Christmas deliveries, new partnerships and new gloves coming

This week at GKHero has been a little quieter behind the scenes that regular readers of this blog will be used to; most of our time has been needed to handle the volume incoming orders. Having said that, there’s still a fair amount to report on from the last seven days.

I’ve finished adding some of the range of kit and accessories we produced for Keepers Goalkeeping Coaching to the website, which provides an example of one of the types of project we’re able to deliver for our partners. Jon at ‘Keepers’ has been delighted with the products, and has already expressed interest in expanding the range into further sizes.

Talking of partnerships, I’ve reached an agreement to share GKHeroTV content with a popular goalkeeping website. I’m aiming to fully launch GKHeroTV in the New Year, although I’m well aware that projects such as this can sometimes experience hold-ups. Some of our reviewers have already received their first batch of products to test before recording their video reviews. We now have plenty of reviewers signed-up and on board, but if it’s not too late if you’d like to get involved, just drop us a line for more information.

I’ve also taken the first step toward formalising an existing link with a partner in Ireland, whose remit will be to raise awareness, and push sales to clubs and organisations. If you think you’d be a good representative of GKHero, and if you have relationships with a number of clubs or goalkeeping schools in your area, then we may be able to offer an opportunity to get involved and earn some cash. Just introduce yourself to us in an email, and let us know why you would be a positive ambassador for GKHero.

Looking forward, I expect to be adding new RK1s models to our Outlet Store in the next week. Another thing I expect is an influx of emails asking if orders will be delivered in time for Christmas. We guarantee that all UK and Channel Island orders received before 18th December will be delivered before Christmas day. Deliveries outside of the UK will obviously take longer, and delivery times will vary significantly depending on the destination, but if you drop us a line a sales@GKHero.com we’ll let you know the last order date for your country.

Until next week,

Chris

A step closer to GKHeroTV, a sneak preview of a new glove, and news of a fun weekend in the Brain household

This week we’ve received yet more auditions from goalkeepers who want to get involved with GKHeroTV. The volume of interest the project has generated has easily surpassed my expectations, as had the quality of the majority of the videos we’ve received. I’ve been writing some guidance notes for our reviewers and as soon as I’ve got a replacement toner cartridge, these notes will be printed and wil accompany the first batch of reviewers’ products we’re distributing. After exploring a number of options and carefully considering the pros and cons of each, I have decided to launch GKHeroTV as a YouTube Channel, at youtube.com/GKHeroTV, although video reviews will also be accessible directly through Facebook and Twitter.

This week I’ve also been fortunate enough to get a sneak peak of the HPG’s 2012 glove stencil, and I’ll be providing some feedback to the brand’s owner, Tony Caig, in the next couple of days. For those of you who have recently taken advantage of our special offer on their 2011 range and have experienced the quality HPG produce, I know you’ll be blown away by the 2012 release.

A digitally re-mastered version of MINDSi’s Eye on the Ball goalkeeping performance aid is now available this was received by the first of our customers this week.

This weekend has been a really nice one for the Brain household, having witnessed the first birthday of our youngest son, Alex. I often take the opportunity when writing this blog to reflect on how quickly GKHero is growing and developing, but it really does pale into insignificance when compared to witnessing how rapidly a little person not only grows but absorbs everything around them and forms their own view of the world.

Chris

Internatonal results, the FA Cup, Christmas shopping and more GKHero projects

I’m sat writing this week’s blog at the end of a busy week of football here in the UK. I think that every conceivable viewpoint on the result and performance has been made and countered following England’s friendly victory over the Spanish world and European champions, and I don’t think I can add anything to what has already been voiced by the nation’s pundits and ‘experts’. It’s a shame that all of the debate over the relevance over the England game overshadowed the attention afforded to Wales’ convincing triumph over Norway; and the FA’s dispute with FIFA over England’s adorning of the poppy took at least some of the limelight the Irish lads deserved for their demolition of Estonia, as well as Scotland for their win in Cyprus.

