Just a disclaimer before I get started here. I’m not running a parenting blog here. However, I realize that when kids are young parents take on much of the responsibility of choosing the right type of gear that your kid wears. If you’re not active in that you should be. In other articles on the site I talk about what you maybe could do as a parent to help your kid succeed in goalkeeping. All that led me to this article about a soccer goalie mom. From personal experience, I can say that moms sometimes have it worst. Especially when you see your kids coming home with a few more bumps and bruises than potentially many of the other kids that they send to soccer practice.
Goalkeeping is completely different than any other position in the sport. That’s a pretty obvious statement seeing as how in a sport where you mainly use your feet we can use our hands. I’m not only talking about that though. I’m talking about responsibilities on the field and management of risks as well as coping with failure. In this article, I want to cover some aspects that revolve around goalkeeper psychology and how a soccer goalie mom can help her goalkeeper succeed. Also, I’m going to be talking about those bumps, bruises, and scrapes that you see your kid come home with. I’m not a doctor, but I’m going to give you guidelines for when to go to the ER and when you can just let that bruise fade out!
Bumps & Bruises Are Going To Be Normal
Right off the bat you have to make sure that you understand that bumbs, bruises and scraped elbows and knees are going to be part of the equation. Can you go out and buy more protective gear to avoid some of these? Yes, but as I’ve said many times don’t think that wearing extra padding will magically solve all of your problems. That’s just not going to be the case. For example, if your son or daughter is playing on a very hard field you can avoid some of the scraps with elbow pads and knee pads. However, the impact on the hard ground from diving towards the ball is going to cause some bruising.
Spend Your Money On Training Rather Than Gear
If your kid is serious about this whole goalkeeping thing it could make sense for you to spend money for individual training. Really if your kids are just kind of flirting with the idea getting some extra lessons in or even just a trail lesson specialized in goalkeeping could make a ton of sense. There are a couple of reasons why you want to start them early in specialized training. Number one, goalkeeper training is way more demanding than regular soccer practice. If it’s not you’re probably training with the wrong trainer. If this whole goalkeeping thing was just a phase there’s nothing better to knock them out of the phase than throwing them in the deep end.
When you spend your money on training and your kid is serious about goalkeeping he’s going to be miles ahead of most kids at the position. That means the game itself because more fun. Also, goalkeeping becomes safer. Proper technique is really the key to preventing injuries. If you’re kid is diving head first every seconds when you watch them in the game they are going to get hurt! That’s not the way that they should be diving. For the most part, in goalkeeping head injuries are accidental. Learning proper technique is going to allow the child to dive safely, and deal with hard shots to avoid finger and hand injuries. When a child hasn’t been taught proper technique injuries are more likely to show up.
I’m Not Saying Never Buy Gear
Wearing long sleeve goalkeeper jerseys, and pants over shorts are usually going to help minimize the damages. If you want to add knee pads, and elbow pads, you can. I have a couple of articles about the use of gear and things like that. I’m going to link to each them in the type of gear that I just mentioned. Just quickly though, when it comes to picking your goalkeeper outfit you want to be as safe as possible without losing mobility. This isn’t hockey or baseball were catchers and goalies respectively wear a ton of gear all of the time. In soccer you need mobility. If the soccer goalie mom puts too much gear on her goalie she maybe doing him or her a disservice big time!
What I always say when talking about what type of gear you want to wear is that it’s a trial and error process a lot of times. Yes, sadly this process can end up meaning that you as a parent will buy gear that your kids are never going to really use. I would say though that it’s the law of the land in any sport that your kids take up. If you’d ask what a goalkeeper outfit with the minimal amount of gear would look like I would say the list should include,
- Longsleeve goalkeeper jersey, not just any sweater that you find out there
- Pants or Shorts or Shorts + Leggings (knee high socks if you’re wearing shorts)
- Goalkeeper Gloves
- Cleats suited for the type of field
* Yep, headgear, elbow pads, knee pads, and all of the extra protection is optional
Learn Proper Technique Yourself
No, I’m not suggesting that any soccer goalie mom reading this try her hand at diving to the back post. What I’m saying is, watch videos of how the pros do it, and essentially teach yourself to recognize proper technique. Why am I suggesting this? Specialized training for goalkeepers can be very expensive in some countries. In others you can find it in every corner. I don’t want you to spend extra money or end up sending your kid with someone who isn’t teaching them proper technique. If you watch the pros do it and you know what it looks like you can judge wether your getting a good deal with a particular trainer or not.
I’m convinced that parents who don’t know the game are always going to be at a disadvantage. Quite frankly, many of the articles on the site are geared towards folks who are not necessarily familiar with the game. In an effort to ensure that they are their kids can really play safely and enjoy themselves. One last point here before I move on. Make sure to watch real pros at work to see what training is supposed to look like. Especially when it comes to diving you want to see that your kid is learning to dive accordingly. There are many youngsters on Youtube and Social Media show casing their skills. In reality more than half of them have no idea what they are doing. Pick your favorite team type in goalkeeper training, and watch that!
What Qualifies As A Normal Bruise or Scrape?
Believe it or not there are “normal bruises” for goalkeepers. Again, I’m not a doctor, but I have doing this for a long time so I’m going to try and tackle the topic. Scrapes in elbows and knees are going to be part of the deal. Even if you’re wearing knee pads and elbow pads you can get scrapped up. Anything that is just a result of literally dragging your body through the ground you’re going to be ok. If in the process of doing that you pick up a piece of glass or something and there’s a deep cut that obviously needs to be tended to. Pretty much all of the scrapes that can happen to any kid on any playground are ok. They are not only ok they are going to be part of the deal.
