Veteran goalkeeper Astrid van Kesteren was among a number of seasoned and upcoming goalkeepers and coaches who attended a two-day, 10-hour free course at former professional goalkeeper Farouk Abrahams’ Goalkeeper Academy in Wynberg, at the weekend.
An all-round sporting talent, Van Kesteren, 44, who has just ended her Sasol League 2022 season for Hanover Park-based Shosholoza FC, excelled at a number of sports, including softball and athletics and has been involved with soccer since the age of 15, while at high school, as a sweeper for Belgravia High’s girls team.
In 1996, after finishing matric, she spent two seasons with Liverpool-Portland and won the award for goalkeeper of the SAFA Inter-provincial Women’s Tournament in 1996, 1999 and 2000 and selected to play for Banyana Banyana 1998-2000 and again in 2010 (achieving 12 caps).
She also did duty for the national women’s softball side at the 2006 World Fastpitch Championship in Beijing, China.
Despite her many accolades, Van Kesteren remains as keen to learn about her craft as when she first started out, going through her paces along with the other attendees at the weekend’s session under the watchful eye of Abrahams and with national women’s coach Desiree Ellis keeping a close eye on matters.
“Women’s football is at times neglected and with a rise in popularity at the moment, the time was right to empower women in goalkeeper coaching,” said Abrahams, who established his academy 25 years ago. “There’s no reason why the girls can’t be coached by their own sex. Currently only men are in those positions. We aim to change that scenario,” he said.
What started out as a favour to a few parents of young goalkeepers whom Abrahams coached once a week in Wynberg, mushroomed into a goalkeeper school, highlighting the dire need for specialised goalkeeper coaching, he said.
“It was the first of its kind in the country. We did it on a mobile basis, visiting different townships every Sunday morning. That became too hectic though which encouraged me to establish a home base which materialised in 2007, thanks to various partnerships,” he said.
Abrahams said this particular course covered every single area one could think of in preparation for a coach to take a goalkeeper from grassroots to professional football, including physical, mental, social, psychological, technical and tactical aspects.
He said the idea was for coaches to walk away with loads of experience gained via a thorough yet uncomplicated theory class followed by a few hours of practicals.
“I don’t believe in too much time spent sitting in a class hence our leaning towards lots of practical participation. The coaches must get physically involved, so as to feel the drills other than merely observing,” he said.
“The goalkeepers benefit from being a part of every possible aspect of their game. They leave the workshops fully energised and with a better understanding of their crucial role in football,” he said.
“There is a distinct difference in coaching boys and girls, the nurturing is more patient with girls and the intensity levels of training is raised gradually and not as fast as their male counterparts,” he said.
Vasco Da Gama goalkeeper Melissa Witbooi, who has had spells with various women’s outfits, including Cape Town Angels, UWC, Spurs Ladies, Ambassado and Meadowridge, said that in her experience not much attention is paid to women goalkeepers.
“For as long as I’ve played, I only encountered two goalkeeper coaches. Female teams don’t have the luxury of having a goalkeeper coach or don’t see the need for it or it’s just played down,” she said.
Despite a lack of funding and the impact of the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has presented, Abrahams is confident that the foundation they’ve laid will stand players in good stead for years to come. “A lot of boys and girls have over the years gone on to big careers outside of football as a result of this and our career guidance projects run by my daughter Rishca.On the field we have produced goalkeepers for both men and women national teams for many years,” he said.
While Abrahams focuses his attention on the technical side of things, his daughter looks after the day-to-day operation of the academy.
“The development and promotion of women in football is seriously lacking in comparison to opportunities provided to males within the sport. As such, gender equality is very high on our agenda,” she said.
“While we continue to produce talent for the South African national women’s team and the SAFA Girl’s Soccer Academy, FAGAs next objective is to upskill female coaches in this specialised position,” she said, adding that coaching education is paramount for the advancement of women’s football in South Africa.
“Our aim is for this workshop to be the first of a series of certified skills upliftment courses to empower females within football,” she said.
For more information about the academy, call 072 535 8866 or 079 415 9261.