I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to address this topic! The other day, I was just sitting there, and the thought came to me. This is a topic that we’ve never covered on the site, and it’s really what keeps many kids from taking the next step toward becoming full-time goalkeepers. There’s always that moment in your life as a goalkeeper where you either get hit by a hard shot, or it bends your hands and finds the back of the net. When that happens, thoughts of quitting on everything can start creeping into your head.
Since this is a very serious situation, I want to cover some of the many aspects that you have to deal with when you’re facing a hard shot. There’s, of course, the technical aspect of things. You can expect to find plenty of tips and tricks to deal with hard shots. At the same time, we have to address the elephant in the room, which is the fear aspect. When you know that it’s going to hurt to try and get your hands on that ball, you may think twice about it.
To be fully honest, if you really want to move to the next level as a goalkeeper, this fear aspect is one that you’re going to have to overcome. Do you want to hear something comforting before we get started? Every one of the top goalkeepers that you see on TV today has had to go through this situation. That fear or that sense of inadequacy got everyone at one point or another. Since I know it got everyone or will get everyone learning how to deal with hard shots, being a goalkeeper is a super important topic.
Being In a Good Position is Key
I’m not oblivious to the fact that the scariest and, quite frankly, the most dangerous hard shots to deal with are the ones that are coming at you from close range. The general consensus is that you’re not going to have too much time to put yourself in a good position to deal with those. I don’t think that’s true, though, at least not at a certain level. Getting a good position could be something as simple as arching your body, being on your toes, and putting your palms facing forward.
What I just described is essentially the base position for a goalkeeper when the ball is near the goal. If you put yourself in that position, you’re likely going to have a natural reaction to be able to attack the ball like you would any other shot. One of the more dangerous things that you can do is try and brace yourself too much in a hard shot. I’m particularly talking about your hands in this situation. If you flinch because the ball is coming in towards your face, that’s more or less okay.
What you need to get your hands to do, though, is attack the ball. If your palms are facing forward, you have a better chance of doing that. The reason you want to attack the ball is to try and match some of the force that the ball is coming in with. This is not only going to make it more likely that you’ll be able to make a save. It’s also more likely that you won’t get hurt. What a scared response may produce is a “relaxed” hand, and that can lead to a ton of issues.
How To Put Your Hands on a Hard Shot
I already mentioned that one of the best things that you’re going to be able to do is make sure that your palms are facing forward. That’s going to allow you to react better to the shot and attack the ball. Now, there are going to be moments where you could benefit from closing your fist and trying to attack the ball that way. There’s an obvious downside to this, and that’s the reason why many coaches don’t recommend it.
When you close your fist, you’re going to limit the reach that you have. So, if the ball is coming in further away from your body, it may not even be an option. The second thing is you’re going to have less control over where the deflection goes. However, what you will be able to do is create more force on your hand. That can ultimately help you avoid an injury and feel a lot safer when attacking the ball.
What you never want to do is go into the shot with a ton of fear. I just mentioned that if you’re fearful and your hands are soft, it’s going to hurt a lot more than it needs to. The truth is that even if you follow all of these tips that I’m giving out, it can still hurt. What I promised in the title, though, is giving you ways to better deal with hard shots. In closing your fist or at least making sure you tense your hands when you go to attack the ball, you’re going to be better equipped to deal with the consequences.
Not Being Ashamed to Deflect the Ball Away
To this point, I haven’t even mentioned the possibility of making a clean catch. The way I see it, though, if you’re looking at the ball and you feel it’s coming in too hard in a game, you really shouldn’t risk trying to make the catch. I’ve said before on the site, in practice there comes a point when you’re going to have to test your limits. In games, I would always say stick to the option that feels safest to you.
Another thing that I want to point out and this goes for coaches and younger players in particular. What looks hard to the 8 to 10-year-old that’s in goal may not seem too hard for the grown man that’s standing on the sideline. You can’t judge kids as if they were grown men or women. That’s never going to work out well. Don’t shame them as a coach if they deflect a ball away, particularly in a game, especially if the deflection didn’t end in a goal.
When we get back to the training ground we can talk about what a hard shot looks like for each party and go from there to try and build confidence. If you haven’t gone through that with your players as a coach, how are you going to expect them to react in games? Going back to talking to younger goalkeepers here, don’t be afraid to make the deflection. Make sure you’re not leaving a soft hand out there ever!
Is This a Fear That You Can Overcome?
The short answer is yes, but you have to be willing to work at it. I mentioned recently even with the best technique dealing with some of these shots is going to hurt. You can also get seriously injured in some of these situations, particularly if you’re still a developing kid who’s trying to play against older ones.
What I’m going to say may sound really old school for some people. Really the only way that you’re going to be able to overcome the fear is dealing with hard shots over and over again. You have to stand in there and get your body ready to react accordingly. This doesn’t mean that, at one point, you’re going to be perfectly fine with anything that’s thrown your way. Many times, we know it’s going to hurt, but we’ve trained the body to stand in there.
In a sense, what you have to do is re-learn your natural reactions. Anyone who’s dealing with a flying object coming towards them at full speed is naturally going to want to take cover. That’s just not something that you’re going to have the luxury of doing if you’re going to stand between the sticks. If you’re committed to overcoming the fear, I have no doubt that it can be done because I’ve seen it happen. When you just can’t commit to it, though, it may be a sign that maybe the position isn’t for you, and that’s okay.
It May Be a Sign That You’re Not Ready to Play With Older Kids
Before you think you just can’t deal with hard shots, this is something that you’ll want to consider. This is one of the topics that I think is really important for young goalkeepers precisely because of this. With other positions, although there could be a concern with the contact, it’s a little easier to avoid for younger kids in some cases. That won’t be the case for goalkeepers, however.
There’s no shame in admitting that you’re not ready to play with older kids. Kids are going to develop at different speeds, and that’s something that goalkeeper coaches have to account for. While over time, we do want to make sure we’re picking up the intensity in training and actually getting you used to some of these harder shots, you may need a bit more help tagging along and that’s fine!
Pulling a Goalkeeper, That’s Just Not Ready
This brings me to the last point I want to make. If a goalkeeper is not ready, it’s not in their best interest to be thrown into the fire, particularly in a game. There are a lot of things that could go wrong for kids that aren’t ready. This is something that you have to notice as a coach in training as well. There could be someone who is just not ready to deal with the intensity of training that you already have the rest of the group at.
I would rather pull someone out and have them develop a lot of the skills that I talked about at low speeds first. If you don’t have the technique down, the reality is that you’re going to be at a greater risk of injury. There’s really not much more to say in that situation. As a parent, if you’re seeing your kid struggling, that may be one of the times that you want to speak up. It’s better to get them bored with fundamentals than to throw them into the deep too early. What can happen is that they will, in fact, develop a fear that they can’t recover from!