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MLS and adidas Partner with German Football Association for Advanced Goalkeeper Education Course

July 17, 2019 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK, NY - Major League Soccer and adidas today announced a groundbreaking partnership with the German Football Association (DFB / Deutscher Fußball-Bund) that 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. The two-pronged approach will see both goalkeepers developed in MLS academies and academy goalkeeper coaches participate in classroom education and field instruction in Germany from July 20-26, 2019 with continued trainings through 2020.

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.

"Major League Soccer continues to be at the forefront of player development, and this innovative partnership with DFB and adidas ensures an important learning opportunity for both academy coaches and players," said MLS Vice President and Technical Director Fred Lipka. "With both coaches and players engaging in this challenging environment, we expect this to have a tremendous impact on the future of goalkeepers in our country and we cannot wait to see the bright future in store for the participants."

Following the weeklong 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.

Select young goalkeepers developed in MLS academies will also participate in the program through the weeklong immersion in Germany. While abroad, these 27 players will be run through on-field training sessions and classroom instruction conducted by the respective MLS academy coaches. At the end of the week, DFB experts will provide feedback, benchmarking the growth and progress of all players and coaching participants.

"We are very proud to partner with MLS. Germany is worldwide known for its goalkeeper pedigree and tradition, everybody remembers the great saves of Oliver Kahn, Manuel Neuer or Marc-André ter Stegen. We always improve our goalkeeping program to reach the highest level and to support our coaches and talents," said Head of DFB Goalkeeping Marc Ziegler. "I am so delighted that we have the opportunity to share our knowledge with MLS and to learn from each other. We will have an inspiring time collaborating together."

The DFB goalkeeper performance course consists of three phases:

DFB Training - A weeklong course from July 20-26 will see MLS academy goalkeepers and academy goalkeeper coaches head to Bavaria, Germany for intensive field and classroom instruction. Academy goalkeeper coaches will then be paired with a DFB mentor.

Development and implementation within MLS Academy - Players and coaches will carry over the methodologies from Germany and implement them into their daily instruction within MLS academies. DFB mentors will carry dialogue with MLS counterparts to benchmark continued growth over this 12-month period.

Final DFB immersion - DFB mentors will travel to North America at the end of the 12-month implementation period for a final assessment where they will test learnings through classroom and on-field instruction.

DFB MLS COACHING PARTICIPANTS

Club/Affiliation First Name Last Name

Atlanta United Liam Curran

Austin FC Samyar Heydarkhani

Chicago Fire Igor Dimov

FC Cincinnati David Schrek

FC Dallas Raul Herrera

D.C. United Jack Stefanowski

Houston Dynamo Jason Grubb

Los Angeles Football Club Neil Thompson

Montreal Impact Owen Braun

Montreal Impact Luca Leone

New England Revolution Jasir Charris

New England Revolution Karl Spratt

New York City FC Daniel Cepero

New York Red Bulls Jeremy Proud

Philadelphia Union Phil Wheddon

Portland Timbers Steve Reese

Real Salt Lake Mirza Harambasic

Seattle Sounders FC Joshua Ford

Sporting Kansas City Gavin McInerney

Toronto FC Luciano Lombardi

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Raegyn Hall

Former MLS Player Mike Behonick

Former MLS Player David Winner

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