Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s topic deals with the psychology of the pre game warm up.
The technical and tactical sides of goalkeeping are important. The psychological sides are just as important (and possibly even more so).
As a coach, when the teams are warming up prior to a game, I want to watch my keeper but I will also watch the other teams keepers. If I see bad technique, poor footwork or an overall lack of athleticism, I’ll make note of this and make sure the team I’m coaching is aware of this and encourage them to shoot whenever possible because it looks like the keeper position is a weakness. If the keeper looks like they have good technique, good footwork and is athletic I most likely will not mention the keeper at all. Based on this alone, I know if the keeper I’m coaching works hard in warm ups, shows proper technique, footwork and attitude, there is a good chance the opposing team will notice this as well. This means that encouraging the keeper warm up with a
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