Don’t underestimate them

have been goalkeeping since I was a young kid. My body type suited that position and I naturally became good enough to win some medals and be the goalkeeper for Computer Science at the Victoria University of Manchester (before the UMIST merger). I still have the kit. I don’t wear it much; I want to preserve it.

Goalkeeping is not as easy as it seems (despite being idle a lot of the time) and a lot boils down to reflexes as there’s not much time to think or plan. Goalkeepers can be significantly older than the average player on the field because they compensate with experience and seniority for a declining stamina and inability to jump far/high. Many goals are scored because the goalkeeper didn’t do well enough, e.g. stood at the wrong place, spilled the ball, dribbled too much.

Goalkeepers that are good not only stop balls from entering the net; they know when to catch, when to hit the ball down to the ground, then catch (no rival player nearly and fast/strong shot – making a direct catch riskier), when to pinch/parry the ball over the bar, when to deflect the ball back into play (if a defender nearby can take the rebound), when to carry the ball, when to punch/kick the ball (and how far), and so on…

There’s not much time to think about all this. The decision needs to be a reflex, based on who’s near you, how strong the shot is, the position relative to the bar etc.

Spatial awareness is important (distance to bars, which players stand where, and whose team they play for).

It’s a lot to do with gut feeling, it’s like playing an instrument.

There is also a lot to be said about how to handle different ways of taking penalties (e.g. kicker stops near the ball to trick the keeper into jumping prematurely) and one-on-one situations where the keeper can run outwards to face the player or stay close to goal, wherein the position of the feet can help obstruct a kick, but not while “on the move” (must know when to stop moving, prepare to stretch out limbs).

There’s a lot of fine strategy involved in goalkeeping, many different scenarios to learn from (in order to improve). That’s why goalkeepers need their own dedicated coach like Caballero, usually a very experienced but greying (or balding) keeper like aging gymnasts who focus on “theory”, not “practice” (anymore). They “pass the knowledge”…

I like goalkeeping, but when mistakes are made it can be harsh.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2026 at 5:55 am and is filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.