Saves of High Shots From 9 Meters
Saves of high shots from 9 meters is one of the most basic elements of goalkeeper technique. This is a very important developmental step in work with our young goalkeepers.
It’s good to distinguish right away at the beginning of our work with a new, young goalkeeper the difference between a goalkeeper technique and a goalkeeper style.
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The Difference Between Goalkeeper Technique and Goalkeeper Style
As always, in work with young goalkeepers, keep in mind a very important thing: proper goalkeeper technique is one thing and goalkeeper style is different thing.
Simply said, goalkeeper technique is a proper way to do a certain movement, and goalkeeper style is unique to each goalkeeper, and it’s a goalkeeper’s own way to perform the goalkeeper technique.
Every senior level goalkeeper has developed their own style, based on many different things. But what happens very often is that young goalkeepers watch their idols – senior goalkeepers performing their goalkeeping style (based on the physical aspects of their body, and based on speed, game understanding, good positioning, experience in reading shots), and then young goalkeepers want to replicate the goalkeeping style of their idols, but their bodies and their experience in goalkeeping is on a totally different level. So that never ends up being a good idea.
We need to help them understand that they need to start with proper goalkeeper technique and save movements, and then later over time, they will be able (together with you) to develop their own goalkeeper style.
The role of a goalkeeper coach in this process is crucial! The better you understand goalkeeper game, and goalkeeper technique (and different way to work on it) – the easier it will be for you to help your young goalkeeper develop their own goalkeeping style.
Remember, there is not only one universal and one best way to save high shots from 9 meters, but there is a proper way to perform that element of goalkeeper technique when starting to work with young goalkeepers.
How to React to High Shots From 9 Meters?
From the basic stance goalkeeper should react in the fastest and shortest way to the high shot.
The way how goalkeepers will react to high shots depends also on their physical constitution and physical abilities. Meaning: smaller / lower goalkeepers will have to do side jump while reacting to high shot and tall goalkeepers will need to make only side step with reacting leg.
Since I am talking here about proper save reaction of high shots from 9m in work with young goalkeepers, we will take into consideration that we are working with goalkeepers that are not yet so tall.
High Save Reaction Broken Into Simple Elements
- From the basic stance high save reaction on 9m shots starts with fast reaction with one or both arms towards the high direction of the incoming ball.
- At the same reacting leg makes external rotation while the knee is going upwards (if the reaction is to high shot in goalkeeper’s right side, then the reacting leg is the right leg, like in the photo).
- The reason we teach goalkeepers to externally turn the reacting leg and lift up the knee is because one of the most common mistakes many young goalkeepers are making, while performing high save reaction, is wrong position of the reacting foot.
- At the same time push off step goes from the supporting leg (if the reaction is to the high shot to goalkeeper’s right side, then the push off step will be from the left leg). This is very important thing to teach your young goalkeepers, since one of the most common mistakes that young goalkeepers are doing is actually push off from the wrong leg.
“Eternal debate” amongst coaches on this topic is: should the arm reaction on high shots from 9 meters be with one or with two arms?
This basically depends on the direction of the ball. By an “unwritten rule” – shots that are coming closer to the goalkeeper’s body (shots to the front high corner) should be saved with both arms, and shots that are coming further away from the goalkeeper’s body (shots to the back high corner) should be saved with one arm.
Reaction with one arm is faster than reaction with both arms. But then again – two hands together are giving a wider saving surface when trying to protect the uppermost corners of the goal.
You should keep all these things in mind when working with your goalkeepers, and certainly you should practice performing exercises for high shots saves that are done with one, and also with both arms.
If you want to read more about this topic, please read this article: Proper Way to React With Hands in Saves of High Shots.
Some of The Most Common Mistakes in High Save Reaction Technique
Some of the most common mistakes that young goalkeepers are making while reacting to the high shots:
- Just before the high save reaction to the incoming ball – putting arms first down, and then lifting them up (basically that is making an extra movement with arms, which also means that it can delay the time of reaction to the ball)
- Arm that is reacting to the high shot is positioned backwards – thus ”opening” the high corner which a goalkeeper is reacting to
- The ”swing” movement of the reacting arm – again, this is slowing down the reaction
- Foot position of the reacting leg – the foot is not externally rotated
- Push off movement is not done from the supporting leg, but from the other leg
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Video – Reactions With Arms in Saves of High Shots From 9 Meters
The video below showing reactions with arms in saves of high shots, is such a beautiful reminder from Norway, from December 2019, when we had our Keeper-Kari’s målvaktskole with my amazing goalkeeping friend Kari Aalvik Grimsbø.
