Using only 1 Goalkeeper

This question I pose, is a slight variation to a couple of questions/threads I have seen, but none have addressed this question.

So when would a team/coach decide to just use 1 keeper?

We have 2 keepers. I have a DD and she is just as competent as our other keeper. They currently split the time in the net and none/very little playing time on the field.

My DD gets bored and wants more net playing time. I personally think my DD will get the starting position when that time comes, but I have to weigh the time she is not playing against other teams keepers and their individual progression.

Of course my DD loves being a part of this team right now, but she may get disenfranchised soon...b/c shes the one who told me about her boredom.

I have some more other questions that come into play with this topic after i read some responses.

I suggest letting coach know of desire for more net time. It came to a point when I was playing had a talk with my coach and told him I wanted to play full time goal or I would move teams. I started and played full time from that point on. I loved my team and really liked my coach

SocDad wrote:This question I pose, is a slight variation to a couple of questions/threads I have seen, but none have addressed this question.

So when would a team/coach decide to just use 1 keeper?

We have 2 keepers. I have a DD and she is just as competent as our other keeper. They currently split the time in the net and none/very little playing time on the field.

My DD gets bored and wants more net playing time. I personally think my DD will get the starting position when that time comes, but I have to weigh the time she is not playing against other teams keepers and their individual progression.

Of course my DD loves being a part of this team right now, but she may get disenfranchised soon...b/c shes the one who told me about her boredom.

I have some more other questions that come into play with this topic after i read some responses.

Frankly i think 2 goal keepers is a waste of time for everyone. Pick someone let him/her be the goal keeper and get someone else on the field who can contribute. Designate someone as the back up in the odd chance the keeper gets hurt.

I can only speak from the experience my team had last fall when our Goalie was injured in a tournament (one of those ODD chances) and unable to play at the start of our fall season. It made it very, very rough for us because we had to pull valuable players from the field to put them into the net as a replacement. It was a very difficult time. We all wished we had a backup goalie at that point. To your point though, yes it is hard for one to sit on the bench and watch the other goalie play. However, that happens to field players as well. If you have a full or close to full roster, then someone is sitting out. What if your dd was the only goalie? What if she broke her arm in this weekend's game? This happens. At least the team would have another goalie.

As to whether or not having two goalies is a waste of time/money, try doing without one. Having someone "designated" as a backup to the goalie is a stop gap but if they don't practice and train to be a goalie, then you are between the rock and hard place.

However, we are not talking about the team, but about your dd's playing time. Can she play in a field position? If she can then talk to the coach about allowing her to sub in on the field when she isn't playing goalie.

silentparent wrote:

SocDad wrote:This question I pose, is a slight variation to a couple of questions/threads I have seen, but none have addressed this question.

So when would a team/coach decide to just use 1 keeper?

We have 2 keepers. I have a DD and she is just as competent as our other keeper. They currently split the time in the net and none/very little playing time on the field.

My DD gets bored and wants more net playing time. I personally think my DD will get the starting position when that time comes, but I have to weigh the time she is not playing against other teams keepers and their individual progression.

Of course my DD loves being a part of this team right now, but she may get disenfranchised soon...b/c shes the one who told me about her boredom.

I have some more other questions that come into play with this topic after i read some responses.

Frankly i think 2 goal keepers is a waste of time for everyone. Pick someone let him/her be the goal keeper and get someone else on the field who can contribute. Designate someone as the back up in the odd chance the keeper gets hurt.

InaB wrote:I can only speak from the experience my team had last fall when our Goalie was injured in a tournament (one of those ODD chances) and unable to play at the start of our fall season. It made it very, very rough for us because we had to pull valuable players from the field to put them into the net as a replacement. It was a very difficult time. We all wished we had a backup goalie at that point. To your point though, yes it is hard for one to sit on the bench and watch the other goalie play. However, that happens to field players as well. If you have a full or close to full roster, then someone is sitting out. What if your dd was the only goalie? What if she broke her arm in this weekend's game? This happens. At least the team would have another goalie.

As to whether or not having two goalies is a waste of time/money, try doing without one. Having someone "designated" as a backup to the goalie is a stop gap but if they don't practice and train to be a goalie, then you are between the rock and hard place.

