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The majority of goalkeepers spend most of their practice time standing in goal with orders to stop all shots. Obviously that is not sufficient training for the player who is possibly the most important one on the team. The goalkeeper is a specialist and should be coached as such.
   -- Joe Luxbacher, Soccer Practice Games

The pages on this web site describe soccer goalkeeping techniques and tactics, give coaching points and typical mistakes to look for. That gives you what to teach, but still doesn't address how to teach it.

Here I've put sample training sessions for most of the techniques covered on this site. Sessions are based on actual one-and-a-half hour sessions I have run with youth goalkeepers, boys and girls. They include warm-ups, teaching progressions and exercises and games used. I've geared these sessions to an "intermediate" level; U13 or so boys or girls with some goalkeeping experience. For younger keepers, you would want to spend more time on the basics, perhaps splitting what is in one session here into two. For older keepers, you could use the majority of the session given here as review or warm-up, and progress quickly to more advanced exercises and game situations with the full team.

I assume here that for goalkeeper training you have access to at least one full-size goal frame. If not, you can improvise using cones, corner flags or coaching sticks, and it's better to train with makeshift equipment than not train at all. But after all... what good is a goalkeeper without a goal? Many of the exercises do not require a goal, but try to provide an opportunity for your keepers to practice with a real goal at least occasionally. One frame can provide a decent amount of repetitions for 5-6 goalkeepers on a rotating basis.

Many exercises also require from two to five or six players in addition to the goalkeeper. These players need not always be other goalkeepers; you can use field players to serve balls.

The times given for each activity in a session are just guidelines. You will want to adjust how much time you spend on each based on the age, ability level and interest of the players, your training focus, and how much fun they are having!

Although I include specific activities and games I might use for a session, they are by no means the only activities or games that can teach the topic. For more ideas, see the links page for sites with hundreds of activities for teaching soccer goalkeeping topics.

[I wll be filling in the sessions, and adding some explanatory picture and diagrams, as time allows.]

Sample Training Sessions:

• Basics
  • Footwork
  • Positioning
• Catching
  • Basic Catching
  • Cushioning the ball
  • High Balls and Crosses
• Diving
  • Diving: Collapsed Dives
  • Diving: Extension Dives
  • Diving: Advanced Diving
• Uncatchable Balls
  • Parrying the ball
  • Punching the ball
• Breakaways
  • Basic Breakaway Principles
  • The Sliding Save
• Distribution
  • Throws
  • Kicks
• Advanced Tactics
  • Setting Walls
  • Corner Kicks
  • Backpasses
• Miscellaneous
  • Reaction Drills
  • Pressure Training
  • Games & Team Training

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