Goalkeeping Drills

Goalkeeping Drills

By: Don Zimmerman and Peter England

Originally Published in: Men's Lacrosse - Human Kinetics

Goalkeeping, like facing off, is a specialty skill. You need lots of discipline and training to be a goalkeeper, primarily because it requires many unique skills. In the end, repetition is the key to playing in the goal. Practice doesn't make you perfect in the goal, just closer to reaching your potential. The following drills will help you reach your potential.

Twitch Drill

Purpose:
To learn to maintain your stick position.

Setup:
The goalie is in the cage, and a coach or teammate has the ball.

Execution:
The coach or teammate "twitches" (fakes) with his stick, forcing the goalie to hold his position, and then shoots. When the coach or teammate shoots, the goalie moves to the shot.

Coaching Points:

Top Hand Drill

Purpose:
To learn to meet the ball with your top hand.

Setup:
The player has a basketball only and is positioned opposite a solid wall.

Execution:
The player throws the basketball against a wall using just his top hand and catches the ball when it rebounds back. The motion is similar to dribbling a basketball on the court but you're doing it vertically versus horizontally.

Coaching Points:
This drill teaches the importance of getting your top hand to the ball.

Top-Hand Dominant Drill

Purpose:
To learn the importance of the top-hand movement to the ball.

Setup:
The goalie gets in a ready stance and holds the stick with only his top hand (grip¬ping the stick with the thumb and index finger); a coach is positioned nearby, facing the goalie with the ball in his stick.

Execution:
The goalie says, "Ready." As the coach shoots the ball, the goalie puts both hands on the stick handle and saves the shot.

Coaching Points:
If you take away the bottom hand in the drill, this accentuates the top hand. This drill teaches that the top hand is the most important hand in getting to the ball.

Tennis Ball Drill

Purpose:
To learn how to get to the ball with your top hand.

Setup:
The goalie is in his ready stance but without his stick; a coach is positioned nearby.

Execution:
The coach throws a tennis ball to the goalie. The goalie steps, looks the ball into his top hand, and catches the ball.

Coaching Points:
This drill teaches the sequence of stepping, looking the ball into your top hand, and catching.

Lunge Drill

Purpose:
To learn to fire up to a shot.

Setup:
The goalie performs this drill by himself.

Execution:
The goalie takes an exaggerated step, which brings his body low. The goalie straightens up, then takes another step, and so on.

Coaching Points:
This drill helps the player understand that as he goes down, he still must be able to fire back up. The drill is an excellent conditioning drill, especially for the thighs.

A goalkeeper needs to have certain physical characteristics such as excellent vision, good reflexes, and quick hands and feet. More important, a goalkeeper must have mental and emotional traits such as courage, toughness, concentration, composure, and persistence. The three most important functions of a goalie are shot stopping, clearing the ball, and acting as the quarterback of the defense. Shot stopping requires proper body positioning and stick technique; the goalie must lead with the stick while stepping toward the shot with his body. Shooters use a variety of shots that a goalie must be familiar with and be comfortable stopping with his stick and body. Shot stopping also depends on field location. Techniques are tailored to whether the ball is in the midfield zone or the attack zone. Goalkeepers are responsible for clearing the ball from the defensive end of the field. Usually, the goalie initiates the clear by stopping the shot and making an outlet pass to a teammate running upfield. Lastly, goalkeepers are the quarterbacks of the defense. They are the eyes and voice of the team defense, anticipating the opposing team's movements and communicating the defense's countermoves.