Doesn’t matter the level or how highly recruited you were. GK is an unforgiving position
Mistakes happen
- Thread starter Dargle
- Start date
whatithink
GOLD
Much more importantly, how is the GK allowed to wear that kit when the opposite are in pretty much the same color!!!
It’s a difficult bouncing ball outside of the box. Field players routinely miss this type of ball.
It is an incredibly tough position and the mental toughness required is beyond the reach of many players. My kid had a bad1/2 in HS soccer last week, and it really knocked her for a loop. I tried to point out all of the mistakes made by other players that do not yield the same result, but she just wasn't ready to hear it. She can have a great game and give up 5 goals and have a horrible game and only give up1 goal. Tough position.
It's made tougher by the fact that the GK is trying to bash the ball with a forward at close distance, which risks a rebound going backward into the net. So, he is focused on avoiding the attacker, who is bearing down on him. That usually involves going over if possible and requires a diffent kind of swing than just making contact. Plus, this striker is awfully close and is coming in fast, which leaves little room for error. It's not hard to see why he loses focus with the ball itself.
Eagle33
PREMIER
In a college game of this caliber, this kind of a mistake, no matter how you justify it, will cost this goalkeeper his position in the future.
The place to play a bouncing ball is at the bottom, not the top. Play it as it reaches the ground.
True, but it only illustrates how harsh the position is. The true culprit is the defender who allows the striker to get a clear challenge on the ball.
And it also highlights how many times it's all based on an earlier (split-second) decision. I didn't see the play live, but was he not far enough off his line or did he delay his run because he thought the defender would handle it?
This youtube video is of choppy quality and the sound is a few seconds ahead of the picture, but it shows that the goal came from a long pass overhead that the keeper misplayed on the bounce just outside the PA.
Except of course, for keepers, who should grab the ball up high.
The decision for how high the GK plays off his line shouldn't be up to the keeper but the coach. It's a tradeoff between risking the chipped ball v. balls like this happening. If the GK had been at the arc, he probably would have beaten the striker to it for a header. But then the original passing player might have lobbed it over to him. That's on the coach unless the GK wasn't listening to the instruction.
The last coach my son had wanted him to play at the arc even for a covered ball on his half of the field, and he said he didn't care if the ball was chipped. My son wasn't very comfortable doing it and was always getting scolded for falling back to his goal to cover it. He knew, however, that notwithstanding the instruction he'd probably get the blame for a chipped ball...and he was kinda right.
The official highlights released by the NCAA
Clemson vs Washington DI Men's Soccer Game Summary - December 12th, 2021 | NCAA.com
Live scores from the Clemson and Washington DI Men's Soccer game, including box scores, individual and team statistics and play-by-play.
www.ncaa.com
Mystery Train
GOLD
Oooof. Hate that for the keep. But now he has a new challenge: dictate to himself how he will respond to the mistake.
I have developed a philosophy over the years watching my kid live life as a GK. The absolute, most important thing about being a GK is learning how to respond to adversity. Most likely, this young man has already had plenty, as you don't get to play at this level, and USL and internationally (as he has, apparently) without having adversity pop up on you. Mistakes, bad calls, injuries, bad coaches, etc. Of course, all athletes live this in varying degrees, but I would argue none do it with the intensity and stakes of a GK.
At ANY level of soccer, if you play keeper for more than a hot minute, you're going to make mistakes so you're going to have to learn how to overcome them. Obviously, you'd rather not have to overcome a mistake in your college championship game, but life is like that. You don't get to dictate the terms. Sometimes a mistake in a "big" game will get in an athlete's head, and they never can quite get over it. If his coach loses faith in him because of one error and demotes him, well, then that's just more fuel to use when burning the midnight oil figuring out how to get better. You figure out how to get so good and so consistent that nobody can deny you your spot on the field and ensure that, while you will never be perfect, you will always make yourself better as a result of your errors. Make a mistake, study it, fix it, drill it. And then later, when you've retired from sport and have to face real-life adversity, like losing a job, a marriage, a loved one, or your health, you will be grateful for all the adversity that being a GK put you through, especially adversity brought on by your own mistakes, because you will know in your heart that you have it in you to outlast and overcome.
This has to be the attitude of the GK.
I have developed a philosophy over the years watching my kid live life as a GK. The absolute, most important thing about being a GK is learning how to respond to adversity. Most likely, this young man has already had plenty, as you don't get to play at this level, and USL and internationally (as he has, apparently) without having adversity pop up on you. Mistakes, bad calls, injuries, bad coaches, etc. Of course, all athletes live this in varying degrees, but I would argue none do it with the intensity and stakes of a GK.
