How to Be a Great Goalkeeper

Being an effective soccer goalkeeper requires plenty of practice, an understanding of the game and some natural ability. Even if you're not the most athletically gifted player on your team, however, you can become a talented goalkeeper through hard work and the right kind of training. If you can work with a goalie coach, your skills will develop quicker than on your own. If you don't have a coach, recruit some soccer-playing friends to help you learn the position.

Instructions

    • 1

      Work on developing your hand-eye coordination through playing video games. The games don't have to be soccer related; any video game subtly teaches you to read an on-screen situation and respond with your hands. Because your hands are vitally important to making saves in soccer, hand-eye coordination is always a useful starting point.

    • 2

      Spend as much time in front of your soccer net as possible to give you a feel for the area. Skilled goaltenders can sense how far away they are from each post at any given moment; knowing this information is often the difference between a goal and a save. As you spend time in front of the net, you'll get a sense for its size and your positioning.

    • 3

      Ask a soccer teammate to spend considerable time with you, shooting at different parts of the net. Get your teammate to shoot high, low and at medium height so you get accustomed to the feel of catching the ball, deflecting it away from the goal, stopping it with your body, kicking it away and dropping to block it.

    • 4

      Learn the three main methods of throwing the ball into play following a save. Depending on the situation, you can roll the ball to a nearby teammate in a bowling style, throw it low so that it bounces in front of a teammate or throw it overhand in a baseball-throwing style to a distant teammate.

    • 5

      Practice kicking the ball into play by setting the ball at the top of your crease, taking several steps backward and kicking it down the field. Soccer goaltenders are often relied upon to put the ball in play with a long, powerful kick. The kick should be able to reach midfield, though it may take you some time to build up this sort of distance.