However, we are not talking about the team, but about your dd's playing time. Can she play in a field position? If she can then talk to the coach about allowing her to sub in on the field when she isn't playing goalie.

Sorry, there was no emoticon for booo!!!

Tell the coach how DD feels, and have him make a choice. One player is the goalie, the other is the backup. (or moves to another team) Nowhere is it written, that the backup goalie has to have equal time.

First, if your coach is not developing her foot skills, leave-NO MATTER WHAT THE AGE. If she is U8, then my thought is that she should be developing her entire game and playing no more than half her soccer life at GK anyway. If she is U15, then a disproportionate split with a primary and secondary the norm. The current trend (rightly IMO) is that a GK MUST be able to use her feet. If that IS happening, then hopefully your DD can contribute some minutes on the field occasionally.

When we have been without a GK, it REALLY hurts. We have survived with one GK, but along the lines that Ina stated, man you wish you had one when she is out...have the conversation as EK said and go from there.

SocDad wrote:This question I pose, is a slight variation to a couple of questions/threads I have seen, but none have addressed this question.

So when would a team/coach decide to just use 1 keeper?

We have 2 keepers. I have a DD and she is just as competent as our other keeper. They currently split the time in the net and none/very little playing time on the field.

My DD gets bored and wants more net playing time. I personally think my DD will get the starting position when that time comes, but I have to weigh the time she is not playing against other teams keepers and their individual progression.

Of course my DD loves being a part of this team right now, but she may get disenfranchised soon...b/c shes the one who told me about her boredom.

I have some more other questions that come into play with this topic after i read some responses.

So far, you've received some good information from half of the posters and useless opinions from the others. Your primary question was when a coach "would" decide to just use one keeper. That varies. As for when they should, probably around U11 (select age). But regardless of the age, as Dadof3 indicated, you better have a coach that prioritizes foot skills for your daughter or you do her a huge disservice. She may not always want to play that position. Then what? She'll be lousy as a field player and could struggle to find a team. She'll also be way behind. And if your daughter is academy age and doing nothing keeper training during the practices and only playing in that position in the games, you've already made some poor decisions in letting it get to that point. Find a coach that will make her a complete player.

SocDad, Does your DD's coach or team offer goalkeeper training seperate from regular scheduled team practices? Idealy this is the way to go, so they get footwork and shots during the team practices and GK specific training during the seperate goalkeeper sessions. If her coach or team does not find a coach who offers private GK training. If your DD is serious about playing in the net now is the time to lay the technical foundation, the tactical stuff will soon follow.

as it has been mentioned, much of this decision depends on the age.

I find that at the older age groups you will often find two keepers as injuries will happen, especially in high school.

The keeper should be working with the team on foot skills and such as well.

Now, keep in mind when there are two keepers and the child is only playing half the game, there are probably girls on the team that are still playing much less than that and are expected to work harder and earn more time, or move to another team. If your goal is to play the whole game, then find a team that will play her on the field for half and keeper the other half, or only retain one keeper.

Honestly, if they play in the goal, they better get used to having other keepers on the team. Competition at every position is best for the team as a whole. In high school and college there will be other keepers to contend with. At very young ages, you should not have a problem finding a team that will only have one keeper though.

I agree with your DD, splitting time at GK is very boring. The most time you can get is 50%? That's the ceiling? No matter how hard you work? Even if you like the other GK, after a while the situation starts to feel like a boring punishment. (Is that coach being greedy? Your DD should be getting time some on the field if she isn’t.)

During my youth career I did sign 1 contract that involved me splitting time with another GK. At the end of that year, I swore I would never get into that situation again. Your DD is right, it is boring.

Along with this though, a coach that views GKs only as GKs in practice, that can compound these issues significantly. It makes the position feel like a punishment after a while. As a GK, I always attended more practices than the other kids on the squad because I had GK-specific training. Those GK sessions were small sessions with hardcore focus and generally I'd walk away exhausted. SOOOOOO... When I went to my regular practices, the last thing I wanted to do was be forced right back into the goal for shooting drills. The other kids got to have fun scoring goals while I stood there to get drilled like target practice? Being stuck in goal during practices too, when you could be improving your foot skills like everyone else on the team, makes it even worse.

