training day for Karina under your tutelage, and how did you help her prepare mentally for a tough international game?

Karina is one of the hardest working goalkeepers I have ever had the privilege to train. She is incredibly self-motivated, but she is responsive to constructive criticism and guidance. I have to say that KK is one of the grandest personalities whom I have ever met.

Karina likes to feel comfortable in all parts of her game, and we would sometimes spend large portions of our training sessions in getting her comfortable with a particular skill. So, we would generally key on a particular part of her game and then go to it. We would make sure that she was properly fit both physically and mentally. Once KK was comfortable with her skill level, then her confidence soared. When KK’s confidence is where it should be, she is tough to beat. I would give this aspect of her game a lot of attention.

I have had some of my most creative thinking on my feet working with KK - that’s how stimulating it is working with her. Working with a world class athlete of her ability remains to be a great thrill.

6) You've been running the Paul Blodgett Goalkeeper Training School for over 20 years now. How is the school structured, and how do you typically train your younger goalkeepers as they transition into more senior goalkeeping development?

The school has been transformed into the ADI Goalkeeper Academy. All the years that I ran the school, I was traveling all over the state of New Jersey training keepers. I was literally everywhere, but it gave me a chance to see how keepers were being developed around the state. I saw a great need for proper development so that is why I put up with the extensive traveling.

I did all of the training for many years, but as some of my higher level keepers became collegiate or professional players, I started having them do some training, and it was well received. I was always very concerned about replicating myself, as I felt that I had an excellent grasp as how the position should be trained. It felt good to have some of my keepers start to work for me. First and foremost, one has to be a teacher and the only concern is the one for the keeper. I am proud to say that much of my success with the school has been because my keepers know that I care about each and every one of them, individually, and I want them to be the best that they can be, whatever the level.

The great advantage that I have with the ADI Goalkeeper Academy is that I now have a permanent home and I have the extra advantage of being able to work along-side Mark Williams, our Director for Human Performance here at ADI. Mark’s training is cutting edge and we have put together combination training programs of technical and athletic development for our keepers that is second to none. I am in a great place intellectually to advance the style of training for the position.

In training our younger keepers, I stress the perfection of all handling and collapsing techniques, as well as establishing a strong starting position, mastering footwork and developing foot skills. I have created a positive learning and training environment here at ADI. The younger keepers receive much positive feedback and constructive criticism. We are truly a learning environment here, as the keepers learn the reasons why we teach things a certain way. I feel that it is very important that our younger keepers establish a strong communicative base, as well. All of our young keepers are adept at their communication skills. I think that one of the great strengths in the Academy is our way of building the keepers’ confidence and helping them to deal with the stresses and demands of the position both physically and mentally. The development of our younger keepers is comprehensive and they will be well prepared to take on the rigors of the higher level training, in which I train the keepers to multi-task, think and develop a solid presence.

7) Give our readers some insight into the Athlete Development Institute you've created with goalkeeping strength and conditioning expert Mark Williams? How do you feel that sports science will help maximize the performance of goalkeepers whom attend training at (ADI) alongside Mark and yourself?

Mark and I created ADI with the concept of bringing a holistic training approach to our athletes. We help our keepers to not only perfect their technical skill, but also to develop to their physical potential. We also consult our athletes on proper nutrition, proper preparation for and recovery from training and matches and positive, psychological development. Mark’s approach to the strength and conditioning component is the best that I have seen in over 30 years of coaching at all levels. His guidance and instruction really maximizes an athlete’s potential. His training methods enable a keeper to maximize his/her technical development because of the muscular control and coordination they obtain; not to mention the tremendous effect upon injury prevention, presence and confidence levels of the keepers. The physical transformation of the keepers at ADI with the combination training offered by Mark and me is quite impressive. The keeper’s themselves, as well as, their parents and coaches have all remarked about the transformation of their physiques and abilities.

One of the things that I am enjoying most in my association with Mark is the sharing of our knowledge, the brainstorming that we do together and the innovations in training methods that result which in turn greatly benefit our keepers. I am in a very good part of my professional career right now because of the intellectual stimulation that is a part of ADI. We are doing some very good things here for the development of the keeper position.

8) What do you see will be the key developments in goalkeeper training and performance in the coming decade?

Having never been trained for the position (I never started playing the position at a higher level until I was 25) and being self-taught, I have observed an incredible transformation in how the position is approached and I am very glad to be an integral part of it.

In regard to key developments for the athletes, I definitely see a strong move toward proper physical development. The demands on the body to be a keeper are incredible. Goalkeepers will be stronger and more powerful. I think we will see even better athletes becoming goalkeepers because of the requirements necessary to compete and play the position. Also, keepers will become even better with their field playing skills.

For younger keepers, I see better communication and leadership skills being developed. I also see better tactical development at a younger age – coaches need to allow the younger keepers to be involved with understanding the team tactics.

