Coming Off The Line as a Goalkeeper
How to Get Crosses and Through Balls
A goalkeeper's job in today's game is more than just shot-stopping. The best goalkeepers are the ones that come off their line to make a play.
Goalkeeping in soccer is all a proactive position, not a reactive one. A diving save can make a crowd marvel, but to prevent a shot from being taken at all is truly what goalkeeping is about. They come off their line to collect through balls and crosses.
Stick With Your Decision
Once a goalkeeper decides to come off his line, he must stick with it. A goalkeeper needs a do or die mentality when he is going after a ball. The moment tentativeness or hesitancy sets in, a goalkeeper will find himself stuck in "no-man's land" where he is unable to play the shot or the cross.
There are few times in soccer where a player of any position is able to pin his ears back and go, but coming off your line is one of those situations where the player can afford a bit of "tunnel vision."
The goalkeeper must also make sure he makes that run to a point where he and the ball will get there at the same time. If a keeper runs to where he feels the ball is going to be and waits, an attacking player will arrive first..
Some goalkeepers find reading a ball in the air very difficult. The only way to improve is to practice. Coaches should send keepers ball after ball with varying pace, height and trajectory. Before too long, reading airborne balls will become second nature to goalkeepers.
Catch the Ball at its Highest Point
A goalkeeper should have a distinct advantage when going up for a cross because the attacking player can't use his hands. However, this only becomes an advantage if a goalkeeper can time his jump and reach the ball at the highest point possible with his arms outstretched.
Getting to a ball with arms outstretched is something a goalkeeper should always be doing when coming off his line. Through balls, line drives, low crosses and bouncing balls should all be played the same way.
There may be several scenarios - the ball's pace is too fast to handle, the ball is headed to a crowded area, the ball is just a tad too far to grab a hold of it or the goalkeeper is worried about getting hit - where a goalkeeper has another option: punch it. If a goalkeeper is unsure of his ability to catch a ball, simply punch it with two closed fists.
Latest Articles