The Goalkeeper:  The goalkeeper or goalie is probably the most important position in soccer. The goalie is the only player on the team allowed to touch the ball with his hands. The goalie is the most important defensive player, and the last player to try to prevent a goal from being scored. The goalie can also start an offensive attack once he has controlled the shot, by distributing the ball to his teammates. The following is a list of some important skills to be developed by the goalkeeper.

1. Ready position:

    a. Feet apart shoulder width.

    b. Legs slightly bent at the knee.

    c. Arms bent at the elbow.

    d. Eyes on the ball.

2. Collecting Ground Balls:

    a. Body should be positioned between the ball and the goal.

    b. The goalie should bend at the waist for slow moving balls.

    c. The goalie should bend down on one knee for hard kicked balls.

    d. Catch the ball with hands and arms in a scooping motion (Figure 8-10).

    e. Bring the ball up to the chest and hold it there (Figure 8-11).

    f. Look for a teammate to distribute the ball to.

3. Catching Fly Balls:

    a. The goalie should catch the ball as it comes towards his body.

    b. The goalie should let his body take the force of the shot away by bending at the waist (Figure 8-12).

    c. For high balls, the goalie should use the ‘W” hand position. The fingers should be spread apart. The thumbs should be next to each other, and the palms should be away from the body pointing towards the ball.

    d. The goalie should put the ball away, by bringing the ball to his waist.

    e. The goalie should then look for a teammate to distribute the ball to.

4. Diving and Punching:

    a. The goalie must sometimes dive or punch the ball away when he feels he cannot control the ball. Older players use these skills.

5. Throwing:

    a. Underhand roll - this is a quick, short, accurate pass to a teammate close by.

    b. Baseball throw - this is similar to throwing a baseball. This throw is used to get the ball to a teammate farther away from the goal area.

6. Punting:

    a. Punting is used to clear the ball from the goal area. It is not as accurate as throwing the ball, but the ball travels much farther.

    b. The goalie should hold the ball with both hands extended out from the body, with his elbows slightly bent.

    c. The goalie should take two steps.

    d. Let the ball drop.

    e. The kicking leg should be slightly bent at the knee, straightening out, as the leg gets closer to the ball.

    f. The toes should be locked down, and the kicking leg should follow through completely.

7. Angle:

    a. The goalie should move towards the side of the goal that the shooter is on to cut down the open area in front of the goal.

8. Breakaway strategy:

    a. The goalie should move out to intercept the breakaway shooter as soon as possible to cut down the shooting angle.

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