Structuring a progressive technical session

I’m a big advocate of making goalkeeper coaching sessions as match-realistic and match-relevant as possible, however I also believe that not every session can be purely focused on live scenarios and that regular technical practices hold equal weight in ensuring that goalkeepers keep on top of their game.

In this post, I want to explore the anatomy of a progressive technical session and break down how I apply this in the coaching that I provide, as well as the benefits I believe this brings to ‘keepers and coaches alike.

Technical

Firstly, and whilst I appreciate that the phrase will be clear to most, I want to dissect what I mean by “technical”. In a technical session, we are focusing on our technique and effectiveness surrounding a specific piece of skill or part of our game as a goalkeeper. This could be something generic like handling or footwork, right through to more specialised parts of our game such as dealing with crosses or one-on-one chances.

Whilst we may regularly and instinctively tackle these situations in a game or more dynamic training session, in those instances we perhaps tend to work primarily on instinct in the heat of the moment, rather than giving too much thought to our technique and approach. By taking a step back and assessing one part of our game in an isolated environment, we can ensure that we are approaching it in the most efficient way possible and, whilst I strongly believe there is no “right way” to do anything in goalkeeping, the way which will serve us best on the pitch as an individual.

Progressive

Being progressive is the real key to drilling down into a technical session. We could quite easily say “today’s session focus is on crossing” and then start pinging corners into a crowded penalty area, but once again, this deprives us of the chance to really concentrate on our technique or our decision making in why we do it the way we do.

Using crossing an example, a progressive session could perhaps start (following a warmup/activation period) with a coach simply throwing a ball up in the air 2 yards away from the goalkeeper for them to claim mid-air. This will no doubt be bread and butter to most ‘keepers, but what it will allow both them and the coach to do, is focus on the core technique behind claiming a ball in the air, how they use their feet and body to get off the ground and how they work their hands to get hold of the ball.

Once we’re confident that we’ve maximised these core facets, we can move on, perhaps by adding in a distraction such as another player or mannequin, or by introducing a volley to hands before the claim in order to push the goalkeeper to think quick and adjust their body accordingly.

From here, you would continue to develop the session by adding more complexity and dynamic aspects up until the point where you are essentially recreating a match-realistic crossing scenario, with the ball swinging in from wide, opposition players in the box and a requirement to ensure that the danger is dealt with competently and completely.

Summary

To summarise, a progressive technical session is a way for coaches and goalkeepers to really focus in on a specific skill or part of the player’s game to ensure that their technique is as efficient and effective as it can be, allowing them to better apply themselves in a game situation when required.

This approach will benefit not only the player in this respect, but also prove useful for their coaches, who will be better able to assess them technically, as well as get a fantastic insight into their thought processes when developing their skills and thus work better with the goalkeeper to maximise their potential.