Are You the Parent of a Goalkeeper? READ THIS!

Article credit: Soccer Parenting.com - October 30, 2019/ PARENT/ By Yesenia Torpoco

Source: https://www.soccerparenting.com/parent-of-a-goalkeeper/

When my son was very little, we used to go this park where Ian Feuer (one of the contributors to this article) was training some older goalkeepers.  Ian probably doesn't remember this, but my son would plant himself on the grass for 10 minutes at a time and watch, and then announce, "One day I'm gonna be a goalkeeper."

But when he started to play organized ball, I was a little lost in how to help him achieve his dream.  Since most of our friends and neighbors involved in soccer had field players, there wasn't a whole lot of advice they could give.  Many of the coaches, while eager to help, couldn't offer much by way of guidance.  It was in many ways a rough start, and also a bit of a lonely one.  The goalkeeper seems to be a very misunderstood position, and the position is unique in so many ways.  So, in an effort to help other families that might be beginning the goalkeeper journey, I put questions to three experts to weigh in on.

Ian Feuer is a former professional goalkeeper, having played for West Ham United FC, Luton Town FC, the US National Team, and the 1992 US Olympic Team.  He is a former coach of both the US Men’s National Team and US Women’s National Team, and the former head goalkeeper coach for the LA Galaxy.  He is currently the goalkeeper coach for the University of Southern California and is the owner/operator of Premier Goalkeeping Academy based in Agoura, California (www.pgka.co).

Erin Lycan Ridley is a former University of Virginia goalkeeper.  A co-captain of the 2004 ACC Tournament Championship team, the Chattanooga, Tennessee native graduated from UVA in 2005 and then spent almost 12 years coaching in the NCAA D1 ranks.  Along the way, she also spent time coaching and developing youth goalkeepers at the club, ODP, WPSL, and Youth National Team level for US Soccer.  She is currently the head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes Girls Development Academy U19 and U17 teams, as well as the Director of Goalkeeping for the club.

Jeff Tackett served as an ODP coach from 1995-2003.  He has been the director of coaching and director of goalkeeping for various youth clubs.  He has served as a coach for California Baptist University and Cal Poly Pomona and is currently the Men’s Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Coach for the University of La Verne.  He has served as the goalkeeper coach and head coach for the Anaheim Bolts Professional Indoor team, and as goalkeeper coach for the Ontario Fury.  He is the director of the Southern California School of Goalkeeping, based in Claremont, California (www.scsg.fullslate.com).

Ian:  It depends on each child’s ability to process information.  I have had 8 year olds who can better process information than some 12 year olds so this is a key factor.  So far around age 8 onwards I have had great results.  Pre-age 8 it becomes very difficult unless the child has a good mental state of mind.  I look for how they respond to me, how they take instruction, and how focused they are.  Sometimes I have had to tell a parent maybe we should put a hold on this for a year.  Is any age too late?  It depends on what level they want to achieve although I have a couple of keepers who started age 17 and went on to become professionals.  They also had a very good mindset to process information, so their development was very rapid.

Erin:  I think all young athletes benefit from introductory goalkeeper training—in general it’s great for players from 8 to 18 to have a basic idea of how to move, catch, distribute, and dive safely.  I encourage youth coaches to introduce their athletes to elements of playing in goal so they can appreciate it from the beginning, even if their players choose to play another position.  I’ve found that in terms of a developmental window for high level goalkeepers, it’s better to have players who initially are quite the generalists—taking up martial arts, gymnastics, or participating as a multi-sport athlete as a young player up until about age 12 – who can acquire a broad base of athletic skill early on and then begin their specialization a bit later.  

