EDITION 5

Welcome to the 5th edition of the Keepers Newsletter.  Today’s newsletter will deal with two subjects.

The first subject I would like to discuss is the importance of size.  I had a discussion (via email) yesterday with the parent of a U14 keeper who I have always referred to as “midget” (yes I am wonderful for a girls self esteem).  The topic came around to how important is size.  After a lot of thought I started to realize the irony of the conversation.  When I first started out as a keeper, size was very important.  In fact, my size was considered to be questionable.  The reason I find this ironic now is that the concern with my height was not that I was too short but rather that I might be too tall (I am 6’1”).  This was considered to be borderline too tall because of the concern that it would take me too long to get down for low balls.    Nowadays, you never hear this mentioned but rather the discussion is always whether he/she is tall enough.  When you ask any high level keeper what is the most difficult save to make they will almost always mention the low shot just to the side of the knees.   The only way size effects this save is to the detriment.  The taller a keeper is, the longer it takes to get down for the low balls, unless the keeper starts off with a nice low stance (short keeper wannabes).   Remember that it is always easier to get up then down.

Are there any advantages to being a tall keeper?  Of course there are.  The main one is perception.  People are under the impression that tall keepers are more difficult to beat and therefore opponents might only attempt what they perceive as the perfect shot and therefore the taller keeper is less likely to see as many shots as the smaller keeper.   On the other hand, most field players have always been instructed to shoot low so when they face a shorter keeper, they face the dilemma of deciding do they go against all they have been taught and shoot high.  The alternative is they go with what they have practiced and shoot low into the shorter keeper’s strengths.  When going against a taller keeper, it is in the shooters best interests to shoot low (like they have been practicing) and into the taller keeper’s weakness.  As you can tell from this decision that must be made (consciously or subconsciously) there are some major advantages to being a short keeper.

I should put in the disclaimer that when I say there are advantages to being a short keeper, there are some certain requirements when it comes to height.  There have been some very effective short keepers (besides the most prominent Campos, there is Jon Busch who has been on numerous youth national teams and led UNCC to the NCAA semi’s 2 years ago).  What is the minimum height needed to play goal?     I have no idea.  There are so many other factors that have to be taken into consideration such as jumping ability and thought process, that I wouldn’t even take a guess.  The one area where size is a major factor is the size of a keeper’s heart.  I’ll take a keeper with a big heart and small body over a keeper with a big body and small heart every time.

The other subject I want to discuss today is conditioning.  I’ll start off by saying I just started running again after a very long time away from any conditioning so my initial thought on conditioning is that it hurts and is bad.     However, then there is reality.  There are very few youth soccer teams that I have seen who are truly in good shape.  This is somewhat understandable considering the limited amount of time for training as a team.  However, it does not explain why so many college teams are so out of shape.  They might be in shape based on the strength and conditioning coaches at their university, but most of the teams I have seen play are not in proper game shape.  This is even truer for keepers.  I have listened to coach’s talk about the conditioning programs their teams do and it sounds like it should be extremely effective in getting their teams in shape. Then I will see the team play and they are no where near in shape to play soccer.  How can this be?     Actually it’s quite simple when you watch teams train and condition.    They do not train at full speed (they might think they do but the truth is they don’t. do their conditioning at full speed).  As soon as the players step on the field and the opponent forces them to play at full speed, they can’t do it.   As keepers, this is even truer for you.  The first time you really have to extend for a dive (especially for a backward dive to tip the ball over the crossbar), it will really take a lot out you.  This is where conditioning comes into play. Those keepers who have trained properly are prepared to continue (remember the 5 P rule from the first edition).   Train as hard as you play (or even better, train the way you want to train).

I have included a conditioning program on my web site.  It’s a combination plyometrics (given to me by Matt Clark, head men’s and women’s coach at Auburn-Montgomery University) and a running program I built into it.  It has been my experience that keeper’s (and field player’s) who use it correctly get faster, quicker, jump higher and significantly reduce their chances of tearing their ACL’s.     Click here to see the program.  This is in addition to regular training.  I will be adding more conditioning programs this week and will send out a special email to let everyone know when they are don’t.

Remember, you can always access the archives of the Keeper’s Newsletter by going to http://finesoccer.com.

Please forward this newsletter to any keepers or coaches who might find this helpful.  To subscribe, please go to www.finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm

Have a great week

Lawrence