Basically, you GK parents want no legitimate backup or competition for your child's playing time and if that isn't guaranteed then you would look elsewhere? Yeah that makes sense.

GK parents...

Two keepers is bad for other reasons. With one primary keeper, she gets more easily forgiven and can play through a number of mistakes. Mistakes always happen but people and coaches remember keeper mistakes really well. When a midfielder dives in, which turns into a thru ball, which turns into a center defender stumble, which turns into a shot on goal, the keeper letting the ball in is what most people remember. When a team has are two 50/50 keepers, a coach will one day blow his or her top, yank and sit a keeper right after a few mistakes, killing her confidence and setting up a bad downward cycle. None of the other 10 on the field get the don't-make-ANY-mistakes pressure and microscope anything like the keeper. Most midfielders in the example above would feel zero responsibility for that goal against.

Basically, you GK parents want no legitimate backup or competition for your child's playing time and if that isn't guaranteed then you would look elsewhere? Yeah that makes sense.

GK parents...


If i have a good gk, i make that a precondition to be on the team. Good gks are very hard to find....

silentparent wrote:Basically, you GK parents want no legitimate backup or competition for your child's playing time and if that isn't guaranteed then you would look elsewhere? Yeah that makes sense.

GK parents...


If i have a good gk, i make that a precondition to be on the team. Good gks are very hard to find....

From the looks of your previous posts you have a younger player (academy approaching select), which makes the precondition completely understandable. By the time they are U14/15 the precondition will be unacceptable to every top level team.

Gunners wrote:

silentparent wrote:Basically, you GK parents want no legitimate backup or competition for your child's playing time and if that isn't guaranteed then you would look elsewhere? Yeah that makes sense.

GK parents...


If i have a good gk, i make that a precondition to be on the team. Good gks are very hard to find....

From the looks of your previous posts you have a younger player (academy approaching select), which makes the precondition completely understandable. By the time they are U14/15 the precondition will be unacceptable to every top level team.

I would agree with you there, but i would also say the stud gk doesn't go in with a coach who says you will split time either...

Silentparent is absolutely right, you kid yourself if you think a stud gk is going stick around while a coach plays musical chairs in the box. Every team's situation is different but if you have a player who is the obvious choice and they want to be in the box then there is no need to be flipflopping keepers. As I said in my previous post if your DD is academy age now is the time to be getting the foundational technical training to play keeper the tactical/situational will gradually come along.

By the time they are U14/15, a superstar field player (forward, mid, defender) would never accept a situation in which they sit 50% of every game, even for the top-most team. Why would 2 superstar GKs accept that limitation?

bigtex75081 wrote:By the time they are U14/15, a superstar field player (forward, mid, defender) would never accept a situation in which they sit 50% of every game, even for the top-most team. Why would 2 superstar GKs accept that limitation?

True, what you have is THE goalkeeper and a kid who watches the games and waits for THE goalkeeper to get hurt or the score is so high they can come in....

silentparent wrote:

bigtex75081 wrote:By the time they are U14/15, a superstar field player (forward, mid, defender) would never accept a situation in which they sit 50% of every game, even for the top-most team. Why would 2 superstar GKs accept that limitation?

True, what you have is THE goalkeeper and a kid who watches the games and waits for THE goalkeeper to get hurt or the score is so high they can come in....

Yeah but if you're that backup... I think you (and your parents) would have to be absolutely insane to sign that contract.

Silentparent is spot on again, your simplicity and profundity in summing up the situation is impressive.

Cleansheets wrote:Silentparent is spot on again, your simplicity and profundity in summing up the situation is impressive.

Thanks, the check is in the mail....

Ahh academy parents...

While they may not split time, they also don't do 90/10. If coaches aren't fair to the backups, then they move on. Coaches can't afford to have backups move on. You do the math.

Gunners wrote:Ahh academy parents...

While they may not split time, they also don't do 90/10. If coaches aren't fair to the backups, then they move on. Coaches can't afford to have backups move on. You do the math.

Lol, you think because we just post for academy kids, we dont have older kids, know older kids, watch older kids? C'mon.....

as parent of stud GK

"no fair" cries the parent of the backup GK. want fair see GLASA Rec


and yes all of us GK parents think their DD's are stud keeps...all in fun yall