Alloa goalkeepers are in John's safe hands

Jamie MacDonald 1595 - 1595 • Published 7 Jan 2009 12:30 0 Comments

HELPING his pupils keep the ball out of the net is the name of the game for John Hillcoat.

The goalkeeping coach, a respected football figure throughout Scotland for many years, has now joined Alloa Athletic as the man who will help their last line of defence.

John (38), from Paisley, is delighted to have been asked by Wasps manager Allan Maitland to be part of the backroom staff at a time when the team is determined to get back into top gear.

Speaking about his new appointment, John said, "Now that my playing career is beginning to phase out, coaching will now be my remit. I had spoken to Alloa assistant manager James Ward to see if there was any way in for me at Recreation Park which resulted in Allan Maitland the manager contacting me.

"I accepted his offer to join the club. I started a few weeks ago overseeing the goalkeepers at Alloa and I am enjoying it. I can see the coaches are very professional so it is good for me to learn from them. My job will be to liaise with the first team goalkeepers."

Hillcoat, with 14 previous clubs on his CV and a long list of happy memories on the way as player and coach, runs his own football goalkeeping academy in the west of Scotland.

He is immensely proud of the way his Goalkeeping Academy is progressing but his playing career may not be quite over.

"He said, "After I severed my contact with East Stirlingshire I had been coaching with Stenhousemuir. Then a few weeks ago Derek McInnes at St. Johnstone contacted me to ask if I would be a back-up keeper in their first team.

"I will now be involved at Alloa for training and in preparation work for the goalkeepers on a Saturday."

As a youingster John started his career with youth side Renfrew Waverley which he said was a good set-up, with players like Steve Fulton (ex-Celtic and Hearts) coming through.

"I was then a YTS player with St. Mirren and farmed out to Gleniffer Thistle.

"Now, many years later I felt the need to start my goalkeeping academy in April this year.

"It was formed to provide quality goalkeeping training and opportunities for young people. They will be able to work with experienced SFA licensed coaches and learn a lot about football.

"There has been an excellent response, with 65 people attending between the age of 8-15 years."

In 1989, John signed for Dunfermline Athletic, playing under Jim Leishman, Jocky Scott and Ian Munro before moving eight months into Bert Paton's reign. He also played for St. Mirren, Clyde and many others.

Allan Maitland sees the addition of John as a positive move. He said, "We wanted to change the strategy so John Hillcoat's appointment will focus on the first team goalkeepers which will be a new experience for both of us.

"He is a good lad who will keep working our goalkeepers hard. Our other goalkeeping coach Ally Jenkins will continue with the youth teams."

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This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 07 Jan 09

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