I also see greater education for parents in regard to understanding what it takes for their sons and daughters to be a goalkeeper. Their understanding would be quite helpful as they would be better able to support the keeper in their family and it would make the game more enjoyable for them to watch, as well. I believe this pertains to youth coaches as well – the need for youth coaches to understand the proper training for keepers will be invaluable in helping young goalkeepers enjoy their overall experience.

I think that the overall knowledge of how to coach goalkeepers at all ages will continue to progress as the result of a greater number of keepers who have played at a higher level get involved in training. I think it is important for goalkeeper coaches to be not just trainers of the position, but also teachers of the position. Websites just like Keeper Skool are great to help everyone gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a goalkeeper and offers a tremendous resource for information.

9) Who are some of your favorite goalkeepers in today's game, and which young US goalkeepers should our readers look out for in the coming years? What makes them so special?

Tim Howard is my favorite goalkeeper on the world stage for men. Not only because he is our National Team keeper, but also because he is from New Jersey. I remember him coming to the Rutgers Camp when he was in 8th grade and how good of an athlete he was at that point. I also favor him because Mark Williams worked with him when he was with the Metrostars, so I feel a closer attachment there.

Another great New Jersey product was Tony Meola, who I feel set the stage for a tradition of the strength and quality of American keepers.

Karina LeBlanc, from Canada holds a special place with me. She has been an inspiration for me to always bring my best to training to help her reach her goals. She is a phenomenal talent and gives so much to the game at all levels.

Karen Bardsley from England is another favorite. She is an incredible athlete and a wonderful personality, as well. I really enjoyed working with her.

I am also a fan of Petr Cech; I had the chance to meet him when Chelsea were training at Rutgers University. Besides possessing great ability, he was very personable and I felt it was very nice of him to take time to sit down with me and chat.

Historically it was Peter Shilton – he became my first inspiration and I was a huge fan of Peter Schmeichel when he was with Man U.

At ADI, we deal mostly with keepers who are on club teams and who have an interest to play in college. One of our better college keepers who‘s a New Jersey product is Bryan Meredith – he plays for Monmouth University. On the female side and another New Jersey product is Jillian Loyden, who plays for the Chicago Red Stars in the WPS; she has worked her way into the National Team pool. Erin Gutherie, who had a stellar career at Rutgers University (she broke Saskia Weber’s career shutout record), is now with FC Gold Pride of the WPS and is one to watch.

A few other Jersey keepers who have had experience with the National Pool are: Samir Badr, FC Porto, U20 pool; Rafael Diaz, St. John’s University, U18’s; Santiago Constano, Red bull Academy, U17’s.

Thank you John, I have greatly enjoyed my conversation with you. I appreciate the opportunity to express my history, philosophy and approach to training the goalkeeper position. If there is anything that I am able to do for you with Keeper Skool, please do not hesitate to contact me.

INTERVIEW WITH KEEPER SKOOL

Coach Blodgett, Please accept a warm welcome from Keeper Skool.

Thank you very much, John. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you.

1) Talk our readers through your background in football. You graduated from Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, how was football organized in your youth?

I grew up in Hilton, NY, a small town outside of Rochester; our high school had no football, only soccer; I was actually into basketball at the time and that was the sport that dominated my competitive desires. Our high school soccer coach was from Czechoslovakia and he tried to get me to play soccer, but it was basketball where my interest lay.

The Rochester area had a good level of soccer; the Lancers were a good club back then and then the Rhinos emerged as a quality side.

I played basketball at Hartwick College my freshman year, and it was at Hartwick where soccer captured my spirit. The team was excellent with national and international experience and the game was incredibly exciting to watch. I had no idea how good the game really was. I became a fan. I played intramurals while in college and I gravitated to the goalkeeper position because I enjoyed what it took to play the position.

I met Bob Reasso in Graduate School at Springfield College, MA and it was through his influence that I turned my attention fully to the game.

After getting my Master’s Degree in Education, I taught and coached soccer at the high school level for five years. Bob eventually became the head coach of Nasson College in Maine and asked me to join him as his assistant, and then he moved on to Rutgers University in NJ in 1981, and I joined him there as his goalkeeper coach and assistant.

2) What initially attracted you to the goalkeeping position?

Watching the games at Hartwick, I was fascinated by how good the goalkeepers were and was impressed at the level of athleticism that was required to play it. I was hooked. I really liked the fact that a team’s success depended a great deal on having a good goalkeeper. I felt as if the position matched my abilities and my mentality, so I started playing it. For some reason, even when I was young and fooling around on the ice with hockey, I always seemed to gravitate to the goal.

3) At Rutgers University you worked alongside Bob Reasso to build the football program. Rutgers under Reasso, went on to become a football powerhouse for almost 3 decades. At Rutgers you developed some of the best young goalkeepers to be produced in American football. What do you believe Reasso and yourself brought to Rutgers to make it so successful?

