Central/Peripheral Awareness
This is an essential skill for a goalie. When following the person with the ball, the goalie must remain aware of the position of all the other players in the vicinity of the goalie, so that he will be able to anticipate the decision making process of the offensive player and properly position himself/herself for either the shot or pass.
Techniques for improving central/peripheral awareness:
1. While taking a walk, look at an object straight ahead and try to notice everything around you. Try to notice specific details of trees, buildings, people or whatever else is around you. At first, it will be difficult to notice
specifics about what you are seeing in the periphery of your visual field. However, with practice you should be able
to notice subtleties such as the expressions of people, birds in trees, etc... Remember not to look anywhere other than straight ahead.
2. This is a two person technique for which you will need a chalkboard and a piece of paper. One person closes
their eyes while the other person (the trainer) writes a ten digit number on the chalkboard. The trainer will cover the number they have written with the piece of paper. The other person now opens their eyes and looks at the center of the covering paper. The trainer says, “ready, one, two” and then as quickly as possible moves the paper up to expose the number which was written and then back down to hide it. The person who is watching must tell the trainer what the first two and last two digits are. With practice, this technique will be mastered and the digit span
will be able to be increased, two digits at a time, up to sixteen or more digits in length.
Courtesy Dan Gaspar - Star Goalkeeping Academy.
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