First of all, the reasons I have stayed out of this discussion range from wanting to see other peoples replies (it still seems that when I reply early to a thread, the thread seems to end for some reason) to working on some other projects that will make finesoccer.com more user friendly and easier for everyone (including me) to use.
As far as the questions, the first thing is to realize that different people are quoting different facts. The original poster (who did NOT use a real name but did use a real email address and I actually have no problem with young people not using their real names on this forum) wrote that he was 165 pounds. Kyle wrote that he was 160 pounds. Greyhound00 (not a real name and no email address) writes about him being 147 pounds.
I guess we all see what we consider to be important. For example, in the original post, he wrote "Least importantly I would like to add a bit of endurance (only what I need to play keeper-not much). That caught my eye because I disagree vehemently with this statement as I consider endurance to be very important for a keeper. This would be one of the first things I would address.
The next question is whether he really understands the difference between power and stength (and for that matter, do any of us?).
Do I think a high school sophomore who weighs 165 pounds is ready for plyometrics? Yes. And the good thing is that the orginal poster (whose name happens to be Jonathon as he has emailed me in the past) is very right in saying he is looking for goalkeeping specific conditioning programs. As far as working with weights, I would NEVER encourage any type of weight work without much more information such as are there any health risks, what is his body type, what type of weights does he have access to and what type of education and supervision does he have access to in the weight room (I happen to know the school Jonathon goes to and it's facilities are superior to many colleges so he should have no problem with that).
Is strength important to be a successful keeper? Of course it is. Do I recommend high weight and low reps or lower weights and more reps? Most times I am going to go with the lower weights and more reps. Especially for the legs as a keeper really needs explosiveness from his lower body. Upper body, I MIGHT encourage a little bit more heavier weights because to hold a hard shot (whether on a dive or standing) does require strength. Also, it's important to be able to absorb the punishment that a keeper normally absorbs over the course of a season.
Knowing that someone weighs 165 pounds actually doesn't say a whole lot. What is the body fat percentage? People think that someone who seems slim has a lower body fat than someone who seems "fat". This is not necesarily true. Quite frankly at the school I am at, the nutritionist will determine body fat and much more and the conditioning program will be based on that more than just how much someone weighs or what they look like.
To give you two examples from college keepers. One is a female keeper I know who is quite good. She has been told by her strength and conditioning coach that she has to add 7 more pounds of muscle (I believe it was 7 but it was something like that) in order to get up to what this strength and conditioning coach says falls within the normal range. To me, this is interesting because she isn't being told she needs to add muscle to catch more balls or to stay healthy but rather to fit within the range of a chart. To me, this doesn't make much sense (it's an example of having to know the person in order to make an educated suggestion). The other example is a male college keeper who has been forbidden to work out in the weight room this spring because he has bulked up too much and is struggling with flexibility. While the rest of the team is working with weights, he does additional flexibility and agility activites. This decision was based on the strength and conditioning coach and the team coaches sitting down and evaluating him as an individual and not as a number or statistic. I know this keeper (and used to train him) and would have to agree that this is the correct decision.
I guess my point is that there is never a set answer for all people and to generalize really doesn't do anyone any good
As far as Jonathon is concerned, while I have never met him, he is planning on attending my keeper camp in Atlanta and after working with him for a week and getting to know more about him, I will be able to help him much more
