Goalkeeping - In Depth Coaching Guide

7/29/2019 Goalkeeping - In Depth Coaching Guide

1/10

Wilmington Youth Soccer Association - Technical Coaching Clinic

Topic: Incorporating Goalkeeping into training sessions.

This coaching clinic is aimed to deliver a clear understanding of not only the main

goalkeeping techniques, but how goalkeeping can be coached simultaneously to teampractices.

Goalkeeping can be broken down into 9 techniques which form the fundamentals of a

goalkeepers ability, mentality and performance.

1 - Stance and Footwork

2 - Handling

3 - Diving Saves

4 - Angle Play and Positioning

5 - Distribution

6 - Breakaway Saves

7 - Crossing and Punching

8 - Team Related Practices

9 - Dead Ball Situations

Today we will concentrate on the first five components of goalkeeping, as well as

emphasising Team related Practices.

Clinic Format

5:00 5:30 Coaching Goalkeeping Technique

5:30 5:45 Goalkeeper Inclusive Warm-ups

5:45 6:00 Unopposed Goalkeeper Inclusive Drills

6:00 6:20 Opposed / Game Related Goalkeeper Inclusive Drills

Robert Holliday Challenger Sports


2/10

Stance and Footwork

Body and Hands Positioning - Body and Chest square to the ball with hands out to the front,

knees bent and feet moving

Body Movement - Maintain Stance whilst moving quickly in all directions. Shuffling

movement keeping body and stance in correct form

Shuffle step is usually used for short distances when goalie needs to adjust the position.

Shoulders width apart and knees bent, shuffle the feet to the right or to the left together

and apart. Always stay in line with the ball and do not cross the feet.

Crossover step is usually used to move backwards on the angle or to cover the ball that flies

over the head to the far post. Turn the hips so that upper body is facing the ball. Move the

feet right on the right, left on the left and dont cross the one foot behind another foot. This

will prevent goalie from tripping.

Handling


The W Catch

Hands, particularly thumbs are behind the

ball.

Ball must be caught at its highest point, to

catch the ball in the air, GK should raise

one knee to protect themselves.

Keeper should wherever possible step

through the catch, to enable them to reset

for an immediate second save, or distribute

quickly.

Ball should be secured to chest after

catching, to avoid collision with defenders or

Hand Positioning for the W catch.

The picture on the right shows a

younger goalkeeper, to enable

maximum protection and stopping

ability they have brought more of

their hands behind the ball.


3/10


Protecting the ball after a catch

Both forearms vertical, with hands curled over the top

of the soccer ball. In this position it is almost impossible

to dislodge the ball

Your keeper should not attempt to protect the ball too

soon after a catch

There should be two distinct sounds as the goalkeeper

makes the save - the first the sound of the ball hitting

the hands, then the sound of the ball being protected

against the chest.

Knee down Pick Up

This technique is only used in special situations, on

long, low, hard shots on uneven fields or wet grass. It

gives the keeper the largest "backstop" for low balls that

may be difficult to corral. Keeper bends one knee; the

other goes down almost to the ground and very close to

the other heel. The down knee should not touch the

ground and should not bear any weight, so that the

keeper can easily get up and move if need be. Also, the

gap between heel and knee should be less than a ball

width, for obvious reasons.

Finger Tips should brush the Ground.

The Scoop or Basket Catch

For shots below the Waist, the basket or scoopcatch is used.

The hands are again behind the ball, this time

downwards with the pinkies together (Fig. 2).Here again it is critical for the hands to bebehind the ball.

For very hard, low shots, the goalkeeper needsto ensure their momentum is forward and theirweight is over the ball the first thing thekeeper must do is check the posts tomake sure they are starting off in a goodposition.

The goalkeeper should follow through the catch

to land on their forearms and knees. (NOT theelbows)


4/10

Diving Saves

Diving Saves can be broken down into 3 main areas

Stance

Knees bent, hands out in front of feet which gets the upper body leaning in the correct way

and encourages the goalkeeper to come forward on the 1st movement.

Step into Play

As opposing player prepares to shoot, GK steps into play and gets to the position to cut off

the angle. GK resets into ready position as player plants foot to shoot.

Power Step

The step after leaving the ready position required to get height on the dive. Power step goes

forward in the exact same direction as the dive with hands in front of the lead foot at all

times.

Altering your Body position for different types of shots

Low Dives

Below Waist Lead with the lower hand and bring the upper hand across, step with lead foot

forward and to the side with lower hand out in front of feet.

