HELP new to club soccer, son is a goalkeeper

Grace T. said:
I'd agree so long as the young goalkeeper isn't expected to be "the guy" that saves the team and only plays on goal the entire time period, and so long as the coach is working with the defense to make them more effective. Given that this is a new goalkeeper whose parent has indicated that he's coming out a lot (when it is unlikely the club has taught him, let alone helped him master, the techniques for coming out such as how to collapse dive properly in order not to get hurt), my antenna would be up.

An older would be a different story.
Click to expand...

My son's U10 team got "the guy" keeper after suffering with a daring, but small keeper who couldn't punt the ball 20 yards. It changed our whole style of play.

He eventually moved on to a bigger club, and I saw him at a mid-teens tournament playing keeper, sweeper, stopper, and coming up to take free kicks, all at the same time.
 
espola said:
My son's U10 team got "the guy" keeper after suffering with a daring, but small keeper who couldn't punt the ball 20 yards. It changed our whole style of play.

He eventually moved on to a bigger club, and I saw him at a mid-teens tournament playing keeper, sweeper, stopper, and coming up to take free kicks, all at the same time.
Click to expand...


I can imagine. Could he punt accurately to an open forward or was he just playing kick ball? My son is the daring smaller keeper but he can punt it to the back third, but his coach prefers it thrown to an open defender so they can maintain possession and practice buildup soccer.
 
Grace T. said:
I can imagine. Could he punt accurately to an open forward or was he just playing kick ball? My son is the daring smaller keeper but he can punt it to the back third, but his coach prefers it thrown to an open defender so they can maintain possession and practice buildup soccer.
Click to expand...

Long, accurate, and effective. He was second on the team in assists. If he didn't see a target up front, he would play the ball up with his feet.

Possession is a good thing. Possession in front of the opponent's goal is even better.
 
espola said:
Long, accurate, and effective. He was second on the team in assists. If he didn't see a target up front, he would play the ball up with his feet.

Possession is a good thing. Possession in front of the opponent's goal is even better.
Click to expand...


Wow! Few keepers that age can punt far let alone accurately let alone controlled enough so the forward can actually receive. Must have been a site to behold.

"play the ball with his feet"....he put it down and passed? he dribbled it up out of the goal (saw a keeper do this in a u9 tournie over the winter to the midline...God that was annoying...why his coach would let him do this is beyond me....probably because he was a defender forced to play as keeper)? didn't throw it?
 
Grace T. said:
I'd agree so long as the young goalkeeper isn't expected to be "the guy" that saves the team and only plays on goal the entire time period, and so long as the coach is working with the defense to make them more effective. Given that this is a new goalkeeper whose parent has indicated that he's coming out a lot (when it is unlikely the club has taught him, let alone helped him master, the techniques for coming out such as how to collapse dive properly in order not to get hurt), my antenna would be up.

An older would be a different story.
Click to expand...
He got PLENTY of action last season, when his team played above where they should have. The defense should've been better, of course, but he definitely learned "on the job," before he'd gotten any real training. The team is reforming now, and he's a bit frustrated that he is telling the defense how the opposite team is going to play the ball and they don't listen. Then he faces a lot of one-on-ones. I've asked if he wants to go try other local clubs, but he's stubborn about sticking with this team. It's ten minutes from our house. But I figure he needs these years to get up to speed with kids who have been playing in goal for years now. That's why I was especially interested in goalkeeper training, and if he's doing "enough."
 
espola said:
Long, accurate, and effective. He was second on the team in assists. If he didn't see a target up front, he would play the ball up with his feet.

Possession is a good thing. Possession in front of the opponent's goal is even better.
Click to expand...
My keeper got a few assists in our last game. Yes, he can kick that far too. He's pretty tall for an 06 and all those years of hockey have given him strong legs haha. But sometimes they won't let him punt? I get confused by the rules about this too.
 
espola said:
The worst keeper injury I ever heard of (second hand at a tournament) was a keeper who got cleated in the face that ripped his nose off. I was never comfortable watching my son play keeper after that.
Click to expand...
oh, it scares me more that he's leaving the net wide open.:) but maybe I'm just in denial.
 
multisportson said:
My keeper got a few assists in our last game. Yes, he can kick that far too. He's pretty tall for an 06 and all those years of hockey have given him strong legs haha. But sometimes they won't let him punt? I get confused by the rules about this too.
Click to expand...


He has the option to punt or throw if he stops the ball in the penalty area (if it goes over the goal line then he has to goal kick)...some coaches don't want you to punt it if you have a man open because they rather teach the defenders to build out the back, particularly if the keeper can only kick hard, but not accurately and in controlled so that he can put it at a forward's feet way up there with minimal bounce. At that age, most possession-style coaches will teach keepers to only punt it if a man is not open.