Not only that she is such an incredible goalkeeper, but she is also an amazing human being! 
The first exercise in this video is one of the first progression steps that I like to work on when working on saves of high shots.
Usually with young goalkeepers, the biggest challenge will be to coordinate movement of arms and legs in any of the saves, so it’s important to work on separate elements of the movement before performing it fully.
The most common “mistake” young goalkeepers make is to react on high shots while positioning hand backwards – behind the line of shoulder. This is not good, because any stronger shoot and impact of the ball on the hand could cause a potential elbow or shoulder injury.
Besides that, another reason why positioning hand behind the line of shoulder is a bad idea is because in that way we are not “cutting” the angle of the incoming ball – we are not closing as much space as we should.
Option 1 of the first exercise: In the first option of this exercise – goalkeepers work in pair. The one who is behind is tapping the left or right shoulder of the other goalkeeper. The goalkeeper who is in front will respond to the tap by fully diagonally extending its arm to the same side as tapped (if the right shoulder is tapped – reaction is to the right side).
Option 2 of the first exercise: The same as previous, but now goalkeeper reacts to the same side if the shoulder is tapped, and to the opposite side if the hip is tapped (if the right hip is tapped – reaction is to the left side).
In the last exercise in the video you can see a middle step + high save reaction on the visual target (ball), with resistance band around the waist. This is how we can work on adding more resistance on the push off leg, for the purpose of strengthening that diagonal push off step in a high save reaction.
Video – Speed of Hands in High Save Reactions
In the video below, you can see one of the fun and very efficient exercises to work on the speed of hand movements and for explosive movement towards the ball in saves of high shots.
Goalkeeper is touching the pole (or it can be wall, or another goalkeeper holding a ball) on one side with both hands, and then the goalkeeper is reacting to the other side with one hand (or in later progression this second reaction can be done with two hands). The goalkeeper alternates fast between these two movements while reacting on shots.
Video – Speed of Arms Reactions for Handball Goalkeepers
In this video, you can see a few very efficient exercises for speed of arms reactions for handball goalkeepers.
There are many different options of all of the shown exercises that you can do with your goalkeepers.
Video – High Save Reaction on the Step Board
In the video below you can see one of the many progression exercises that you can use in work with your goalkeepers when working on saves of high shots from 9 meters.
The main focus of this exercise is working on footwork and on proper push off leg when reacting to high shots.
As shown, you can do this exercise without shots, or with shots – which will for sure be more challenging for young goalkeepers. So don’t progress to the version with shots before your goalkeepers are skilled enough to do properly the first version without shots.
Video – Combo Drill For Saves of High Shots From 9 Meters
In this video you can see one of the progression combo exercises in handball goalkeeper training – for saves of high shots. You can use this exercise with or without players/shooters.
The first shot comes between the feet, and right away from there a goalkeeper needs to reach high right corner without making any additional middle steps.
The main focus is on explosivity of the lateral push off step for the save of the first shot. Which is followed with a middle step and save of the second shot in the other upper corner.
Don’t start doing this combo drill before you first go through all individual elements of the exercise with your young goalkeepers.
Suggested Steps of Progression for This Combo Drill
Individual elements / steps of progression for this combo exercise that you can work on first would be:
- Save of the shot between feet
- Save of the high shot in left or right side
- Combo: save of the shot between feet + save of the high shot in left or right side
- Combo: save of the high shot to the right side + middle step + save of the high shot to the left side
- In the end you could do the combo shown in the video
Video – Anticipation and Reactions on Sudden 9 Meter Shots
In the video below, you can see an exercise for working on anticipation and reactions on 9 meter shots from the running (running shots, standing shots, step shots), with limited visual input for goalkeepers, thus limited time for perception, decision making and reaction.
Options of progression or regression of this exercise are to decrease or increase the distance of visual field disturbance from the goal, and to add an additional tasks for a goalkeeper.
