Edition 52

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today's topic will deal with ways to integrate goalkeepers into a team practice and how much this should be done.

First I would like to mention some new things with FineSoccer.com. As I announced 2 weeks ago, there is a new forum at www.finesoccer.net.  There are some interesting topics that have been discussed such as discipline amongst teammates and positioning of a keeper in a certain situation. The thing I am trying to accomplish with this forum is to have people help people in soccer. I will do everything I can to keep it away from the garbage that is discussed at other forums about who is cheating and why things are unfair.  This is about how to get better in soccer from both a players and coaches standpoint. Please check it out and contribute.

One of the things I asked on the forum is what would people like to see next on www.finesoccer.com. I have some ideas but this site isn't for me, it's for all of you so I would like to hear what all of you would like. Some of the suggestions so far have been a list of camps and tournaments, more graphics to make some of my ramblings more clear, and a store. I would like to hear what everyone would like. Either post it to the forum or e-mail me at comments@finesoccer.com. Also, if you would be willing to help with any of these suggestions (such as compiling a list of camps or tournaments) I would really appreciate the help (there is no compensation for this help but I will let you subscribe to my free newsletters for half price if you help!)

Lastly, once I get some more suggestions, I would like to run a survey to determine which of these suggestions are most desired. I am looking for approximately 100 subscribers who would be willing to take this survey to help determine the direction of the web site. It will take only a couple of minutes of your time and there will be no follow up sales letters or anything like that. If you would be willing to take this survey in a week or two, just send me an e-mail at survey@finesoccer.com indicating your willingness to help.

When I started coaching, 100% of the keeper training I did was separate from the team. In my mind, this meant I could give them more specific training and was my way of showing how much I cared about that position.  Gradually, I learned to integrate the keepers into regular practice by designing as many of my drills to include finishing with the field players which would then allow the keepers to get involved.  Then, a couple of years ago, I was helping a friend at an ODP training session, and he was asking me how I was going to integrate the keeper into the training session. I really hadn't considered doing so since there were two of us and we were both keeper coaches as well as team coaches. Well, after a short conversation, we figured out ways to have the keepers involved in almost every drill regardless of whether it involved finishing or not. Examples of how we did this was in a 5v2drill.Rather then separate the keepers while the field players worked on this drill, we had a keeper be one of the 2 defenders. While the other defender played normally, the keeper was allowed to use her hands. It became a great reaction and breakaway drill (anytime a player had the ball stuck at her feet, the keeper would go for it as if it were a breakaway). To give the keeper a rest, she could occasionally rotate into one of the offensive roles and get some work in on her foot skills

From that point on, I have done less individual keeper training and more keeper integration training each year.  Does this mean keepers don't still need specialized training? No. It simply means with more thought and preparation, a coach can better utilize the time for both the keeper as well as the coach. Instead of working with a keeper for an hour before the team comes out to train, a half hour is sufficient. However, it is very important for the keepers to be given specific attention during the regular team practice because it is very easy to create a drill in which the keeper is being used, and then completely ignore the keeper. This is especially true for a team with only one coach. I get very frustrated watching coaches do this yet I will be the first to acknowledge that I do this occasionally as well. I guess my point is that with proper preparation, a coach can utilize economical training to allow the team and the keeper to get the most amount of work in with in the shortest period of time.

The topic for this newsletter, was suggested on the forum. If you have a suggestion for a future topic, email me at comments@finesoccer.com or post it at www.finesoccer.net.  .The next Goalkeeping Newsletter will be sent from Ft.Lauderdale Florida where I will be attending the UMBRO Select All Star Games featuring the top college seniors in the country. The US Women's National Soccer Team will be there competing against Norway as well. I hope to get some new ideas from there so next weeks newsletter might be about pretty much anything. If you are in Florida, I would strongly urge everyone to attend.  Details can be found at http://umbroselect.com.

Have a great day.

Lawrence