As others have said, it shouldn't matter if the team is losing...that just gives your keeper great experience...the real question is whether he is being taught well and properly (which by the sound of it, there seems to be some issues with that on the defense). If he is being told to come out but hasn't been taught how to collapse dive properly to minimize getting hurt, that would be one source for concern. And as others have mentioned, if he is being taught well already at the keeper position, rather than keeper privates perhaps he might benefit more from some time on the field. Given his hockey goalie experience, he's already ahead of the curve on some of the skills and probably needs to work his general soccer skills more.
 
multisportson said:
He got PLENTY of action last season, when his team played above where they should have. The defense should've been better, of course, but he definitely learned "on the job," before he'd gotten any real training. The team is reforming now, and he's a bit frustrated that he is telling the defense how the opposite team is going to play the ball and they don't listen. Then he faces a lot of one-on-ones. "
Click to expand...
It has been my experience that there will be a point where the defense not listening to him will become an issue, a big issue. At some point it won't matter if the team is good or bad, if the defenders are fast or slow, if the defenders have played for a long time or not, at some point his frustration level will rise dramatically if the defense won't listen. ONE person can see the whole field, smarter players are going to listen to what the keeper is saying.
 
p.s. If you don't mind the drive to Carson or staying for a week, this summer the LA Galaxy are doing a 1 week goalkeepers camp. My son is bummed that he's still too young to attend. It's expensive ($600+) and normally I think these camps aren't very useful (because you don't reinforce the lessons you are working on day after day), but I'd say the GK camp is exceptional.
 
Grace T. said:
He has the option to punt or throw if he stops the ball in the penalty area (if it goes over the goal line then he has to goal kick)...some coaches don't want you to punt it if you have a man open because they rather teach the defenders to build out the back, particularly if the keeper can only kick hard, but not accurately and in controlled so that he can put it at a forward's feet way up there with minimal bounce. At that age, most possession-style coaches will teach keepers to only punt it if a man is not open.

As others have said, it shouldn't matter if the team is losing...that just gives your keeper great experience...the real question is whether he is being taught well and properly (which by the sound of it, there seems to be some issues with that on the defense). If he is being told to come out but hasn't been taught how to collapse dive properly to minimize getting hurt, that would be one source for concern. And as others have mentioned, if he is being taught well already at the keeper position, rather than keeper privates perhaps he might benefit more from some time on the field. Given his hockey goalie experience, he's already ahead of the curve on some of the skills and probably needs to work his general soccer skills more.
Click to expand...
My boy actually plays defense in hockey, and it took me years to figure out if he was playing well, other than "hey, a goal went in." Sometimes it's the fault of the defense and sometimes it's not. So I have no idea if he knows how to collapse dive properly. ;) I suppose I will figure that out in time.
 
Grace T. said:
p.s. If you don't mind the drive to Carson or staying for a week, this summer the LA Galaxy are doing a 1 week goalkeepers camp. My son is bummed that he's still too young to attend. It's expensive ($600+) and normally I think these camps aren't very useful (because you don't reinforce the lessons you are working on day after day), but I'd say the GK camp is exceptional.[/QUOTE
Grace T. said:
p.s. If you don't mind the drive to Carson or staying for a week, this summer the LA Galaxy are doing a 1 week goalkeepers camp. My son is bummed that he's still too young to attend. It's expensive ($600+) and normally I think these camps aren't very useful (because you don't reinforce the lessons you are working on day after day), but I'd say the GK camp is exceptional.
Click to expand...
I am also a bit confused by soccer camps. From what I've been told (and from what I've seen in hockey), you get a lot of kids standing around, waiting for their turn. Maybe that money is better spent in privates??
Click to expand...
 
multisportson said:
My boy actually plays defense in hockey, and it took me years to figure out if he was playing well, other than "hey, a goal went in." Sometimes it's the fault of the defense and sometimes it's not. So I have no idea if he knows how to collapse dive properly. ;) I suppose I will figure that out in time.
Click to expand...

There are some clips on the internet. Here's my favorite, but there are different techniques and different people will tell you different things:


The key thing to look at, though, from a safety standpoint is to make sure they aren't telling him to lead with his head (easy concussion) or legs (different than the slide tackle), they are teaching him when to plant if the kick comes (so he doesn't turn an ankle), and that they've taught him to dive correctly (not on his elbow and without rolling over). The coach shouldn't be having him come out and try to tackle until he's confident the kid can do it with minimizing the risk of getting hurt.

