Size, sanity and saves: the art of goalkeeping

SCW: If your keeper has a great game, yet lets in four or five goals and his head goes down, how do you deal with that?

SE: "About a year ago, I had an experience like that with my under-11s goalkeeper. I think we were 4-0 down, 10 minutes after kick-off, and my goalkeeper was crying.

"I had to make a tough decision as he was the only goalkeeper. I made a sub, took him off and just talked to him, calmed him down, cheered him up, told him that he’s the last one, with the most responsibility on the field.

"Depending on the age, I will use different approaches. With the older ones, you need to cheer them up and, in private, let them know what your opinion was on what happened and what they should improve."

SCW: Often with the younger age groups, you haven’t actually got one specific goalkeeper. I normally try two or three, but I find that if they are letting in a lot of goals, no-one wants to go in goal for the next game. Are there ways to deal with that?

JL: "I think it depends on the age group. When it is under-8s, 9s, 10s or 11s, and you can see the child is getting themselves in a real state, the best thing to do is get them out of that situation.

"For those age groups, it is good to put it into a rota and say all the players are going to take a turn in goal because, you never know, they might decide they want to become a goalkeeper.

"Edwin van der Sar was a centre-back until under-15s and then eventually converted into a goalkeeper.

"During lockdown, I read a book called One Goal by Bill Beswick, a sports psychologist. One of the most important things I picked up is that, when conceding a goal, as soon as the ball crosses the line, it is done; you forget about it.

"It is so simple, but it just rings so true. So as soon as you let a goal in and you pass it back towards the centre spot, it is done, you can’t do anything about it.

"I have done it the other way round, where I have saved a penalty, tipped it over the bar and celebrated - I was buzzing, really excited.

"Then, from the corner, the opposition went and scored from a cross I should have come to get, but didn’t because I wasn’t concentrating on what I was doing.

"You need to make sure you are aware of what is going on, but you break down each process. When you have made a save, it is done. When you have made a mistake, it is dealt with. You can’t reflect on it until the end of the game."

 

"Edwin van der Sar was a centre-back until under-15 level and then converted..."

SCW: Sometimes defenders are under constant pressure, running back and shouting. Does the goalkeeper pick up on those panic situations?

SE: "The goalkeeper will also panic if everyone is shouting. It is a real challenge. A coach needs to address this situation on the field and on the training ground.

"If you see your goalkeeper is panicking or the defenders are panicking in some circumstances of the match, focus training on the situation and let them know that the goalkeeper is the one who actually sees the whole match as it is.

"They are not a commander as such, but they need to be confident enough to manage the defenders.

"Shouting is not a bad thing in itself. Everyone shouting is, yes, but if it is to put everyone in the right position, sometimes it helps to get the situation under control.

"As a goalkeeper, I think one of the most important things to control – apart from yourself and your own personality – is your defence, to not get into panic mode, because that can cause difficulties in the match."

 
IN PART TWO NEXT WEEK: Sweeper-keepers, communication and warm-ups...

 

“For the younger ones, some of my targets will be co-ordination, agility, basic techniques, and a little bit of concentration...”

HEAR MORE FROM JON LEWIS AND SALVA ESPINOSA, INCLUDING THE DIFFERENT WAYS THEY TRAIN GOALKEEPERS OF DIFFERENT AGES, ON OUR PODCAST — CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD