By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s topic deals with catching balls from different trajectories.
The biggest issue keepers run into when when trying to catch balls from different trajectories is not getting their palms perpendicular to the flight of the ball.
Some people might be surprised to see the word “palms” when talking about catching because we frequently emphasize catching with the fingers/fingertips and NOT using the palms but this isn’t about using the palms to catch but rather using the palms in the positioning of the hands.
If the ball were to come straight up from the ground, the keeper would want his palms facing straight down to the ground, in order to catch the ball.
If the ball were to come straight down, the keeper would want his hands facing straight up in order to catch the ball.
If the ball is coming up from the ground at a 45 degree angle, the keeper would want his palms to be facing down at a 45 degree angle in order to catch the ball.
As a basic rule of thumb, if the hands are in the proper shape and the palms are perpendicular to the path of the ball, it will be relatively easy to catch the ball. Keep in mind this is true not only for the trajectory of the ball (high/low) but also the angle. If the ball is coming from the side, the palms must be facing that direction as well.
This is a very simple and basic concept but one that many young keepers struggle with so sharing this with them will make things much easier on them.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
