Keeper playing the field

go99 wrote:Okay now that is everyones mistake.  Unless your dd is banging in multiple goals a game nobody is more valuable than the keeper.  Keeper is the position that will sink or carry your team more than any other player.  The keeper should be practicing on the field with all the other players but there is no additional gain by having them take game minutes away from the field players (learning is done in practice not games).  That being said if the kid is unsure and wants to play field also then they should be allowed too as long as their skill level allows them to compete for those minutes.

Preach it Brother Go.

If you want to see which coaches / clubs are doing it right look for the teams that integrate the keeper into their play. This will tell you that both coaches and players have a trust level in the keeper's "ball skills" and understanding of the game. This is only achieved through hours of field time during practice with each group, defenders, mids, and forwards. Field time during games for the better GK's on top teams is only going to happen when the score goes sideways. Funny thing is when that happens those same GKs usually score a goal, make great passes, or a great defensive play.

"Silent Parent, I get you now. Good point. Keeper parents can be interesting..."

HAA HAA yes we are! My Keeper is a 05 Academy player and she LOVES playing Keeper but she got a lot better after she played indoor as a forward.

Remember keeper parents. We are always out numbered. I cant believe the number of people on this site that think the keeper position is easy and anyone can do it. It is a position that can not make a mistake. A mishandled pass to a keepers feet or a bad pass from the keeper can cost them the game. Keepers have to have good foot work.They need to have a big leg for goal kicks and punts and be ready to sacrifice there bodies. A lot of field players dont want to play it so when a coach finds a good one they get stuck with it.

The fallacy that keepers need to be the some of the tallest kids on the team has got to be put to rest.

Look at the professional keepers in PK situations.  Most of the time they just choose to jump right or left and wind up choosing incorrectly.  At that point, size meant nothing.  They should have learned to watch foot plant, hip angle, knee angle, and watch the kicker's eyes so they could dive in the correct direction.  But instead, most of them get lazy and decide that just covering half of the goal with their size was better than reading the play.

Technique, timing, speed and jumping ability are key attributes of a great goalkeeper and this has NOTHING to do with height.

The greatest keeper of our time, Iker Casillas, is 5'10" which is well off the average 6'2"-6'6" in professional soccer.  What makes him good?  The list above, but he also has what is called a high APE factor.  APE factor is the ratio of height to arm span.  (APE factor of 1 means height = armspan)  Iker's arm span is nearly that of someone who is 6'4"  So he is considered to have a high APE factor.

Same goes for Jorge Campos.  He was 5'6" but had a span of someone 6'2" He played goalie incredibly well.

In the end, don't let those that subscribe to the "English method" of running a soccer team (bigger = better) dissuade your dd from playing keeper if she has the skills and passion for the position.

So true my dd ODP coach lead the ncaa in shutouts at Oklahoma and she is tiny only about 5'3" or 5'4" it funny because all the kids she is coaching are bigger than her.

NoFanOfDrama wrote:The fallacy that keepers need to be the some of the tallest kids on the team has got to be put to rest.

Look at the professional keepers in PK situations.  Most of the time they just choose to jump right or left and wind up choosing incorrectly.  At that point, size meant nothing.  They should have learned to watch foot plant, hip angle, knee angle, and watch the kicker's eyes so they could dive in the correct direction.  But instead, most of them get lazy and decide that just covering half of the goal with their size was better than reading the play.

Technique, timing, speed and jumping ability are key attributes of a great goalkeeper and this has NOTHING to do with height.

The greatest keeper of our time, Iker Casillas, is 5'10" which is well off the average 6'2"-6'6" in professional soccer.  What makes him good?  The list above, but he also has what is called a high APE factor.  APE factor is the ratio of height to arm span.  (APE factor of 1 means height = armspan)  Iker's arm span is nearly that of someone who is 6'4"  So he is considered to have a high APE factor.

Same goes for Jorge Campos.  He was 5'6" but had a span of someone 6'2" He played goalie incredibly well.

In the end, don't let those that subscribe to the "English method" of running a soccer team (bigger = better) dissuade your dd from playing keeper if she has the skills and passion for the position.

Just for you GGoat:

In the immortal words of Whitesnake:

An' here I go again on my own
Goin' down the only road I've ever known.........

ya ref thanks but I didnt start this one. They just grow wings and fly. Dont know why the keeper postion gets so much board time. We need to start a post on outside mids

GGoat wrote:ya ref thanks but I didnt start this one. They just grow wings and fly. Dont know why the keeper postion gets so much board time. We need to start a post on outside mids

You dredging up month old threads that should have died has nothing to do with it, right?

ballhead wrote:

GGoat wrote:ya ref thanks but I didnt start this one. They just grow wings and fly. Dont know why the keeper postion gets so much board time. We need to start a post on outside mids

You dredging up month old threads that should have died has nothing to do with it, right?

Coach ref did in fun I think I was commenting on the above post talking about keeper size

Actually this is a good topic and I would recommend all young GK's find a team where they can spend time in the field if they cannot for their primary team.  Ball skills will pay off down the line.  Mine started out as  field player but because of her physic was always eyed as a potential keeper by club coaches and directors.  Finally in 7th grade she started playing keeper for a team full time.  She then quit to play basketball and as a field player for fun a couple of years before going back into goal where she was able to earn a scholarship.

As for height I think it matters more for girls than guys since some shorter girls have trouble sealing off the top of the goal.  Having closely watched lots of GK drills there are certain things the taller keepers do well and others the shorter ones can do well.