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Q. - Hello. first I want to say this site is the best for goalkeeping information. Thank you for having it made! My question is....... what is the best drill for cutting angles?? and I also need a lot of information on how to punt a ball farther. Well thank you! Your site is great.
Sincerely, Salvatore

A. Hi Sal, I forwarded your comment about the web site to the web site designer. He is also a soccer player and his daughter is one of my students. We both appreciate the compliment.

Let me start with your second question. Are your punts and drop kicks accurate? If not, work on that aspect first. With good technique you will kick the ball more consistently, accurately and further. Distance is a function of technique and leg strength. If you are near a field that has nets up at all times practice kicking the ball into the net. You can work at your own pace, pick the time you work out and how long you work out. Later you can work with a friend or team mate and kick the ball to each other. After that you can progress to kicking to a running player. Use that same progression for working on your
throwing ability.

Drills for cutting the angle is a little more difficult to explain without graphics. We do the following exercise every practice. I stand about 8 yards from goal on a line from the left goalpost[to the left of the goalkeeper ] to the corner of the goal area[six yard box]. The goalkeepers stand one behind the other on the goal line. Each on starts out in the middle of the goal and rolls the ball towards me. As the ball travels towards me they move forward to a spot in front of the goal post. They do that in rhythm with the shooter. When the shooter is ready to shoot they must have their feet set, be on the balls of their
feet, and react to the ball. We want them to be reaction goalkeepers not guessing goalkeepers. Just before the shooter shoots the keepers take a little hop, land on the balls of their feet in perfect balance, and make the save. That is called pre-loading. Your legs must be bent with you butt tucked under in order to dive well. After a while I move towards the left till I eventually end on the other side of the goal. The goalkeepers get an opportunity to make saves from all angles. If the ball is directly in front of the goal the goalkeepers have to come out a couple of steps further in order to cut down the angle. We also encourage two handed saves and work all rebounds as live. This encourages
the keepers to get up swiftly and recover for a follow up shot.

I hope to have graphics fairly soon so that I can illustrate these exercises better. Does this help you Sal?

Willi Lindner

PS. Look for new articles on how to defend on set plays and how to take care
of your equipment in wet and cold weather. (10-20-00 Click here for those
articles)

Q. - My name is Daniel, I'm 15 and I've been a goalie going on 3 years. I love the position, so I'm all about wanting to get better. But I've been out of practice for a while and today I started a soccer camp and I've developed a quirk that I was wondering if you could help me with.

It seems like every time the ball is close to the goal (maybe a fight for possesion in the penalty box) whenever the striker swings his leg around for a shot I seem to go on the ground immediately. I don't know if it's anticipation or what, but most of those shots end up being blocked by defenders. But when I see the shot about to come a lot of the time I end up on my butt and the ball hasn't even moved because it was blocked. Do you know what I'm doing? I'm a pretty good reaction keeper and I don't know if that's what it is, but I'd appreciate a response. Thanks so much for your time. I know you're busy.

A. Thanks for the question. Your initial response to the kick being taken is OK. We have to ask a few questions though. Do you indeed end up on your "butt" or is that figurative. When you dive you should be landing on your side not your butt. So there we have a question of form. The other question is a question of judgment. Do you have a good appreciation of when your defender will block the ball and only go down when you have to? Or do you go down in almost all blocking situations?

As you start playing against better opposition these judgment calls will become more important. Here is why. If I am a striker playing against you and I see you going down all the time I will fake a shot, get you on the ground and then have an easy shot on goal. What can you do about solving thisproblem? Keepers that work with me hear me say all the time " don't go down if you don't have to". Playing as frequently as possible will also give you more experience. For goalkeepers making the right decision at the right time
is crucial. Consistently good training is also essential. You should also work on your leg strength ,upper body strength and stomach muscles so that you can recover faster to face the next shot.

Daniel, are you located in the greater Seattle area? If you are me may be able to help you out some more. Anyone who submits a question that we later post to our "Question & Answer" section gets invited to three of our goalkeeping sessions at no charge. If this will work for you let me know. Our next session is on Friday at 5:30PM at Ft. Dent or at 10:00 AM on Saturday at Ft. Dent. Call me and we can discuss it, and to make sure that we will have those sessions.[ With tournaments and vacations we sometimes change
session times]

I hope this helps

Q. - I have always been told that when there is a shot on goal not to anticipate, but should I do the same thing for a PK? I have been told different things by different coaches. When I watch a game being played in the MLS I notice that those goalkeepers dive the wrong way sometimes and that is a result of anticipation, but should I at my age (GU-16) be doing the same as a MLS player? Thank you for your time.

A. There are two schools of thought on how save penalty shots. One school advocates that you should guess [an educated guess] which way the ball is going to go. The other school, of which I am a firm proponent, says that it is better to be a reaction goalkeeper for all shots. Think of it this way. The best way to help yourself with penalty shots is to show that you are a good keeper during the game. If you have shown that, then any player coming up to you to take a penalty will feel forced to shoot real close to the post to beat you. If you indeed react to shots and dive in the right direction, you will force a lot of players to miss the goal entirely or to shoot the ball over the goal. Remember that in a regular game a rebound is a live ball. During a shoot out once you have touched the ball and it does not go in the goal (off your hands or body) the play is over.

Let me offer you what might be a revolutionary thought. When a penalty is taken against you, most people don't expect you [or any keeper] to be able to save the shot. Right? On the other hand the field player is expected to make the shot. Therefore all the pressure is on the shooter. That pressure plus the the reaction goalkeeping that you will do will make you a penalty stopper.