Video – 180 Degree Jump Turn and High Save Reaction
When you are able to understand and know how the proper technique for saves of high, middle or low shots from 9 meters looks like, what are the most common mistakes, and how to correct them – it will be easy for you to design and create your own ideas for exercises through which you will be able to work on proper technique and correction of existing mistakes with your goalkeepers.
Proper goalkeeper technique should be the most important focus for every coach in the beginning of work with young goalkeepers, because it enables a good basis for all the work that has to come afterwards.
Another reason why that’s so important is that it’s much easier to teach young goalkeepers proper technique, than to work on correcting a wrongly learned technique.
In the video below, you can see one of the versions of an exercise that I like to use in my work with youth, junior and also senior level goalkeepers for saves of high shots from 9 meters.
On an audio stimulus, the goalkeeper makes the 180 degrees jump turn + lands in basic stance + makes a middle step + and reacts on the shot directed to the opposite high corner.
The 180 degrees jump turn should be done alternately both to the dominant and to the non-dominant side (to the right and to the left side), and it should be done explosively. Usually, younger goalkeepers tend to do the 180 degree turn in small steps, but the point in this exercise is to do the jump turn.
Right after the 180 degree jump turn + the goalkeeper is supposed to land in a stable and balanced basic stance + and right after that to make a middle step and react on a shot with the ball to the opposite high corner.
In the earlier versions and progression, the same exercise can be done with using a stronger pass instead of the shot. While in the later options, it can be done with adding another 1 or 2 additional shots / save reactions to a different directions afterwards.
This exercise can be used in a warm-up, or in the main part of work on proper technique, depending on where you are at in progression and work with your goalkeepers.
Creating different exercise ideas is an easy part of coaching job! More challenging is to learn how the proper goalkeeper technique looks like, to know what are the most common mistakes in any of the technique elements, and how to correct them.
When you have the knowledge for all these aspects, you will feel much more empowered and encouraged as a coach to create your own ideas for goalkeeper exercises! You will also feel way more empowered to work with goalkeepers in your training! And that is my main intention and motivation in work with coaches!
Video – Both Legged Lateral Jump and High Save
In the video below you can see one of the exercises that you can use in progression when working on saves of high shots from 9 meters.
The goalkeeper starts by holding the handball in hands in basic stance. On an audio stimuli, the goalkeeper is making a both legged lateral (sideways) jump over the flat cone. Instead of the flat cone, there could be placed a normal cone or a low hurdle.
After both legged lateral jump, the goalkeeper is supposed to land on both feet and then make right away after landing a lateral push off from supporting leg to the side of a high reaction (without making any additional middle steps or smaller jumps before the push off).
While making the high save reaction movement, goalkeeper takes the handball from both hands to reacting hand and reacts high with it in the hand. Then the same thing is repeated on the other side.
Video – Plyometric Combo Drill for Saves of High Shots From 9 Meters
In the video below you can see one of the combo drills that I like to use with young goalkeepers while working on last details of save reactions for high shots from 9 meters.
This combo drill can be done with or without shots.
As always – first you want to make sure that your goalkeepers are performing properly all separated elements of this combo drill before you let them do it entirely.
Video – Double High Save Combo Drill With 360 Turn
Before proceeding with this high save combo drill with 360 turn, please make sure that your goalkeeper is able to perform a proper high save reaction, and also a 360 jump turn.
In the video below, you can see one of the combo drills for saves of high shots, which is starting with vestibular system activation through 360 degrees turn in small steps, and then continues with including middle step prior to high save reactions.
Please note, the position of the landing foot after the first high save is not “proper” – like as we would usually put a high focus on – where the foot needs to be “open” laterally for proper landing after reaction in high save.
Instead, in this combo drill, the landing foot after the first high save reaction is placed in a way which is the most optimal / fastest for a senior goalkeeper to push off for an immediate quick reaction to the other side.
When working on this combo drill, you can combine low save reactions, or alternate high and low save reactions, you can do the drill with or without shooting with handball balls, it all depends on what are you working on.
Video – A Few Progression Steps for Saves of High Shots From 9 Meters
In this video, you can see a few great exercises that you can use in progression when working on saves of high shots from 9 meters. As always – please first make sure that your goalkeeper can perform properly all separated elements of this combo drill. These exercises are meant for you as inspiration, so that you could use them and also create some of your own drills.
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2 Responses
Extreamily usefull and helpful text!!! Awesome!!!
Thank you! 🙂