Goalkeeping is a position of adversity, being a hero one week and making a key mistake the next! For me, there’s no greater feeling in the world than making the save when everyone thinks the strikers surely scored! As players start to think about becoming a goalkeeper, a really uniquely specialized position, you should start by considering what you need to get you going.
These are my 5 needs of a keeper to kick start their goalkeeping career!
Commitment
Commitment to being a goalkeeper is huge! It’s a position that takes time and effort to learn and keep learning! Being committed to regular training plus goalkeeper specific training! Keeping your gloves clean, maintaining the desire to make every single save when you’re sore and tired, bouncing back after you let that key goal in!
It all takes commitment. It’s all about looking at the small details that you can tweak to make you better, quicker, braver! Being committed to keep yourself going when things don’t go right. To go again and again and again!
Gloves
You’ll need a good pair of gloves and know how to take care of them! Always remember when you get a new pair, to wash the palms the night before you use them to make sure they’re tacky and ready to go!
Also remember to apply some water to the palms right before you use them. Every time, that’s how gloves last longer. Playing with dry gloves is what tears the latex!
Footwork
Having good footwork is essential to being a goalkeeper, getting from point A to B quickly or adjusting your feet based on a deflection, change of direction etc, is so often key in making a save. Getting around the goal overall relies on competent footwork. There are thousands of footwork drills on YouTube and beyond, find them and train with purpose to help improve this part of your game
Decision making
Making decisions is the most important part of goalkeeping. With this comes the confidence to not second guess yourself! You’ll be put in countless scenarios where you think you have made the wrong choice, often it will be too late to change your mind and if you make that choice you will find yourself in that dreaded “no man’s land” all goalkeepers fear. Coming out for the ball or not, understand that in goalkeeping every action has risks and rewards!
Goalkeeper trainer
Having a goalkeeper trainer or coach is very important to your development as a goalkeeper. Someone to go through techniques and help you build good habits as a keeper, and make sure you correct small mistakes so they don’t become bad habits! Someone who can support you and knows what you’re going through as a goalkeeper. And importantly, someone who can provide good service to actually increase your quality saves tally!
Writer – Ali Hanif
Instagram handles – @gkcoachali – @the_keeperacademy
Website – www.thekeeperacademy.com