MAXIMIZING SHOOTING WARM UP TIME FOR GOALKEEPERS

Are you maximizing a shooting warm up time with players in your training to work on goalkeeper technique and different aspects of goalkeeper game with your goalkeepers?

Even if you don’t have a goalkeeper coach or an assistant coach in your team, there are still so many different ways for you to implement more elements of goalkeeper training in your team’s practice!

One of the most practical ways to have a bigger focus on work with goalkeepers is during the shooting warm up.

HOW MANY “LINES” OF SHOOTERS SHOULD YOU HAVE?

This is a very common question I get from coaches on a weekly basis! 🙂

My usual answer is that you can be as creative as you want when it comes to shooting options and combinations.

You can have players shoot on the goal from one line, two lines, three lines, four lines, or from even more. The options are endless, but you need to make sure that which ever option you choose – the focus will stay on a proper warm up for your goalkeepers!

I honestly am not too concerned about what players will do before or after shooting to the goal (in case that some coaches want to make more “fun” things for the shooters). But if you decide to give players some “task” before shooting, please consider changing your decision and adding the task after the shooting! Because what often happens is that players overly focus on the task they need to do before the shot, and then they don’t manage to stay focused to shoot precisely in the goal where we want them to!

Remember – we want to maximize the shooting warm up for what its main intention is and that are the goalkeepers!

SUGGESTION OF PROGRESSION STEPS IN SHOOTING WARM UP

Here are a few suggested steps of progression that you can use with your goalkeepers in shooting warm up.

Step 1. The best option to start with young goalkeepers for shooting warm up are going to be decided shots to one side of the goal, so that both goalkeepers and players know from and to where the shots are coming. “Decided” shots means that it’s already agreed and announced to shooters and to goalkeepers where the shots will come.

In this, but also in the next steps is very important to give enough of time to your goalkeepers between the shots so that they can return to the basic stance after performing the save reaction.

Step 2. After your goalkeepers master separately proper technique movements for saves of potential shots from 9 meters in the warm up, then you can proceed to implementing a combination of a few different decided directions of shots (combinations of high, middle or low shots).

Step 3. In the next step of progression you can include free shots from decided positions. “Free” shots means that players ca shoose where they will shoot, and the direction of shots is unknown to the goalkeeper.

Step 4. You can also combine decided and free shots from different positions. E.g. shots from the left back can be free shots anywhere to the front post of the goal (or to the back post or to the entire goal, depending on what you decide), and shots from the right back can be decided shots to the front high corner only (or only to any other high, middle or low parts of the goal, depending on what you are working on).

Step 5. Game situational shots, from different playing positions, more similar to a potential game situation. Here you can include also rebounds, and shooting from several different positions because in addition to the save technique, your goalkeeper can practice also positional movement in basic stance.

Step 6. Game situational shots, in cooperation with passive defence.

Step 7. Game situational shots, in cooperation with active defence.

Step 8. Game situational shots + after save reaction fast coming into possession of the ball + bringing the ball back to the field (short or long passing).

When you start being intentional about using the shooting warm up primarily as a focus on your goalkeepers – you will see the improvements and benefits of it!

This will happen, of course, with a prerequisite that you should know what to pay attention to, how your goalkeeper should be positioned, how they should move, how they should react on certain shots and so on – all of which we are going through in detail in my Level 1 online course about goalkeeping for coaches.

The next online group coaching course for coaches will be held on 8th and 9th of January 2022!

Dedicate little bit of your time and focus, invest in your development! Be bold and decisive with your intention to expand your coaching skills and help your goalkeepers improve!

Join us, learn new things, exchange your experiences and ideas with other coaches and get inspired to create some new ideas!

You can check out all needed info and apply through this link.

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