Goalkeeper bruising can be odd to the new soccer goalie mom. Some of these bruises don’t show up were some of the regular playground injuries happen. Scrapes and bruises right above your hips for example are going to happen they are normal. On the sides of your body bruising is also normal for goalkeepers. We are talking about the area between your thighs and your bottom. That’s an area that bruises commonly. Other than that knee bruises and scrapes are pretty normal. Elbows are also a common place for scrapes and bruises. The area behind the shoulder in your back, that’s one of those areas that gets some bruising. That’s certainly an area that worries the beginner soccer goalie mom. You don’t see those areas bruising with many other activities.
When You Should Head To The ER
I don’t want to scare anyone to the point where they won’t want to let their kids play in goal ever. That being said, there are potentially serious injuries that can occur. You don’t see them a lot with smaller kids. If you’ve got a pre-teen though they are certainly more common. Particularly for a pre-teen who’s never played the position and isn’t getting the proper coaching. Broken fingers are certainly worth an ER visit. If not an ER visit, you gotta see the specialist. Shoulders also the same deal. If you’ve got a serious situation where a bone is sticking out that’s a given. However, some of these shoulder injuries are a little silent. If the pain is too persistent go ahead and see a doctor.
There are some elbow bruises, and hip issues that if you kind of see nagging pain it would be a good idea to see a doc. At the end of the day they’ll let you know how to potentially manage each injury. As your kids continue to play they’ll also get a sense of when something is up. As I mentioned there’s regular bruises. So over time, you know that there’s what we could call “regular goalkeeper pains”. Kind of like how you feel when you get a hard gym workout in. You’re in pain, but you know it’s the work out you’re not going to be rushing to the ER.
Soccer Goalie Mom & Head Injuries
This topic is certainly one that’s been up for debate for a while now. Head injuries are not all that common in soccer. When it’s a head-to-head collision with another player you want to be extra careful. Again this is not me trying to be a doctor or tell parents to be doctors. I do think though that if you see your kid be involved in a head collision you don’t need to leave it up to the coaches to decide whether they can still play or not. The fact of the matter is, most coaches are not doctors either. If you want to step in and say my kid’s not going back in more power to you. I’m not saying never trust coaches, but if you need to step in, step in.
Having said all of this, shots to the face are going to happen! When your kids are little though it’s going to be no big deal. Even if they cry after taking a ball to the face! What could be more dangerous is if they hit their head on the ground after a ball hits them in the face. If that happens you could step in and at the very least ask them how may fingers you’re holding up. Again in younger kids not such a big deal because the ball is not going to be kicked as hard. Same rules apply though, if you don’t feel comfortable with an instance where your kid was hit in the face step in. Just know, it’s part of the game it’s going to happen.
Soccer Goalie Mom Psychology
What should you say to your kid as they go out for a game? I know all moms want to say be safe! I’m just going to come out say this, don’t tell your kids that. Not when they are playing goalkeeper. You can say that to them when they go to a friend’s house or to school that’s fine. In the game, though you want their instincts to work, and a lot of times the best way to be safe is to throw yourself out there without a care. It’s sounds counter intuitive, but when you’re thinking about being safe you can tense your muscles on a play at the last second. That is more likely to bring forth an injury than just having loose body diving all over the place.
I wouldn’t say be safe I would say be confident. Especially if they’ve been at this for while. Reinforce them be confident in your abilities you know what you’re doing out there. If something goes wrong it’s like golf short memory. Be a goldfish as Ted Lasso would say. You have to have a short memory and keep moving. In mistakes you’re mom naturally you’re going to be a comforting one. Ultimately here you know your kids more than me. When you have to be comforting be comforting. Not to throw a shot at my mom, here but she really never found the right words to say. That brings me to my next point.
Soccer Goalie Mom Interest Yourself In The Game
Are you the type of soccer goalie mom that is with her child all of the time at games and practice? If so, it could really benefit you to learn about the game of soccer in general. To make your kids feel like you’re really interested in the game. If you did your homework like I suggested and you watched a couple of videos here and there you maybe able to give out some advice. It’s great to have mom cheering on the sidelines. If she can chip in with some technical advice during the half time pep talk it could work wonders.
After I mistake, they are going to happen, usually, for goalkeepers the consequences are great. I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you the other parents are going to be looking your way as well when your kids screws up! That’s why those extra lessons are really important. Just kidding, but really after a mistake don’t just take the typical approach of you’ll get’em next time. A lot of times goalkeepers want to vent on what they saw, and what happened. If you know the game and you did your homework you’re going to be able to help out in the toughest of moments.
Soccer Goalie Mom Conclusion
Being a soccer goalie is not easy, and being a soccer goalie mom is tough business as well. You have to be on the lookout for your kids’ well being. Much more so than other soccer moms. In learning about the position along with your kids you’ll be able to feel safer when they are out there. In the injury column knowing the game is going to keep you more at ease when your kid shows up with scrapped elbows and knees. Also, being a soccer goalie is a lonely experience. The psychological toll that it can take on your kids is real. Especially if you have a kid that is overly sensitive or intense.
Learning about the game and goalkeeping in specific as a soccer goalie mom can make your Saturday mornings much more enjoyable as well. I’m sure that many love to just go there and cheer their kids on in their own way. When you know a little bit more about what they are supposed to do or not you can have a better time. Goalkeeping can a take a physical and mental on your kids, and a mental toll on you. Just make sure that you’re prepared for the ride. When you are it’s a ton of fun!
