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Goalkeeping Edition 119 Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today's subject deals with playing big There are already more than 30 sessions online for the Full Season Training
Program. To see a sample of one of these sessions as well as to see what else is
included, please go to There was a problem with the online survey last week so some people who tried going there received an error instead. This problem has been corrected so please take a moment and go to www.finesoccer.com/survey.htm to participate. Too many keepers sick back on their line and play very small as a keeper. They aren't willing to come out and cut off the angle (see http://finesoccer.com/edition12.htm for more on this subject) and aren't willing to force the opponents to make a mistake. One of the reasons keepers stay back on their lines is they are afraid of having an opponent chip the ball over them for a goal. So instead of taking the chance of being chipped, they stand back and let goals go in around them. Instead of standing back on the line, if you are a keeper, come off your line, take charge, be large and make your presence felt. The further back you are in goal, the smaller you seem (a person looks bigger up close than from a distance). Also the further back you are the more room the shooter has to shoot. The other thing not considered a great deal is that the further back you are, the more time the shooter has. If you come out and attack the shooter and put her under pressure, she will have less time to shoot, less room to shoot at, less of a comfort zone to work within and overall she will have a much greater probability of panicking. Or, you can stay back, give the shooter time to shoot, give the keeper a lot of space to shoot at and let her stay in her comfort zone. As a keeper, it really is your choice. As far as the fear of being chipped is concerned, it's a genuine concern but can be combated a number of ways. First of all, know how to use proper footwork and technique to dive backwards for a chipped ball (see http://finesoccer.com/edition19.htm for more on this subject). You should also realize that the closer you are to the shooter, the more difficult it is to get the ball over you. The reason for this is that if you play big and come out far and put the shooter under pressure, she has to worry about getting the ball up quickly enough to get it high enough before it gets to you. Now, instead of trying to catch a ball that is behind you and coming down, you are trying to catch a ball that is in front of you and rising (a much easier ball to save). One thing to realize is that a small person can play big and a big person can play small so it's NOT a case of overall physical size but rather, it's a case of how big you want to be and how big you are willing to play. To a large extent, this is where a person makes the transition from being a shot blocker to a goalkeeper. When a keeper starts playing large, they will find that they are facing a lot less shots because as they play further and further off their line, they are able to intercept through balls more easily and are also able to discourage more shots from being hit because they wont see the space to hit the shot into. Play big and be a goalkeeper or play small and be a shot blocker. The choice is yours BUT if you want to be a successful goalkeeper, the choice is also quite easy. Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to comments@finesoccer.com or posted to the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.com/forum.htm. To subscribe to the the FineSoccer Newsletters, please go to www.finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm Have a great day! Lawrence |
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