REAL GK TRAINING vs Social Media Training.

Too often, coaches (and keepers) think of keeper training as simply lining up a bunch of balls on the top of the 18 and doing rapid fire shooting. The coach does some yelling “I Don’t CARE WHAT IT TAKES, MAKE THE SAVE” the keeper walks away exhausted and people watching are impressed and say things like “that was a great session” and a good example of how you have to be crazy to be a keeper!

Unfortunately, while some think this is keeper training, the reality is, it's only a small part of keeper training (and some would even say an unnecessary part).

When I think about keeper training, I think in terms of the things a keeper does during a game.

The one thing a keeper does more than anything else is make decisions. They need to be able to read the game and react accordingly. How does this type of training take place? It's NOT done with rapid fire shooting, Jumping over hurdles and under ropes. Instead, it's done with the GK coach using situational training with help from other players or during team training and in video work.

During team training, a keeper coach would stay in or near the goal to discuss various situations as they develop in small sided or full sided games. Also, they could watch game film (of the team playing or of other games) to discuss how the various situations should be handled. This isn't the exciting type of training people think of when they think of keeper training but when working with older, more advanced keepers, this type of training is extremely important.

After decision making, the next thing to really concentrate on is communication. Knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to say it.  More times than not, coaches complain about their keepers not communicating properly.  But, do they adequately train the keeper to do so? Most of this type of training can be done in small sided games and in team training. Unfortunately, too many people think keeper training only takes place in small groups off to the side of the team.

In terms of technical skills, the part of the game keepers do more than any others would be distribution. Whether it's goal kicks, throwing or punting, a keeper distributes the ball more than they catch, punch or dive yet, distribution is frequently neglected.

Other parts of keeper training that are often neglected include starting stance, speed and agility, vision and strength training.

Real keeper training takes time, education, knowledge and a lot of patience. It's a lot different than just lining balls up and hitting them at a keeper.

~Jeff Tackett ~