Here are some great tips for better goalie fitness that you should incorporate in your practice.

As a goalkeeper you will need to have good strength in your legs for jumping and diving.

Your fitness need to differ greatly from your teammates. Unlike an outfield player, you are not required to run 5-8 miles during a game or perform repetitive 30-50 yard sprints.

The movement patterns placed on you during a game should be replicated during you regular practice. The idea is to make the practice look like a typical soccer match.

Fitness areas that you need to emphasize during your regular soccer practice are:

• Quick lateral movements
• Acceleration 10-20 yards
• Agility
• Faster reflexes
• Change of direction (left, right, up, down)
• Explosive Jumps

Investing in Equipment

Medicine ball is a pretty useful and cheap equipment part that you should consider investing in. It is a great tool and will help you improve your overall fitness greatly.

Keep in mind that medicine balls vary in weight and that you should buy a ball that is not too heavy.

A medicine ball can be used for practicing on your explosive movements such as:

• Throwing the ball overhead
• Squat and throw
• Throwing or sprinting

Should You Engage in Regular Fitness Training… Or Not?

Well, I would say both yes and no. Some exercises like sit-ups and push-ups will improve your overall fitness.

Others, like 40-50 yard running routines are completely unnecessary for your goalkeeper fitness.

I mean, how often will you perform a 40 yards run during a soccer game as goalkeeper?

Not very often, don’t you agree? Now you may wonder why many coaches still push their goalkeepers to participate in outfield players fitness training?

The answer is that they don’t know better. These coaches actually think that soccer goalkeepers are just like any other soccer player and that they need same training routines.

As you know by now this is completely wrong. I encourage you to tell your coach that participating in same fitness exercises as your teammates will decrease your performance.

However, you still need to have a base training level which can be gained by long distance running.

My tips are to participate in your team’s regular fitness training but only in exercises like sit-ups or jogging.

Get a Gym Membership

A gym membership can increase your overall fitness, but is not a must.

If you are new to weight lifting you should be aware of lifting too heavy weights as you may seriously injure yourself.

You need to start slowly with basic weights and try to learn how to execute exercises properly.

Proper form is more important than speed or even the amount of weight you work with!

Keep in mind also that you should not lift heavy weights too often as it may decrease your reflexes and reaction speed.

Summary

Beside all the tips mentioned above I would also recommend you to practice on other fundamental soccer skills like shooting, passing, heading etc.

While you will not use these skills so often, they can still be critical for your overall game.