Ciplified Soccer: Using Goalkeepers in Training Sessions

U10 players will typically play 6v6 with keepers when it comes to game day. At this age, you aren’t looking to pigeonhole a single player as your keeper. Whenever you do anything in practice that involves goalkeepers, everybody gets a chance to play in goal. Whenever you do an exercise for field players, everybody participates.

At 10 years old you have no idea who is going to be a future goalkeeper. You don’t even know if they will be playing soccer a couple of years from now.

You are trying to build complete soccer players at this age. Over time their playing tendencies, physical attributes and psychological makeup will make their best position choice evident. But this information is not yet established at U8-U10.

By U14 you might have a player designated as your full time goalkeeper. However, it is important that you are training at least one or more players as a backup.

Players sometimes change their minds. So ensure that keepers are doing technical work with their feet.

Be sure to have your keeper involved in all of your field exercises as well to be sure they have technical proficiency with both feet. Keepers these days are much more involved in receiving the ball with their feet from defenders under pressure. They need to be able to distribute efficiently to begin building the attack.

We also want them to feel like part of the team. If we end with a scrimmage game, I like to have keepers in the nets. Obviously, any kind of finishing activity that I run will have keepers.

I like to work 3v3 or 4v4 games with keepers as part of finishing. I want to always paint a realistic picture for the keepers.

Dealing with angles, 1v1s, screens, crosses, shot stopping and distribution should always be part of sessions that involve keepers.

It is important as part of training that players have the opportunity to finish off their plays. If they have a good series of passes, they need to be able to finish with a shot on goal.

If they beat a player off the dribble, they need to be able to shoot on goal. You want to develop the instinct in your players to “close the deal.”

Don’t ignore the technical aspects of your practices and just do finishing on everything, but make sure there is an opportunity each practice for the players to shoot to goal.

-This lesson is brought to you by our friends at Ciplified Soccer-