Phil Kite is a former football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 goalkeeper

Goalkeeper (football)

In association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...

 and goalkeeping coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

, who is now the club physio

Athletic trainer

An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....

 for Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

. He also has a son, Alex Kite, who also plays for Bristol Rovers.

Playing career

He joined Bristol Rovers as an apprentice

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...

 goalkeeper in 1979, and signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday in October 1980. After making 96 league appearances for Rovers, he moved on to Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

. He went on to make league appearances for thirteen different clubs, but missed a large amount of playing time through injury, and only a two-year spell at Gillingham

Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...

 saw him play regularly as an established first-choice keeper. In 1996, he left Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

 to re-join his first club, Bristol Rovers, as physio, goalkeeping coach and backup goalkeeper.

Physio career

He began studying towards his physiotherapy qualification in 1991 and completed his studies in 1995. Since re-joining Bristol Rovers he has retired from playing, and relinquished his coaching duties to Steve Book

Steve Book

Steve Kim Book is an English professional football goalkeeper who is now the goalkeeper coach at Football League side Cheltenham Town. He has previously played for Mangotsfield United while being the goalkeeping coach at Cheltenham Town...

. He now works exclusively as a physio and is in the process of gaining the necessary qualifications to become a chartered physiotherapist

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

.

External links

• Phil Kite from bristolrovers.co.uk