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Tips for Goalkeepers
by Jonathan Gan
I started playing soccer only in secondary school
where most of my classmates had already attained a rather high level
of ball skill. So there I was on the field on a Friday afternoon,
with zero ball skills, zero dribbling abilities and a 100% chance
of being picked last for the teams. So I decided to be goalie, the
position no one wants to play in order not to be left out of the
game.
Till this day, I am still playing the same position that nobody
wants to play for various teams. I suppose voluntary goalies are
rare commodities and good goalkeepers are even harder to find. So
here are a few useful tips.
ATTITUDE
By having attitude means to make your presence felt
during the game. This is important in order for your teammates to
know that they can count on you to cover them at the back. And for
the opposition to get really annoyed with you, so much so that they
just want to beat you up hence resulting in loss of concentration
during the game. This can be achieved by the various methods.
1. Make fun of the opposition by giving them nicknames indirectly
e.g. " Hey, mark that really ugly number 10, he is really fast!"
or " Quick pass the ball to the right flank, their leftback
is the weak link!"
2. Call out to your defenders and keep them informed of the opposition's
location.
3. Once you have saved the striker's shot, ridicule him e.g. "
Ooh, please…" or " You call that a shot!" -
Note, do not use these taunts if the striker is very big size or
suspected to have links with secret society gangs.
KICKING
One of the goalkeepers' essential skills is to be
able to kick goal kicks and drop kicks far. Unfortunately, not many
people can kick the ball very far in Singapore and I am one of them.
So you may be asking, how to overcome this problem. There are several
solutions.
1. Practice taking goal kicks and drop kicks with the correct technique
read up from soccer books every day and you will be able to achieve
the desired results after six months.
2. Watch a lot of soccer matches from the Football Channel 22 and
think to yourself, "YOU CAN DO IT!"
3. Get someone else to take the goal kicks.
HANDLING
& ESTIMATION
The advantage
of being goalie is the use of your hands to collect or palm the
ball. Hence to be able to handle the ball and estimate the trajectory
and power of the shot are crucial factors in saving the shot. There
are a few guides to react to various types of shots.
1. The "Grounder" - If the shot is close to your body,
put both your hands behind the ball with one knee directly behind
your palms to prevent the embarrassing " lao chew " scenario.
But if the shot is towards the posts, THROW yourself to the floor
and try to cover as much ground as possible.
2. The "Aerial shot" - Always stay on the balls of your
feet to allow you to "lift off" in the shortest possible
time to counter the aerial shot. Try to take at least one step to
the direction of the shot before diving. This allows you to cover
the area more effectively, even the smallest step will help.
3. The "Lob shot" - To be "lobbed" is the greatest
insult to be suffered by any goalkeeper simply because of the striker's
audacity and arrogance to attempt such a ridiculing shot. Hence
to counter this move, you will have to be quick on your feet. Always
be aware of your positioning, not too far from the goal line. Once
the striker tries to lob you, the immediate reaction should be for
you to back track to your goal line in the fastest possible time
while keeping an eye on the ball. Good luck, your reputation is
at stake here.
4. The "Penalty shot" - If during the course of the game
your team concedes a penalty, you will be the only one standing
between the opponent's way to victory. If you save it, you will
become a hero but even if you don't it is okay because nobody actually
thought you could pull it off anyway. Anyway, most people tend to
take the penalty with their in step so they will more often kick
the ball right if they are taking the penalty with their right foot
and vice versa. Try to decide which way you want to dive and go
all the way, there is no turning back.
RUSHING
OUT
The common conception
of the goalkeeper is someone who doesn't really know how to play
soccer outfield in any other position. In fact, the truth is the
goalie has to be all these positions in his mind. He has to anticipate
what the midfielder or striker is going to do in order to decide
on the counter measure. E.g. If the midfielder is going to cross
into the penalty box, he has to go and cut it out while keeping
in mind of the striker lurking in the area.
This leads to " one on one" encounters, if a goalkeeper
can anticipate the through pass from the midfield, he will be able
to rush out and clear the danger by either kicking it up field or
at least close down the angles for the marauding striker. The faster
the goalie gets there, the higher the possibility of winning the
ball.
CONCLUSION
Finally, I would
like to thank you for reading through all of these tips that I have
accumulated during the years I have played for school and my various
teams in several competitions. A word of advice to all budding goalkeepers,
let every ball you pick out from the back of your net to be a learning
lesson and in no time, you will have few lessons to "pick out".
-the end-
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