Before you get recruited, take care of these things.

 How do I get recruited by a college as a Goalkeeper?

HOW TO GET NOTICED

1. Your Warm-up

2. Communication in all 1/3s of the field

3. Various distribution techniques & Styles

4. The Big Save !

5. Your Presence !

Article 1 of 3

PREREQUISITES

1. Recruiting TIp # 1 YOU MUST BE PLAYING!!      

        "Of course I will be playing, so what does this mean???" 

   It means, don't think you must be on the top team or club in the state, to get looked at.  It means you must play in games so, when a college coach is out watching or you contact them to come to a game, you know you are going to be starting and ending the game. To many times, the GK (or their parents) feel they have to be on the best team because that is what they hear.  This never hurts but it is not as important for a GK as it is for, a field player.  It is more important that a gk gets to play so they can develop.

   
   

               "Why do I need to Start and End the game, I hear coaches only                     come to watch maybe 25 - 45  minutes of the game?"         

• This may be true however, more times than not, this is for the field player recruit.  This is not always the case for the GK recruit.  You may catch their eye in the first 25 minutes or so.  Maybe they will be intrigued  to continue to watch you.  They want to see: how you control the game, how you play when it is tied, when you have a lead, and when you are losing, etc.

                    ** Many times there are 2 goalkeepers on a team.  In a perfect world

                       (and preferred) the GK's should split GAMES not split HALVES!!

                        1st half is important to see:

•  how you come out and take charge of your team

•  how quickly you can read the style of the opponent

•  how do you react if they score an early goal or how do you react to any goal scored

•  how do you play when your team is winning/losing

•  how do you deal with time management.

  2nd half:  Within the first 10-15 minutes of the half, it is important to see:

• if the GK was able to make any adjustments at half time on their  positioning, timing,  or communication. 

• did they adjust to the tactics of the opposing team as well as, their team? 

• how is their team playing for the second half?  winning vs losing

  
  

                  **This is why the GK should play the entire game, it does not show a 

                       clear picture of what they are capable of** 

 If a GK only plays 1st half:

            They will never learn how to manage a game in the second half.  

             ** When to counter attack, when to slow down the play,when to build

up and when to kick long.**

For the GK that only plays the 2nd half,

- they may never get to see how to win because they are always losing at half

time, or the opposite. 

- If they are always ahead at half time, the coach will tactically play different. 

You are not able to take control of  game and make it your own. 

- You do not have the chance to learn from mistakes or hesitation that may

have occurred first half and you may not get the chance to show you know the game and can fix those tactical aspects, in the 2nd half. 

       (We can go on for several examples but I hope you get the picture.)

***NOTE**** This doesn't mean you need to find a new team, its to gain a picture of the full development that is needed and what a potential recruiter will want to see.  (I.E., Full games, 1st half vs 2nd half playing)

2.    Recruiting Tip # 2: The Pregame Warm-up

                  "I hear many coaches will come out to watch my pre game warm-up, is this true?"

     In many cases this is true and is the perfect time to be able to see the GK's Footwork and technical abilities (Handling, catching high/low, diving, crosses, kicking, etc.) HOWEVER most gks do not have a warm up or shall we say, most GKs do not have a PROPER warm up to showcase these skills. 

Many warm-ups show the GK on the ground doing some sort of catching from side to side (falling backwards!) and then getting shots from a player that most of the time is scoring "upper V's" or missing the goal. 

And then there is the usual warm up... The team shoots on the GK.  NOTE This is not a warm up for a goalkeeper.

       With that being said, the Colleges' GK coach knows better and usually will not waste their time to come watch the warm-up because they know 90% of the time it is useless. 

If the Head coach comes out to watch and sees the subpar warm up, they may be annoyed that the GK is not assertive enough to demand a proper warm up and will leave with the notion,  "I need a GK that can lead and command my team, how is that going to happen if they can not even demand a proper warm up?"

       "So what should my warm up look like"

 I find it important to let the goalkeeper choose their warm-up once a "Blue Print " is given to them as to what should be seen during the process.

  The GK should warm-up with:  (The warm-up should be 20 -25 minutes long)

1. Footwork (forward, sideways, shuffle) and handling (Low balls, medium balls, head-height balls)

2. Scoop/Forward dive/Front Smother (many names) & simple low diving

3. Passing/receiving balls to the feet (1-touch, 2-touch, 3-touch)

4. More footwork into a low dive so they are moving and seeing the ball move.(balls should be hit low, made to bounce, and lastly medium height)

5. Simple Jumping for high balls

6. True crosses from outside (20 -30 yards away) hit inside the 6-yard box with the ability to throw it back to the server or to the opposite side (working on throwing to your outlet)

7. A few goal kicks and punts

8. If the gk wants to do extra items due to field concerns or scouting reports: Diving out towards a breakaway, Tipping over the crossbar, or reaction saves.  Then allow time for this.

9. This should all be complete before the team wants to shoot on the goalkeeper (if they have to shoot)

   *** Remember the team shooting is not a warm up for the GK and if it is a rapid fire or shots hit inside the 12 yard box, this should be avoided and the GK should sit out*** (The objective is to be warmed up and ready.  Not to feel like you can not save a ball if too many go in or if they are so close you feel fearful)

10. Go over the warm up with your field player coach.  Let them know you want shots in a certain area or you want the team to come in on crosses.  It is ok to communicate to your coach as to what will work for everyone.  And if explained in a collaborative way, they should be accepting and proud that you spoke up about what you feel is worthy. (never be disrespectful or say "I Don't want to do that"  explain yourself)

11. Take time to work out a WARM UP Plan.  Try it out at practice, make sure you are doing what is comfortable and will help you be ready for game time, and make sure you work on it with who will be serving the balls to you at game time.

                                                 TO BE CONTINUED...

Next Keeper Koner's Article will explain the recruiting process of the GK 

"How to make a proper recruiting video (Article 2)

"How to create an email to the college coaches that is inviting and keeps communication, open!!" (Article 3)