Coach Focus: Keeping with Kendall (Lee Kendall interview)

England women’s goalkeeping coach Lee Kendall, a former player who coached at Crystal Palace, Cardiff City, Sheffield United and Bristol City, explains his work overseeing a programme running from the first team and Under-23s down to Under-15 level. There is little technical or tactical difference between the men’s and women’s game, he says: the differences are physical and psychological, and where height is lacking a keeper can compensate by moving quickly along the ground and manoeuvring through bodies in the six-yard box. He argues goalkeepers need a different kind of fitness built on explosive strength, power and short sharp bursts, welcomes keepers playing outfield for their first touch and distribution, and advises grassroots coaches without a specialist to integrate keepers fully into team sessions.