Importance of Distribution: Part I

"Prevention is better than intervention"

Importance of Distribution

Part I

    Today, I want to talk about a huge philosophy-changing model for myself.   The change has made me revamp how I approach each session from the youngest of GK’s to the older GK’s.

    When one thinks about goalkeeper training, we think of catching the ball, how to dive correctly, how to go out for a cross, how to approach a breakaway, etc, etc.    The Technical and tactical aspects on how to make the goalkeeper become very successful at keeping the ball out of the net and making save after save.  This creates a very good defensive goalkeeper that usually excels in club, high school, and maybe even through college however, what I have noticed, that changed my thinking, is Distribution abilities.  Throwing the ball, punting the ball and kicking the ball off the ground have always been trained to show the right technique and to explain the correct tactical timing of which to use and which appropriate time to use that technique but, if we take a deeper look at the big picture of distribution, one would see it is the first line of offense.  If the GK cannot properly punt the ball, throw the ball or kick the ball then they are probably giving a turn over on the field or giving a turn over by kicking it out of bounds.  I have come to grips that this is a very, very, very important part of the developing goalkeepers and I would like to share with you my findings.

          On an average, a GK makes about 4 – 6 saves a game.  So, to the “plain eye” one would agree…Make sure your Gk can save a ball and at least be able to kick/throw it correctly, for the 6 times, right??  WRONG. And this is where my philosophy has changed and where my investigation starts.  I sat down and began to write out every time a GK would have to use Distribution and it was astonishing!  Here is my breakdown

GK Task                                                                        Avg. times per game 

*Shot saved (held)                                                                    5

*Goal kicks                                                                               11

*Corner kicks saved                                                                 3

* Crosses saved                                                                       6

* Uncontested through balls/ easy rollers they pick up         11

*  Restarts the GK kicks from the def. 1/3                            4

* Pass back to the GK from a defender                                 11

                                                                             ___________________

                                           Total distribution attempts  = 51 times

            On my estimated averages, I began to watch club games, High School games, College games and even pro games to see how my estimation held up.  After watching 30 + games I saw that my numbers were very, very close.  I watched games that had in the low 30’s and I watched games in the high 60’s, which came out to average 46 times a goalkeeper had to distribute the ball to his/her teammates.  What I came to find out was the teams that had a GK that could do an above average job at distributing the ball, won 84% of their games (this did not include the pro games), 11 % ended as a tie and 5% ended in a loss.  The GK’s team had to keep possession or win possession at least 65% of the time to be labeled as an above average distribution skill and be part of the win/loss/tie data.   The GK’s that had a percentage of 50 –64% possession off their distribution won 63% of the time, Tied 16% of the time and loss 21% of the time.  The GK that was able to keep possession 49% or lower off of their distribution had interesting numbers.  28% of the time they won the game, 31% of the time they tied the game, and 43% of the time they loss the game.  These numbers were astonishing to me!  I saw some very good GK’s that were less then great with distribution, lose games because their team was unable to regain possession and control the tempo of the game.  I saw teams not give it back to their GK’s on a pass back because they did not trust them or because the prior passes that were given to the GK were either kicked out of bounds or a dangerous turnover.  I saw Gk’s that were unable to hit a goal kick accurate enough or deep enough for their team to have a chance to win the ball. I saw GK’s try to punt the ball and kick it out of bounds or kicked it so short they were counter attacked.  Others kicked the ball so high, there was no chance to win a clean possession.  I saw GK’s save corner kicks, crosses, and set play attempts and would falter to set up a counter attack because of their lack of kicking or throwing ability.  Time and time again, the GK had a chance to put their team in a good position and failed due to lack of distribution skills.

       The game continues to evolve and we must evolve with it.  Not just on formations, situations and dynamics of our field players but with our GK’s as well.  We have allowed a “weak link” to stay on the team too long and hoped they can learn to block a ball and kick once in awhile.  Nowadays, that is not good enough, we need to make the GK position accountable for touching the ball, passing the ball, and kicking the ball.  We need our GK to understand tactics of the game; for them to be aware of their attacking roles and how important they are as not just the last line of defense but also the first line of offense. 

                                                                  Part II coming…