UNIT 7

GOALKEEPING
UNIT OUTCOMES

• By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• Describe the components of a goalkeeping warm up
• Explain the various catching techniques for various senarios
• Explain how a goalkeeper assists in supporting the defense
• Plan and develop various goalkeeping drills
UNIT RESOURCE

Pages (173 - 199)

INTRODUCTION
• The Goalkeeper is arguably the most important position
on the field, prevents the opposition from scoring.

• Contributes to the defense, and attack by using various

distribution methods

• Modern goalkeepers must have “two good feet,”

meaning that they must be able to contribute to
defensive tactics

• Many coaches neglect their goalkeepers during practice

situations, partly because the position can be difficult to
coach and partly because they devote the majority of
their time to outfield players
INTRODUCTION

• A well-organized team should

have two regular goalkeepers
plus at least two other players
who are capable of goalkeeping.

• All players should try the

goalkeeper position at some time
in their development.
GOALKEEPER SAFETY
• In practice sessions, goalkeepers must wear protective clothing.
Sweatpants, long-sleeved uniforms, and pads

• NB: You have a special duty to your goalkeepers to ensure

safety. Players should simply shoot at random at the goal, and
two or more players should never shoot simultaneously.

• Practice should always be supervised and operated under clear

and well-understood rules.

• You need to provide the best possible practice surface for the
goalkeeper
CHOOSING A
GOALKEEPER
• When choosing a goalkeeper, in addition to
technical and tactical abilities, you should also
look for desirable physical characteristics:

• There is no doubt that height is an

advantage to a goalkeeper.
• Other qualities are also important, such as
gymnastic ability, flexibility, speed of
reaction, a sense of position, and courage.

• The best way to help your goalkeepers improve

their skills is to provide them with at least one
special session a week (35min long).
GOALKEEPING
WARMUPS

• Goalkeepers, like outfield

players, should follow a
careful, individually designed,
and systematic warm-up
program
GOALKEEPING WARMUPS
• General Jogging
Goalkeepers can jog with the outfield players because the aim is the same
—to increase heart rate, raise the body temperature, and stimulate the
circulation prior to strenuous exercise.

• Rolling
Goalkeepers roll on the ground in all directions mostly in the sitting or tuck
position with the hands clasped around the knees and the chin down.

• Stretching and Mobilizing

Goalkeepers should should stay seated on the ground and use progressive
static stretching to work on the groin, spine, neck, arms, legs, and
shoulders.
CONTINUED…

• Explosive and Jumping Movements

Powerful, explosive, springing movements are essential in
goalkeeping for diving saves and for dealing with high balls.
Goalkeepers must train for these movements, starting at 40
to 50 percent effort.

• Diving Movements
Goalkeeping warm-ups should be completed with simple
diving-type movements to safely introduce the necessary
body-to-ground contact
BASIC GOALKEEPING TECHNIQUES

Basic Stance
• Like the receiver in tennis, the goalkeeper must be able to react quickly in any
direction.
• To achieve this, he should assume a slightly crouched body position, with feet
about shoulder-width apart, weight forward on the balls of the feet, and hands
just above waist height with palms forward and fingers spread.
• The goalkeeper’s body should be still at the moment the attacker shoots, and
his eyes should be fixed on the ball.
Catching the Ball
• Complete safety is ensured if the ball can then be clutched into the chest or the abdominal area as a
second safety barrier.
• This double barrier, hands and body, can be emphasized by drawing attention to the two sounds
made by a perfect execution. The first sound is the slap of the ball into the hands; the second is the
sound of the ball being pulled into the body (see picture on next slide).

Catching the Ball above Chest height –

• A ball that arrives high up on the chest or just under the chin can be awkward to hold.
• The goalkeeper can use an overhand grip, with one hand above and one below the ball

Ground Shots
• Shots along the ground range = roll gently to the goalkeeper, or possibly bumpy, uneven surface.
• To collect balls that roll gently toward the goalkeeper, he simply bends from the waist, bends both
knees slightly, places the feet slightly apart just in case there is an awkward final bounce, and lets
the ball roll up into his hands, which are positioned behind the path of the ball
 Catching the
Ball above
Catching the Ball - Chest height
With two sounds

Goalkeeping technique for

ground shots
Diving Saves

• When goalkeepers are taught to dive

correctly, they love making these types of
saves. The following practices can be
used to teach goalkeepers.

