Soccer Goalie Agility Training Drills

Goalkeeping requires a blend of mental and physical abilities. American and German soccer coaches Thomas Dooley and Christian Titz in "Soccer Goalkeeper Training" list a need for psychological skills, such as courage, calm and self-confidence, and physical skills, including stamina, power and of course agility. Agility enables mobility in the air and on the ground and allows the goalie to "own" the penalty box and deny scoring chances.

Hopscotch

Canada national team keeper Karina LeBlanc tells Active.com, "As a goalkeeper you need to be quick, you need to be agile, explosive, it's a little different than the other positions where you're just running around." Agility drills, she noted, develop the fast-twitch muscles in preparation for a real game. Place seven disks in a row in front of the goalmouth, each about 18 inches apart, for the hopscotch drill. LeBlanc describes doing hopscotch with both feet on the sides of the disk, followed by one foot between the disks, repeating the pattern. On coming to the last disk, you as the goalkeeper coach shoot a ball to the keeper, requiring her to dive to one side or the other.

Shot on Goal and Reaction

This drill, described in "Soccer Goalkeeper Training," emphasizes coordination and reactions and requires leaping strength, speed of movement and agility. The goalkeeper stands in goal. You as the goalkeeper coach position yourself with the balls 10 to 16 yards in front of the goal. Just before you shoot the ball, the keeper does a small jump with both legs or takes a small step forward, spreading his arms out, bending his knees slightly and pointing his feet in your direction at about hip-width apart. Play a diagonal ball in line with the upper right corner of the goalmouth, alternating with the left. Play four balls per side. The keeper must run on the balls of his feet, not using the whole of the foot or the heels, using soft, light movements. The keeper tosses the ball back between shots.

Diving Over Obstacles

To work on leaping strength, speed of movement and combining technical skill with movement, try the Diving Over Obstacles drill recommended by Dooley and Titz. Place a long, low hurdle or a series of 6-inch hurdles to make an obstacle running perpendicular to the goalmouth extending to the edge of the goal area, the smaller rectangular area within the penalty box. The keeper stands on one side of the hurdle, and you stand about 10 yards in front of the goal with the balls. Throw the balls so that the keeper has to jump over the hurdle to catch the balls. The next repetition starts from the other side, so for each stop the keeper has to jump over the hurdle without touching it and make the stop, diving as necessary.