The Boot Room
Issue 10 August 2014
The modern goalkeeper must have excellent technique as well as a
tactical mindset to cope with the demands of the modern game
Leanne Hall, FA Elite Women’s Coach Developer Maximise Contact Time
Whatever the duration of the practice session it is imperative that the time you do have with the goalkeepers is as productive as possible. Through clever practice design you can focus on two or three diff erent topics rather than working on isolated aspects of the game.
Preparation is vital
Preparation plays a big part in delivering an eff ective session. It’s a simple piece of advice, but having a comprehensive session plan is essential. The session will lack structure and direction without one and thorough planning and preparation helps to meet the individual needs of the goalkeepers you are working with.
In a group of four goalkeepers each individual will have diff erent requirements. By working on multiple topics in an individual session you have a better chance of catering for each individual. To do this eff ectively you need to dedicate time to planning.
Serve the session up in diff erent ways
By using the goalkeepers to serve to each other you move towards a much greater output as all of the goalkeepers are involved for a greater period of time.
Personally, I try not to use the word server. For some keepers if you say they are the server they immediately lose interest in the session. It is important to frame the role of every player giving them a specifi c objective.
Using a goalkeeper as a server is one way of achieving multiple outcomes. The server could be throwing for a mid-dive but standing on one leg which helps to work on proprioception.
Build realism
It is diffi cult, but for the goalkeepers to practice realistically the challenge for the servers is to try and replicate the speed, power and dynamic movement of an outfi eld player shooting at goal. As close as possible, service should replicate the power of a striker for example.
Obviously the best way to achieve this is to incorporate the outfi eld players into the session at appropriate stages. In this way the goalkeepers get an opportunity to see diff erent strike patterns, cues and triggers all which increase the realism of the practice.
Tactical thinking
Goalkeepers must be aware of how they fi t into the whole team unit. As a nation we have very good technical goalkeepers, both male and female, but I think what lets us down is our tactical understanding. Sometimes I think we may spend too much time with the goalkeeper on an individual one-to-one basis.
We must broaden the spectrum of what we believe goalkeeping coaching to be and help the keepers understand how they fi t in with the back four, midfi eld, the front players and what their role is as part of the whole team.
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