I’ve been worried since matches stopped being played back in March… I knew the player I had picked out to be the goalkeeper for this season was leaving. So I’ve made it my target as soon as we got back to training to get hold of a keeper… and I have found a great one. It can easily be overlooked when you are the manager of the team unless you have a plan worked out for pre-season that includes your goalkeeper.
It makes a big difference to the start of the season if you have a goalkeeper ready to play matches and one that can help stop giving away silly early goals. They need to be ready to dive, to catch, to deflect… in fact anything to stop the ball going in the net! Confidence is a big one for goalkeepers – you can listen to my podcasts on coaching the goalkeeper Touchline Tales: Goalkeepers and Coaching the goalkeeper
Getting goalkeepers to dive safely and with confidence is key. The practice plan Coaching a goalkeeper to dive correctly is a great starting point for prepping young keepers. Believe me, diving stops lots of simple shots at all levels of the game!
Handling is another key factor in early season. Pre-season back to basics works on the technique for ball handling and shows some 1 to 1 sessions that will help your keeper get back into the groove after the summer break.
I swear by my EasiCoach goalkeeping sessions – try Stop the striker 1v1 (U11-U12 game). For saving skills try Stopping the ball (U7-U8 activity) and for skills with the feet try Footwork matters most (U11-U12 activity).
For older goalkeepers use the session Cover plus. This will get them thinking about positions on the pitch and covering behind the defence when they go missing.
For very experienced goalkeepers use Goalkeeper positions – it was written by Keith Boanas, the former Estonia women’s team head coach, for a team in Finland that was having trouble with the goalkeeper staying glued to her line.
Finally read Newcastle United head goalkeeping coach Simon Smith’s 6 ways to get your keeper sharp in pre-season on how to re-establish your goalkeeper’s sharpness for the coming season.
We had a meeting this week at my club, where we were discussing the changes we face in a few months time. My U10s team goes from 7v7 into 9v9 and that means we are facing offside decisions. So how does a coach go about preparing for that? MORE
As coaches we are all obsessed with keeping possession of the ball... of course we are the best teams all do it and if you've got the ball the opposition can't score. And there is just that other coach called Pep Guardiola who swears by it... MORE
Fast is a word I like to use when my teams are attacking. Do it with speed and watch the opposition shrink away from it. It makes life difficult for your opponents and helps your team to dominate when in possession of the ball. MORE
The season has suddenly taken off again after 4 months of Coronavirus lockdown. I've been coaching for 14 hours for the last two weeks in an attempt to get the players back into some kind of shape for playing matches. It has its benefits but also it has a downside. Two of my players picked up injuries, one an ankle injury and the other had what he called "tired legs". Find out how we got on... MORE
in Defending, Email newsletters
Defending against overloads can happen whether your team is in an organised or disorganised state. You can plan defending when organised much easier than when you are defending disorganised. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
I was talking to a coach this week about how to control balls in the air, especially when heading the ball in training is off the menu for most clubs. I imagine that there will be much more of a contest to win the ball with a volley once it has dropped from head height. So how do you coach controlling balls in the air? MORE