At ANY level of soccer, if you play keeper for more than a hot minute, you're going to make mistakes so you're going to have to learn how to overcome them. Obviously, you'd rather not have to overcome a mistake in your college championship game, but life is like that. You don't get to dictate the terms. Sometimes a mistake in a "big" game will get in an athlete's head, and they never can quite get over it. If his coach loses faith in him because of one error and demotes him, well, then that's just more fuel to use when burning the midnight oil figuring out how to get better. You figure out how to get so good and so consistent that nobody can deny you your spot on the field and ensure that, while you will never be perfect, you will always make yourself better as a result of your errors. Make a mistake, study it, fix it, drill it. And then later, when you've retired from sport and have to face real-life adversity, like losing a job, a marriage, a loved one, or your health, you will be grateful for all the adversity that being a GK put you through, especially adversity brought on by your own mistakes, because you will know in your heart that you have it in you to outlast and overcome.
This has to be the attitude of the GK.
Eagle33
PREMIER
100%
In real world however there are circumstances, specially in a college game, where gk totally depends on a mercy of a coach in a situation like this or similar.
Example, kid is a junior and gets injured or make a mistake like in this video. Coach tells him, he can practice but is off the roster for next season. One thing to do is to transfer, but kid wants to stay in school because he likes the school and has only a year left to finish it.
It's easy to say work hard and overcome, but once college coach made his decision, it will not change, specially when there are other 4 keepers in the program.
I love watching the position. For me, it’s the most important position on the field. My kid’s current team has a keeper that is pretty good. It’s pretty clear that he is better than most of the other keepers we play. But he is not confident at all and the pressure gets to him. His mother has thought about pulling him because he doesn’t seem to be handling the pressure well. He looks like he is depressed all the time. Doesn’t talk. Doesn’t communicate with his back line. Won’t call off the defenders when he’s got it and won’t offer any instruction. Won’t tell his team how he wants his wall. At the end of the season the coach tasked one of the defenders with the job of organizing the defense for corners and free kicks. He used to ask to come off and the coach would put in the backup GK. After a while though the coach had to tell him that he’s staying in the whole game because he clearly is better at stopping shots. Coach has talked to him but the kid is not the type to talk. Everyone on the team and the coach thinks highly of his skills. I talked to the mother before about it and she claims that he likes the position, he’s just low in confidence. He was a bit pigeonholed into the position I guess because of his lack of speed (and I mean SLOW). Probably has to do with things outside of soccer. Kid seems severely depressed. Doesn’t smile or goof around with the team.
a. there's a lot of mental illness and depression going around right now in kids due to things which shall not be discussed on this forum
b. The gk position is relentless at the confidence thing. It destroys them, particularly boys at a younger age, because everyone's expectations are out of wack over what they can actually accomplish.
c. your circumstances is one of the following: either: a. your coach doesn't know what he is doing, b. you are playing at a youngish age (though not the youngest where the expectation is really that the GKs just pick up the loose ball or block shots directly shot at them), or c. you are playing at a lower level because at the higher levels shot stopping simply isn't as important. The commands are slightly more important but not the end all (some coaches actually prefer the defenders to organize a wall). What's more important is how fast they are (to sweep, to get back to goal, for the 1v1 and crosses), how strong and tall they are, and most importantly how well they can play with their feet. A kid who is big and out of shape may be able to cover the goal...if he's an early bloomer in height he might last a little bit longer....but eventually he's going to be capped at how high he can go because to extension dive, you can't be heavy and you have to be very very fit (and they start extension diving at the higher levels as early as 12/13).
d. being a low confidence GK is a killer. My own son has gone through bats of that. There aren't a whole lot of resources to deal with it out there. There is one, which helped him, but I hesitate to recommend it, but I'll throw it out there. It's mysoccermentor.com. They have an online program that deals with the mental issues of soccer (not just for goalkeepers). Basically, they have you construct an on the field persona and teach you how to act the role on the field. They also have a support group which meets weekly. However: 1) the program is very expensive for what you get ($4000+ for something which is mostly self-study and not even 1 on 1 counseling), and 2) it's not very good for kids who aren't self-starters (like kids with ADHD). It actually helped my son a bit, and they got somewhat of the promised results, and it was a useful tool in the tool box to learn, but I'm not sure it was worth the money and is definitely not for a kid who is zoomed out on the remote learning stuff.
Mystery Train
GOLD
What age group is this?
U13. Not too many shots in games. I’ve known the kid for over 2 years and even when he wasn’t playing in goal he was very subdued and quiet. The type of kid where you have a hard time remembering what their voice sounds like since you don’t hear them. I’m assistant so I’m at every practice and game. That’s interesting Grace, I’ll check out the program although that is too much $. I noticed his practice attendance was low and he stopped going to the GK training. His mom says he doesn’t believe in himself.