Goalkeepers

The goalkeeper’s role in a game can cover many areas. It’s not as simple as just stopping shots. There are many other things that you need to think about.

One of those things is the ability of the keeper to effectively communicate with his or her team. This is especially important when it comes to the Back-players. They are the last barrier to stopping the goalkeeper having to make a save and every great keeper knows that they need to communicate with those players to help prevent that happening as much as possible.

So what can you do as a keeper to improve your communication with the players on the field in front of you? Here are a few tips which you can take and practice on the pitch.

Be loud.

Yes it’s important to be audible to the players. Who would’ve guessed! But in all seriousness you really need to practice shouting to your players. Now that’s not the same as shouting at them, remember the keeper should be trying to keep the mental attitude on the pitch positive, instead it’s just a case of making yourself heard.

Keep it short and clear.

You shouldn’t be having loud conversations across the pitch to your players, you should just be shouting clear, advice that your teammates can react to quickly. As the keeper you have an overview of the whole game and can direct players to be where they need to be if the opposition is pushing forward.