One other element. There are goalkeepers that are called "lucky" goalkeepers. Why? Because they always seem to be where the ball is. If that happens a few times it might be luck, but if it happens regularly its skill. Keep practicing hard and learning about the game. Watch good soccer on TV.

Remember "The harder you work, the luckier you get"

Q. - At what age should my son/daughter start goalkeeper training?

A. Because of coordination problems and short attention spans we do not start goalkeeping training before the age of ten. I am presently working with a nine-year-old who is an exceptional athlete, so exceptions can be made.

Q. - Do you separate goalkeepers by gender?

A. No. Groupings are made based on ability with physical size being a consideration.

Q. - At what age should my daughter/son specialize in the goalkeeper
position?

A. This is a somewhat difficult question for me because I knew that I wanted to be a goalkeeper when I was seven years old. Generally speaking, we would like to see all players between ages 6 to 11 rotate through goal. Everyone is a field player and at some times a goalkeeper. The main requirement would be that the child wants to be a goalkeeper.

Q. - If a team does not have a goalkeeper and you need to choose someone, what are the qualities you look for in a potential goalkeeper?

A. A good athlete who wants to play in that position and who understands that it will take hard work to become a good goalkeeper.

Q. - What about that saying "it helps to be crazy to be a goalkeeper"?

A. What does that saying mean? Does it mean that goalkeepers are crazy to jump into the air and make a diving save, or to throw themselves in front of an onrushing player to prevent a goal? Or does it question why one would choose that position because we get to touch the ball so infrequently?

I would submit that the goalkeeper [in most games] handles the ball more often than any other player.The goalkeeper is the last defender, but also the first attacker. We can strongly influence the game by keeping the score down against us and we can influence the attack by making quick and accurate distributions of the ball.

Ask any experienced coach and he or she will tell you that a good goalkeeper can make the difference between winning and loosing. You can be the hero of your team. Why would you not choose to be a goalkeeper?

Q. - Is it true that you have to be "fearless" to be a good goalkeeper?

A. To be "fearless" is to be a danger to your team and yourself. What is called for is a person who can function despite fear. In my younger days I was a Green Beret Officer, parachutist, diver and mountain climber. I know what fear is. Fear keeps you on edge and alert. Overcoming your fear and still excelling is the trick.

Q. - Do goalkeepers get injured more often than other players?

A. Unhappily this is true in this country. Soccer is relatively new to the USA so that the facilities we train on are not the best. We also have too few coaches who know how to train goalkeepers correctly. Learning the proper technique for diving, coming off the line, one on ones and crosses does a lot to overcome this situation. In Europe a lot of goalkeeping training is done in a sandpit. You can dive hundreds of times without getting hurt.

Q. - Is there any difference in how goalkeepers are trained in the US and in the rest of the world?

A. Yes. I have played in many countries in Europe and have found some decided differences. First of all most players come to us having played soccer from an early age and already know for sure that they want to be goalkeepers. We also tend to get more goalkeepers per team or club and therefore have more competition at the position. This usually means that the best athlete wins the position. There are usually better facilities at each club. For goalkeepers this means a sandpit in summer or gymnastic mats [indoors in winter]. Goalkeepers at each club work out with the rest of the players during normal practice and then stay another half to three-quarter of an hour longer for specialty training.

A lot of the clubs in Europe were founded between 1896 and 1904 so they have had a long head start on us in building up facilities. It is also not uncommon to play at at a club where your father and grandfather played. In those kind of clubs,when you stop playing yourself, you become a supporter,administrator or coach. Consequently the clubs have a long history and continuity.

Q. - Is practice twice a week enough to become a top-notch goalkeeper?

A. As with most endeavors, you get out of it what you put in. All good goalkeepers who reach a higher level work extra sessions. These are usually sessions with friends who can shoot on goal. Even field play will make you a better goalkeeper. Anything you can do on a daily basis to improve your skills will help. If you only want to play recreational soccer practicing twice a week is more than enough.

Q. - What is the parent(s) role in developing a good player/goalkeeper?

A. Loving non-critical support. If the child works with a coach and especially with a goalkeeping coach then they will get plenty of instruction and correction. My own philosophy is to give immediate feedback, praise when praise is due and to never give false praise. Parents want their child to succeed but often push the child so hard that the child finds no more fun in the sport. And it's still all about having fun. At my goalkeeping sessions parents are invited to watch from the sidelines without making any comments. By letting the goalkeeper concentrate on what I have to say we can insure that the goalkeeper does not get distracted by anything else. They consequently learn faster and progress faster. It is also important not go give the new goalkeeper conflicting messages. If you believe in the coach let him or her coach.

Q. - Besides playing soccer is there anything my goalkeeper can do to get better?

A. Quite a number of things. Anything you can do to be a better athlete will
help. Efforts at flexibility, strength, speed, power and agility are well rewarded
with better performance. Watching good soccer games live and on TV (at the
higher levels) will open players' eyes to possibilities they had not even
dreamed of. Live games give one a completely different impression of the
speed, finesse, timing and power that are involved in a good soccer game.

Q. - Do you recommend weight training for young goalkeepers?

A. No, with qualifications. The goalkeeping exercises we do in normal
training are sufficient. It will be worthwhile to do more of these exercises
during the week, not only at goalkeeping practice. After age 14 we do
recommend weight training, supervised by a weight trainer.