Skillability is excited to announce that Coach Thabane Sutu - a former professional goalkeeper and well-known coach in Kentucky -- has officially joined SST as our Director of Goalkeepers! Coach Thabane offers 1:1 sessions as well as small group sessions. Read our interview to learn more about the newest member of the SST coaching staff…

How did you get started with SST?

When Coach Thuto was thinking about starting the business, I spoke with him and we discussed his vision for the program, and shared some ideas. While I wasn’t ready to join then, I’ve watched Skillability grow, and it’s taken off beyond expectations. Now I’m excited to be a part of that in whatever way I can contribute. 

What makes the SST mission unique in your opinion?

SST is unique in that it does a lot of work in the community and the surrounding areas without actually being a club. They help kids develop individually and then these players go back to their teams — there is a need for this, because the amount of time kids train isn’t always enough, and this supplements their club training and gives them a common community. In that same way I want to give back as much as I can to a wider range of goalkeepers, and see how far we can take them. 

Can you share your own soccer journey?

Like every kid back home in Lesotho, I grew up playing pickup games in the streets. My story might be unique in that I didn’t join a club team until I was about 15. From 1984-1993 I played for Arsenal FC in Lesotho, then I moved to Cairo, Egypt, and played for Al Ahi from 1993-96, and at that time, they were considered the best team in Africa. I stopped playing in 1997, and moved to the U.S. for my wife’s graduate studies in 1998. It’s really a funny story to be honest — Trinity High School was my first coaching opportunity here, and the rest is history. (For those that don’t know, I was Trinity high school’s head coach these last two years and I’m still involved but not as much.)

When I first went to Egypt, it took awhile to get acclimated and get settled…the size of the club, the size of the city.  I also went from being the #1 to being the #2 goalkeeper, and it taught me a lot about patience. I discovered a lot more about myself and the qualities I didn’t know I possessed until then…how to manage my emotions and my skills. The guy I was playing behind was the captain and I realized I needed to refocus my energies on being the best I could be, and that perspective prepared me in a way for what I do now — I understand when a player wants to improve to gain playing time and build as a person, and because of that, some of the approaches I have are often a little different than other coaches. 

I always tell my players that when I interviewed for Lou City, the men’s pro team, I was a little more experienced than some of the others, but the fact I wasn’t the starting goalkeeper for 18 months or two years in Egypt — ironically I think that’s what secured the job for me. I remember them saying, “THAT’S what I’m looking for, you know how to manage those who need to understand their time will come.”

What’s your advice to your players?

Trust the process, trust what I can do, what you can do, and that I know how to help you…it’s a big reason the kids I stick with almost always go on to play in college. 

What’s your favorite song for training?

I’m a big fan of jazz, some reggae music, and some South African music too. I don’t usually play music during training, because goalkeeping is a little bit different. You make split second decisions, and you have to process information very quickly and you have to hopefully make the right decision to make the save — there can be less than a second, and the smallest details I’ll see in some of the kids’ skills can make all the difference. So maybe I’ll be open to playing music someday, but goalkeeping is all locked in. 

In less than three sentences, what should every goalkeeper remember?

If anything, they should have a very short memory. They have to be even-keeled and not celebrate the highs too much or the lows too much — mistakes happen at the highest levels, and you have to live in the present, and take all the challenges the game throws at you. 

Favorite snack before a match?

Usually I would eat oatmeal, with a bunch of fruit like strawberries and blueberries, then I’d do peanut butter and honey and banana on a bagel with plenty of water. I had my routine and my process. With goalkeeping, 99% of the routine I’d built had to stay the same or it affected my mental game. 

What’s your advice to young coaches?

Be patient. That is the biggest thing, educate yourself, don’t skip stages. Don’t get to a level where you can’t perform to your own expectations — have fun, make sure the kids are having fun — if they are enjoying themselves, then you are having fun too. Enjoy the process…the game changes, it may be a different type of coaching in five years, so you have to stay aware of the trends and keep up. And that can only happen if you're always seeking learning opportunities. I’m still doing courses in England on performance analysis and opposition analysis to stay on top of my skill sets. Be open to opportunities to learn.

Welcome to Skillability Soccer Training, Coach Thabane!

I can’t wait to get started!!