Succeeding Christine Majury as the goalkeeper coach for the bison women’s soccer team is Jeff Seney. A chiropractor by day, Seney had previously worked with the Bison's shot-stoppers a few seasons ago.
He has been a goalkeeper since the tender age of four. Growing up in the St. Vital area, he started playing the position alongside his father and his coach - a former Czechoslovakian national team goalkeeper.
"I very quickly fell in love with the position and am still actively playing today," said Seney.
A position that demands both mental and physical strength, the former member of Canada’s U-20 National Men’s team emphasizes the need for a short memory as a crucial criterion of goalkeeping.
"I think that having a short memory ranks among the most important. Having the ability to not allow an unfortunate event, like a bad goal, get in your head and wreck your game. Or worse yet, a season."
While it is important for goalkeepers to receive the proper training from a qualified coach, it is also important for high-level shot-stoppers to develop their game from an early age. This was a motivation for Seney when he established his youth goalkeeping school, working with some of Manitoba’s most promising young keepers.
"I find it incredibly satisfying to be able to work with a goalkeeper from a young age and then be able to still be working with them into adulthood, as they get to higher and higher levels," said Seney.
"It's really an honour for me to have the opportunity to do that and I feel a great sense of pride in that."
