Brisbane Roar’s Liberty A-League Goalkeeper Coach Brody Sams has accepted a life-changing opportunity to join the coaching staff at National Women’s Soccer League side NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Sams will soon relocate to the United States to begin his new role as the team’s Goalkeeper Coach, where he will work with the likes of two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner Ashlyn Harris.
“It’s almost a dream come true for me personally,” Sams said.
“It’s a great opportunity and I’ll be doing the best I can by the players and staff over there. The goalkeeping department is a whole new one, including myself, which is exciting. The club itself has undergone a rebrand and it’s exciting times for them, bringing in some great players.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Sams has spent the best part of a decade in the Brisbane Roar setup, initially as a coach with the men’s youth and first teams and more recently within the women’s program.
He has played an important role in the development of a number of Roar goalkeepers, including current senior players Mia Bailey, Georgina Worth and Macklin Freke.
“This club is the reason why I’m in football, it’s the reason why I coach, it’s my boyhood club,” he said.
“I’m happy because Macklin is in goal for the first team for the men and I remember when he was first brought to the club as a young boy, and I worked with him in the youth team.
“It’s exciting times for the women’s program. What Football Queensland and Brisbane Roar are doing, and with the QAS and the Future Matildas program, there’s some real continuity now for the girls to have high-level programs for 12 months.
“The goalkeeping space is improving. Part of me really would like to stay, to really own that and smash that with the girls, because we’ve had a great 12-18 months together. But there are opportunities for young girls to come through, opportunities for coaches to come through.
“The team is training out of the best facility in the state if not the country, got some of the best staff behind them, the Government behind them – the development pathway and progress is second to none.
“It’s a bit sad to leave but I’m excited to go on to new opportunities.”
Brisbane Roar wishes Brody all the best for the upcoming move and his career going forward.
The club has appointed a new Liberty A-League Goalkeeper Coach who will be announced in the coming days.
