Reggae Boyz captain to host goalkeeper clinic

Andre Blake, the national senior Reggae Boyz captain and goalkeeper, will host a goalkeeping clinic at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, UWI, Mona on December 14 and 15. The clinic will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

This clinic will provide exceptional goalkeeper training to more than 24 youth goalkeepers selected from the top ISSA Manning Cup and daCosta Cup teams and two female goalkeepers from Reinas Academy.

The goalkeepers will receive top-notch training led by the experienced Phil Wheddon, who also serves as Andre Blake’s goalkeeper coach at Philadelphia Union. Wheddon is the only goalkeeper coach in US history to have coached both the men’s and women’s national teams in a FIFA World Cup. He has coached in three World Cups and won two Olympic gold medals with Team USA.

Other participating goalkeeper coaches include Jamaica Under-20 coach Andrew Sewell, national goalkeeper Jahmali Waite, Reinas Academy’s Neo Oxford and Kingston College’s Robert Beckford.

Blake explains the rationale behind the initiative: “To whom much is given, much is required, and so this is my way of supporting the next generation of goalkeepers. I want to see what these goalkeepers look like and try to educate them on what it will take to get to the next level. Having Phil on board is great because he brings an extensive amount of knowledge and experience with him.”

Blake also acknowledged those who provided support to the Andre Blake Goalkeeper Clinic,

“I would like to thank all the coaches for their voluntary service, the Jamaica Football Federation and the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) have also provided tremendous support and so has the Sagicor Foundation, Spectrum Systems Limited, Tru Shake, Powerade, The Courtyard Marriott, Leep Marketing, and Uhlsport,” Blake said.