I don’t think it’s possible to say any specific aspect of goalkeeping is more important than another. All the elements have to be put together to ‘create’ a good keeper.
A while ago I was asked, “what’s the best piece of advice you can offer a young goalkeeper?” Ask 10 different coaches and you might end up with 10 different answers and in reality all the answers might be equally vital. My answer was – “not even the best keepers in the world can stop everything, so don’t expect to. But work hard, practice, listen to your coach and the number you concede will get lower.”
So the final Summer League game came round.
Due to teams dropping out, it meant that this was only their fourth game, having previously won 4-3, 4-1 and drawn 2-2. Only a win by a cricket score would see them finish top of the table but to be honest, the results weren’t the be all and end all for the team – it was always to get used to playing 11-a-side on a bigger pitch. From a selfish point of view, it was for my lad to get used to protecting his new environment. A full-sized goal.
Since the first game a few weeks before, his progress had been quite good and although there are still enough places in a full-sized goal that he can’t stop the ball going in to, his footwork and starting position have improved dramatically, meaning that he’s giving himself chance to keep a decent percentage of shots out. This increased mobility is partly down to playing in the four games but for the most part because of the hard work he’s put in at training (with his grassroots team and at CYG) and in the 1:1’s we’ve done together. He’s put the effort in and so far, he’s getting the rewards.
As it turned out, they won their final game 3-1 and finished joint top of the group.
In the first half (25 minutes), he only had 3 touches. The first was a corner that he came and took cleanly after about 15 minutes, a great example of having to maintain concentration levels when you’re not being called on to make saves. The opposi
tion team don’t play in a league but are more of a football training school, with a detailed approach to the technical and tactical side of the game – in other words, he wasn’t expecting 40 yard piledrivers fired at him at every opportunity but a more measured approach using possession football, meaning the likelihood of a bit quieter game for him.
In the second half, the ball was mostly up at the other end of the pitch again, up until the final five minutes or so. The opposition got a free kick just outside the box, so he had some organising to do. He got his wall set up for what turned out to be a direct shot. It dipped just in front of him but also a couple of feet to the right of his starting position. He sidestepped, dropped down, and with a forward following up for a rebound, executed a great scoop.
Unfortunately they conceded in the final minute to ensure he didn’t manage to keep a clean sheet in any of the four games but all in all, the Summer League was a very valuable experience for him to get used to 11-a-side and have the feel for full-sized goals – as he’ll have to play in them at least a few times this season.
Over the past few weeks, his grassroots training on 3G and the 1:1’s we’ve done have all been using full-sized goals but any training he’s done on grass has been using poles, as the goalposts have been taken down for the Summer. On Friday we trained on the grass at their home ground for the first time in a fortnight and it was a nice surprise to see the goalposts had returned. The goals are the recommended size for his age group, u13’s (and u14’s) – 7ft x 21ft, compared to 8ft x 24ft from the Summer League/3G sessions.
During the shooting practice at the end of the session, he looked quite comfortable and for most of the time, had a bit of a smile on his face. The work he’s done in the full-sized goals has been worthwhile, after a frustrating start for him where he felt like every shot was flying past him. We had our usual conversation at the end and I asked why he’d had the daft grin. His reply was “if you can save it in the big goals, you can save it in these.”
Over the last few months and in the final Summer League game, he’s shown 2 more of the endless skills that keepers need. Concentration (in the match) and the willingness to keep working to improve your own game.
Keep the faith.
Keeper of the faith 