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.