High Dives (Above Waist)

Lead with the upper hand at same time bring lower hand up.

With all dives when landing, one hand on top, one hand behind the ball when placed on the

ground and elbows in front of the body. Allows the ground to act as a 3rd hand on the ball

Diving for the ball - Main Coaching Points

Take off from the leg nearer the ball and turn the nearest foot outward. This provides

direction for the dive and uses the thigh muscle more efficiently.

Lead with the hands trying to dive across and forward. Take the ball as early as possible

with both hands together.

The goalkeeper should go down in a collapsing motion, falling onto his hip and shoulder and

not his elbow which can cause the ball to be jarred out of his hands.

Eyes firmly fixed upon ball at all points.

Ball should be trapped on the ground with one hand on top and one hand behind the ball,

with the Goalkeepers weight forwards. (Effectively using the ground as their third hand) This

allows the keeper to recover quickly back to their feet.



5/10

When it is not possible to hold the ball, it should be deflected away from goal (to the sides)

with an open palm, keeping the wrist stiff and the eyes fixed upon ball.

Positioning and Angle Play

Angle play: This area alone separates the pretenders from the contenders. By simply takingup the right position you can make goalkeeping look very easy.

-- Tony DiCicco, Goalkeeper Soccer Training Manual

The first thing the keeper must do is check the posts to make sure they arestarting off with good position.

Centre Position Line


The goalkeeper must always

try to position themselves on

an imaginary line that runs

from the centre of the goal to

the ball This puts them inposition to get to either post

equally well. The centre line

determines the side-to-side

The goalkeeper must

position themselves far

enough off the goal line to

cover the angle created by

the ball and both posts. They

should be able to cover

either post with a couple of

quick steps (footwork!) or a

dive if necessary.

At a tight angle, with the ball

near the end line, the angle

the keeper needs to cover is

very small, so they can stay

near their goal. However, the

keeper must stay outside the

near post. This will prevent

them from deflecting a shot

into their own net inside the

near post.


6/10

General Goalkeeping Position Where should I be when the ball is in the other half?


Conceptually where a keeper should be positioned (red

dots) as the ball (black dots) moves around the edge ofthe penalty area. The blue line shows the shape this

makes. The actual size of the arc will differ depending

on the size and skill of a particular keeper, but the

general shape will remain the same.

If we look at the top of the arc, though, we notice that

the keeper is very far off the line (sometimes 10-12

yards out!) and likely to get chipped, especially if

they're not very tall. So we need to adjust the top of the

arc to account for high balls. The top of the arc gets

flattened, bringing the keeper back to a position wherethey have a chance to get to any ball over their head

Again, the exact position will depend on the size and

skill of the player. Shorter, less skilled keepers will be

more comfortable closer to the goal line, others may be

comfortable closer to the six.


7/10

Goalkeeper Distribution

The goalkeeper is the last line of defense, but also the first line of attack. I would notadvocate attempting to dribble the entire field starting from your own 0but a quick restart to

the attack can be very effective. After a save is made, the keeper must quickly look to break

out and start the counter.

Distribution from the goalkeeper can come from either the hands or feet.

Punting - Start with the ball in both hands. It may be more comfortable to end up dropping

the ball with one hand rather than two. But starting with both hands will allow for more

consistency in the drop. Take a short run up (about 2-3 steps) at a slight angle to the kicking

direction; this gets the hip more involved and generates more power. The plant foot should

point towards the target. Drop the ball - don't toss it upwards! - and kick, following through toland on the kicking foot. The kicking foot should be straight, directly on line with the target.

The ball makes contact with the laces of the foot, with the ankle locked and the toe pointed

downward.

Drop Kick - A drop kick, where the ball hits the ground before being contacted by the foot,

gives a lower trajectory ball. This makes it better for driving into the wind and makes it easier

for teammates to receive. It does not have quite the distance of a punt, however. The

technique is very much the same as a punt, except the kick is timed so the foot strikes the

ball just after it bounces on the ground. (Gives a distinctive Ba-Dum sound)

Throws Throwing the ball out leads to a shorter but far more accurate distribution thanKicking the ball.


As Goalkeepers move up through age

groups it is imperative that they still work

on their foot skills and general soccer

technique.

The Goalkeeper should act as a sweeper

for their team, coming to collect long

through balls and balls over the top and

clearing balls out of play.

