Meet our coaches - Adam Hrehoresin
Josip Loncaric
Goalkeepers are a special bunch. They use their hands more than their feet. They see the game from behind the play. They have the biggest responsibility in any team because if the ball gets past them, it goes in the goal.
No job on the field has quite as much pressure as the job of the goalkeeper.
We have been privileged to have had one of the best goalkeeper coaches in the business working with our young crop of keepers for the past three years in Adam Hrehoresin. A former graduate of the famed Australian Institute of Sport football program, Adam played at the highest level in Australia for the Melbourne Knights, where he made his debut as a 16-year old in the then National Soccer League, before forging a successful career in the Victorian Premier League as one of the top goalkeepers in the state.
Adam is now the owner of the Bodytek Boutique Health and Fitness Studio and took some time to speak to us during lockdown.
JL - Thanks for taking the time to speak to us, Adam. Firstly, why did you get into coaching?
Adam Hrehoresin- I fell into coaching after a knee injury that required a 12-month layoff to recover. My first coaching role was at the Melbourne Knights five years ago after the then coach Eric Vassiliadis offered me the role. Running my own gym and being a personal trainer has obviously helped me learn the process of coaching and creating plans for athletes and everyday people that want to improve themselves.
JL - What do you enjoy about coaching?
AH - I like watching young goalkeepers progress and develop, and I also like training with senior goalkeepers for the intensity and the level of quality that they have already.
It allows me to put together sessions that suit the level that the goalkeepers are at and also see the long-term end product that we are working towards.
JL - What is it like working with the goalkeepers at Keilor Downs College?
AH - I love the kids that come to training. When we have our sessions you can see that it is the highlight of their week. We have built up a great relationship with each other.
The facilities, the pitch, the quality of the equipment is second to none and in my three years working with the coaching staff, they have always made it so easy to do my sessions with everything that I need to run a quality session.
JL - What advice do you have for developing young goalkeepers that may read this article?
AH - Young goalkeepers should understand that you can never train enough. Hours on the pitch are vital if you want to become a professional keeper. In that time on the pitch, don't just focus on your strengths because if you don't work on your weaknesses, they will never become strengths. I use the example of kids at Ajax in Holland and coaches putting the players on the opposite side of the pitch to develop their weaker foot. A goalkeeper that loves diving but can't catch a ball overhead is going to get found out so my advice is to focus on turning your current weaknesses into future strengths.
JL - Lastly, what advice do you have for parents of young goalkeepers?
AH - Keep your feet and your child's feet planted on the ground because it is such a long and difficult process to make it to a high level in the state (NPL seniors or State League seniors), let alone overseas professionally. Support your child and make sure that you enjoy their development.
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