Goalie Soccer Drills and Tips for Youth Soccer

Footwork

Work on footwork by incorporating sprinting, bounding and quick feet ladders into the warm up of a goalkeeper. The footwork of diving should also be worked on by using a side step shot stopping drill. Have the goalkeeper begin at the left hand goal post and side shuffle across the goal line. When moving ensure the goalkeeper has her hips and shoulders facing forward at all times and the body is always squarely facing the ball. When the goalkeeper reaches the middle of the goal, shoot inside the right hand goal post. Coaching points are to take a big step towards ball and propel the body into a quick dive to save. As the drill progresses increase difficulty by taking shots earlier before the goalkeeper reaches the middle of the goal. This gives her a greater distance to dive. All dives should end with the goalkeeper’s hand at or past the goal post. Designed using Coachfx

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Shot Stopping

Practice shot stopping by giving a goalkeeper 10 to 20 balls to save from differing positions on the field. Three different spots 15 to 20 yards from goal are a good idea. One spot could be central to the goal, one a couple of yards outside the left hand goal post, and one a couple of yards outside the right hand goal post. 10 to 20 balls from each spot will give your goalkeeper plenty of repetitions and give you the chance to watch their technique over a period of time. Avoid dead time between repetitions. After the goalkeeper saves one ball, start a 5 second countdown before the next ball is shot. This develops a mentality of getting up quickly to save a second shot, something that is particularly important after deflected saves. Keep score by awarding 3 points for a save that is held, 2 for a deflected save, 1 point if the shot misses and the goalkeeper dives to the post, and 0 for every shot that goes in. Progress the difficulty of the drill by adding an attacker in front of the goal to shoot in all rebounded balls, or having the attacker stand in front of the goalkeeper to screen vision as can happen in a game. Coach the goalkeeper to attempt to save every ball, and every dive the hand should be at or past the goal post. Do not allow the goalkeeper to not dive for balls he thinks are “going in anyway”. This is a horrible habit for a goalkeeper to make and leads to indecision. Designed using Coachfx

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Crossed Balls

Practice dealing with crossed balls from a range of different positions. Mark a spot a couple of yards in from the sideline 2 yards out from the goal line. Add another marker at the same width 10 yards further away from the goal line, and another 10 yards further again. Repeat this process on the other sideline until you have 6 different positions to deliver a crossed ball from. If as a coach you struggle to deliver quality crossed balls, then you may throw them in. Send 10 crossed balls in from each spot on the field, award 2 points when the goalkeeper catches a ball and 1 point if the ball is punched clear. Punches do not count as points unless the ball clears outside the 18 yard area. Anything that does not reach outside the 18 yard area will offer an easy rebound shot in a game. Progress the difficulty of a drill by blocking vision or pushing the goalkeeper as the ball is delivered, to teach him to fight through contact before dealing with a crossed ball. Add an attacker into the drill to challenge the goalkeeper by attempting to win a header. Designed using Coachfx

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Click here to view the Advanced Crosses drill

ACTION PLAN

• Plan all goalkeeper sessions in advance.
• Focus on high repetitions with little dead time between each session.
• Teach a goalkeeper to hold all shots when possible, all deflections must go wide and away from the goal.
• Dedicate at least 20-30 minutes of the week to goalkeeper drills, even if it means arriving early or staying late after practice.