If a keeper has quick feet, they can easily get themselves into position to make the easy catch, rather than having to dive at balls just at the edge of their reach all the time. Good goalkeepers  make every save look easy, and the key to that is good footwork.

Footwork Principles

Keep moving and stay on the toes. The feet of a good goalkeeper are constantly in motion, and they dance on the balls of the feet. A sure way for a keeper to get beat is to have their weight back on their heels. Watch for this! Not only does this keep them from moving quickly to a ball, but it has bad effects on their diving and jumping. Your keeper should have “happy feet”, always bouncing on the toes and with their weight forward.

Stay square to the ball.
The goalkeepers hips and shoulders should always be square to the ball; that is, perpendicular to a line between the shooter/ball and the keeper. (Fig. 1). A common problem is for young keepers to turn sideways when collecting balls that aren’t in front of them. Make sure they always square up - to do this, they must also…

Get behind the ball. It is easiest to make the save when the ball is directly in front of them, so they should use their feet to get behind the ball every time, if possible. A goalkeeper uses two types of steps to do this:

Shuffle step - this is used for short distances. The body stays square to the ball, the feet shuffle quickly but never cross over. Right foot stays on the right, left on the left.

Crossover step - used to cover more ground. Turn the hips and run in the direction they want to go, but with their upper body facing the ball. Again, don’t cross the feet up - right on the right, left on the left. This is not a carioca or “grapevine” step, where one foot passes in front of and then behind the other alternately.

If there is a long way to go, use the crossover, then end with a few quick shuffles to adjust the final position for making the catch. A common problem, especially for young players, is to cross their feet and trip themselves up. Make sure right foot stays on the right, left on left.

Move forwards to the ball. The save should always be made forwards, moving towards the ball. This accomplishes two important things: it allows the keeper to get to the ball faster, and it gives the keeper the proper angle to deflect any balls that aren’t caught away from the goal. Do not let your keeper take a step back when they catch the ball. If anything, they should take a step forward.

Recover quickly, and always keep your hands free. Just because the goalkeeper goes down with a dive or slide does not mean the play is over. A parry or deflection may keep the ball in play, and perha

via JB Goalkeeping - Footwork.

The  technique on this page is reserved for goalkeepers who are a bit older and have the physical skill to perform them. As a rule of thumb,  diving techniques should be introduced to youngsters starting at about the U12 or U13 level. Like other diving techniques, these are rough on the body, so be careful not to overtrain them.

The Front Smother

The front smother, also known as the forward dive, forward smother, or forward vault, is actually a very commonly used technique at higher levels of the game. It is used on hard, low shots or balls that are going to “short-hop” the keeper. Essentially, it is a combination of a moving ground-ball pickup and a basket (inverted contour) catch, with momentum taking the goalkeeper forward over the ball and to the ground. This ensures the keeper completely smothers the ball and does not give up a rebound.

The goalkeeper should strive to get the ball before it hits the ground if possible, but whether the catch is on the fly or on the short hop, the goalkeeper needs to be attacking the low ball aggressively and not waiting and risking a funny bounce.

The steps in a front smother are:

Move towards the ball. This is a dive, so the goalkeeper needs some forward momentum. Try to get to the ball before it hits the ground if possible; if not, get it on the short hop.

Catch the ball similar to the techni

via JB Goalkeeping: Advanced Diving.

Diving should only be done as a last resort - good footwork and positioning should eliminate the need to dive often. Beware the keeper who loves to dive too much and dives even on what should be easy saves. It looks impressive, but safety should come first.

Basic Principles of Diving

Many of the fundamentals of footwork and catching also apply to diving: stay square to the shooter, move forward towards the ball, use the hands to catch the ball. For diving, they are expanded a little.

Use good footwork to get into position to dive. Small shuffle steps, or occasionally even a quick crossover, need to be used to get the body into the proper range to make the dive.

Move forward at an angle into the dive. The Right Angle:

Just why do soccer goalkeepers dive backwards? The explanation, and a Java applet that lets you cover all the angles.

The first step going into a dive should be sideways towards the ball and forward at roughly a 30-degree angle. This gives the keeper the proper angle to deflect balls away from goal. One of the biggest problems for keepers is diving backwards - they put their weight on their heels and stretch backwards, and often will deflect the ball back into the side netting. Don’t let this happen! Make sure they start with their weight forward on their toes and step forwards into the dive.

