Goalkeeper Drills

Most keepers at youth level get coached by nobody. They stand in the goal during finishing drills, get shot at for an hour, and go home. That's not training, it's target practice, and it's why so many decent athletes quit the position at fourteen.

A keeper needs twenty minutes of her own, and these drills are built so one coach can run them without a specialist.

Start with the set position and handling, because everything else is downstream of it. Handling and set position is the foundation and it's worth revisiting every single week, the way an outfield player revisits first touch. Then footwork — the ladder save drill, the angle ladder. A keeper who is in the right place makes ordinary saves. A keeper who is out of position makes spectacular ones and concedes more.

Crosses are where youth keepers lose games. Crosses and claiming, and the crowded box catch or punch, exist to build the one decision that matters: am I coming, or am I not? Either is fine. Halfway is a goal. Make her call it out loud, every time, until she's certain.

The 1v1 spread is worth a session on its own. Most one-on-ones are lost by keepers who dive early at the ball rather than making themselves large and waiting.

Then distribution, which is now half the job. Distribution playing out and the dartboard drill will tell you quickly whether you can actually play out from the back, or whether that's just something you say. Be honest about the answer — the sweeper keeper role is worth reading before you commit to it.

Goalie wars for the last five minutes. She's earned it.