Tag Archives for " goalkeeping "

0 Training a Goalkeeper Without a Goalkeeper Coach

By Tony Englund Question - Our club doesn't have a goalkeeper coach, so the goalkeepers are included in all of our training sessions and it's my job to train them along with the rest of the team. I know lots of GK drills, but I have difficulty trying to fit them in while training the rest

0 Dealing with Angled Shots

By Scott Housden - When facing angled shots from attackers, the goalkeeper’s movement and positioning are key in being able to make the save.  The two key elements of positioning are; moving into line with the ball and moving down the line in order to reduce the goal-scoring opportunity. The diagram above illustrates the movement made

1 Basic Diving Shape – Foot Knee Shoulder

By Scott Housden - The dive, it appears is the most attractive aspect of goalkeeping – particularly for junior goalkeepers, and is the skill which gives most satisfaction when performed correctly.  Every goalkeepers diving proficiency differs from side to side (with a preference to one side).  These drills below will help harmonise this diving technique and

0 Promoting Confidence in Young Goalkeepers

By Wayne Henderson - The aim of the following practices is to promote confidence, to teach younger goalkeepers how to have a good forward shape when diving and to enjoy making saves. The exercise begins with every goalkeeper having 1 football to the right side of them and 1 football to the left side –

0 Explosive Movement across the Goal to Save

By Scott Housden - As is the case for all other players, the goalkeeper moves considerably during games.  Nevertheless, only a few of these movements undertaken serve to fulfil the defensive duties of the goalkeeper.  Active movement (i.e. the goalkeeper’s movement on the pitch to ensure good positioning before attempting to make a save) across the

0 Handling, Shot Stopping and Positioning

By Wayne Henderson - The most important attribute of a successful goalkeeper is being a good shot stopper; this simple drill will help work on a few aspects of “making saves”. First Phase Feeder number 1 strikes a simple volley straight at the goalkeeper, who catches the volley and throws the ball back to feeder number 1.

0 Dealing with Crosses

By Wayne Henderson - The Idea behind this drill is to emphasize the importance of the goalkeeper catching the cross at its earliest and highest point. Warm-Up Up to 5 goalkeepers on the move, altogether within the 6 yard box either one of the coaches (if you have 2 coaches available) shouts the goalkeeper’s number;

0 Passing and Distribution

By Wayne Henderson - More than ever, the modern day goalkeeper must be as comfortable and confident with the ball at his / her feet than the outfield players. This Drill and adapted game replicates a very common passing sequence found in games at all levels. The important aspects to look for, as a coach

0 Dealing with the Second Phase Shots

By Scott Housden - The majority of crosses that goalkeepers have to deal with during a game are usually those that the goalkeeper is not able to gather cleanly. Therefore, they may have to punch or help the ball on or, rely on their team to deal with the cross whilst the goalkeeper calls ‘away’ and

1 Fitness in a Goalkeeping Environment

By Scott Housden - Conditioning for goalkeepers is key throughout the season, and not just during pre-season.  Specificity is also a key element for goalkeeper fitness.  This is achievable by utilising specific traits that a goalkeeper undertakes during a game such as, short sprints, diving and recovering from dives. The drill below is superb for allowing

0 Moving Well

By Wayne Henderson - Goalkeepers are judged on many things, shot stopping, distribution, commanding their area, dealing with crosses etc. One aspect which goes a little unnoticed is the quality of their movement. The ability to move quickly in and around the goal mouth is a very important aspect of being a top class goal

0 Restricted Space

By Wayne Henderson - At this time of year in the United Kingdom the adverse weather conditions can cause havoc when preparing and delivering your coaching sessions. Due to frost and snow, The Grass pitches we use were unplayable and we found ourselves and the rest of our team training on a smaller than usual

0 Goalkeeping Shape

By Wayne Henderson - Good shape for a goalkeeper is a “so called” lesser attribute that can make big differences to your Goalkeepers game. As shown in Diagram 1 there are 3 Diving techniques that show varying degrees of Diving shape, from Number 1 being the poorest (diving in a slightly backwards shape, to number

0 Powerful Low Saves

By Wayne Henderson - In order to make sharp, powerful low saves it is important to be in the correct position in order to generate the power to dive at full length. If the goalkeeper is diving from a position that is too upright, the keeper makes a save that is almost landing on top

0 Reaction Speed

By Wayne Henderson - Goalkeepers need to be on their toes, alert and have a high level of focus at all times. This session involves quick movement, decision making and reaction speed. I frequently use this or a variation of this session with our 1st team Goalkeepers, because I think it replicates situations that occur

0 Right Time, Right Place

0 Quick Movement, Balance and Catching

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on quick movement, balance, and catching.

Start with a keeper standing in a 6 x 6 square. Each corner is numbered 1-4. There is a server 10 yards away with a ball.

The server calls a number and the keeper must

0 Positioning for the Long Shot

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Todays featured activity works on positioning, reading the game and saving long shots.

Start with a 20 x 44 grid just outside the 18. There are three groups of 3 and a keeper in goal.

Two teams are on offense (in this case the

0 Scrambling to Make the Save

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on scrambling to make the save.

This activity is designed to work on when the keeper has been caught out of position (possibly because of having made a save and then given up a rebound).

Start with two goals, three yards wide that are six yards apart. There is one keeper and two servers with balls 10 yards from the goals.

One server starts by

0 Diving with a Quick Change of Direction

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on diving with a quick change of direction.

Start with a horizontal line of 6 cones, 2 feet apart. A keeper starts on one end of the line and a server is 10 yards away with a ball.

The keeper starts by sprinting behind the cones to get to the

0 Shot Blocking, Footwork and Rebounds

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on shot blocking, footwork and dealing with rebounds.

Start with a keeper in goal and three servers on the field. The first one is 15 yards out, even with the 6 yard box with balls. The second one is 15 yards out, even with the other side of the 6, with balls and the third is at the 12 yard spot.

The keeper starts by sliding and

0 Dealing with Breakaways

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on breakaways.

One of the difficult things about working on breakaways is that much of it comes down to experience. Knowing when to go down, when to stay up, when to come out, when to stay back is extremely difficult and it really does come down to experience. This activity can’t recreate a true game situation but it can help a keeper get accustomed to reading the touch, coming out for the ball and making the save.

This works best with a couple of keepers and a few field players. Each field player will need a ball. One keeper starts in goal and the others are to the side. The field players are near the top of the D.

The first player touches the

0 Catching High Balls and Quick Distribution

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on catching high balls and quick distribution.

To start have a keeper in goal, a server with balls 20-25 yards out, two dummies inside the 6 yard box and a couple of gates (or small goals) 30-40 yards out.

The server starts by playing a

0 Runners Off of a Wall

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on runners off of a wall.

To start, have a server 25-30 yards out with a ball. There are 3 mannequins (or, if you don’t have mannequins, you can use people) making up a wall 10 yards from the ball. An attacking player is at the end of the wall and a keeper is in goal.

We are recreating a free kick situation here so the