Get low and shoot out towards the ball. Drive with the near leg, starting low to generate power. This should come as a natural progression after the step forward at the angle.

Stay square while diving and after landing on the ground. Even while in midair, the keeper’s body should be square to the ball. Why? Because this gives them the best catching position, gets the largest part of their body behind the ball, and will have them land on their hip and side which is the safest landing position. Same thing goes after they are on the ground. Do not allow the keeper to turn face-down while making the catch and land on their stomach! Not only can the ball slip through, but landing on the ball can injure the keeper. Similarly, don’t let them roll over on their back after the catch is made.

Catch the ball with the hands first, then cushion the fall. Many young keepers are afraid of falling to the ground while diving and fail to make the catch in the first place. Always make the catch first, with the hands in good catching position, then worry about landing. If they have good technique and land on their side, it will hurt much less.

via JB Goalkeeping - Diving.

The goalkeeper is the last line of defense, but also the first line of attack. I am not advocating attempting to dribble the entire field starting from your own goal like Amadeo Carrizo, but a quick restart to the attack can be very effective. After a save is made, the keeper must quickly look to break out and start the counter. This is especially true after the Laws change of July 1, 2000 eliminating the four-step limitation and requiring the goalkeeper to put the ball back in play after 5-6 seconds.

Distribution can be done two ways: throws or kicks. Both have advantages for certain situations.

Kicks

A goalkeeper may simply drop the ball to the ground and take the kick normally, especially if they have a big foot. When more distance is required, to break pressure or for younger players, a punt or drop kick is used.

Punts

A punt is usually the kick with the greatest distance, although the high trajectory and hang time usually mean 50-50 balls at the receiving end. Start with the ball in both hands. It may be more comfortable to end up dropping the ball with one hand rather than two. If so, the hand on the same side as the kicking foot should be used But starting with both hands will allow for more consistency in the drop.

via JB Goalkeeping - Distribution.

The triangle drill - develops goalkeeper agility, positional sense and shot stopping ability. It is also good for practicing other players’ shooting techniques.

Soft Catch

Play game in pairs throwing and catching a football. Try to make no sound as the ball hits the hands (almost impossible!)

The heading game 1v1

In 10×5 yard grid, players take it in turn to head ball over opponent?s goal line by pulling ball back and using their own momentum to head the ball. The player who is attempting to stop the ball can use their hands or dive if necessary. They can also advance as far as they like so if they stop ball they are in a better position to score. Then make it competitive and play for 1 minute and then the winner moves up the ladder, the loser moves down. If tied use ?rock, paper, scissors? as a tiebreaker. Do 8-10 rotations to establish a championship!

The heading game 2v2

Players are paired up to play 2v2 in a 10×10 grid. One pair has ball and tries to advance down field heading to each other. Once they get near the other teams goal line then one of them can attempt to head it past their line to score. The other team stays on their goal line and attempt to save ball. Once the ball hits the ground or is saved, the two heading retreat to their goal line and the other

via 13 goalkeeping drills and games.

from www.jbgoalkeeping.com

Part 1 - footwork and positioning

Footwork

Footwork training starts off every season. Basic footwork drills and warm-ups are used throughout the rest of the season for warm-ups and repetition. Even when training other topics, don’t let them forget good footwork.

Warm Up (10 min)

After jog & stretch, and introduction of basic steps (shuffle and crossover) if necessary, do footwork mirroring. Coach or leader move back and forth with good footwork, varying speed and with quick changes of direction, players mirror the leader. Using a speed ladder can also be a great warm-up for this or any other session.

Make sure players stay light on their toes, knees bent, and keep their shoulders square to the leader.

For beginners, here’s a great demonstration of why keepers need to be on their toes. First, have the players stand lightly on their toes and tell them to jump as high as they can. They should easily be able to get off the ground. Then, tell them to put their weight on their heels and jump again. This time they won’t go anywhere!

Ready Position (5 min)

Do footwork mirroring again, but now the coach or leader will call “Shot!” every so often. When he does, keepers must instantly come to the ready position. Then keep moving. Then, the leader gets a ball and dribbles back and forth with the players tracking the ball

via basic goalkeeper training.

