As the goalie you will be the last one who can stop your opponent’s from scoring. You must therefore make as few mistakes as possible.
You need also to keep yourself calm even when you fail. To maintain your calm in difficult situations you will need a great personality and also ability to infect your teammates with your own confidence.
Your job will not be easy. A single mistake may cost your team the victory. It is therefore critical to always be on your guard because the opponent’s will do everything they can to get the ball past you.
Your teammates know that saving a penalty kick is a pretty difficult task but they are still hoping that you will make it. If you manage to save the ball against all odds you will be a hero, if not you will be no good.
You should also be in constant contact with the ball during your training in order to develop your agility, reflexes and reactions.
You won’t become a successful goalie overnight. Instead you will need to practice hard and always do your best, no matter what!
Reinstate The Attack
Knowing how to reinstate the attacks of your team is critical. Simply, without this ability you will rarely perform well as goalkeeper. As a goalkeeper you must throw and kick the ball with precision.
You can’t just kick or throw the ball away and hope for the best. A good goalkeeper should be able to perform a goal kick and throw the ball with precision at least 40 yards.
If you are not able to kick or throw the ball over 40 yards I recommend you to put more emphasis on this during your practice.
Things The Goalkeeper Should Do:
- Never throw or kick the ball back into play unless some of your teammates are completely unmarked.
- Never try to dribble your opponent, instead, play smart and kick the ball away.
- Always try to find a free standing teammate who can receive the ball without pressure.
How to Throw the Ball?
There are several techniques you can use in order to throw the ball properly. You may for example:
- Throw the ball low.
- Roll it along the ground.
- Throw it like a tennis serve.
As I mentioned before, try always to have a plan behind your throws and kicks. I repeat, do not throw or kick the ball and hope for the best.
That’s a recipe for disaster because you have no planning behind what you’re doing. Instead, analyze the current situations properly and try to find the best possible solution.
Facing Your Opponent 1 vs. 1
All right, enough about throws and kicks; let’s discuss how you should react when you are facing your opponent 1 vs. 1.
I know by experience that this type of situation is a nightmare for a goalie. Simply, the opponent is the one that has advantage and you are the underdog.
However, you can still win these situations by following some simple guidelines. Let’s take a look at these:
- Once you leave the goal line there is no turning back. The worst thing you can do is to stand and wait for your opponent. Instead, you should try to attack him as fast as possible and stretch out your whole body to make yourself big. Believe me, if you do this, the chance for winning the duel will increase greatly.
- Keep in mind that you only have one chance to clear the ball away from your opponent’s feet. Once the opponent passes you it will be impossible to stop him from scoring. I know by experience that many opponents like to dribble the goalie instead of shooting directly. Try to keep this in mind when facing your opponent 1 vs. 1.
- You could also wait for the split second which simply means that your opponent has to first look at the ball before firing a shot.
While your opponent prepares to shoot the ball you should rush toward him and block the shot.
Organize The Function of Your Defenders
You will also need to organize the position of your defenders. This is very important as you will often need to tell your defenders whether they should move up or stay.
As the last player you will be able to see the whole field and predict how the game is likely to develop. This is why you always need talk with your defense and coordinate them.
They may fight you at first, so try to be patient. You have the best interests of the team on your mind!
Recommended Reading
- The soccer keeper must know skills.
- Ideal 10 tips for a keeper to remember!
- Great goalkeeper saves you should study.
- The 3 fundamental keeper skills you need to improve!
- Goalkeepr fitness training the right way!
- How to prepare for your training on the right way?
- Tips for staying focused as goalkeeper.
- Four tings every keeper should know!
- Why you should always warm up before exercise?
- Other soccer skills and techniques available.
Summary
As you can see, goalkeeping is not just about stopping your opponent’s from scoring; it’s much more than that.
My recommendation is to try all soccer positions whether you have recently started your goalie career or have been standing in the goal for several years.
By trying out all different soccer positions you will be able to understand the game better and you will also increase your ball handling skills as well.
