Impact Goalkeeper Academy (IGA)
Developing confident, skilled, and fearless goalkeepers since 2011.
In Honor of Coach Big Joe Velazco - The Heart of IGA
Coach “Big Joe” Velazco built Impact Goalkeeper Academy on passion, discipline, and heart. His dedication shaped many generations of goalkeepers who continue to carry his impact
today.
We honor the work he started and carry his legacy every time we step on the field.
About IGA
Founded in 2011 by Coach “Big Joe” Velazco, Impact Goalkeeper Academy (IGA) has grown into one of Southern California’s most respected goalkeeper training programs. Today, IGA continues his legacy by developing goalkeepers who play with confidence, passion, and resilience.
IGA provides year-round training through personalized 1:1 sessions, small group training, and elite camps and clinics. For more than a decade, IGA has helped thousands of goalkeepers strengthen their technical, tactical, and mental skills to perform at their best.
Our programs are designed for goalkeepers of all levels — from youth and club players to collegiate and professional athletes — and are led by coaches with collegiate and professional experience. Each session emphasizes consistency, decision-making, and confidence in real game situations.
We’re proud to serve goalkeepers from across Southern California and beyond, and we look forward to seeing you at the next IGA event.
HISTORY of iga:
For many years (over 10) both Big Joe & Mizzy were training keepers separately within their respective programs. Over time as players moved between Clubs, they started training the same players. The youth Clubs that they worked for were bitter rivals however this never bothered or got between what either coaches were trying to accomplish. There was always high respect for one another although they never had met. Parents would often discuss the differences between their coaching styles, and would always follow up with- "you should do a camp together".
Finally in Summer of 2011 Mizzy messaged Joe for a meeting; just to chat and talk about the South Bay goalkeeper scene. The meeting was held at Mizzy's home, and the SB-GK scene changed.
That evening, they talked about everything GK related until 2:00 in the morning. One of the ideas: hold a camp together. A non-club biased GK camp. Focusing on only a few topics, and keeping the costs low to the attending families. It wouldn't be about making tons of money- but more about educating, teaching, and raising the quality of the SB-GK scene.
In the Winter of 2011, under the Impact Goalkeeping Academy banner at West HS in Torrance they held their first camp. They expected (hoped really) 25-30 kids ages 8-17. Camp total: 65! One of the IGA rules- camper to coach ratio must be low. This massive group was going to severely break this important rule. Big Joe decided to split the camp- "olders" and "youngers". They held 2 separate sessions per day so the campers would have smaller groups- resulting in better coaching opportunity. No other sports camps would do this. IGA is about the players getting better, not having groups of 15+ per coach.