In addition to the international fixtures, this weekend also saw the return of the First Round Proper of the biggest domestic competition in the world, the FA Cup. Whilst this is when the competition kicked off in earnest in many peoples’ eyes, the fact is that the Cup’s first matches were played way back in the second and third weeks of August. In fact, August was when my Club started this season’s FA Cup journey, and unfortunately it was also where it ended following a defeat away to higher-league opposition. One club that has fared somewhat better is one of my former clubs, Oxford City, who secured their place in the second round draw following a 0-0 draw away to Redbridge. The prize awaiting them if they’re able to overcome the same opposition in the replay is a visit to League 2 side Crawley Town; who themselves had a terrific run in the competition last season before running Manchester United close in a 1-0 reverse at Old Trafford in the Fifth Round. Whilst Crawley probably didn’t represent most peoples’ definition of underdogs due to their reported financial backing and management, there’s no doubt that they themselves will be the subject of a relative giant-killing, and I’d be made up if it were at the hands of my former teammates.

A quick review of our sales this week shows that our sales of junior sizes have seen a significantly marked increase, which, as well as keeping us busy, has heaped plenty of guilt on me as I’ve given no thought to Christmas presents yet! The response to our special offer on HPG’s models has been fantastic, and I’m pleased that this has given loads of keepers an opportunity to experience HPG for the first time. The only adverse, but inevitable, effect has been that we’re now pretty much sold out with the exception of a few size 7s.

Sales are a massive part of GKHero and they are vital to enabling the business to progress, but, unlike other retailers, it isn’t the only part. GKHero is quickly expanding into new areas and I’m continually working on new projects and ventures to drive GKHero toward becoming an integral part of the professional and grass-roots goalkeeping community.

Regular Brainwaves readers will be well-aware of GKHeroTV. The interest and level of response has been really pleasing for me, and today I have been in contact with everyone who successfully applied to be part of the project to offer them their first products to review. If you’re interested in joining our team, take a look at our invitation, and drop us a line. I’m keen to get a broad mix of reviewers, and we’re particularly interested to hear from female keepers, and keepers based outside of the UK.

This week also saw an agreement which will see GKHero providing matchday polo shirts for a non-league club’s players and officials. I also received an email from, and subsequently enjoyed some really positive exchanges with, a goalkeeping academy looking for their own branded kit and accessories for their coaches and keepers.

On the product front, I received contact from a relatively new South American company, and I expect to have a couple of their glove ranges in stock in January or February. I can’t say any more at present, other than ‘watch this space’!

That’s about it for this week. As always, please feel free to get in touch through any of our many channels now open.

Chris

New and half-price gloves, working with us, and how Paul Rachubka might still be Leeds’ first choice but for £15

I’m writing this week’s blog after another busy week (cue the comparison with a broken record) and around a month after the launch of the new and improved GKHero.com.

On the product front, we added F-Line’s Ultima glove to our ever-increasing range, and we slashed the price of WarbyGK’s Legend Knight glove, which is now half price.

We also announced work toward a new and exciting project, in the shape of GKHeroTV. This is a venture I’m personally massively enthusiastic about. GKHeroTV represents the next stage in the development of the business and of the GKHero ‘brand’. Equally importantly, it offers the opportunity for us to get a little closer to you, and also for you to get involved with us. I’ve been overwhelmed by the response and the level of interest this projected has generated across the goalkeeping community. Within hours of the inviting ‘auditions’ I was sat watching the first arrivals, and our inbox has been steadily growing with video after video arriving. If you’ve sent a video to us and we’ve not yet replied please don’t be offended, I will personally be in touch very shortly.

The event that drew the most attention to our special breed this week was undoubtedly Paul Rachubka’s performance for Leeds against Blackpool on Tuesday night. Anyone who’s ever donned the gloves could feel nothing but sympathy for Rachubka after the mental battering he suffered at the hands of his own ‘fans’. Was it the right decision to substitute him at half time? The goalkeeping community seems fairly split on this, and to be honest I can see the case for both camps. But what it does go to prove is just how important confidence is to keepers. Making mistakes is an inevitable and inescapable part of being a keeper, irrespective of what level you play at. What is vital, and often separates the very best keepers from the rest of us, is the ability to mentally recover from a mistake, not by the end of the season, or by even by the time of the next game, but within seconds. Controlling our own mental state is one of the most challenging things we can attempt. There are however some extremely effective and, thankfully, very simple techniques we can use. Many of these techniques are unveiled in Eye On The Ball, a tool produced by MINDSi Sports Performance which is available from GKHero in both CD and MP3 formats. At under £15 it could be the best investment you ever make as a goalkeeper.

Until next time…

Chris