Rockford Raptors FC

The schedule is as follows:

Ages 10 to 13 on Mondays from 5:30 till 6:30 p.m.

Ages 14 and upo on Tuesdays from 8:30 till 9:30 p.m.

All sessions are at ISC, and will be coached by Kevin Smerko.

Goalkeeper Training  is Provided to all Club GK's over age 10

Please bring long sleeve shirts and pants to all training sessions.

All sessions are at Sportscore Two (across the creek).

All sessions will be supervised by the Raptors Goalkeeper Coach, Kevin Smerko.

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Sometimes it’s hard to venture out from what you know best. It’s may seem like it’s always best to play safe and sound. But do you ever think how much more exciting it can be to take on a challenge when it is staring right back at you?Goalkeeping can sometimes be a frustrating venture. When do you come off your line and when do you play it safe? I’ve been observing and rectifying this with my young academy goalkeepers of late, and here are some handy tips to make sure you think big and cover more of your goal.

1. Don’t be a line hog. I’m seeing this over and over with many of the young goalkeepers I train of late…hesitation. Thinking with the mind frame of the attacking goalkeeper, we should be leveraging momentum at all times. What I mean here is that if the player has moved into a shooting position in our 18 yards we attack the ball at all costs.

Moving off your line entails that you have effectively cut off, or at best, limited the attackers vision of the goal area. Therefore, movement off your line helps you cover more of your goal area and allows you to cut the choices an attacking player has of attacking your goal.

2. Timing is everything. Come off your line too quickly and you risk being stranded in your 18 yard box. Move too slowly off your line and you provide the atttacking player with a smorgasbord of attacking options on your goal area…you have effectvely left your goal area wide open.

The key to effective timing when attacking the ball in your 18 yard area is in matching the pace of the ball and the attacking player. So, if the player has broken through your line of defense quickly, then you reach the attacking player at his/her pace.

On the other hand, If the attacker has broken through at a slower pace we make a gradual movement off the line toward the player to make ourselves bigger in goal and cut the angle.

Usually, under these circumstances, the gradual movement allows us to slowly close the gap with shooting options the player has on our goal, and allows the goalkeeper to attack the ball at the players feet (especially if the player also has your defensive players on his/her back).

3. The 1 second rule. In many cases an attacking player will have a short window of time whilst taking a shot on goal that can be vitally advantageous for a goalkeeper in a one on one situation. Whenever an attacking player takes a shot on goal, you will notice that their leg (and hip) is in flexion, before hyper extension, whilst their head is lowered to take aim on the ball before the shot is conducted.

Taking rule 2 into perspective, the above analysis would prove advantageous for the attacking goalkeeper whom has timed their momentum correctly to attack the ball at the players feet. Hard to pull off, but extremely effective in curbing attack. I say it is hard because it requires:

• Full alert attention
• Pefect timing
• Utmost agility and strength to reach the ball in a timely fashion.

An excelllent drill to help provide the groundwork for effective goal coverage (making yourself big in goals) would entail something like the following drillI conduct.

 Exert from: Our Friend John Stevanja (Keeper Skool)
Understanding the nature of attacking and defensive plays is extremely important in relation to positioning a goalkeeper in their 18 yard box. Understanding when to push up and when to retract back to your goal line is of utmost importance. In both offensive and defensive situations it has become increasingly important for a goalkeeper to act as a sweeper, in essence being able to open play when under attack, and to ease the pressure on the defensive line. 
Understanding the nature of attacking and defensive plays is extremely important in relation to positioning a goalkeeper in their 18 yard box. Understanding when to push up and when to retract back to your goal line is of utmost importance. In both offensive and defensive situations it has become increasingly important for a goalkeeper to act as a sweeper, in essence being able to open play when under attack, and to ease the pressure on the defensive line.
 
9.1 Following the Movement of Play
 
In previous sections we have mentioned that goalkeepers should move up with/ or retract back with the movement of play. If play moves up the field towards the opposing goal, the goalkeeper must move up with the play so that he or she acts as an additional defensive/ or offensive player. This movement forward allows for stress to be let off from attacking/ or, defensive players who may be exposed to attacks from the opposition. 
 
 
In previous sections we have mentioned that goalkeepers should move up with/ or retract back with the movement of play. If play moves up the field towards the opposing goal, the goalkeeper must move up with the play so that he or she acts as an additional defensive/ or offensive player. This movement forward allows for stress to be let off from attacking/ or, defensive players who may be exposed to attacks from the opposition.
In both attacking and defending situations, practicing passing drills are important. Learning how to trap the ball with the chest, thighs, feet or distributing the ball with the head is extremely important. The reason for the need to learn distribution is the goalkeepers attacking nature. The goalkeeper is the first line of attack. Play begins with the goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper's role in effective attacking build-up cannot be dismissed. In essence, the goalkeeper becomes a sweeper, or, an additional attacker in attacking play scenarios. Overall, keeping on ones 18 yard box, or further up the field of play can help tremendously in assisting attack or easing attacking pressure on your defence.
 
 Retracting back toward goal as the opposition presses its attack is important, but goalkeepers should never stand directly on their line. Therefore, it is imperative that the goalkeeper moves back toward goal as the opposition presses its attack.
Chris today you learnt a valuable lesson in regards to how a goalkeeper can increase their effectiveness within the team in helping build attack and solidify their defensive line.

Start  a personal journal of how you play in your games.

Record goals, how they were scored and how you should have positioned yourself or what you could have done differently to keep the Shutout!

A small notebook works so you can keep it in your bag and bring it to every training session.

Its also nice to jot done a few "Nuggets" Coach may point out while we are training!

Here's a start:

Remember:  Always be SET and Balanced when the shot is taken so that you are prepared and ready to make the save in any direction.

We'll train to make the realistic saves easy and prepare you to make the INCREDIBLE save when necessary!

You are going to be a Great Goalkeeper.