FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Four members of the Revolution Academy will travel to Munich, Germany on July 19 to take part in a week-long advanced goalkeeping education program with the German Football Association (DFB / Deutscher Fußball-Bund), in partnership with Major League Soccer and adidas, from July 20-26. The program features classroom education and field instruction, with continued practical assessments throughout 2020.
Assistant Coach for the U-17s, U-19s and U-23s, Jasir Charris, as well as Assistant Coach for the U-14s and 15s, Karl Spratt, were both nominated by the New England Revolution Academy to participate in the program. Two goalkeepers from the U-15 team, Sebastian Pliszka (Newington, Conn.—2004) and Matthew Tibbetts (Westborough, Mass.—2004), will also travel to Germany for the immersive development course.
The groundbreaking partnership with the German Football Association (DFB / Deutscher Fußball-Bund) provides MLS academy goalkeeper coaches and young goalkeepers with world-class training through a series of immersive development courses implemented over a 12-month period. Through the partnership, MLS academy goalkeeper coaches will be guided through the same player training methodologies implemented by the world’s elite goalkeeper instructors. MLS has invited coaches from every club in the league to participate in the program which is based off the German method of goalkeeper coaching education, a staple of the DFB program since 2011.
Pliszka and Tibbetts are two of just 27 players selected to participate in the program, after they too were nominated by the Revolution Academy. Pliszka made 16 appearances for the Under-15s throughout the 2018-19 USSDA campaign, one of which came with the U-17s, while Tibbetts made 20, with seven opportunities coming with the U-17s.
Charris is in his ninth season as a goalkeeper coach with the Revolution Academy, having joined the Academy Training Program staff in 2010. Spratt is in his 10th season as a goalkeeper coach for the Academy after joining the club in November 2009. In 2013, Spratt additionally took on the role of Director of Goalkeeping with the Revolution Training Programs.
Following the week-long immersion in Germany, academy goalkeeper coaches will be paired with a DFB mentor to track their progress through several check-ins and continuous dialogue over the following 12 months. The program will commence with a secondary weeklong training in North America where the mentors will place candidates through final classroom and field instruction sessions as part of their development period.
