A soccer team’s last line of defence, the goalkeeper’s job is to protect his goal from opposition players and ensure that the ball doesn’t cross the goalline.
While outfield players tend to wander out of their defined positions, moving up and down the field depending on the phase of play, the goalkeeper is commonly restricted to the immediate area around their goal. There will be times when it seems as if the goal is safe, but it doesn’t take long for the ball to move from one end of the pitch to the other.
Keepers will often have just seconds to process the threat, decide how best to deal with it and position themselves to block the shot accordingly. Because of this, goalkeepers must possess sublime concentration skills, to ensure that they are alert at all times.
While a keeper’s mental attributes are vital to their success, there are also a number of physical requirements too. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be tall to play in goal – Jorge Campos and Frantisek Planicka, two of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, measured just 1.68 metres and 1.72 m respectively. However, a good keeper will need extraordinary jumping abilities and reach, so that they can adequately protect all areas of their goal mouth.
As with anything, natural talent is an advantage, but it isn’t necessarily a requirement. Goalkeeping can be learnt by focusing on a number of important skills:
Catching:
This will help goalkeepers to stop shots above the waist, using either the ‘W’ or ‘Contour’ techniques. The hands are positioned to absorb the impact and cup around the ball.
Positioning:
Goalkeepers need to know where and how to position themselves depending on the situation that they find themselves in, such as 1-vs-1 situations, attacks from out wide or when defending a corner kick.
Diving:
Learning how to dive will allow goalkeepers to cover larger distances in less time. Performing dives must be done using proper technique, in order to minimise the risk of injury.
Footwork:
Knowing proper foot positioning is vital to performing many goalkeeping techniques and skills with speed and precision, such as diving, positioning and distribution.
Communication:
As goalkeepers have the best view of the field, they should be able to command their outfield teammates to minimise the risk of a threat to their goal.
Distribution:
Goalkeepers should work on both kicking and throwing the ball, in order to turn defense into attack following a successful save.
Goalkeeping is a tough position to crack and certainly won’t appeal to everybody, but with strong mental abilities and a willingness to learn, it can be one of the most rewarding positions on the pitch.
Give it a try: Blind reactions drill
This drill requires two players – a goalkeeper and an attacker. The goalkeeper should start positioned in the goal mouth with their back turned away from the field, while the attacker stands near the penalty spot (approximately 18 yards from the goal).
The attacker should then proceed to take a shot at goal, calling out as they do so. At this point, the goalkeeper should spin around, judge the situation and move to make the save. This drill should be performed numerous times, changing the direction of the shot each time.
This exercise, which will help to improve a goalkeeper’s reaction time, judgement and speed, is useful for keepers of all ages and levels and difficulty, and can be increased by changing the attacker’s position, distance and shot power.
When performing an exercise with a goalkeeper, you should always remind them of the key skills that they should focus on prior to starting the drill, as well as provide feedback on how they performed once finished. It will take time to master the intricacy of the position, but, with time, making a save, closing down attackers and preventing a goal will become second nature to the keepers in your charge.
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