UEFA A licensed goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes left Southampton in the week, his time after four seasons coming to an end with a lot of change going on at St Mary’s since their confirmed relegation. He isn’t the only one either with a whole host club changes afoot from players to backroom staff as the financial constraints and reality of championship football take effect.

It won’t take a genius to work out why Andrew left the Saints as Swansea goalkeeping coach Dean Thornton’s future is under discussion between Swansea City and Southampton. That is along with three other members of staff and of course Russell Martin. As it stands there’s nothing on that, and no indication of any movement, agreement, or solid rumour. The trail has gone cold, and to be honest it just gets boring thinking about it let alone writing anything.

So, why Andrew Sparkes ?

Quite simply Andrew is a high profiled coach with a CV that would impress anyone after a career in the game let alone in your late thirties. There is another reason, he is yet another local Swansea lad who has most certainly come very good at the very top of professional sports coaching. The city and surrounding areas has such an impressive list of current and ex managers and coaches it’s quite breathtaking. It’s clear some of that copper of old must run thick in those Swansea waters.

His career started as a youth coach at Swansea way back in 2003 moving on to the New York Red Bulls academy in 2005. There is a transition for a lot of players and coaches across the Atlantic between the New York side of things and their counterparts at Red Bull Salzburg. Andrew made that progression coaching either side of the ocean learning what Austrian coach Ralph Hasenhüttl called the ‘Red Bull model’ That would be where his apprenticeship really took shape. It most certainly got him noticed and aided his appointment at Southampton working with Ralph Hasenhüttl.

However, we have to go back a fair way to understand Andrew’s journey and what his processes are regards training that very specialist position, the goalkeeper. Below is a brief passage from an interview Andrew did with South Wales AC when at Orlando Pirates. ( Bucs ) in the PSL ( Premier Soccer League ) in South Africa.

As Andrew also stated in that first big season. “Goalkeeping is a lot about technical repetition, getting the goalkeepers back in to training. Also decision making so when they go in to game situations early on they are more accustomed to making those decisions” Andrew was at Orlando Pirates for a year before he progressed even higher up the coaching ladder.

Moving that forwards when Andrew joined Southampton he had clearly stepped up a level in his strategy for daily training. “It’s all about finding out what makes a goalkeeper tick so I can help them out within their development. I needed to get them thinking about how I could help them, it’s not about me telling them ‘right’ we are going to do this, that or the other it’s about me helping them achieve their goals. It’s up to me to provide that environment. These guys perform at the very highest level in the premier league, they know what they need to work on. I build around that the session structure and design to enable them to perform better in their next game “

It’s clear when listening to Andy that he utilises experiential learning in his training, he doesn’t talk about what goalkeepers are not good at, he references where they can develop. That’s the first buy in for any keeper or any person when learning their craft. As we have stated before this is where certain players feel confronted and not able to deal with their own development. Russell Martin encountered it with Michael Obafemi, he found it so difficult to accept this style of learning he rebelled.

And it cost him.

A good goalkeeping coach in the championship can now earn around £110,000 a year, it’s a decent wage of course but with it comes great responsibility. Being able to have dialogue and train with someone at elite level sports shows incredible fortitude and communication awareness. This is obviously something Andy has worked on throughout his career. His interviews offer clarity and to an extent simplify what is an important part of his own craft and that’s personal development.

Talking exclusively to Swansea Independent Andrew explained. “Ralph Hasenhuttl bought me to Southampton as he wanted a goalkeeping coach who had worked in the Red Bull model before. Ralph was manager at Red Bull Leipzig for two seasons before Southampton. I used to go down the Vetch all the time, I was at the Hull City game of course, that’s a proper memory of the stadium. Yes, I used to go down there a lot “

It’s a difficult time and after many years of writing with and for numerous professional sports people there is very much a confidential side to these discussions. However, Andrew would like to return to the Swansea.Com Stadium in time. “ Yes of course I would be keen to return to the Swans as first team goalkeeper coach in the future, especially with experience of the last four years in the Premier League. I was at the club for six years from around 2013, I was head of academy goalkeeping so it’s a place I know well. I recommended Gerhard Tremmel to Adrian Tucker and Brendan Rodgers when I was at Salzburg so was pleased to see that work out for him. Thinking back now I worked with so many players before I left, and of course they are big Swans names today. Players like Ollie Cooper, Ben Cabango, Liam Cullen, Matt Grimes, Jay Fulton and of course Steven Benda. Alan Tate has gone on to a big premier league coaching role, as did Cameron Toshack, and of course Eric Ramsay now at Manchester United”

It sounds like Andrew Sparkes has much work left to do at such a young age and having spent so long in the game already. Thanks Andy for taking the time to speak to Swansea Independent.

Andrew Sparkes was talking to Keith Haynes

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Photographs licensed from Reuters

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