What it Takes to Be a Great Goalie
Being a soccer goalie is a tough job. Not everyone wants to don the gloves and take on that responsibility. But, once you’ve decided you like making that difference from the back, you’ll want to work on being a great goalie. Here are some thoughts on what it takes to be the best keeper you can be.
Goalies are a rare breed. You’re typically the last line of defense keeping the ball out of the net. People are shooting at you or barreling right into you. Or you’re watching the play from inside the box while your teammates are keeping the goalie at the other end busy. It’s a position that requires you to retain focus even though you’re experiencing game action in bursts.
An advantage is that you can handle the ball with your hand and arms (legally) and you may get more time to prepare for a play than your teammates. Still, there are the times when you need to be a “courageous penalty box warrior” and play under great pressure.
“Being a goalie is the toughest position on the field, but also the most rewarding,” said Mutiny’s goalie coach.
“The most challenging part is that it is a lonely position,” he said. “If you make a mistake it will almost certainly lead to a goal and you’ll be blamed for it. It is an unforgiving role that highlights your errors in front of everyone and goalies quite often will get blamed for goals that his/her teammates could have prevented.”
DYK? Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff went 1,142 minutes between 1972-1974 without conceding an international goal.
Liam Goodwin, who joined Mutiny this year as 2008 goalie, says the hardest part of being a goalie is being consistent. “You need to practice a lot,” he said. After all you only encounter each situation a few times and you need to be always at the ready. He focuses his efforts on basic handling, positioning and saves. “If you know the smaller stuff you can easily do the bigger stuff,” he said.
Attributes of a Great Goalie
In looking at potential goalies, goalie coaches look at both physical and mental qualities. On the physical side a goalie needs agility, mobility and to be technically apt. When it comes to how they think and act, goalies need to be “self-confident, willing to learn, show great leadership, and recover well from mistakes.”
But what separates a great goalie from a good one? Consistency. “Great goalies do everything in their power to maintain a high level of performance and professionalism. Another key trait of great goalies is their bravery to take risks and take charge during difficult moments of the game.”
In taking charge, a goalie needs to be a great communicator too. “I personally believe a goalkeeper should be a leader and/or a general who commands his/her area while giving constant words of positivity, encouragement, and even hustle to his/her teammates,” our goalie coach said.
Our other 2008 goalie, Luis Costales, emphasized communication too. “A good goalies is someone who can direct and lead a team,” he said. At the same time, it requires managing your emotions. If the team gets scored on, for instance, “you can’t focus on that.” The goalie has to move on to the next play.
“Unfortunately, if being a great goalie is easy anyone could do it,” our coach said. “All goalies have to remember is that all they can do is give their absolute best and enjoy themselves. That’s all a coach/parent can ask for.”
Some Great Goalie Resources
Want to learn more about being a great goalie? You can learn a lot from Arsenal’s Petr Čech in this short YouTube video. He talks about:
Simple things you need to know about catching and holding the ball
Importance of foot and body position when picking up the ball
How to maintain stability when catching the ball
Where to be in relation to the goal
Cutting off the shooter’s angle
This article talks about how to perfect diving like a goalie. Or this video covers dive technique for more visual learners.
This howcast video discusses four ways to improve goalkeeping distribution:
Bowling
Overhand throw
Drop kick
Punt
