
Episode 383: Justinas Gasiūnas | From Coffee Shops to the Champions League: Rethinking Goalkeeping
In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Justinas Gasiūnas for a fascinating conversation exploring coaching, goalkeeping and a career that has taken him from Lithuania to England and across professional football in Europe. Justinas shares the story of leaving Lithuania after finishing his playing career and arriving in London with limited English, eventually working in a coffee shop while trying to find his first opportunities within football. What initially felt like one of the worst decisions of his life would eventually become one of the most important. From volunteering in London parks, opportunities followed at Brentford and Brighton before his journey took him into senior football across Europe and eventually to Saba in Azerbaijan. The conversation moves beyond Justinas’ career journey into a detailed exploration of how his thinking around goalkeeping has evolved, challenging traditional drill-based approaches and asking whether the practices we have always used actually reflect what goalkeepers experience in the game. 💡 Key Talking Points • Leaving Lithuania and starting again in England with limited English and very few contacts. • Going from professional footballer to working in a coffee shop while trying to break into coaching. • Why difficult decisions sometimes only make sense when we look back on them. • The relationship between luck, opportunity and consistently putting yourself in the right environments. • Volunteering in grassroots football and the opportunity that eventually led to Brentford. • The influence demanding environments can have on developing coaches. • How Justinas’ approach to goalkeeping has changed throughout his career. • Why the quality of repetitions may matter more than simply accumulating repetitions. • Moving away from practices because “that is how goalkeepers have always trained.” • Designing training around the information, pictures and problems goalkeepers actually experience within matches. • Why anticipation and reading the game are central to effective goalkeeping. • Developing goalkeeper decision-making within realistic contexts. • The relationship between specialist goalkeeping work and integrated team practice. • Why 11v11 might be the most representative practice — but does not always provide enough of the specific problems a goalkeeper needs. • Breaking the game into smaller scenarios without removing the context that gives those actions meaning. • The changing role of the goalkeeper coach within modern football. • Whether specialist coaches risk becoming generalists by continually taking responsibility for more areas of the game. • Why post-match analysis may sometimes benefit from allowing emotion to settle before reviewing performance. One of the strongest messages from the conversation is the importance of continually questioning the practices we inherit. Just because something has traditionally been part of goalkeeper training does not necessarily mean it is the best way to prepare goalkeepers for the game. Justinas challenges coaches to keep asking: What is the game actually asking the player to do — and does our practice genuinely prepare them for it? 🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Continue the Conversation: The TCN Coaching Collective Looking for a space to reflect on your coaching, work through challenges and learn alongside other coaches? The TCN Coaching Collective brings coaches together for a monthly 90-minute online conversation facilitated by Coach Yas. Bring a real challenge from your coaching, explore it through questions and shared experiences, and identify practical next steps for your own environment. You’ll also have access to our WhatsApp community to stay connected, share resources and continue discussions between sessions. Whether you’re navigating a difficult coaching situation, questioning your approach or looking for fresh perspectives, you’re welcome to join us. 📩 To find out more or enquire about joining, email info@thecoachesnetwork.co.uk with “Coaching Collective” in the subject line. The Coaches Network Podcast Conversations that inform, challenge and inspire coaches. Hosted by Coach Yas. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy






