Pride of the Pitch Blog
Wednesday November 26, 2008
Covering your Angles
If you watched the MLS Cup Final you know how important it is to have proper angles when playing in goal. The first goal for Columbus happened mostly because of poor angles by the Red Bulls goalkeeper. Rather than take a proper angle and cut off the far post, the goalkeeper over committed to the near post and left the far post wide open.
The first thing I always teach goalkeepers is the "on the line and up the line" approach. This technique helps goalkeepers with the sometimes hard task of cutting down attackers angles. So what does that phrase mean? It is quite simple and when done properly and instinctively it can be a goalkeepers best quality. The first step for a goalkeeper is to be able to find the middle of the goal, but while in the play of game. In other words you must be able to find the middle without looking back and up at the goal. This "sense" is always developed best through loads of practice or repetition and constantly lining yourself up with the middle of the goal and the middle of the ball. I always tell young goalkeepers to imagine a line that runs from the middle of the goal through the middle of the ball. Once on this line goalkeepers must then move up the line and cut down the attackers angles. The further up the line the less room the attacker has to put the ball on goal. However, goalkeepers must not come too far out because they then run the risk of being chipped!
So what happened on the goal in the MLS Cup final? The goalkeeper did not find the middle, but instead favored his left of his goal and therefore left a huge opening at his far post. Although he got hand on the ball it was not enough to put it wide of the goal. The below diagram shows first what the Red Bulls keeper did and then what angle should have been taken.
How the goal was scored: Bad
* Notice how the goalkeeper is not on the green line. That line represents the line in which the goalkeeper should have been as it goes from the middle of the goal to the middle of the ball. Instead the goalkeeper was caught way left and therefore not able to make the proper save. Take notice the distance in which the goalkeeper has to dive in order to reach the dotted line which represents the shot taken.
Where the goalkeeper should have been: Good
* Now notice how the goalkeeper is on the green line and hence closer to the dotted line which represents the shot. Had the Red Bulls goalkeeper been on this line he would have saved the ball cleanly.
This is a common mistake among many goalkeepers and I have done it my fair share of times. Again the best way to practice is through repetition and to do drills where shooters are constantly moving around. Add this little twist into drills for young goalkeepers: dribble to various spots and right before you shoot stop and have the goalkeeper check their positioning. If the keeper is out of position make the proper adjustments to help them get on the line and up the line. Repeat this drill until the keeeper starts to find themselves in the proper position and then do it without stopping. As with all goalkeeping this does not come over night but when learned and applied it makes a world of difference.
Any questions or comments please write to me at shgoalkeeper1@gmail.com and I will be more than happy to answer any questions, concerns, etc.
Past Blogs:
November:
October