Soccer Goalie Skills - Staying Focused

Intro to soccer goalie skills
Have you ever played as goalkeeper and wished that your opponents could provide at least little opposition? Acting as a goalkeeper can be pretty alone and sometimes you will have very little to do.
However, it is crucial to stay focused during the whole game because you never know when the opponents could get a half chance and score on you. Always try to be on your toes and ready for action. Here are 4 tips that will help you stay focused during the whole game.

1. Never underestimate your opponents – You should never underestimate your opponents no matter how bad they are. On this way you will not only keep yourself focused, you will also gain more respect from your opponents. Treat every game like it was a world cup final. Only on this way you will be able to keep your focus during the whole game and prohibit your opponents from scoring.

2. Perform exercises – If the opponents can’t even pass the centerline you should consider to perform some exercises to keep yourself warm. These exercises should not involve any ball handling as the referee may find this arrogant and punish you with a yellow card. One type of exercise you may use for keeping yourself focused is stretching. You will not only increase the flexibility of your muscles; you will also feel more calm and ready for action. You should neither leave the goal as your opponents may spot you being too far from the goal and could try to take advantage of that.

3. Predict possible situations – When standing in the goal you should try to predict whether your opponents will attack from the wing or from middle of the field. For example; if you opponents have a good striker you can be pretty sure that they will try to pass the ball to him very often.

What you need to do then is to keep yourself focused and clear the ball if your fullbacks should miss it. You may have not realized this yet but while playing as goalkeeper you have many in common with your fullbacks. These are for example clearing the ball from dangerous areas or stopping your opponents to get around you in 1 vs 1 situations.

4. Talk with your defense line – By talking with your defenders you will not only help them covering their area better. You will also help yourself stay focused and avoid having your mind on some other place. However, you don’t need to talk every second or so. Instead try to say something at least every minute that will give your defenders advantage on your opponents.

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