If you look at the careers of U.S. women's No. 1 netminder Hope Solo and her German counterpart Nadine Angerer, you might conclude that playing in the field and scoring lots of goals in the best way to become a goalkeeper. Both made the switch from field play to goal, Solo when she was in college at the University of Washington, Angerer when an injury befell a teammate and she filled in. The more standard way for a girl soccer player to learn goal involves focusing on this specialized position earlier, in middle or high school.
Master Your Footwork
Goalkeeping involves mastering footwork and how to use your hands to gather the ball, writes Debra LaPrath in "Coaching Girls' Soccer Successfully." Start with the correct ready stance, knees bent, hands extended at shoulder level, weight forward, so you can react to a shot. Learn the lateral shuffle and the cross-over step to line yourself up with an incoming shot, as well as the collapse step, which entails kneeling to one side and placing your hands out to stop a low, driven ball. You'll need to be able to backpedal to get to shots heading over your head and to jump vertically when the ball is directly over your head, leaping straight up on one leg and driving the other knee upward.
Practice Collecting the Ball
You need to work on your fingertip strength and hand-eye coordination to snag shots. LaPrath identifies the shovel or scoop movement to gather bouncing balls on the ground and the cradle to catch balls between the knees and the waist. With either of these hand collections, you need to put your hands out, palms facing up, and gather the ball to your chest. Grip higher balls by touching the thumbs of your extended hands together to form a "W." "Watch" the ball into your hands through the W and grasp it when it arrives. Redirect balls that you can't successfully catch by punching the ball with your balled fist or parrying it with the heel of your hand or fingertips.
Attend Goalie Camp
Even the best-intentioned youth coaches may not have the time or expertise to teach you the finer points of diving saves, positioning and ball distribution. Look for a goalie camp run by a current or former pro soccer goalkeeper to acquire a greater understanding of specialized drills and conditioning. Expect to learn in detail how to defend against free kicks and the most challenging aspect of the game -- penalty kicks. Although lacrosse experts offer girls-only goalie camps, soccer camps tend to be co-ed. Boys may outnumber girls, but the pro allows girls to pair up for drills or work with a boy of similar weight and height. Girls do the same drills as the boys, and the pro may use an experienced female goalie to teach advanced concepts.
Play Elite Soccer
If you have promise as a goalkeeper, you can join a travel team to play top players in other towns. A travel team can be your springboard to your state's Olympic Development Program. Call your state soccer association and ask about ODP tryouts in your community. You'll have access to top youth coaches in your state to bring your goalkeeping to a higher level.
Member Comments