This session on basic catching can work for any level of keeper: as an introduction for young keepers, review and repetitions for intermediate level keepers, and warm-ups or review for more experienced keepers. I will note variations on the drills you can use to adjust the session for various skill levels.

Warm Up (10 min)

After jog & stretch, have players in pairs doing simple tosses back and forth at shoulder height. For beginners, demonstrate the basic “W” or contour hand position. Then move to basket catches — again, demo the proper catching technique for beginners. Finally, move to rolling ball pickups. If you have four or more players, have them get in two lines facing each other about 6-7 yards apart; players in one line have balls and the first player serves to the opposite line; players then switch lines. This serving technique reinforces the need to move forward when receiving a ball. With older keepers, I will use a goalkeeping medicine ball for part of the warm up.

Check proper hand position and make sure keepers are using good footwork to get behind the ball and are moving forward to meet the ball. Remind them that anything above the waist requires a “fingers up” (”W”) catch, below the waist is a “fingers down” #basket# catch.

Two-Ball Circle #10 min#

This activity needs six to ten players, but is a very popular exercise. I%2

via JB Goalkeeping - Training Sessions.

A keeper who is always in position makes it look like every shot goes right to them, because the shooter has nowhere else to put the ball. Poor positioning leaves vast areas of net for a shooter, or even an empty net.

Basic Positioning Principles - The Center Line Position  - Covering the Angle

First, to position themselves accurately, the goalkeeper must know where the goal is! It sounds obvious, but during the scramble of a game a keeper can lose track. When the play starts moving towards the goal, the first thing the keeper must do is check the posts to make sure they are starting off with good position. Then, whenever they can divert their attention for a split second, they should check the posts again to make sure they’ve maintained that good position in the face of a moving ball.

Second, the goalkeeper must always try to position themselves on an imaginary line that runs from the center of the goal to the ball . This puts them in position to get to either post equally well. The center line determines the side-to-side positioning.

Third, the goalkeeper must position themselves far enough off the goal line to cover the angle created by the ball and both posts. They should be able to cover either post with a couple of quick steps (footwork!)

via JB Goalkeeping - Positioning.

Punching, or boxing, is used to clear away crossed balls that cannot be caught, usually in heavy traffic. It is not a technique used often, as the ball should be caught whenever possible, but can be very effective in allowing a keeper to demonstrate they have complete control over their goal area. If there is any doubt for a keeper that they they will not be able to catch a cross, it should be punched. “When in doubt, punch it out” (but remember this applies only to crosses, not shots!).

Punching hand position

The three keys to an effective punch are:

Width - getting the ball towards the sidelines, out of the center of the soccer field

Distance - getting the ball as far away from the goal as possible

Height - getting the ball over the attacking players

The proper hand position for punching is important for best control and for avoiding finger injuries. The hands should form a fist, with the four fingers forming a flat surface, and the thumb pressed firmly against the side of the fist but below the flat surface out of harm’s way. The flat surface allows for the most control, as well as getting sensitive knuckles out of the way. Do not tuck the thumb inside the fingers, as this is just asking for a hand injury.

Punching can be done with one hand or both hands. This is determined by the direction you want the ball to go

via JB Goalkeeping - Punching and Parrying.

Throws

Throws are usually much shorter than kicks, but much more accurate. A quick throw right to the feet of an open teammate is often the safest distribution. The goalkeeper has several basic throws available. I’ve listed them here in order of decreasing accuracy and increasing distance.

For the javelin, sidearm and overhand throw, the trajectory of the soccer ball should be mostly level or even downwards, not high and looping. We want the ball to hit the ground in front of the receiver, to give it time to settle on the grass and make for an easy trap. A rule of thumb is to have the ball initially hit the ground about two-thirds of the way to the receiver.

Roll

The roll is the most accurate but shortest distribution. It is also typically the easiest for teammates to receive. Control the ball between the palm of the hand and the forearm with a bent wrist, step with the opposite foot, and “bowl” the ball, making sure the fingertips touch the ground on the delivery. This will require bending the knees and waist to get low enough. Just like in real bowling, you don’t want to drop the ball from the hand to the ground. The transition should be smooth.

Javelin Throw

Javelin or Baseball Throw

In the middle of the accuracy and distance scale is the javelin or baseball throw

via JB Goalkeeping - Distribution.