Keeper Question

My 02 DD plays keeper as as well as some mid field positions.
Typically, when is the time she'll need to decide if she wants to play GK full time?

Right now it is split 50/50, but I am starting to see some 02 teams that use one keeper per game.

Haven't spoken to her team coach or GK'ing coach yet but thought I would get some general info on here first as a general perspective.

Thanks~

Hi there,
In my opinion you should ask her what does she like more. Its all about what kid enjoys more. She is 11 already and she is coming to that age where she needs to focus on one think. Talk to her and let her to make her decision.
Thanks,
MGK Academy

MGK Goalkeeper Academy wrote:Hi there,
In my opinion you should ask her what does she like more. Its all about what kid enjoys more. She is 11 already and she is coming to that age where she needs to focus on one think. Talk to her and let her to make her decision.
Thanks,
MGK Academy

She enjoys both equally. (I think she is a better keeper)

I guess what I'm asking is when, if at any point, will she need to choose one position over the other? Do older teams use two GK's on an equal basis?

This is all new to me; I'm learning as I go!

I would say her days are numbered--even if the coach is okay with the idea, finding two good keepers who only want to play 50% in goal gets less and less likely every year. A friend was in the same position as you and her dd was getting about 50% of the playing time. However, the other keeper (who was slightly better)wanted to be a full-time keeper, and didn't enjoy playing field. In the end, he couldn't lose a full time keeper for the sake of keeping someone who only wanted to play half the time in the box. The friend decided to stay, but her dd is now playing field 80% of the time, and is a backup keeper in case of illness/injury.

I agree with justamomof2.

My DD split time between the field and the net all through academy. Then her first year of select her coach went with a dedicated keeper despite there being three others on the team who all played 50/50 during academy. The difference -- the dedicated goalie had never played the field. Not even in academy. By taking her out of the goal for a half, he essentially lost a sub as well.

On my 02 DD team a full time keeper was brought on board before the team went select and she had been akeeper for a several years. The coach was only looking for an experienced full time keeper. There are many 02 teams with full time keepers. Pretty much a coaching preference is my thought. This keeper is pretty good and can focus on keeper training

For me the time to decide would be now. The teams we've played on at this age and up utilized a primary keeper and had a field girl or two who's played GK before as an emergency backup. Also consider that N Tx is a very competitive market, so if she is not dedicated full-time beginning now she might begin to fall behind. That means playing entire games, scheduled GK training with the club, extra GK skills and camps when possible, etc. (Consider too that good keepers are always in demand around here. It's a pretty good gig.) Just my thoughts. Best wishes to her.

Let her play where she wants, maybe find a team where there is another GK that splits time if she wants to play on the field and in goal. But if she prefers playing full time goal let her. I thought for 1 year that I wanted to be a field player my u11 year, after that i played some midfield/fwd but my primary position was goalkeeper. Starting u12 and up i trained even though the team i was on i made as a back up keeper, i worked very hard and eventually beat out the original starter within a year. I recommend letting the DD decide what she would like to do and go with that. Its good for goalkeepers to have good footskills as well and get some field time if they can, especially if they end up continuing to play, a goalkeeper who has good footskills will be extremely valuable at the higher levels.

Some goalkeepers split as they get older, will depend on team. I did not split anytime on my club team, except in my first year and a half. Also will depend on what coaches philosphy is some will carry two keepers and the best plays others will split. Down side to splitting if one keeper is stronger then the other can lead to some unhappy keepers if one is strong and the other making mistakes etc. I know of some teams that have keepers at the younger age group that split.

SteamingBean wrote:For me the time to decide would be now. The teams we've played on at this age and up utilized a primary keeper and had a field girl or two who's played GK before as an emergency backup. Also consider that N Tx is a very competitive market, so if she is not dedicated full-time beginning now she might begin to fall behind. That means playing entire games, scheduled GK training with the club, extra GK skills and camps when possible, etc. (Consider too that good keepers are always in demand around here. It's a pretty good gig.) Just my thoughts. Best wishes to her.

Totally agree with this statement.
Only if your DD is seriously competitive.
If it's for fun then it really doesn't matter.

I agree with Ekkeeper. If she still likes to play as a field player at 02 let her. Put her in a lower division to get more play time if you have to. The more rounded/athletic a player she is the better keeper she will make down the road (couple years). If she truely loves being a keeper, letting her play the field now will remove any regrets later. Ekkeeper took time to play field and return as keeper with some hard work so it can be done. IMO, it's much tougher to go from full time keeper to field player. Coaches will tell you they will give you 50/50 field and keeper time but they will not risk their keepers on the field especially if you are good keep. Some don't even let their keepers dual roster in ECNL.

There were/are some pretty good keepers named something Solo (maybe Han solo). Hope that's right? And another named Howard Stern/Jim or Tim. They didn't keep until later in their soccer life. They did ok I guess.

TXSoccerMom2202, What League/Division is she currently playing?

Its Me wrote:TXSoccerMom2202, What League/Division is she currently playing?

She is playing in PPL.
Currently she plays GK and Def Mid 50/50

keep22 wrote:I agree with Ekkeeper. If she still likes to play as a field player at 02 let her. Put her in a lower division to get more play time if you have to. The more rounded/athletic a player she is the better keeper she will make down the road (couple years). If she truely loves being a keeper, letting her play the field now will remove any regrets later. Ekkeeper took time to play field and return as keeper with some hard work so it can be done. IMO, it's much tougher to go from full time keeper to field player. Coaches will tell you they will give you 50/50 field and keeper time but they will not risk their keepers on the field especially if you are good keep. Some don't even let their keepers dual roster in ECNL.

There were/are some pretty good keepers named something Solo (maybe Han solo). Hope that's right? And another named Howard Stern/Jim or Tim. They didn't keep until later in their soccer life. They did ok I guess.

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Thanks-- ekkeeper works with my daughter (and has taught her so much about the game) so I plan on talking with her. Right now, she loves playing GK'er and on the field and I'd like to see her continue to play 50/50 as long as she can. I also plan on talking with her team coach to see if he'll continue to allow her to play 50/50 next year.

Definitely talk with the coach. 50/50 is a good deal if he plans on continuing that plan. My DD was happy with 50/50 until this year when the 2nd keeper could not play in the field. That reduced my DD’s time in goal and she made the difficult decision to make the commitment to play 100% time in goal. In my opinion 50/50 is the best way to keep skills going for both.

We made the huge mistake of letting our DD play in goal 100% of the time beginning at about U8. Now at U11 she wants to play on field and it is a proving to be a very difficult transition. I'd say let her split as long as you can!