Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today's topic will be the merits
of playing indoor soccer as a keeper.
First of all, I would like to emphasize that I am not referring to training in a gym or
anything like that but rather the actual playing of indoor soccer whether it be in an
indoor arena or gymnasium.
Some of the obvious differences between being an indoor keeper and an outdoor keeper are
size of the goal you have to protect (indoor goals are smaller), the difference in balls
(while some places use standard outdoor balls, most use the fluffy indoor balls), angles
rebounds from walls, surface you are playing on and location from where shots are taken
from.
There is a belief (not mine) that by training in a smaller goal, a keeper will develop
poor footwork because of having to cover much less space. The reason I don't agree
with this is that the type of footwork needed for indoor soccer is very similar to enough
situations in outdoor soccer that it is actually pretty good preparation for the outdoor
game. Yes there are some things that a keeper will have to deal with in outdoor
soccer that they will not see in indoor soccer but I don't believe that this will have a
negative affect on a keeper. The size of the goal has a bigger influence on the
angles a keeper has to deal with then anything else.
The difference in balls, I believe is neither a positive nor a negative and is something
that a keeper should be able to adjust to very easily. Sometimes these balls are a
different size but if a keeper has the opportunity to warm up with the ball prior to the
indoor game, it shouldn't be a major factor at all.
Rebounds are a big part of the indoor game and are something that some keepers enjoy and
others despise. In this case, I am referring to rebounds off of the walls as opposed
to deflections off of teammates or opponents. The defections are a great way to
prepare for deflections outdoors (which is not something that is easy to recreate in
training). However, the rebounds off of the walls are something that an outdoor
keeper does not have to concern herself with and in watching keepers play indoor soccer,
they tend to alter their positioning and style of play in order to compensate for the
walls. In my opinion, when you have
to change your diving technique, and do it repeatedly, you are creating habits which turn
into bad habits when you return to outdoor soccer. Some of the bad technique that
ends up working in indoor soccer but not in outdoor soccer is the frequent use of the kick
save on the near post. Keepers tend to use this save because of the fear of the wall
(among other reasons) and when they go outdoors, they try this same save and lose range
and the ability to hold onto the ball.
The surface of the indoor field usually is much harder then an outdoor field (whether it
be a hardwood floor or indoor Astroturf. As long as a keeper has proper equipment
(long pants and long sleeves along with optional padding), I don't think this should be a
problem at all.
The number of shots a keeper will face in indoor soccer and the closeness of the shots is
one of the best reasons for playing indoor soccer. A keeper could face more shots in
an indoor game then she might face in 10 outdoor games (just a guess, I certainly have
never charted this). Thing of it as a shooting drill where everyone is going with
intensity.
I am writing this having just returned from an indoor tournament in a nice sized
gymnasium. After a few minutes I realized that a keeper could probably benefit more
from playing indoor soccer as a field player then in goal because of the tremendous
opportunity to work on her field skills and have fun doing so. The advantages of
playing goal indoors, I believe, are more then offset by the disadvantages. Possibly
the biggest negative about indoor keeping is the inability due to space and time, to warm
up properly. Keepers who might spend 30-45 minutes warming up properly prior to an
outdoor match, often step onto an indoor field with at most 5 minutes of preparation.
This results in unnecessary injuries which when you factor in the additional
contact in indoor soccer, really makes indoor Goalkeeping somewhat dangerous.
Am I saying that keepers shouldn't play indoor soccer? No, I think that if they enjoy it
then they should play and have fun. However, I don't believe that playing indoor
soccer will significantly increase your level of play as an outdoor keeper. If you
live in an area of the country where it's not possible to play outdoor soccer, then it's
certainly an alternative to doing nothing. I do have an idea for a better
alternative then traditional indoor soccer, but that will be discussed in next weeks
Soccer Newsletter. In that newsletter, I will talk about the advantages and
disadvantages of indoor soccer for field players plus an alternative to regular indoor
soccer.
Have a question, comment or suggestion for a future newsletter? Post them on
FineSoccer's Forum at
http://finesoccer.net . Also, remember you can check out the archives at
http://finesoccer.com
Have a great day
Lawrence
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