Bob brought passion, knowledge and a driven spirit to the program at Rutgers. His quest to learn, understand and stay at the cutting edge of the game exists to this day. He taught me a great deal about the sport and offered me great opportunities to travel abroad with him to learn the international game. I was basically self-taught at the position and I used the traveling experiences to observe how others trained the position. Bob helped me to understand the game and he allowed me to experiment with training keepers in any way that I saw fit.

It was the combination of passion for the position and the freedom to be creative with its training that helped to establish goalkeeping as a cornerstone for the Rutgers program. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I worked with some incredible athletes at Rutgers and I think they all appreciated how much I supported them during their development at the University.

4) Three goalkeepers (out of many) whom have benefited from your goalkeeper training expertise include Billy Andrecki, Jon Conway and Saskia Webber. What does a typical training day consist of for your senior goalkeepers, and what made goalkeepers such as Conway and Webber so successful in men's and women's football?

We start all sessions with a good dynamic warm-up then we ramp up the heart rate a bit to get them fully ready. I always stress footwork development and athleticism in my training. Goalkeepers know how much I stress perfecting technique and they are prepared to train with that in mind. My keepers are very good with their feet and we develop our foot skills in every session. I combine footwork and technical skills daily. I also continuously work on keepers getting their heads and bodies down quickly on all low balls since my weakness as a keeper was a shot low and to my right (nobody taught me how to collapse properly). We usually end up the session with some type of shooting drill/game.

Jon and Saskia were very dedicated athletes who worked hard at their craft. Jon was a great dominant force in the box – we always felt very confident on any ball driven into the box. His 6’5” frame was imposing. Plus he was a great leader. Saskia was an exceptional athlete and quite fearless. She commanded her area very well and she was a great leader, as well. Both possessed tremendous personalities.

5) Karina LeBlanc is considered by many to be one of the best female goalkeepers in the world. Walk us through a typical training day for Karina under your tutelage, and how did you help her prepare mentally for a tough international game?

Karina is one of the hardest working goalkeepers I have ever had the privilege to train. She is incredibly self-motivated, but she is responsive to constructive criticism and guidance. I have to say that KK is one of the grandest personalities whom I have ever met.

Karina likes to feel comfortable in all parts of her game, and we would sometimes spend large portions of our training sessions in getting her comfortable with a particular skill. So, we would generally key on a particular part of her game and then go to it. We would make sure that she was properly fit both physically and mentally. Once KK was comfortable with her skill level, then her confidence soared. When KK’s confidence is where it should be, she is tough to beat. I would give this aspect of her game a lot of attention.

I have had some of my most creative thinking on my feet working with KK - that’s how stimulating it is working with her. Working with a world class athlete of her ability remains to be a great thrill.

6) You've been running the Paul Blodgett Goalkeeper Training School for over 20 years now. How is the school structured, and how do you typically train your younger goalkeepers as they transition into more senior goalkeeping development?

The school has been transformed into the ADI Goalkeeper Academy. All the years that I ran the school, I was traveling all over the state of New Jersey training keepers. I was literally everywhere, but it gave me a chance to see how keepers were being developed around the state. I saw a great need for proper development so that is why I put up with the extensive traveling.

I did all of the training for many years, but as some of my higher level keepers became collegiate or professional players, I started having them do some training, and it was well received. I was always very concerned about replicating myself, as I felt that I had an excellent grasp as how the position should be trained. It felt good to have some of my keepers start to work for me. First and foremost, one has to be a teacher and the only concern is the one for the keeper. I am proud to say that much of my success with the school has been because my keepers know that I care about each and every one of them, individually, and I want them to be the best that they can be, whatever the level.

The great advantage that I have with the ADI Goalkeeper Academy is that I now have a permanent home and I have the extra advantage of being able to work along-side Mark Williams, our Director for Human Performance here at ADI. Mark’s training is cutting edge and we have put together combination training programs of technical and athletic development for our keepers that is second to none. I am in a great place intellectually to advance the style of training for the position.

In training our younger keepers, I stress the perfection of all handling and collapsing techniques, as well as establishing a strong starting position, mastering footwork and developing foot skills. I have created a positive learning and training environment here at ADI. The younger keepers receive much positive feedback and constructive criticism. We are truly a learning environment here, as the keepers learn the reasons why we teach things a certain way. I feel that it is very important that our younger keepers establish a strong communicative base, as well. All of our young keepers are adept at their communication skills. I think that one of the great strengths in the Academy is our way of building the keepers’ confidence and helping them to deal with the stresses and demands of the position both physically and mentally. The development of our younger keepers is comprehensive and they will be well prepared to take on the rigors of the higher level training, in which I train the keepers to multi-task, think and develop a solid presence.

