There is a difference between doing a thing right, and doing the right thing.

Do the right thing right.

Marija Papić, EHF Master Coach ( in collaboration with) Aljaž Pavlič, EHF Master Coach

The first step in learning goalkeeping is the basic position of a goalkeeper. 

As this is the body position in which Leo should spend most of the time throughout the goalkeeping life, in this position he should be able to move on goal, and from that position he should be able to perform most defenses, it is important to teach goalkeepers a position that is effective. 

The aim of teaching is to learn an attitude from which it is possible to perform all or almost all movements when defending without any unnecessary movements or swings that would interfere with the effectiveness of defense and speed of response to various shots from all distances and angles.

In the basic goalkeeping position, the weight is evenly distributed on both legs spaced shoulder-width apart, thus providing the required support. 

The support is on the front of the feet which are parallel to the direction of a shot. The pelvis is slightly rotated forward, which is a good basis for rapid activation of the thigh extensor muscles. The projection of the center of gravity is slightly in front of the axis that connects the ankles, which ensures increased tone of the ankle extensor muscles of both legs, which is significant due to the possibility of reflection. Slightly bent knees allow for quick activation of the muscles of the front of the thigh that participate in the reflection. The torso and head are upright with the gaze directed towards the ball. The hands are bent at the elbows under just over 90 degrees, and the upper arms are raised under 90 and are slightly in front of the torso (Rogulj, 2019). 

The palms are slightly in front of the body and turned frontally, and the fingers are spread. 

The chest and face are turned towards the shooter. 

For lower goalkeepers, it is good to keep their hands in a higher position than high goalkeepers, in order to cover a larger area of the upper part of the goal.

This is what most goalkeepers do intuitively, but some stand in parallel to the goal line even when the left-back shoots. 

A question:

“When does the back player see goalless?”

, helps raise awareness.

”When you are chest to chest with them or when you are parallel to the goal line ?”

Goalkeepers of this age are generally able to learn all these details but are not able to pay attention to them during the defense, so the goal is to use indirect methods to learn the basics and create habits that are good in the long run.

There are two biggest mistakes that young goalkeepers make and automate:

Lowered hands in basic position

Defending the face before defending the shot (from a good basic position, the goalkeeper first defends the face with their palms, and then the ball that goes into the corner, thus performing two movements instead of doing it the shortest way ie defending the shot with one movement).

The indirect method of teaching a basic position with good hand position and learning “not to defend the face” consists of moving on the goal and defending shots around the body while holding a light bat or elastic band above the head, and the exercises used are of the following type:

The players stand at a distance of 7-8m, and Leo moves and defends the shot of the player he appoints. The coach tells the players to shoot low around Leo so that he can defend with his legs, and with the body, upper arm, and forearm shots that are not precise. 

As a sponge ball is used, the individual shots to the head from that distance are not a problem.

We use the same method when correcting wrongly learned movements.

In the following video, we see a girl who has automated the movement in which she stops all shots from the basic position by previously waving her arms behind her body.

It is an additional movement that is not effective and therefore does not need to be performed.

For learning and automating efficient movement, we use an elastic band.