Goalkeeping Curriculum
USP Soccer - Goalkeeper Training
Director
- Teddy Ritter
Through his experiences
over the past 15 years, Teddy has found that the proper instruction and
attention to detail, when it comes to goalkeepers, is not present during
regular team training sessions. Having played at the collegiate
level, having trained with many great keepers over the years, and having
first hand experience with many different keeper theories and strategies,
Teddy effectively teaches our goalkeepers and takes each of them to the
next level. There are many small details and basic fundamentals that
act as the main building blocks to becoming a successful keeper.
Teddy covers each one of them during his 8 week camps. He attends to
the details and fundamentals of each goalkeeper we train which eventually
leads to the complete development of each goalkeeper in our program.
See below for more detailed curriculum:
I. Fundamental Foot Work and Technique:
a. The most important aspect of goalkeeping is footwork and the speed of getting from spot to spot. By training keepers the proper technique of footwork, this allows the keeper to cut off angles faster and essentially make saves much easier than they were before.
b. In order to achieve the consistent pace needed to get to these angles, repetition of footwork drills every session will work towards achieving our goal as fundamentally sound keepers.
II. Hand Eye Coordination and Box Presence:
a. Implementing rules to focus on the basics of watching the ball into your hands or body, to moving and communicating throughout the eighteen to be the most effective keeper possible are the details that must be repeatedly paid attention to, and will be during our sessions.
i. Hand Eye Coordination – by simply applying the rule that every save made and ball brought into a keepers body must be looked completely into the body and wrapped up tightly can be affective in minimizing rebounds and advocates the protection of the ball.
ii. Box Presence – positioning off the goal line decreases the angle available to strikers, thus making the odds for a save much greater. Positioning your team on corner kicks and set pieces is also a main goal that keepers must master to increase a defenses’ rate of success. Focus, communication, and mobility inside the box are three basic necessities important to succeeding in the net.
III. Agility and Strength:
a. Hitting the ground over and over puts a strain on the body. Every save, whether it’s a simple wrap, to a collapse, a dive, or a backwards parry, has its own unique way of taking off and landing. Going back to footwork, the positioning of your feet and the control of your body in the air will allow a keeper to make a save and land safely on the ground to complete the save without any ill-effect.
i. Agility – will allow a keeper to get down and get back up to make the next save. Although as keepers we are not running around the field constantly, the sudden bursts of speed and energy used to make saves is a different agility needed for the position.
ii. Strength – on and off the ball is vital to a keeper, especially in the air. When coming out for a cross or a service into the box, getting to the ball at the highest point and getting through traffic is one of the most challenging aspects of the position. We will work on both agility and strength on the ball later in our training.
IV. Distribution Skills:
a. Keepers also have to touch the ball with their feet. Pass backs and punting are two skills that separate most goalkeepers from average to the elite.
i. Traditional Punts and Drop Kicks will be reviewed in our sessions in order to separate which punt is more effective for what keeper and in what situation.
ii. Throwing the ball out of the box as a substitute to punting is less appreciated, but the most effective way to keep possession of the ball up the field.
iii. By using our decision making, keepers coming out of my clinics will be equipped in using the necessary form of distribution throughout a game in order to solidify our role on the field and to accomplish the duties that come with the position.
V. Competitiveness:
a. Last, most soccer people who have been around the game for a while will tell you that goalies are crazy, and that sacrificing their bodies to stop a ball only six or ten yards away is mind blowing. In our sessions, I will set fourth challenges through games and training drills that should successfully bring out the competitive nature of every keeper involved with the session. Being able to possess this attitude allows an athlete to not only achieve their initial goal, but to reach further and accomplish more. This is the mentality that I will bring to our sessions, and I hope to get a positive response from every player involved that they want to be here and they want to work to get better.
To host Goalkeeping Clinics in your town email:
To register for any of these camp programs:
-
print the form out on the registration page and mail your check to US Premier Soccer.
or fax us the registration form with a credit card number.
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Phone:
732-996-2515
E-mail:
uspremiersoccer@aol.com
Fax: 
732-571-2881