When you prepare the practice plan, include soccer goalkeeper drills, which enable the entire team to get together and warm up.
There are many soccer coaching drills that aim at assisting in the goalkeeper’s decision-making, so that they can decide the right time to perform a ball pass back, or help them handle the ball, when there’s a lot of people around, improve their trapping skills with the ball, and enhance their ability to pick up from the ground.
- How the Goalkeeper Drill Is Organized
You will need to make two teams, with two to five players in each team along with two goalkeepers for this drill. Allot one team to each soccer goalie. This drill focuses on keep way, passing with speed, and how the player moves.
Instruct the goalies to behave as impartial players for the two teams. They must use footwork, when they receive the ball by their own team player. If the other team passes the ball, the goalkeeper must play the ball and pass it back to them. You can make the drill more interesting, by introducing one more balls or bringing in more players.
The goalkeepers can either be located at different ends of the field or can mingle with the players. Both the teams can serve balls off the air to the goalkeepers. You can specify number of touches or number of times the balls must be passed on to the goalie or restrict certain moves.
As a soccer coach, you must encourage the goalkeeper to make the decision of handling the ball and communicate with his team players. Of course, he also has to practice speed and passing
- Drill for Good Grip
A goalie must show good grip on the ball after he receives it. Therefore, he needs practice, holding the ball properly with the proper hand placement on the ball. You can assess how well the goalkeeper is holding the ball, by kicking it while he holds it in his hands.
Have the goalkeeper perform a sit up with the ball in his hands. When he rises with the ball, kick the ball. You must find it more and more difficult to kick the ball. When the goalie is able to hang on to the ball, even with a forceful kick, he’s improving.
Another soccer goalkeeping drills variation is to throw the goalkeeper the ball, and kick it as soon as he catches it.