Jeff: If a team has formed and they use a goalkeeper, the goalkeeper at that point should be trained.  I do not like that clubs continue to start younger and younger, but if they are going to put in a player in goal, it is important that they be trained for safety reasons.  The goalkeeper must learn how to catch a ball so their fingers/hands are not injured.  They need to begin to learn how to hit the ground when they dive so they do not “belly flop” and get hurt or fall wrong on their arm/elbow and injure it.  They need to know how to come out on a 1v1 challenge so they do not get kicked in the head.  All this falls under learning technique but its primary function is so we have created a safer environment for the player to not be injured.  If it was up to me, I would say no goalkeeper in goal until 10 years old, but since I do not have a say, I will train them as soon as it needs to be done.

Ian:  I feel it is important to understand each and every position on the field even if from day one the keeper knows they want to play in goal.  Playing as a forward will help you in goal to realize what a forward is thinking and vice versa.  It is also very important to be good with playing the ball with your feet so playing on the field will help with this development.  At what age is it good to go full time?  For me it’s when they are ready to commit to the position, similar to a quarterback in football.  When it comes to goalkeeping most love it or hate it from the first time they step in goal.

Erin: Around age 13-14 is when I think it’s more appropriate for players to make a full-time commitment to the position.  By this time, a passion for the position is vital for the developmental pathway, and from about 14 to 18 goalkeepers are likely making their biggest strides in the technical proficiency of the position: general coordination and footwork, shot-stopping, set-position, handing, diving, 1v1s, distribution, communication, etc.  Prior to that, I would encourage them to continue to be exposed to acquiring a broad range of athletic skills and to play on the field in both training and games and not to specialize in just goalkeeping.  

Erin:  Depending on the age and skill level, I think one of the most important skills for a new young goalkeeper is learning how to move in and out of a set position, how to visually track and catch a ball, and how to dive safely.  I usually begin with movement in and out of a set position and incorporate tracking and catching first, and then progress into low diving.  I also think it’s really important to have age-appropriate soccer balls—it seems obvious but sometimes goalkeeper coaches don’t have access to a ball bag full of size 4 soccer balls and they’re using size 5s with a 10 and 11 year old players who have smaller hands and struggle with catching the larger surface area of a full sized ball.  Players who are confident at catching with the right shape make progress much quicker than those who are uncomfortable about how to secure the ball.  

Jeff:  I think any time you are new to the position, the same rule is applied for me.  Safety first.  Phase 1: safety training.  By safety training I mean to teach specific topics that will help reduce injuries to the goalkeeper, such as how to catch a ball properly to lessen the risk of an injured finger, hand or wrist. For diving, a goalkeeper needs to learn how to avoid hitting the ground in the wrong way (i.e., on stomach, joint of the shoulder, elbows or on their knees).  On the 1v1, a goalkeeper must learn how to protect themselves properly so they don’t get kicked in the face/head.  Phase 2 is technical training, followed by phase 3 technical training with tactical aspects of the game.  Only later does the keeper reach phase 4: tactical training with detailed techniques added to target the individual player.

Ian:  Catching the ball is becoming a lost art.  Sometimes the ball is just moving with with too much pace, but too many people are quick to push it out now days.  But if you can grab the ball in your hands, that’s just so much better and safer than potentially giving up a goal by pushing it wide.  Catching it raises the level of safety and prevents goals.

Ian: It is insane some of the comments I hear during games and training session by some coaches and parents regarding their goalkeepers!  As goalkeepers, we have a millisecond to cover the whole goal and to make a decision that usually is very cut and dry: a goal or a save.

Field players don’t have this same pressure and can get away with so much more.  It blows my mind when during the week the players work on passing and shooting all week.  Then, during the game a player will pass directly to the other team or shoot wide from 8 yards and everyone says, “good try, keeping going”.  But when the goalkeeper who never gets to work on game-related situations with his team during the week’s training session (for example, a ball over the top of the backline from high up the field where the keeper has to decide whether to come out and clear the ball or drop off and let the defender deal with it), gets yelled at for making the wrong decision.  So backwards if you ask me!  

There is such a void in this country where coaches don’t involve their keepers within team session in a way that develops the entire “defensive unit”.  Instead, we have defenders, and only then a goalkeeper.  It should all be trained as a cohesive unit that works all the time on different situations.

Erin:  A healthy goalkeeper culture supports a robust and resilient mindset for our young goalkeepers.  We need to move away from the blame game that can be rampant in youth soccer.  There’s no question that goalkeepers are in the spotlight, and their mistakes will be obvious to everyone.  At every age, there needs to be a balance between taking ownership and avoiding the blame game.  Young goalkeepers need to understand that goals are feedback mechanisms and that everyone on the team has a role within scoring and defending them.  Here's a quick blueprint for helping goalkeepers, parents, and coaches cope with mistakes and frustrations:

• We don’t blame others for our mistakes.  The temptation is huge to point fingers elsewhere when you make a mistake.  Resist it.  Own it.  Not only will you gain respect and loyalty from your players or teammates, you’ll also help prevent a culture of blame from emerging.
• When we do point out errors, we do so constructively.  There are time when mistakes do need to be examined in public.  In these cases, we make sure to highlight that the goal is to learn from mistakes, not to humiliate those that made them.
• We set an example by confidently taking ownership of mistakes.  Findings show that blaming can be contagious, but not among those who feel psychologically secure.  So, try to foster a steady sense of inner security to avoid lashing out at others.
• We always focus on learning.  Creating a culture where learning (rather than avoiding mistakes) will help ensure that people feel free to talk about and learn from their errors.   We want players to explore their range and test their limits by making productive mistakes.

Remember, feedback isn’t failure and failure is only feedback.

Jeff: This is the golden question and one that is hard to answer due to the variables involved.  I tell my goalkeepers, parents, and coaches that, “I am training the goalkeeper for 5 years from now, not 5 days from now”.  There is so much to learn that we need tons and tons of time to make it meaningful and for it to sink in.  From ages 8-10 (grassroots level) goalkeepers are learning how to stop the ball from going behind them into the goal.  They must learn all the different tools of the trade on how to do this.  Much of the technical training does not involve angle play, which the coach needs to happen right away because if the keeper is positioned wrong, the ball will go in whether they know how to block it or not.  So, here you see the first dilemma of the goalkeeper coach and the fight we have with the coaches.  They need the “now” and we want the “process” (and this is just the grassroots level).

At ages 11-13 (youth level) we are introducing how the techniques are used in a bit more of a game format, such as positioning and timing.  We are also making sure they begin to communicate to the team on direct commands (“keeper” & “away”) and defensive commands (“pressure”, “step”, etc.).  But at this point the coach is already expecting them to come off their line for the breakaways, but don’t come too high off their line to get chipped, but high enough off their line so they can receive through balls and stay connected to the defense for the back passes.  Once again, we have a fight as to what we as the goalkeeper coach “needs” to happen and what the field player coach “expects” to happen.

At ages 14-19 (higher levels), the goalkeeper coach is now teaching full team tactics and how to understand multiple situations that occur in the game, such as set plays, crosses, and distribution.  Oddly enough, as we are trying to get the goalkeeper ready for this part of their development, the field player coach tends to not speak to them much about it and gives false advice or orders as to what they think the goalkeeper should be doing.  So, the goalkeeper coach needs the head coach to give them tactical insight as to what should be done on the field, but the head coach is not knowledgeable enough to give input so it becomes redundant or naïve information such as “you need to catch that” or “you need to come out and save that”.

Erin:  I think it’s really important to recognize that like field players, great goalkeepers come in all shapes and sizes.  I think coaches should recognize that every position on the field has key attributes that suit the position and I personally look for the qualities of someone who moves well, has obvious athleticism, bravery that can’t be taught, and quality distribution ability which are all key qualities for me in the goalkeeping role.  For young goalkeepers, coaches need to recognize that just putting one type of player in goal can limit long term development and that coaches should always be on the look out for field players who exhibit strong attributes for the goalkeeping position who might not have considered it otherwise.