This is certainly one of the most exciting articles that I’ve written to this point. How to dive as a goalkeeper! There is plenty of information about diving properly and good technique as a keeper. Also, you can take a look at plenty of videos on how to get this done. Of course, I want to cover many of the basics that you would need to know, particularly on how you should be diving to make sure that you’re able to do it effectively and without hurting yourself. If you’ve taken up goalkeeping at a later stage in your life there is a good chance that you’ll want to read this before you try and throw yourself on the ground again. Also, I want to give out a couple of tips on how to coach the proper technique.
I heard one of my former coaches say recently that he usually doesn’t discourage peculiar techniques because at the end of the day, different styles have worked in the pros in the past. While it is true that keepers with unorthodox methods have had success, I do think trying to go against conventional wisdom is not exactly the best thing to try. Especially if you’re trying to get into a team to advance your career, the reality is that the more you look the part the more likely it is that people will give you a shot.
As far as pain, I’ve mentioned before on the site that it can be inevitable in certain instances. In many ways, as a keeper, you’re going to find yourself putting your body in positions that are a bit uncomfortable. You also have to take into account the type of field that you’re playing on. I would say that there is “good pain” and “bad pain” in goalkeeping. That’s where I want to start.
What Can Contribute To Pain or Discomfort While Diving As A Goalkeeper?
There are essentially three main things that we could point to as instances that contribute to pain as a goalkeeper. The first instance is a technique issue. If you’re hitting the ground too hard consistently and you’re feeling pain in the funny bone back pain or even constant head trauma, there is a good chance that you’re doing something wrong. The second instance where we find pain is within an external impact.
In these cases, you may not be able to control the situation. If you take a ball to the face as you’re trying to cover the goal, that’s just a part of life as a keeper. In many ways, I would have to consider that good pain. If there is some type of collision while you’re in the air, that’s another instance that’s a little harder to control. Especially if you’re diving to the side and are essentially extending yourself to go for a ball, you can’t protect yourself as well as you would in a frontal ball where you can use your knees to protect yourself.
The last instance that I want to consider is being hurt by the field itself. Of course, if you’re using a proper technique, there will be less of a chance of getting hurt. Still, there are fields that are just way too hard, and there are not going to be many ways around getting hurt there. In fact, you could be in a perfect field, but if you land a pebble, that can cause some discomfort. It’s important to be able to recognize what’s causing the pain. The reason behind this is that if you’re using good technique and you’re getting hurt, what you should be looking for is better equipment to improve your protection. You don’t want to alter your technique and second guess yourself to try and limit the chances of getting hurt.
How To Dive As A Goalkeeper: What Can Be Considered “Good Technique”?
I’m going to be as simple as I can be, but quite specific when explaining this. I think that good technique starts in the lower body. The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you’re standing correctly. If you’re standing straight up and you want to dive from that position, it’s either going to lead to a harder landing or you losing a step and maybe not getting to the ball. You would have to bend your knees and lower your center of gravity to at least take a step in the direction that you want to dive towards and then go.
What you want to do is bend your knees and lower your bottom while keeping your back relatively straight. You’re probably going to hunch over a bit, but don’t overdo it. When you’re getting ready to dive, you want to be on your toes, but not bouncing on them. Some people play really jumpy; I don’t like that, because it can lead to losing a step if you have to wait to fall to be able to change directions.
This is going to be your base position. Naturally, you’re not going to be standing like this the entire game. What you need to do is make sure that you can get in your base position quickly. Especially as attackers start to creep up. This is a bit like a golf swing; these are the basics, but it’s important that you find a base position you’re comfortable with. Also, be sure to get on your toes when the other team starts creeping. Being too jumpy or flat-footed can make you lose a step.
When you are going to dive to one side, you want to take a frontal step towards that side that you’re diving on. Then push off with your front foot to dive low and with your back foot if you want to go up high. It’s essential to take that step towards the side that you’re diving, but also make a front step, not a side step. The thing is that you usually want to be diving forward because if you’re coming to the ball at an angle, there’s usually a better chance to get there in time. There are certain moments where you know you’re beaten and have to dive backward, but usually diving backward is considered bad technique.
What Do I Do With My Hands?
Once you get the footwork down, you can start concentrating on your hands. The reason why I spoke about footwork first is that in my eyes, that’s the base. Those are the movements that you’ll ultimately have to end up doing almost out of habit. If you get into good habits, you’ll have a better chance of success. In base position, you want your hands to fall naturally by your sides, but what you’re going to do is make sure that the palm of your hands is always facing outward. You want to do this so that you won’t have to flip your hands over in case you need to react quickly to any shot. Having your hands up like a bear is also not a great idea. It makes it much more difficult to react to incoming low balls.
On a low shot, you want to get your body down as quickly as you can, and what you’re going to be doing is practically skimming the ground with the hand that is on the side that you’re diving on. You want to bring the other hand up over the ball. In low shots, you mostly don’t want to commit the high hand almost until the last moment because if you get a bad bounce, that high hand coming across your body is the only one that’s going to be able to make a save.
When the shot is coming in at a medium height, you can be quicker about putting your hands together. What you need to decide rather quickly is how you’re going to attack the ball. If you think that you can catch it out of the air, you can bend your fingers to make the triangle with both hands to make the catch. If the shot is coming in too hot you want to put both hands on it and actually try and push the ball out towards the sides.
You don’t just let the ball hit you in the hands and hope for the best you want to attack it. Another option for shots that are coming in hard is to close your fists and attack the ball that way. That’s the key again, though; you can do this if you know that you’re going to be able to punch it in a particular direction. If it just hits your hands, you’ll have no control.
