Barnsley Football Club is offering a unique opportunity to become a key figure in the development of our next generation of elite goalkeepers. As the Academy Lead Goalkeeper Coach, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping young talent, delivering high-quality coaching aligned with the club’s philosophy and performance goals.
Working within a dynamic multidisciplinary team, you’ll design and lead challenging training sessions that promote technical excellence, injury prevention, and continuous improvement. This is more than a coaching role — it’s a chance to inspire, mentor, and elevate future professionals in a high-performance environment.
We’re looking for someone who is passionate about personal growth and committed to helping others thrive. If you bring energy, innovation, and a positive mindset to everything you do, we’d love to hear from you.
Tasks & Responsibilities
• Report to the Senior PDP and Head of Academy Coaching on all aspects related to individual and squad development in line with the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).
• Liaise with the Senior PDP, first-team Head Coach, Technical Board, and Academy Management Team to identify pathways into the first team environment.
• Create and implement the Goalkeeping Coaching Curriculum for the FP, YDP, and PDP on a day-to-day basis in conjunction with the Head of Academy Coaching
• Align the Goalkeeping coaching, game, and playing philosophies with first-team activities to ensure smooth transitions via player pathways.
• Manage the transition of Academy Goalkeepers between age groups and development phases to the senior squad, ensuring alignment with the Club’s coaching and playing philosophies.
• Implement a transitional model that monitors and tracks Goalkeepers moving through the player pathway.
• Contribute to multi-disciplinary reviews of Academy Goalkeepers in the FP, YDP, and PDP, including the application of Sport Science methods and Individual Learning Plans.
• Attend the Games Programme and guide Goalkeepers in pre and post-match preparation and analysis.
• Ensure effective match preparation with measurable objectives planned in advance.
• Contribute to Goalkeeper profiling to identify player traits and characteristics applicable to development outcomes.
• Develop Goalkeeper competencies, considering technical, tactical, psychological, physiological, and social aspects through individualized learning plans.
• Create, develop, and implement Goalkeeping strategies that align with the whole-club approach for both development and competitive fixtures.
• Upload detailed Goalkeeper information into the PMA’s Performance Clock in line with Premier and Football League benchmark requirements.
• Generate individualized learning plans, objectives, and outcomes within a multi-disciplinary approach.
• Divide, segment, and create learning blocks and periodisation that relate to macro, meso, and micro delivery cycles supporting player learning.
• Build performance analysis within evaluative and reflective practices to support improvement planning and feedback processes for both training models and games.
• Effectively manage the ‘working week’ regarding training models, integration of sport science, Goalkeeper-specific sessions, and transition between age groups and phases.
Person specification
The ideal candidate will:
• Demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment to achieving agreed objectives within Elite Performance Player Planning.
• Effective at preparing, planning, and implementing coaching curriculums and schedules aligned with whole-club objectives for producing young talented football players.
• A dynamic, hardworking, and enthusiastic individual able to relate to young people engaged in player pathways within a mentoring and supportive role.
• Proactive decision maker with excellent communication skills, able to effectively communicate across all departments within a multi-disciplinary approach.
• Ensures high-quality work and maintains standards in line with the responsiveness needed for delivering against the club’s football objectives.
• Receptive to feedback about own behaviour, strengths, and areas for improvement, identifying improvement strategies to support coaching, game understanding, and player development.
• Displays a high level of confidentiality and contributes to senior management activities and meetings in a professional manner, fully participating in club activities that support the profiling of the club.
• Accurate reporting and attention to detail in both written and verbal communication, able to represent the club professionally and competently at all times.
• Displays deep knowledge and experience of coaching and games, able to transfer and communicate information in an informative and constructive manner.
• Flexible in days / hours of work to meet Club requirements
• Understands and works in line with Health & Safety principles and practices, and safeguarding in supporting young people through their football-related pathway.
• Be trustworthy and adhere to the Club’s Code of Conduct and Ethics
• Adhere to protocol and respect confidentiality in all matters, protecting any data relating to the area of work in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018
• Consistently demonstrate high standards of professionalism
• Be committed to personal & professional development
• Demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
• Be always respectful of others and behave in a non-discriminatory manner as per the Equality Act 2010