How to Become a Better Goalkeeper in Football
So, how do you become a better goalkeeper? How do you guard your goal like De Gea and palm away penalties like Pickford?
Here are six tips on how to be a better goalkeeper:
1. Reflexes: Good reflexes are crucial. Many football clubs use tennis balls to hone the reflexes of their goalkeepers, often getting them to catch the smaller ball before making a save with the larger one. Some spread out plastic bottles in front of the keeper and fire shots off them to simulate the unpredictability of match conditions. The goal is to improve reaction times.
2. Focus: Concentration is vital. Don’t switch on only when the ball comes close.
Always be alert to what’s going on. Even if you have little to do for long periods, this awareness is vital. Know where your defenders are and where the opposition’s strikers are. It’s also important to always be aware of where you’re standing in relation to your goal.
3. Communication: You should have a big voice and not be afraid of using it. Talking to your defenders during the match and ensuring that they’re aware of the play and occupying the right areas and positions are critical parts of a goalkeeper’s game. Also, when you come to claim the ball, say at a corner, you’ll do better if your players know that you’re coming and leave you to get the ball.
4. Distribution: Speed and accuracy are critical. As is choosing the right option. On the one hand, your rapid distribution could lead to a counterattack and a goal, on the other, playing the ball out to a player under pressure could cost your team a goal. And you need to be able to distribute the ball using your hands (underarm and overarm) and feet. Being good with your feet is an increasingly important skill for the modern goalkeeper.
Choosing the right football boots is essential here.
5. Catching the ball: Catching a football is simple, right? It is when you do it right.
Make sure that your hands are always behind the ball when you catch it, with your shoulders and elbows in a natural position. Make sure to catch the ball in front of you, not to the sides. Use these techniques, and you’ll be less likely to drop the ball at the feet of an onrushing striker or into the goal.
Of course, having the right pair of goalkeeper gloves helps make handling the ball easier.
6. Picking up the ball: This is another action that professionals make look easy but actually involves significant skill. Make sure that your feet are positioned correctly – not too wide apart and not too close together. Put yourself behind the ball and bring your knee down behind it, leaving a gap behind the ball for your hands. Then, with your body over the ball, claim it and land.
Tip: Having a football base layer will help make these landing more comfortable
Practise these skills, over and over, and you’ll become a better goalkeeper. You’ll be ready to make that save that changes the momentum of a match and that turns an entire game on its head.
See our store for more useful football equipment, whether it's cones for drills or a goal to practice distribution.