 Sitting and catching.

The player sits with legs straight but spread
for the purposes of balance. When the ball is
thrown, the player catches it and rolls
sideways.
 Kneeling and catching.

The player, kneeling, stretches

to the side with both hands,
catches the ball, and rolls
side-ways.
 Punching

• The goalkeeper has to learn to deflect

with the hand and punch with the fist,

• Starting in the kneeling position,

goalkeepers can reach farther if they use
the higher hand for the aerial shot and the
lower hand for the ground shot
CROSSES

• Many goalkeepers love to demonstrate their skill at catching a high ball

crossed in or centered from the wings.
• This is a spectacular move that requires a high degree of positional sense
and perfect timing of the jump
• To gain maximum height, the player must take off from one foot, ideally after
a short run toward the ball, so that the non takeoff leg can also generate lift
with a powerful upward movement and a bent knee.
• The player should take the ball with both hands spread in a W formation
around the back of the ball and the fingers spread wide. As the player’s arms
and fingers reach upward, his eyes must fix on the ball.
DIVING AT THE
FEET OF THE
ATTACKER
• Diving at the feet of an attacker is the
most difficult of the goalkeeping
techniques; it requires skill, timing, and
courage.

• Diving at the feet of an attacker is used

to deny a scoring opportunity or
dispossess the player.

• The practice has four stages, in which

the goalkeeper has four decisions to
make.
FOUR STAGES

• First, the goalkeeper must determine the exact moment to start

moving out of the goal toward the attacker.

• If the goalkeeper moves too soon, the attacker can simply chip the
ball over him into an empty goal.

• If the goalkeeper moves too late, the angle is not reduced and the
attacker has a very wide target at which to shoot.
• Second, the goalkeeper must try to force the attacker to move
sideways away from the direct line toward the goal

• Third, as the distance between the attacker and the goalkeeper

decreases, the goalkeeper must then time the start of any dive toward
the ball by waiting until the attacker plays the ball sideways

• Fourth, the goalkeeper must then time the actual dive for the ball in
such a way that the hands and arms contact and gather the ball
GOALKEEPER POSITION SKILLS

• There are also two important positional skills for the goalkeeper to learn.
These are narrowing the angle and supporting the defense.

Narrowing the angle

• When the goalkeeper moves forward, the they reduce the target area
between himself and the goalposts

Supporting the Defense

• The goalkeeper should always be in a supporting position behind the
defense, whether his team is attacking or defending.
JUDGING
ANGLES WHEN
SHOT STOPPING
In shot-stopping situations, the
goalkeeper always moves into
a position between the
attacker with the ball and the
center of the goal and is
forward of the goal line.
DISTRIBUTING THE
BALL
• The goalkeeper needs to be able
to distribute the ball both by
kicking and throwing.

There are two types of distribution

• Distribution by kicking
• Distribution by hand
DISTRIBUTION BY KICKING

• The goalkeeper should be encouraged to take all goal kicks

• The goalkeeper must also be good at the volley and half-volley

kicks
• When volleying, the goalkeeper must also be taught that a
kick that produces a ball dropping vertically down is much
harder for the forwards to control than a ball with a flatter
trajectory
• Feeding the ball slightly to the side of the body and striking it
as with a “side-volley” produces a flatter trajectory, which is
easier for the receiver to control

• All goal-keepers should spend time practicing their distribution

skills using a variety of kicking techniques and both feet
DISTRIBUTION BY HAND

• Goalkeepers can use three popular techniques for

distributing the ball by hand: the javelin throw, the
overhead throw, and the roll.

Roll
• The roll is very accurate over short distances and
is easy for the receiver to control because it has
no sidespin. The technique is similar to bowling
• The javelin throw for soccer is similar to a
throw used in baseball and cricket. The
ball is thrown hard and flat, with the elbow
leading the throwing action.

• The overhead throw is similar to the hook

pass in basketball or to bowling the ball at
the wicket in cricket.
GOALKEEPING DRILLS