Have you ever wondered how difficult a goalie’s job is and this is precisely why Drills for soccer should extensively cover goalkeeper’s drills. There are a number of soccer drills a few of which will be discussed below.
Single-handed catch: In this drill, request one of your fellow players to take a ball. Tell him or her to fire flip the ball to you after you’ve placed yourself at the goal line. Tell him or her to do it both-ways, left and right. The shoots should be to both the sides randomly.
The goalie gets to improve upon his capacity to single handedly catch hold of the ball along with focusing on the shot. Before a shot is taken, the goalie should be concentrating on making a contact with the ball early on and keep his feet straight on the ground.
Two-hands catch: Ask your fellow player to put the ball on the ground in these soccer exercises. Travel about 5 yards away from the ball. That fellow player should then hit the ball hard and by using your stomach as a barricade, you must attempt to grab the ball.
Fold your hands in a W shaped form so as to have them behind the ball while trying to grab the ball.
Catching Low Shots; in these drills for soccer, you have to be on the mid-point of the goal line and keep yourself away from the ball at a distance of no less than 6 yards. Your target must be to save any goals resulting from low lying shots to both right and left sides. Such shots take place very frequently in real matches and as such analyze a goalie’s aptitude and skills completely.
Afterwards the shooting player should toss the ball hard, although, low on each side with no clue to the goalkeeper. This drill has the effect of honing the goalkeeper’s skill of saving low shots, improving focus, and anticipating things in advance.
Tackling High Shots; as the name suggests, this drill coaches the goalie to grab the ball in the air. It is exercised exactly like we did the previous drill with just one change that here; the goalie’s team member would toss the ball up in the air. The goalie should not then wait for the ball but jump higher so as to grab the ball early.
These drills are the backbone of a goalie’s training. Also, you must keep in mind the fact that you’ll continue to improve with practice. Incorporate all these in your soccer training plan for the goalies.
Let’s accept it that no sole training program is whole in itself. When you continue to innovate with the drills, the players will be in a better position to tackle unanticipated situations. So as a coach, focus more on technique and motivate your players to perform well.
So go ahead and apply these drills for soccer after you’ve equipped yourself with all the relevant information. You will be surprised as to how fast they react to situations and excel in them.
If you are interested in getting more knowledge on drills for goalkeepers, join our youth soccer coaching community which offers tons of relevant information on this topic.
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Practice.