5 Things to think about when dealing with your Youth Goalkeeper

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?

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1. Remind your goalkeeper to remain focused on the game and be involved in the play, even when the ball is in the opposite end. Too many times I see goalkeepers standing inside their 6 yard box day dreaming. This is one of the reason's parents don't encourage their child to play in goal. But the coach should be encouraging their keeper's to push up to the top of the box. They should be maintaining their angle as the ball moves around the field. In addition they should be communicating with their back line. These things will help a goalkeeper stay mentally engaged in the game. It will result in less mistakes and a greater success in a goalkeeper remaining a goalkeeper. A goalkeeper should be mentally exhausted after every game, regardless of how many shots they faced.
2. A soccer goalkeeper is a soccer player too, pass them the ball. Many coaches feel that because a goalkeeper wear's gloves they cannot play with their feet. This may have been true in the past, but the game has changed and the grassroots need to change with it. Goalkeepers should be taking part in field player sessions to increase their comfort level on the ball, they should be taking their own goal kicks, and they should be expecting to have the ball passed back to them. When a team passes the ball to their goalkeeper it helps the team relieve pressure and maintain possession of the ball. At times your goalkeeper will take a bad touch, or make/receive a poor pass resulting in a goal, remind all your players that it's ok because you've asked them to play that way. Soccer is primarily played with our feet, no player should be an exception to that.
3. Youth goalkeepers should all be encouraged to catch the ball. At the very young ages most shots are right at them, there's no excuse to not learn to catch. As players progress in their comfort this skill should also be applied to diving saves and crosses. When your goalkeeper catches the ball it creates less chaos and allows your team the opportunity to learn how to play out of the back. It will also build the confidence of your goalkeeper.
4. Many times a ball will go into the corner of the net and the coach will yell "dive", but the problem is their goalkeeper has no idea how. For many diving can be scary, with good reason. If not performed properly it can be dangerous and lead to injury. It's natural to initially be scared to dive, and takes a lot of bravery to learn. Coaches should not force a young keeper to dive unless they've been taught correctly how to do it. This takes time starting on the ground and learning to land safely and build confidence. Encourage your players to seek out help in this area.
5. Having shot after shot after shot go towards your goalkeeper is not goalkeeper training. Many times goalkeepers are in the goal for a team shooting drill. During this time they face an onslaught of soccer balls flying at them. Many grassroots players don't have the skill set to deal with this, and those that do still need a chance to rest or reset themselves. Being scored on consistently will not build your goalkeepers confidence. In addition to this point, when your team is going to goal try to make it as game realistic as possible. Many times I've seen a team run a crossing session where the goalkeeper is told not to come for the crosses and to allow the attacker to shoot. This results in shots being fired from 2 yards away as well as taking away a learning opportunity for the goalkeeper, after all come the weekend they'll be expected to come and collect those same crosses.

Goalkeepers are like any other player on the team. They're still a part of the team. They just happen to have a super power assigned to them within the game and get to wear fancy gloves. This is no reason to forget about them and their development entirely.