GK Angle Ladder

Train the goalkeeper to adjust starting angle and depth as the ball moves, arriving set and balanced before the strike rather than reacting from the wrong spot.

Full-size goal with three strike cones in an arc 18–22 yards out: one central, one each side at roughly 45 degrees. Attackers queue with balls 10 yards behind the arc; the keeper starts on their line.

1. The first attacker dribbles at game speed towards any of the three strike cones — they choose late.
2. As the ball travels, the keeper adjusts along their arc: shuffle across the angle, then take depth towards the cone.
3. The attacker must shoot within two touches of reaching the cone; the keeper must be set (feet still, weight forward) before contact.
4. Score it: keeper gets a point for a save or a shot off target from a set position; attacker gets a point for a goal.
5. Rotate the shooter each rep and vary which cone gets attacked so the keeper never grooves one movement.

• Move while the ball travels — set before the strike.
• Stay on your imaginary arc: ball, you, centre of goal in a line.
• Small fast steps across, never cross your feet.
• Hands ready at hip height as you set — don't get caught mid-stride.

• The keeper backpedals onto their line and gives the whole goal away — take brave depth towards the strike cone.
• Feet are still moving as the shot is hit, so the keeper dives off one leg — set a half-second earlier.
• Keepers drift square to the pitch instead of square to the ball — re-draw the ball-to-centre-of-goal line every rep.

• Add a fourth, wider cone to stretch the angle changes.
• Allow the attacker one disguised cut to a second cone before shooting.
• Two-ball rounds: a second strike follows immediately from the next attacker in the queue.

• Coach calls the cone early so the keeper knows where the shot comes from.
• Attackers shoot from a standing start at the cone, no dribble.
• Bring the cones closer and ask for placed, not driven, finishes.

• The shot must come within two touches of the strike cone — no extra stalling.
• Keeper must have both feet set at the moment of the strike or the attacker's goal counts double.