Camps generally are a lot of standing around, but it's different for goalkeepers since part of learning is observing others technique and what works for them and their body types. Good keeper trainers are also harder to come by.
 
multisportson said:
Yeah, I have figured out that soccer is 12 months, but luckily my son's soccer team is working with us during his flag football season. Similarly, they worked with us when we were in hockey season, even when we had to miss games. I guess solid goalkeepers are hard to come by out here in the IE? (no, we're not in Canada, ha, my kid just fell in love with a crazy winter sport) I looked into AYSO Extra, but they said they wanted a 12 month commitment, and we're not ready to make that kind of commitment. Our current team also wants a 12 month commitment (I guess 12 month contracts are normal?), but if they want my boy, they have to work with us on the other sports. It helps that we are not on the top team, and don't want to be there. He hasn't even been playing soccer for a year yet, so I know he's got so much to learn, especially as a goalie. It's so very technical! He's committed to it, though, so I was trying to have him take private goalkeeper lessons on top of the once a week that the club was providing.

We just finished up a hockey season with a team where you were expected to be on the ice 5-6 times a week, play 12 months, and regularly travel out of state for tournaments and exhibitions. We figured out pretty quickly that (a) we can't afford this and (b) it's just not what my son wants. He wants to play a lot of sports, and to the extent that means he won't ever be on a championship team, that's fine. I'm just hoping that soccer will be more flexible, although I know the pressure will be on soon to specialize and give everything else up.
Click to expand...

A lot of top goalies in my daughter's age group are multi-sport. Softball, basketball, gymnastics, you name it. I think it is good for a goalie to be an all around athlete. If they are good, it seems coaches are pretty understanding. At the older ages, teams normally have 2 goalies so it's not that big of a deal if you have to miss a few weeks.
 

I would bypass the expensive camps. We are good friends with the parents of a very top 03 goalie. She did the extra goalie training through her club, then some privates at u11 once she started on the big field. Think about it, hope solo didn't play goalie until she was college aged, and she was fantastic without all the years of training. No need to spend thousands of dollars. It sounds like your son is a true athlete, so he will be fine. Especially since this is his first year in soccer. Give him some time.
 
chargerfan said:
I would bypass the expensive camps. We are good friends with the parents of a very top 03 goalie. She did the extra goalie training through her club, then some privates at u11 once she started on the big field. Think about it, hope solo didn't play goalie until she was college aged, and she was fantastic without all the years of training. No need to spend thousands of dollars. It sounds like your son is a true athlete, so he will be fine. Especially since this is his first year in soccer. Give him some time.
Click to expand...
That's what I am hoping! I just need to find a good goalkeeper trainer, as the one we know doesn't have time anymore. And maybe a new team too, because judging from today's scrimmage, he's not getting any help on defense.:mad:
 
espola said:
The worst keeper injury I ever heard of (second hand at a tournament) was a keeper who got cleated in the face that ripped his nose off. I was never comfortable watching my son play keeper after that.
Click to expand...
My son last year getting kicked in the face and finding out he had a macular hole in back of his eye. Almost lost eye. But HD surgery to fix it. No matter what sport you play . Their going to be injuries. Some worse than others. Today my son is still playing soccer and loving the sport more than ever.
 
espola said:
Long, accurate, and effective. He was second on the team in assists. If he didn't see a target up front, he would play the ball up with his feet.

Possession is a good thing. Possession in front of the opponent's goal is even better.
Click to expand...
Punting the isn't everything. That's not development. Be humble and teach your kid how to play with his feet and little by little teach how to read the game and learn to communicate to the team where and when they need to be. Your worth more as a keeper than a Freakin kickball punter. Anybody can punt a ball.
 
p.s. If you don't mind the drive to Carson or staying for a week, this summer the LA Galaxy are doing a 1 week goalkeepers camp. My son is bummed that he's still too young to attend. It's expensive ($600+) and normally I think these camps aren't very useful (because you don't reinforce the lessons you are working on day after day), but I'd say the GK camp is exceptional.[/QUOTE
Grace T. said: ↑
p.s. If you don't mind the drive to Carson or staying for a week, this summer the LA Galaxy are doing a 1 week goalkeepers camp. My son is bummed that he's still too young to attend. It's expensive ($600+) and normally I think these camps aren't very useful (because you don't reinforce the lessons you are working on day after day), but I'd say the GK camp is exceptional.
I am also a bit confused by soccer camps. From what I've been told (and from what I've seen in hockey), you get a lot of kids standing around, waiting for their turn. Maybe that money is better spent in privates??
Don't waste your money on $600 camp. PM me and I will get you in contact with a trainer that does it to help kids not get their pockets of money .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top