7) Give our readers some insight into the Athlete Development Institute you've created with goalkeeping strength and conditioning expert Mark Williams? How do you feel that sports science will help maximize the performance of goalkeepers whom attend training at (ADI) alongside Mark and yourself?

Mark and I created ADI with the concept of bringing a holistic training approach to our athletes. We help our keepers to not only perfect their technical skill, but also to develop to their physical potential. We also consult our athletes on proper nutrition, proper preparation for and recovery from training and matches and positive, psychological development. Mark’s approach to the strength and conditioning component is the best that I have seen in over 30 years of coaching at all levels. His guidance and instruction really maximizes an athlete’s potential. His training methods enable a keeper to maximize his/her technical development because of the muscular control and coordination they obtain; not to mention the tremendous effect upon injury prevention, presence and confidence levels of the keepers. The physical transformation of the keepers at ADI with the combination training offered by Mark and me is quite impressive. The keeper’s themselves, as well as, their parents and coaches have all remarked about the transformation of their physiques and abilities.

One of the things that I am enjoying most in my association with Mark is the sharing of our knowledge, the brainstorming that we do together and the innovations in training methods that result which in turn greatly benefit our keepers. I am in a very good part of my professional career right now because of the intellectual stimulation that is a part of ADI. We are doing some very good things here for the development of the keeper position.

8) What do you see will be the key developments in goalkeeper training and performance in the coming decade?

Having never been trained for the position (I never started playing the position at a higher level until I was 25) and being self-taught, I have observed an incredible transformation in how the position is approached and I am very glad to be an integral part of it.

In regard to key developments for the athletes, I definitely see a strong move toward proper physical development. The demands on the body to be a keeper are incredible. Goalkeepers will be stronger and more powerful. I think we will see even better athletes becoming goalkeepers because of the requirements necessary to compete and play the position. Also, keepers will become even better with their field playing skills.

For younger keepers, I see better communication and leadership skills being developed. I also see better tactical development at a younger age – coaches need to allow the younger keepers to be involved with understanding the team tactics.

I also see greater education for parents in regard to understanding what it takes for their sons and daughters to be a goalkeeper. Their understanding would be quite helpful as they would be better able to support the keeper in their family and it would make the game more enjoyable for them to watch, as well. I believe this pertains to youth coaches as well – the need for youth coaches to understand the proper training for keepers will be invaluable in helping young goalkeepers enjoy their overall experience.

I think that the overall knowledge of how to coach goalkeepers at all ages will continue to progress as the result of a greater number of keepers who have played at a higher level get involved in training. I think it is important for goalkeeper coaches to be not just trainers of the position, but also teachers of the position. Websites just like Keeper Skool are great to help everyone gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a goalkeeper and offers a tremendous resource for information.

9) Who are some of your favorite goalkeepers in today's game, and which young US goalkeepers should our readers look out for in the coming years? What makes them so special?

Tim Howard is my favorite goalkeeper on the world stage for men. Not only because he is our National Team keeper, but also because he is from New Jersey. I remember him coming to the Rutgers Camp when he was in 8th grade and how good of an athlete he was at that point. I also favor him because Mark Williams worked with him when he was with the Metrostars, so I feel a closer attachment there.

Another great New Jersey product was Tony Meola, who I feel set the stage for a tradition of the strength and quality of American keepers.

Karina LeBlanc, from Canada holds a special place with me. She has been an inspiration for me to always bring my best to training to help her reach her goals. She is a phenomenal talent and gives so much to the game at all levels.

Karen Bardsley from England is another favorite. She is an incredible athlete and a wonderful personality, as well. I really enjoyed working with her.

I am also a fan of Petr Cech; I had the chance to meet him when Chelsea were training at Rutgers University. Besides possessing great ability, he was very personable and I felt it was very nice of him to take time to sit down with me and chat.

Historically it was Peter Shilton – he became my first inspiration and I was a huge fan of Peter Schmeichel when he was with Man U.

At ADI, we deal mostly with keepers who are on club teams and who have an interest to play in college. One of our better college keepers who‘s a New Jersey product is Bryan Meredith – he plays for Monmouth University. On the female side and another New Jersey product is Jillian Loyden, who plays for the Chicago Red Stars in the WPS; she has worked her way into the National Team pool. Erin Gutherie, who had a stellar career at Rutgers University (she broke Saskia Weber’s career shutout record), is now with FC Gold Pride of the WPS and is one to watch.

A few other Jersey keepers who have had experience with the National Pool are: Samir Badr, FC Porto, U20 pool; Rafael Diaz, St. John’s University, U18’s; Santiago Constano, Red bull Academy, U17’s.

Thank you John, I have greatly enjoyed my conversation with you. I appreciate the opportunity to express my history, philosophy and approach to training the goalkeeper position. If there is anything that I am able to do for you with Keeper Skool, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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