Goalkeepers are in a unique position compared to all other players on a soccer team. They are the last line of defense and the ones who are ultimately responsible to stop opponents from scoring. With the right training, any goalkeeper can develop the skills needed to be successful. In this blog article, I’ll explain what you can expect when you train with TIP Goalkeeping.
In general, each session with TIP will include three segments: Activation, technical, and tactical. But specifically, what can your athlete expect to experience at goalie training with TIP Goalkeeping? Read on to find out!
Introduction To Goalkeeper Training
For goalkeepers of all ages, on-field, position specific training is an invaluable part of their development and success. During a goalie training session, athletes will refine their skills in several general athletic areas, including balance, movement, and explosiveness. They will also be given technical and tactical instruction specific to the position, including topics like set position, catching, diving, and distributing with hands and feet. By the end, they will be able to use their technical and tactical knowledge to succeed in drills that involve lots of variables at game-realistic speeds.
Activation Movements and Warm-Up
When beginning, the focus is on warming up the body, getting loose and comfortable, and performing specific movements to activate muscle groups that will be used later in the session. In this portion, the coach also takes time to get to know the keeper. Taking this time to develop trust allows the coach to know how to help the athlete feel successful and move toward their goals by understanding the athlete’s successes, failures, and motives. As the keeper progresses through the movements, the coach will give feedback and instruction to the athlete to ensure they are getting activated so they are prepared to be successful later in the session.
We begin with activation because each training session will be partially geared toward what it means to be an athlete. Athletes are powerful, controlled, agile, and explosive. To encourage this development, each goalie training session includes some focus on speed, footwork, and power. These physical capabilities will allow the keeper to put their technical knowledge into practice. What good is it to know how to dive if your legs aren’t powerful enough to get you to the ball? Or how to catch if your hands and arms give way when the shot is too hard? Being physically strong is just one aspect of the session though. A keeper will need technical skills, tactical insight, and physical power to perform their job well.
As a side note, did you know that those three things form the pillars of TIP Goalkeeping? TIP stands for Technique, Insight, and Power.
Technical Skills Development - “What and How”
At goalie training, athletes will benefit from technical skills development in all aspects of their game. Technique includes any specific movement that a keeper will be asked to execute: movement, catching, diving, distribution. The technical portion of a session focuses on the “what and how” of goalkeeping.
Proper footwork and stance are essential for all goalies. Good footwork (which includes getting to a good position quickly), having good balance, and being able to move effectively and efficiently, allows goalies to play at their best. In every session we focus on movement, balance, and readiness so that the importance of proper body structure and a balanced set position becomes second-nature to our athletes.
Another key technical component of the position is how and when to use hands and arms to make a save. As early in the session as possible, the ball is introduced so keepers get as many touches with hands and feet as possible. Depending on the type and focus of the session, by the end of training our keepers have caught or parried a ball with their hands many dozens of times. TIP’s philosophy is that the more touches a keeper gets, the more comfortable they become with catching and parrying techniques.
Finally, distribution is another consistent theme of our technical portion of training. Once a keeper has the ball in their control, whether in their hands or at their feet, they have to be able to get it out to their team to initiate the attack. We cover distribution with hands, like rolls and throws, and distribution with feet, like first touch and passing, goal kicks, and punts. We want our keepers to keep a mindset of “last line of defense, first line of attack”, and so getting the ball back to their teammates is a crucial skill to cover in training.
Tactical Decisions And Game Realistic Scenarios - “When and Why”
At the end of each training session, the focus turns to interpreting game-realistic scenarios and applying technical knowledge. This is a time to apply skills learned and understand the “why” of each decision based on the situation. During this portion of the session, the athlete and coach will look at game scenarios to assess the decisions the goalie is making and how those decisions might affect the outcome of the game. The coach will provide feedback and advice to the athlete to ensure their decision-making is effective and in line with the technical skills that were worked on earlier in the session.
We place special focus on running through situations that keepers struggle with in games. This means they’ll practice using the same shots, intensity, and opponent movements they would face in an actual game. In everything we do, we cater our session to the needs of the goalkeeper, and that’s most important in the final segment.
When our keepers leave the practice field, we want them to feel equipped with solutions to problems that they will face in their next game. By discussing these things with the athlete and also with their parents, we can create situations that give them the most payoff for their effort, and that will translate directly to game success.
The drills the coach will create to address their specific needs will not only help them learn how to respond to shots from the opposing team, but also to know when to attack the ball and when to hold their position. Goalie training allows athletes to practice reading the field, so they can anticipate the opposition’s next move. This is a critical skill that will allow them to communicate to their teammates, and prevent opportunities on goal before they ever happen.
Overview Of Training Sessions And Outcomes - Why Train with TIP Goalkeeping?
When training with TIP Goalkeeping, athletes can expect thoughtful session planning, consistent and encouraging feedback, and coaches who train with a growth mindset who have serious experience as players and coaches. Each training sessions typically focus on the following areas:
1. Activation and Warm Up: Athletes will learn the mechanics of the various movements they need to make while goalkeeping. This will be a time to clear their heads and prepare their bodies for the rest of the session.
2. Technical Skills - the “What and How”: Athletes will improve 2-3 specific technical movements that they’ll need to execute in a game to be successful. This can include footwork, catching, diving, distribution; really any skill that they need to develop. This is the time for the athlete to learn the “what and how” of each movement.
3. Tactical Decisions and Game-Realistic Scenarios - the “When and Why”: To finish up each session, TIP coaches devise scenarios that the goalkeeper might face in a game to help them apply the skills and knowledge they’ve learned so far. This segment is all about understand when and why to implement certain skills or make certain decisions.
At TIP Goalkeeping, providing an excellent training experience is our specialty. We’ve trained hundreds of goalkeepers, and without fail they leave our sessions with increased knowledge and confidence. If you’d like to train with TIP Goalkeeping, check our website for sessions that are currently available. If you don’t see something that fits your needs, please email us at tipgoalkeeping@gmail.com. Let’s get it!