The colour coded diagram on the left

shows where the keeper should be

positioned when the ball is in different

areas of the field.

If a GK makes a decision to come and

clear the ball or confront an oncoming

attacker, they should come hard for the

ball without hesitating or stopping.

Similar to the defending, the goalkeeper

should approach the ball in a slight curve,

forcin the shot of the attacker one wa .

Underarm RollThe roll is the most accurate but shortest

distribution. It is also typically the easiest for teammates toreceive. Control the ball between the palm of the hand and

the forearm with a bent wrist, step with the opposite foot,

and "bowl" the ball, making sure the fingertips touch the

ground on the delivery. This will require bending the knees

and waist to get low enough. Just like in real bowling, you

don't want to drop the ball from the hand to the ground. The


8/10

Typical Session Structure

Footskills 10 minutes.

Touch Technique, Futsal Skills, Flicks and Tricks.


Baseball Throw

In the middle of the accuracy and distance scale is the javelin or

baseball throw. The form is similar to how a javelin is thrown. The ball

starts in the palm beside the head and is thrown straight forward as

the keeper steps into the throw. Some backspin on the ball will help it

"sit down" and make it easier to receive, so the keeper can let the

ball roll of their fingertips slightly at the end of the release to provide

this. Make sure the fingers are slightly over the top of the ball to keep

it on a level or downward trajectory.

Overhand Throw

The overhand throw or "sling" is the longest but least accurate

throw. It can be a good technique for very young players, since

sometimes they can actually throw it as far as they can punt. The

soccer ball is again controlled between the palm and forearm with a

bent wrist. The arm is placed almost straight back, and as the

keeper steps into the throw, the arm is fully extended, elbow

locked, and brought around in a circle, over the head, and released

towards the target. The hand should end pointing at the target, and

letting the fingertips roll under the ball at the finish can provide

some backspin to help the ball roll smoothly.


9/10

It is important at the beginning of a session to allow players to become comfortable with the

ball at their feet. For the first 5-10 minutes players should practice dribbling the soccer ball

with all surfaces of both feet. Short fun games or the learning of new skills e.g. advanced

turns can be incorporated during this time. This is a great time to practice juggling the ball,

which is great for improving control.

A Goalkeeping warmup will take place simultaneously with the group warmup. Each

Goalkeeper will be

Dynamic Stretches 5 minutes

Open Gate, Close Gate, Lunges, Air Kicks etc

Dynamic Stretches are increasingly important as players increase in age. It is important to

do dynamic stretching before a session/match to increase core temperature, muscle

temperature, elongate the muscles, stimulate the nervous system, and help decrease the

chance of injury.

SAQ 10 minutes

SAQ stands for speed agility and quickness. All are vital attributes to a successful soccer

player. SAQ helps to stimulate the growth of fast twitch muscle fibres, as well as

strengthening the muscles around the joints. This is particularly important for players going

through puberty, as 80% of knee injuries are non contact, which means they are avoidable

given the right training and preparation.

Goalkeeper SAQ drills can be implemented alongside regular SAQ drills.

Unopposed Practice 15 minutes

For younger players unopposed practices are particularly important. They allow players to

learn the correct techniques for soccer and apply them without being under pressure and

forced into making errors. Unopposed practices allow the coach to give both individual and

team feedback.

These sessions will allow you to work 2-4 goalkeepers simultaneously. Working on

technique as well as distribution.

Opposed/ Game Related 15 (25) minutes

Opposed (under pressure e.g. adding defenders) practices allow players to develop a

specific area of their play in a game related situation. e.g. passing or shooting with defensive

pressure. It is important to use progression within the drills to keep the players engaged and

everyone involved.

Goalkeepers concentrate on positioning and being aware of play. Shot stopping, coming out

where necessary.

Scrimmage (Conditioned) 15 minutes

Training sessions should always finish with a scrimmage. Adding conditions to play (e.g. 5

passes = goal, or max 2 touches) allows players to concentrate on different areas of the

game. Tactical conditions e.g. wingers are only allowed within 10 metres of the touchline,

can help to improve players knowledge of the game.

Cool Down and Session Recap 5 minutes



10/10

For older players static stretching is important after a session to help break down the build-

up of lactic acid in the muscles and retain flexibility. Recap the session whilst players are

stretching and use positive reinforcement, and repetition to help players learn how they can

improve their own and their teams performance.


Documents

Goalkeeping - In Depth Coaching Guide