As goalkeepers, we are under a lot of stress and expectation from our teammates and coaches. The smallest mistake can lead to a goal and easily ruin your entire game. We have to be able to handle the pressure that comes with our position and use our mind to perform at our best. Psychological training should be a vital part of your training routine to be able to deal with the pressures that come with goalkeeping. Meditation and yoga are becoming more prevelant in soccer, so you should consider adding them to your training routine.
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The role of the goalkeeper is key to the success or failure of the team. The goalkeeper is as an important player as a baseball pitcher to baseball, a quarterback to a football team or a big center to a basketball team. To build confidence and prepare the goalkeeper for training and games it is important for the goalkeeper to address the below questions to be better prepared.
Each time a soccer goalkeeper faces a shot, the brain records data for future use. When the goalkeeper reacts to a shot by launching to the upper 90…the brain is recording. When the soccer goalkeeper hesitates because they aren’t sure the save can be made or if the shot is even on frame…the brain is recording. And when the goalkeeper chooses not to attempt the save because they don’t believe they can reach the ball or they assume it will miss the goal…the brain is recording. A soccer goalkeeper can help their brain learn by making the decision to go for it.
Dan Gaspar, founder of Star Goalkeeper Academy and internationally renowned goalkeeper coach, shares the importance of a strong technical foundation, work ethic, and focus in goalkeeper training through the Gaspar's Pit.
Coach Gaspar has been an innovator in goalkeeper education for close to 40 years. The questions I posed Dan were an effort to help goalkeepers see how he approaches goalkeeper education at varying levels. I feel as players, coaches, and parents we have a tendency to over complicate the game and training.
While a goalkeeper’s performance involves such physical elements as quickness and power, it is often the psychological component which determines success. At every level, there are goalkeepers with exceptional quickness and great jumping ability, goalkeepers with good size and flexibility, and keepers who can make the great save. Goalkeeping, though, demands more than physical prowess.The way in which goalkeepers chose to deal with the pressure they experience, in part, determine their success.
There is a point in each goalkeepers development that they realize that being a keeper isn't just fun and games. They realize there performance and development directly impact the team and in many cases the win or loss column. Learning to set goals will give a keeper the ability to develop a clear course of action on where they want to go (performance level) and how to get there.
There is a temptation to refer to the goalkeeper’s mindset as a “training mentality,” and this would not be incorrect. But, the goalkeeper’s approach, her focus, extends so far beyond training that the term “training” seems to limit the psyche unjustly. In a sense, the goalkeeper almost has a governing philosophy or a world view. We can say of many of the great goalkeepers – whether at the youth or senior levels – that “she carries herself like a goalkeeper,” or, “you can just tell she is a goalkeeper.” Why is that? Why is it that the good ones act like goalkeepers even when they are not practicing their craft on the field of play?
Encouraging more players to join the rotation of goalkeeper boils down to support. Athletes respond and react to non - verbal and verbal feedback. It is equally important to not only to be encouraging but also reflect that in your body language.
For a soccer goalkeeper to play and train at the highest level the goalkeeper needs the right attitude, a strong commitment, and be willing to sacrifice.
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