How To Dive As A Goalkeeper: What Parts Of Your Body Should Be Hitting The Ground
Ideally, what you want is to have the outside of your thigh hit the ground not your knees. From there the backside of your shoulder area should be hitting the ground as well. Essentially when these two parts hit the ground first you’re going to minimize the impact on your knees, rib area, and lower back. It can be a good experiment to take a look at your clothes after practice. If you have grass stains on the back of the shoulder area you’re good. If there is a lot of grass on the lower back area that can be a problem that usually means that you’re falling backward. That certainly tends to hurt quite a bit more than falling on virtually any other part of your body.
Is Knee Pain Normal For A Goalkeeper?
I’ve talked about how there are good pains and bad pains. Certainly, knee injuries are the worst nightmare of any sports player. As a goalkeeper, is knee pain considered normal or “good” pain? That actually depends, and that’s why I wanted to address knee pain in particular. A lot of times, when you’re diving forward on your trying to defend 1v1 situations, you’re going to end up on your knees. Therefore inevitable knee pain from particular impacts with hard fields can be considered “normal.” You may want to try and crouch down in these situations, but not go down on your knees completely. Yet, if the issue is from impact with the field in a frontal play, that can be considered normal.
If you’re getting pain from twisting of the knee or impact when you’re diving to the side, that can be a bit more of a technical issue. Usually, what you want to do is extend your legs completely as you dive. If the ball ends up curving inward, you can adjust your arms to cradle the ball into your body. For the most part, though, you’re going to want to make sure that you extend your legs as you dive. Even if you end up contracting your body for whatever reason, you’re going to want to land on your thighs. Sometimes the knee hits first, and obviously, that hurts. You want to limit those plays, though.
Falling On Your Head Is Not Normal
With kids at very young ages, coaches need to make sure that they don’t cut them loose and ask them to fly from post to post too early. In these development stages, some kids may have a tougher time controlling their bodies than others. Trying to look back at a shot that has gone past you can lead to falling on your head. This is a bad habit that needs to be addressed. Also, having your head hit the turf could be a result of falling backward. I highlight this issue quite a bit because I see it so often in youth soccer, and I don’t see many coaches addressing it. Make sure you’re making a conscious effort to propel your body forward. This will help you eliminate many other issues down the line.
What Type of Pain Should Be Alarming and Which Type of Pain is Ok?
Most of the pain that can be considered normal is going to come from scratches on your elbows. I just talked about the knees, they can get nicked up a bit as well. Most of the time the scratches and those types of things are going to come because of the field of play or lack of proper equipment. If you go out and play with a short-sleeve shirt, there is a higher chance that you’ll get scratched up, that’s just a fact. If you’re training on a consistent basis there is a good chance that you’re going to be somewhat sore at times. That can be things like calf tightness just being sore from your thighs and your hands even.
Things like knee pain or elbow pain can happen, but a lot of times, they can be traced back to a dive that wasn’t textbook. Those things will happen, especially in quick reaction plays where you may not have the time to set up and dive like you want to. You end up having to try and throw yourself out there to make a save. You can have those issues from time to time. If you have nagging elbow issues or knee pain, that again could be a real problem in technique. The same thing is true about any type of head injury. Other than an accidental play if you keep bumping your head, something is mostly up.
Superman Dives Usually Lead To Injury
I talked about how if you dive backward, you’ll land on your lower back consistently. That’s just not something that you want to happen at all. Especially as you get older, this is something that you need to be cognizant of. One of the biggest mistakes that we all see with young kids is the superman dive. There is no reason why you would be belly flopping towards a ball that is kicked to the left or the right of your body. Number one, getting your hands in a position to make a play this way is virtually impossible. Also, controlling your fall is much harder. The only plays that you would belly flop on are frontal crosses that you need to cut. Those cases are mostly extreme situations where you know that if you don’t do something about it the other team is going to score.
Many kids are attracted to playing in goal because they will have the freedom to dive and make plays with their hands. In many cases, the natural way that kids wired to dive is to propel themselves forward. When you do that, the best-case scenario is that you fall on your belly, and you get the wind knocked out of you. You could potentially fall flat on your face as well. As a guy, there is another part of your body that you don’t want to have hit the ground first. You’re essentially exposing yourself with this form of diving. Superman dives are not included in the how to dive as a goalkeeper recomendation book!
How To Dive As A Goalkeeper: Should It Hurt Or Not?
Ok, so should it hurt to dive as a goalkeeper, yes or no? The short answer would be to say no; you should be able to dive a considerable number of times for training and games without any type of pain. That, of course, is only possible if you’re using the proper technique. Technique can somewhat adjust to what feels natural to you in goal. For the most part, though, it’s a good idea to try and mimic the textbook teachings.
While diving is not an activity that should be inherently painful if you’re training a couple of times a week and playing on the weekends, feeling sore after doing so is natural. Also, there are in-game situations that can cause pain or an injury. Again, if you’re doing things the right way, there is certainly less of a chance to get hurt. As with virtually anything else in life, practice does make perfect.
If you’re a goalkeeper or a parent of a goalkeeper who is just begging to play, it can be a good idea to make sure that you’re practicing on a nice, soft field. That’s the best place to learn how to dive as a goalkeeper. Sure, getting roughed up can help mold you in different ways. At the end of the day, you want to make sure that the learning curve is fun. Playing on grass that you actually want to dive on can be an excellent way to make things fun. Also, ask your coach to be creative with the drills. When you’re starting out, you may have to dive as a goalkeeper to a static ball on the ground hundreds of times. After a while, though, get them to mix things up!
