How to incorporate your goalkeepers into training

Have them take on the role of an outfielder player, with targets

Playing as an outfield player and increasing their confidence with the ball at their feet is an essential element of the modern goalkeeper’s development.

However, it could be that you set them specific targets within these sessions to promote differentiated development outcomes relevant to their position. 

These outcomes may be in relation to the type of first touch they take, their scanning angles or the type of passes they make.

For example, encouraging the goalkeeper to receive across their body to switch play, or allowing them to hit long, aerial passes, may help recreate the types of actions they will perform in matches.

Give them out-of-possession direction

Out of possession, consider how you would like your goalkeeper to position themselves behind the defensive line and encourage them to practice this in their sessions.

In a game-based or attack-vs-defence exercise, you can provide the keeper with a reference point to take up their initial position or give them triggers to consider for when to come higher or drop deeper.

Some simple cue words for the goalkeeper to think about during a session can be useful.

For example, a keeper playing behind a high defensive line might be reminded to stay as high as possible for as long as possible, but then to prioritise angles over depth in recovery lines if they have to defend the goal in a breakaway.

Offer distribution options

You can provide the goalkeeper with a range of distribution options during exercises.

For example, having target goals for the keeper to hit with a range of techniques should they catch or collect the ball is a simple way to expand their learning opportunities. 

This could be following any exercise which would typically end in a shot and can be tailored to either the team’s style of play or the type of distribution which the keeper wants to practice.

A team which looks to counter quickly may place two goals in the channels near the halfway line, encouraging the goalkeeper to quickly distribute into these if they have the ball.

Give them things to communicate

Coaches can also help to expand a goalkeeper’s communication with team-mates by discussing the key tactical information they can relay in a session.

You should work with the keeper to help them understand how to organise the defence in front of them and what words and instructions they should provide. 

Organising the team is an essential skillset for a goalkeeper to develop and can therefore provide a focus for them within most training sessions.

Moreover, coaches should encourage shared learning between attackers and goalkeepers in training. 

"Collaborative planning can be a powerful tool to ensure a clear focus for the goalkeeper..."

Getting the goalkeeper to feed back to the attacker, and vice-versa, on the things they find hard, or how they approach different scenarios, can have a number of positive benefits for everyone involved in the discussion.

Not only do the players concerned have a greater understanding of each other’s role, it also provides the keeper with an opportunity to think critically about what they do and why.

Collaborate with a goalkeeper coach, if you have one

You should consider how well and often you collaborate with your goalkeeper coach in relation to planning and development.

Everyone on the coaching staff should be agreed on the goalkeeper’s role within the team and the current development goals. 

Collaborative planning can be a powerful tool to ensure a clear focus for the keeper. 

For example, if the outfield team are working on a specific topic, coaches can work together to consider how any goalkeeper-specific training can feed into this, so that the keeper is doing similar things and getting similar messages.

It is important that goalkeepers are not afterthoughts within coaching sessions. 

The nature of goalkeeper-specific training, and the relatively low number of players involved, puts limitations on environments and exercises that can be created.

When moving into team sessions, the goalkeeper has the opportunity to practice different scenarios and actions which may not be possible within a goalkeeper-specific session.

However, this can only occur if their role and developmental needs are clearly understood by all coaches involved in the planning and delivery of the session.