Sunderland, Newcastle United and Durham stoppers unite as North East's first all-female goalkeeping camp launched

Helen Alderson – who played for the Lady Black Cats for close to a decade, and was part of the squad that featured in the 2009 Women’s FA Cup final – has launched the Helen Aldo GK all-female goalkeeping camp, which is the first of its kind in the North East.

During a three-day camp to be held in Sunderland later this year, youngsters will have the chance to learn from the former Sunderland and England youth international and a stellar team of coaches who all currently play at the top end of the game – including Sunderland Ladies’ number one Claudia Moan, Newcastle United Women stopper Laura Wareham and Durham Women goalkeeper Megan Borthwick.

And Alderson is hopeful that learning from such role models will help inspire young female goalkeepers in the area.

"When I was a young player playing for local clubs I used to go to girls-only courses run by the Foundation of Light,” she explained.

"They were brilliant – but it was all for outfield players, there was nothing for goalkeepers.

"Since then, I’ve never seen anything specifically targeted at female-only goalkeepers and that’s something I felt would have really helped my development.

"When I retired, I started to build-up a picture and a concept where we want to provide up-and-coming goalkeepers with good, high quality coaching in a positive environment where they can thrive.

"We’ve come together with Sunderland’s number one, Newcastle United’s number one and Durham’s number one to put together a three day camp where young girls can be coached by their idols and have those role models to look up to.

"That’s something I never had in the women’s game.”

The goalkeeping camp will take place from July 27 to July 29 at Ford Quarry Football Hub (SR4 0HB) and is priced at £130 for all three days – with those attending also receiving a free pair of goalkeeping gloves and a training top thanks to a partnership with X-PRO.

Those wishing to register can do so by emailing [email protected].