Read part two of our Interview with Joe where the kids got to ask him questions….
Oli (Aged 8) Do you listen to music before you go out to play?
Yes. I’m quite superstitious so I always have a certain song which is the last song I listen to before I take my headphones off. I can’t tell you what it is though. We have one designated person who chooses music for the whole dressing room but some people like to listen to their own music on their headphones.
Louis (Aged 12) Who was your footballing hero when you were growing up?
When I was younger Petr Cech cause I was a Chelsea fan and he was the current Chelsea goalie so I used to watch a lot of YouTube videos of him to see how he does things. More recently I’ve been watching Jack Butland, he’s the Stoke goalkeeper. I’m a real big fan of his, he’s been playing for England, he’s quite young, only 24 and I’ve been watching You Tube videos of him too. I like to look at as many goal keepers as possible to see what they do well. Its all these little details that you see that you can try to implement in your own game.
Billy (Aged 9) What is you top tip on how to save the ball?
Keep your eye on the ball and make sure you’re not on the move when the shots coming in. Stay on focused on the ball and be ready to make a reaction.
Billy (Aged 9) What practise drills do you find most effective? >Ones that are a lot more match realistic. Goal keeping is evolving, the training used to be quite drill based but now its become a lot more of replicating scenarios that you’d face in a real game.
Emily (aged 11) What advice do you have for young footballers who want to follow in your footsteps?
Well as far as I’m concerned, I haven’t really achieved anything yet, but for me, you just have to love it. When I was at school, everyone was going out but I was just looking forward to training every evening. You’ve just got to love it and be willing to put the hard work in all the time. You’ve got to surround yourself with good people or you can get side tracked. My mates from school, who don’t play football, they’re really good with me. They go off and do their own thing but they accept what I do. You’ve got to have good people around you and be dedicated.
Thanks for your time Joe and good luck this season with Stoke City :) :)
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