There are some new faces in Orlando City’s goalkeeper training this preseason. During the offseason, Orlando City hired a new goalkeeper coach: Tim Mulqueen, who has worked with the U.S men’s U-17 and U-20 teams since 1995. The Lions also brought in a new keeper: MLS veteran Josh Saunders. Between the two of them, Head Coach Jason Kreis and his staff are hoping to build confidence in the backfield that will help stabilize the players up front.
“I’m settling in great. The staff has been super,” Mulqueen said after training this week. “It’s been a really great transition for me. I’m very excited. The team has been very welcoming, as well as everybody from the backroom staff to the training staff. Everybody’s been great.”
“I spoke with Jason on several occasions about my philosophy and their philosophy, and it seemed like it was a good fit. And in about ten days to do weeks, in the process of getting to know each other a little bit and getting to know how I went about coaching goalkeeping, we came to an agreement that this would be a great situation for me,” Mulqueen said “And I knew all along that I wanted to be here, so I was very thankful that Jason selected me. I mean, I know there’s a lot of people out there who would love this opportunity and I’m very, very grateful to Jason and the organization for bringing me on board. I promised 100% effort every day and I plan on doing that.”
So, what are Mulqueen’s techniques when it comes to coaching goalkeeping? Well, he likes to focus on the needs of the player. He wants them to feel confident and relaxed, so that they are able to help their teammates up front.
“My philosophy is that the goalkeepers are very confident, very comfortable in the goal,” Mulqueen said. “I think my greatest strength as a coach is keeping it simple and realizing what the goalkeeper needs on a day to day basis.”
Josh Saunders, who spent his last three seasons with New York City FC, said he enjoys training with Mulqueen.
“He’s done great,” Saunders said. “I think he’s managed us very well, I think our training sessions have been very intense, and I look forward to the year to come.”
Saunders said he hopes to use his MLS experience to help Goalkeeper Joe Bendik, both on and off the field. Saunders said the atmosphere in goalkeeper training is great, and he and Joe have a good relationship.
“I think we have a good working group, we have a hard working group, and it’s a group that takes every day seriously, which is awesome,” Saunders said. “So, I think it’s something that from our standpoint we look to build from the back and push the group in front of us to work as hard as we do.”
