Quick feet warm up

Long gone are the days of throwing down school jumpers or using a tree and your younger sister as a goal post (which was me). There’s so much resources on the market nowadays it’s like shopping for shoes.

You can purchase basic goals, cones, poles etc to feeding machines that will save coaches from hip replacements in years to come.

Obviously, not everyone can afford thousands of pounds worth of equipment and you don’t need it. You can work on every aspect of the game with just the basics. But I’d like to share some professional goalkeeping sessions with you, so hopefully you can pick up some tips and perhaps help you prepare for some training sessions.

So…..might as well start with the warm up! Here’s a simple way to get the blood flowing and the brain switched on.

Starting with basic quick feet and a small two footed jump over the hurdle. Good for speed/power and all goalkeeper related movement

Try to motivate quick, small steps
Keep head up and looking at the ball
When working around the cones, don’t cross over feet and keep bodyweight forward. This means the goalie is always ready and able to adapt if ball is struck early or gets deflection.

A simple but very affective drill. Why try to change something that works?

Make sure that they are keeping their weight on the balls of their feet, which allows them to be agile.
Another good point is to try keep the feet in contact with the ground as much as possible. If the ball takes a deflection or if playing with those nightmare Adidas Jabulani footballs, the goalie will need to change direction quickly.
Glide shoulder width apart with knees slightly bent and bodyweight forward. You can encourage them to ensure their bodyweight is forward by telling them to keep their head forward.
Always ‘get set’ where possible.

The set position is:

Feet shoulder width apart
On the balls of your feet
Knees slightly bent
Elbows flexed and hands ball width apart
Head steady and slightly forward

Sometimes it’s impossible to get set and the higher the level you play at the less time you have to get set. But it is an advantage as you can move in either direction and react better to any sort of shot.

Quick feet over the cones with a small straight leg jump over the hurdle.

Body weight is always forward, small quick steps –never crossing feet and then a sprint at the end to work on speed and power.

They then move on to calls (left or right), which works on powering off one foot and also reaction speed.

It all looks fairly simple but vital for fundamental footwork

Realistic game related training

Training sessions need to have realistic objectives depending on the age and ability of the goalkeepers. A seven year old might need work more on ‘1 v 1 situations’ rather than deep crosses to the back post.

It’s important to know the different approach you should have when coaching different age groups. I found this article quite interesting. Even though it’s regarding American Football, I believe the key points are fundamentally the same.

You should consider the following when preparing your session:

Warm Up

Try to incorporate the main theme into your warm up. For example, if you’re planning on working on shot stopping, make sure your warm up includes all of the hand shapes.

Technical theme

Every session needs to have a technical theme. What exactly do you want your goalkeeper to learn today? The development of technique is dependant upon correct practice. Even the best goalkeepers in the world need to polish their technique every day.

Tactical application 

Good coaching is about rehearsing situations that might occur in a game so that the goalkeeper can deal with anything. It’s always the mistakes that are remembered so we try to reduce the number of errors. Mistakes are usually due to a technical error, a poor starting position or making the wrong decision. We as coaches stimulate match situations in training so the goalkeeper can consistently respond correctly.

Fitness

Players start to lose their flexibility from the age of 10. Longer stretching regimes are recommended so they can remain supple. It’s very easy to tailor your sessions with emphasis on agility, power, speed or endurance.

Cool down

Don’t forget the cool down! I hated to cool down – I still do. Getting older and…..not so subtle, I realise the benefits of getting rid of lactic acids.

As a good coach you should always evaluate yourself. Did my players enjoy the session? Did they learn anything new? Did they improve? How can I be a better coach?

 

The 10 Cs of Goalkeeping

Contrary to what people believe, goalkeepers are not mad, we’re just a different breed.

Not enough clubs have specialized goalkeeping coaches and considering it is the most important position on the team, it’s an area that needs to be addressed.

People think that we’re mad because we put our own safety at risk in protecting our goal. This common way of thinking has created great camaraderie between goalkeepers and we become the keenest of rivals but the best of friends.

Goalkeeping is a very specific position that needs plenty of attention and constant polishing. I’m sure you’ve heard expressions like ‘a part of the team, not from the team’ ‘it’s a team game until the goalkeeper makes a mistake.’

It’s our jobs as coaches to ensure our goalkeepers receive the right training in the right environment with the right delivery. There is huge pressure on goalies and I believe no matter what age you are, as a goalkeeper you need to develop my ten Cs:

• Character
• Commitment
• Confidence
• Competence
• Commanding
• Consistency
• Concentration
• Composure
• Communication
• Courage

Character:

The character of a goalkeeper can sometimes distinguish the good from the great. They need to be strong, able to take criticism, take responsibility for mistakes, recover from mistakes and be a leader on the pitch.

Commitment:

Like any other athlete, it takes a lot of commitment to reach your potential. Sometimes it’s a little bit harder to be motivated in an individual sport. As goalkeepers might train on their own with the coach, it’s the same issues. The goalkeeper also needs to be committed to their decisions. If you decide to come and take a cross – then commit to it and follow through with the decision.

Confidence:

Confidence comes before competence in any form of sport. It’s our jobs as coaches to ensure that our goalkeepers build confidence through realistic training sessions. It’s a major psychological aspect of the game and can affect the most experienced of players. Confident goalkeepers tend to make more positive decisions and have more of an effect on the players around them.

Competence:

Through recreating realistic problems our goalkeepers might face in a game and fueling them with the knowledge on how to deal with them, they become capable. Building confidence and adopting a philosophical attitude to mistakes combined with positive feedback will increase self-belief.

Commanding:

One of the loudest players on the pitch should be the goalkeeper. They need to dominate their area and control and create a strong presence. Like the conductor of an orchestra they need to organise the players in front of them. They should have an understanding of other players roles and responsibilities so they are confident in giving the correct information.

Consistency:

Again like many other sports there must be a degree of consistency in training and match performance. Goalkeepers need good consistent service from coaches as poor feeding starves the practice. Consistent good practice combined with enthusiasm makes for a good learning environment

Concentration:

Lapse of concentration are often the reasons why mistakes are made. It only takes a split second to let in a goal so if a keeper switches off during a game, the result can be catastrophic. Generally it’s easier to perform effectively when constantly involved in the action rather than being called on once in a while. The enemy of concentration is complacency so to reach the top you must be even more alert when not so busy.

Composure:

It’s a state of mind. Keepers must always keep their head even when players around them are losing theirs. When the team is weathering pressure, the goalkeeper should remain cool, calm and collected.

Communication:

As previously stated, the keeper is usually the loudest on the pitch. The coach should encourage the keeper to use short commands so no time is wasted and players understand quickly. We can teach our keepers certain vocabulary to help them communicate effectively which will make their jobs a little easier.

Courage:

This is one of the reasons we have been labeled as mad. It’s one of the hardest attributes to teach and generally comes from within the player. Teaching the right techniques to dive at feet, soft landings, right hand shapes etcetera will help keepers perform their duties without injury (Hopefully!)