Tag Archives for " Kasperitis "

0 Reading the Angles

By Patrick Kasperitis -

The ability for goalkeepers to judge their angles correctly is paramount to the success of any goalkeeper. Athleticism can only make up for so much where as good positioning can make any save look comfortable. Below is a session that I use to help goalkeepers improve their understanding of the angles they need to take within the goal.

The key to this skill is making sure that the goalkeeper keeps their body weight forward so that they can get to a good set position and make a good dive. We want our goalkeepers to have that forward body weight and if that is not present in their movement, they might be flat-footed when trying to make a

0 Dealing with Balls Cut Back from the End Line

By Patrick Kasperitis -

A common soccer tactic is for the attacking teams to have a player drive towards the end line and play a ball at a backwards angle toward the top of the 6-yard box. This type of play allows for the ball to already be behind the defenders and allows the attacking players to be able to attack the ball at an angle that is moving away from defenders and the goalkeeper. Plus because of the fact that this ball is often driven from a close distance it can be difficult for the goalkeeper to hold on to it. This exercise will

0 Getting Back to Your Line

By Patrick Kasperitis -

This exercise set looks at the goalkeeper’s ability to not only deal with a cross, but to get back onto their line in order to deal with any save that might come from having to punch or tip the shot.

Set-Up
Place cones off to the side of the penalty area in line with the penalty spot. Using the Line for the end of the penalty area (or setting a cone 6 yards away from the gates) the server will toss the ball up in the air for the

0 Playing Out with the Goalkeeper

By Patrick Kasperitis -

The modern goalkeeper is required to use their feet almost more often than their hands. Players like Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich FC and German National Team) and Hope Solo (Seattle Reign and US Women’s National Team), whose stories involve relatively late changes in position to playing as a goalkeeper made their ability to play with their feet seem almost natural. On the opposite side we see fantastic shot stoppers like Simon Mignolet, who plays for Liverpool FC in England, come under immense criticism for his relative short comings playing with his feet.

The skills they use to help their team to play out of the back are things that we can train. We want to try to replicate situations they might see in the game. One of these examples is when the goalkeeper is asked to swing the ball from side to side. Our defenders in front of us are under pressure, we want our team mates to be able to be comfortable playing the ball back to us so that we can get to the

0 Warm-Up for Mind and Body

By Patrick Kasperitis -

A warm-up is intended to be a wake-up exercise for the mind as well. We need to prepare our goalkeepers to be able to focus on a specific task with many different stimulants around them. This warm-up exercise will incorporate functional agility movements with handling and playing with the feet.

The exercise is set up as below. I generally look to do all footwork at least off to the side of the goal for two reasons: 1) preserve the integrity of the ground inside of the goal area, and 2) when doing work with our feet, I ask our goalkeepers to try and avoid taking touches inside of the frame of the

0 Claiming Balls Out of the Air

By Patrick Kasperitis -

Claiming balls out of the air is such a difficult skill. It involves so many different variables that the goalkeeper has little control over. We have to work with our goalkeepers to make sure that they are able to block out as many of those variables and distractions as possible and focus on:

• tracking the ball
• using good footwork to keep body in good position
• going for and jumping for the ball with strength and confidence
• Catch and hold onto the ball while coming out of the air

There are many exercises that can try to improve these individual aspects. This exercise will work to improve the

0 Reaction Save Exercise

By Patrick Kasperitis -

Whenever a goalkeeper is making a save there are equal parts anticipation as reaction. Sometimes though the reaction side becomes the most pivotal of these two. Reaction saves are about concentration, body quickness, and at times creativity. Here we have two exercises. One that is a warm-up involving shuffling/jumping and working to improve the quickness of the hand movements. The second exercise deals with the possibility of deflections.

The Warm-up is set up as illustrated below.
- Server 5 meters away
- one hurdle in front of goalkeeper

Goalkeeper will perform footwork and then will receive ball. Goalkeeper does not know when the ball will be served. The Server has complete control over when the ball is played. They can do it after on repetition of the footwork or after 10! (Should probably vary it up but go no more than 3-5 repetitions without

1 Improving Making Low Saves

By Patrick Kasperitis -

This exercise works the functional movement of diving to save low shots that are a little bit closer to the body. When looking at this type of shot we want to make sure that we address the issues of:

• the first step of the dive
• diving with our hands going towards the ground first (to minimize the chances of the ball going under the hands)
• Keeping our chest facing the field in the dive and propelling through as we make contact with the ball in order to parry.

Exercise is set up as such:

• One goalkeeper will work at a time
• Take two tall hurdles (should sit about hip high) and place them 4 meters apart
• One server will start about 8-10 meters away.

Exercise begins with a volley into hands, toss ball back, then a volley into a basket catch, toss ball back. After ball is tossed back a second time, the