The Forgotten Keeper

This editorial was written by Adrienne Cook and originally posted on tss.ca 

Over the past 10 years, TSS has been helping countless young female players get recruited to university level soccer. As you can imagine, this has produced many conversations with a variety of university coaches about their needs for the upcoming season. It’s been impossible not to recognize a common trend from those conversations: the need for a strong goalkeeper. Year after year, we hear this need echoed by coaches on the female side of the game. This demand is second only to that of strikers...but that’s a topic for another time.

Coaches at the top levels of the game understand the difference a strong and confident goalkeeper can make to their team. They know a goalkeeper can be the difference between a winning and a loosing season. For teams that do enjoy the benefits of a strong goalkeeper, there is always the nagging worry that if she gets injured, things may go sideways fast given the lack of depth in the position.

Development is key to the success of any player at any position. So much more goes into becoming a goalkeeper. Not only must you be confident with your hands but with your feet as well. You really must be the complete athlete.

Learning is done in a very special way and we base our methods on the following theory as laid out by Fitts and Posner in 1967.

​They suggested that the learning process is sequential and that we move through specific phases as we learn. There are three stages to learning a new skill:

When was the last time you learned something new? Or more specifically tried to learn a new sport? Something unlike anything you've done before, something that takes you out of your comfort zone and unbalances you? This is what kids feel constantly when we introduce them to a new sport. This post focuses on that concept... More specifically I'm going to share with you what learning a new sport in my 30's taught me about learning.

As a Canadian kid I grew up in a hockey loving family. Hockey was always on TV and my grandfather was an ex player and coach. In an era where girls barely played soccer, let alone hockey, I gravitated to the beautiful game. I started organized soccer at an early age and continued on until I hung up my gloves and started coaching instead. But realistically Hockey was in my blood. I don't even remember being taught how to shoot a wrist shot, it just happened. I played street hockey with the boys and spent hours out side with a stick, net and tennis ball. I loved it! As I got older I still enjoyed watching it, but as kids do, stopped going out to the street to play. ​

I attended a tournament recently and was amazed to see how many youth goalkeepers where disconnected from their teams when the ball was in the opponents half. Many youth goalkeepers where standing inside their 6 yard box. 

To follow up on our post about the importance-of-a-proper-warm-up for a goalkeeper I've created a video with an example. Below the video you'll find more detail on each aspect.

Goalkeepers are often forgotten (just as the title of this blog suggests) or are simply expected to know how to perform aspects of the position because they put up their hand and volunteered to play it. Goalkeeping is a special position and to be successful they require individualized training. But what can every grassroots coach do to help their goalkeeper develop?

​As I walk past games or watch opponents I'll commonly hear the words "Great Save!" being yelled from the sidelines. Except....it wasn't. The ball was batted away and it's popped out for a rebound, or now the team is dealing with a corner kick when all the goalkeeper had to do was catch the ball.

​How can you identify a goalkeeper? There are many attributes that create a strong goalkeeper, but Bravery stands out the most in younger players. Goalkeepers need to be brave in order to learn and develop new skills. As a goalkeeper a player must leave their comfort zone and push their mind and body past preconceived limits. Being a goalkeeper goes against human nature.