When you’re a goalkeeper one of the most common decisions that you’re going to have to make is whether to punt the ball out of the box or throw to a teammate. Essentially when you catch a ball as a goalkeeper you’re going to have 3 main options to put the ball back into play. You can throw the ball out to a teammate, you can punt the ball out, or you could put the ball on the ground and play from the turf. Right off the bat I’d have to say that each option has its pros and cons, and ultimately as a goalkeeper you’re going to want to work on at least two of the main options that you can choose to put the ball back in play.
There’s usually going to be a strength for you as a goalkeeper, and you’re going to want to fall back on that. For example goalkeepers that know they have a big leg are going to be more willing to use it. If you don’t feel overly confident in your leg strength you’re going to want to hide that part of your game. Even goalkeepers, though, that have a strong leg can ultimately hurt their teams by constantly wanting to go long. You have to read the game and figure out what the best way to play is at each particular point throughout a match. Throw out or punt out then, what’s the best skill that you’ll want to learn?
Punting For Goalkeepers Benefits
I’ve covered how goalkeepers should punt the ball in other articles. What I haven’t necessarily talked about on the site are the benefits that being able to punt the ball long may have. Obviously the main benefit is that you’re going to be able to get the ball as far away from your own goal as possible. Even if technically the other team can score from anywhere if the ball is far away from your own goal you’re going to be safer than you would be if it’s closer that’s an obvious one. However, just kicking the goal far is not necessarily going to be the answer to all of your troubles. This is something that a lot of goalkeepers and even coaches at the youth level need to realize.
A good punting goalkeeper should be able to use those punts as actual passes to his or her teammates up the field. It’s not enough to be able to punt the ball far you need to make sure that you’re able to aim punts in the right direction. At times, you don’t even need to kick the ball that far. If you’re able to kick the ball accurately, and you deliver a punt that’s easy to control your punts are going to serve as literal passes and that in turn should help your team keep possession of the ball. When you’re putting the ball back in play as a goalkeeper your main goal should be to ensure that your team keeps possession don’t forget that.
Punting Cons
There are of course certain instances in which punting the ball may not be the best course of action. A lot of times as a goalkeeper when you feel like the other team is putting a lot of pressure on you your instinct is going to be to punt the ball away to at least keep them at bay for a while. However, if you don’t aim the kick accurately or if you don’t give your teammate a chance to make a play on the ball, that ball that you just punted is going to be coming back quickly. That’s why I go back to aiming and how important that is. Also, that’s the reason why you don’t want to punt the ball to the moon without any idea or care of where it’s going to land.
Punts are arguably harder to aim than any of the other methods that you can use to put the ball back into play. What happens is that you lose possession every single time that you try to punt the ball out. If this is something that keeps happening then you definitely need to look into other options to put the ball back into play. It’s always a plus to be a goalkeeper that can put the ball two fields over, but good aim is usually going to be more important than length. Length can be developed by increasing leg strength over the years, so worry more about aim!
Throwing Out Benefits
When you throw out the ball as a goalkeeper you’re usually going to have the benefit of accuracy. Of course, you need to work on your throwing technique to be able to throw with accuracy and with reasonable length. There’s an argument to be made that throwing out is a lost art for goalkeepers. It’s at the very least a practice that’s somewhat on the decline. There are different forms of throwing the ball out, and those can also help you with accuracy. For example, you can roll the ball out to a defender that’s standing near you that’s going to maximize accuracy and it’s going to allow your team to build a play from the back.
Longer throws are usually meant to find players that are wide open maybe at the half way line. For some goalkeepers though length is a real issue with throwing the ball out. Proper technique though should allow you to throw the ball out all the way to the half way line. When you can throw that far you’re going to be ok. There are actually very few goalkeepers even in the pro game that can throw further than that. As is the case with punts or putting the ball in the ground accuracy is going to be the key. It’s better to be accurate than to have a cannon of an arm that takes the ball all over the field except where it needs to be.
Throwing Out Cons
The problem with throwing the ball out is that if you make a mistake it’s usually a bit more costly than it is when you punt the ball out. This is because you’re usually going to be throwing the ball a shorter distance than you’re going to be kicking. Losing the ball at a shorter distance from your own goal can put you in a really tough spot. So when you’re throwing the ball out you don’t only have to make sure that you’re accurate with your throw. You also need to make sure that you pick your target right. Try and pick a teammate that’s truly open and that’s actually expecting the ball. A lack of communication on these types of plays is commonly the cause for mistakes.
Is it worth it to develop this skill even if you don’t use it often? I would say that it is because it’s going to allow you to have more tools in your arsenal to keep the other team guessing. If they know that you’re going to put the ball long on every single play it’s going to be easier for them to adjust and cover accordingly. When you mix things up it gives your team a better chance to keep possession of the ball which is like a mentioned the goal in these types of plays. You have to make sure that you keep the defense honest. A way to do that is to mix things up. Even though throwing the ball short can be a riskier way to put the ball back into play.
Play From The Ground
Another one of the options that you’re going to have as a goalkeeper is to put the ball on the ground and play from there. The obvious draw back of doing that is that once you put the ball on the ground that’s a live ball. Therefore, any players from the opposition are going to be able to contest your clearance. That’s not something that you’d essentially have to worry about with the other methods to play the ball out. Why then do we see some goalkeepers consistently put the ball on the ground and play out? There are a couple of reasons why they do this. For some goalkeepers for example it’s a matter of self confidence.
They feel that they can have better aim when the ball is sitting on the ground compared to punting the ball. There are plenty of goalkeepers with serious leg strength that love to do this. You can also play the ball short and start a play from the back. Again the main reason why goalkeepers choose to play the ball out like this is because they feel that they have more control of the ball from this position. It’s a good idea to train this method because obviously in goal kicks you’re going to have no other option than to play from the ground.
Throw or Punt Out – What’s Going To Work Best For You?
Ideally you’ll be a master at each of the methods that are available to you. If you have limited time to be able to practice, though, which of the methods should prioritize? Another one of the benefits that comes with throwing the ball out is the ability to play quickly. So it’s the best method when you’re trying to get your team to have a counter opportunity. Still, if you’re extremely accurate with your punts you could technically forgo throwing the ball in favor of punting. So with that in mind I would say that if you had to pick two of the three methods to practice it’s better to be good with the ball at your feet.
If you have enough time to work on every single method it is ideal to have all of them at your disposal. Even when that’s the case we do see that goalkeepers tend to favor one method over the other. That’s actually normal! You don’t need to force yourself to use one method of playing over the other. At times, though, we try and force our best way to play onto the game. You really want to make sure that you’re going into these plays with a clear head that’s going to help you make the best decision. A good decision could lead to a successful counter and a goal for your team while a bad decision could lead to a goal for the other team. So, this is a part of your game that you’re going to want to work on consistently.
