Keeper Language
The major objective is to produce more successful goalkeepers. One important way of accomplishing this is to have your goalkeepers handle fewer shots. Great, we hear you saying, but how?
One means is by improving the quality of communication by the goalkeeper, thus improving the defensive organization of the entire team. That’s how. With a highly organized defensive unit, obviously the goalkeeper handles fewer shots, and suffers fewer goals.
The goalkeeper’s language is spoken in a firm voice, with conviction and leadership. He must never sound panicky
or desperate. The goalkeeper who whispers commands comes across to teammates and opponents as being indecisive and unsure of himself or herself. But remember that just being loud isn’t enough. Your most vocal goalkeepers are not necessarily your best communicators.
At very high levels of play, where crowd noise is high, communication from the goalie may be a hand gesture, i.e., pointing outside to let a defender know where to take a play. At lower levels, verbal direction is required. This may take the form of simple commands (one or two words, or short phrases) or specific directions.
When a goalkeeper yells, ‘Who has #9?” or “Cover the middle,” he/she has not been specific enough, so very often no one responds. The correct command should be, “Jim, left, #9” or “Jill, stay middle.” Every goalkeeper has a few unique expressions. They must be effective (simple and specific. You must also be sure the defense is educated to know what they mean.
Let’s establish a small vocabulary of goalkeeper language:
Back — Calling for the ball to be passed back by a defender; should be accompanied by a hand gesture,
pointing to the outside of the goal mouth.
Yes — Also used to indicate a back pass.
Outside -- Indicating to a defender in possession of the ball to take it outside; not to attempt a back pass.
Out — After a clearance, moving the defense quickly out, away from the goal. This is done to catch opponents offside, to create less space for them to reorganize an attack, and to avoid being screened on return shots.
Keeper — Said with confidence and conviction. This lets opponents (and teammates) know the goalkeeper is totally committed to the ball.
Depth or Cover — In a situation where the attack is coming down one flank, the goalkeeper has to be aware of the position of his weak side midfielder and defender, and be satisfied that weak side defensive cover is provided. The command is to a specific player.
The Wall — In wall situations, the goalie immediately indicates the need by commanding, “WALL!” This command
is followed by the number of players needed in the wall, e.g., “4”.
The number of players in the wall is determined by the distance and shooting angle. The wall plays the near post, i.e.. the post nearest the ball, while the keeper plays the far post. It is suggested that one field player is specified
to organize the wall, while the keeper remains alert to save. The wall should stand 7 to 8 yards away from the ball to reduce shooting angle. The rules state it must be 10 yards away. However, you should let the opposing team or referee request your wall to be moved back. Generally, the tallest players should be in the wall. They should be linked together to minimize space where the ball could slip through. When the ball is struck, the
wall should move forward to stop or deflect the ball.
The wall is requested by the keeper when the ball is placed within shooting distance of the goal. Naturally, level of play has to be taken into account. If you are playing the Brazilian National team, everyone including parents and spectators should be included. The wider the ball is placed from the goal, e.g.., the closer to the side and end line it is placed, the lesser the number of players necessary. For example, if the ball is placed approximately 5 yards from the end line and 18
yard box, only one or two players would constitute a wall. Likewise, if the infraction occurs with 10 yards of the
goal line, all players are placed on the goal line. Both ends of the wall would curve out
Corner Kicks
On corner kicks, there is a series of commands. “Bob, short, corner” indicates Bob should watch the quick, short kick. “Bill, front post”; “Jim, #9”, “Paul, #5, no run.” This tells Paul not to allow #5 a running start to the ball, obviously because he is dangerous with a strong head shot. By alerting Paul to obstruct #5’s path to the ball, his timing to head will be thrown off.
In the flow of play an alert, take-charge goalkeeper can quickly read the attack and initiate the defensive organization. A defender is often caught with a choice: attack the ball, or stay with the runner. Without defensive cover, the goalkeeper would most likely command, “Bill, stay, runner.” Once the defensive cover was established, the goalkeeper would command, “Bill, play, ball.”
A very important command from the goalkeeper is “CONTAIN.” Once again, the goalie reads the lack of defensive balance and cover, and instructs his defender handling the opponent to contain, or slow down, the dribbler, without committing to the tackle until defensive cover is established.
Additional goalkeeper language that is helpful:
“Jane, Front, #5.” — This would be used on an opponent’s throw-in from the defensive third. A long thrower can pinpoint a target person.
The goalkeeper should prefer Jane to play in front of #5 to make it difficult for her to receive the ball directly from
the thrower. If the ball is lofted or thrown beyond #5, the goalkeeper assumes the responsibility for the ball.
Clear — This indicates that the defender receiving the ball should not attempt to control it, but instead should “one-time” it out of danger.Thus far, our goalkeeper language has dealt with defensive organization. Quite frankly, 95% of the goalie’s communication should be defensive. There is no need for the goalkeeper to become a cheerleader when his team has possession, especially when the play is out of the defensive third. There is, however, some goalkeeper language that can be helpful to the offense. For instance:
Wide — This indicates to a defender in possession that he has time to play the ball wide, relieving pressure and beginning the offensive flow.
Support — This indicates that, once the keeper has the ball, his outside backs should support square and wide, offering themselves for a rolled ball to build the offense. When they hear this, midfielders should leave the defensive third to facilitate constructive possession out of the defense.
Hand gestures are often used for offensive communication. A wave of the hand may indicate a long goalkeeper
foot clearance to relieve opponent pressure or change the game’s tempo. The goalkeeper’s language: simple commands to specific individuals that are spoken with a voice indicating confidence and commitment.
It is a simple language that very well may keep your opponent from developing anything complicated.
So coaches, correct goalkeeper terminology can help organize a more effective defense. Good luck in coaching
your goalkeeper in proper keeper language.
Courtesy Dan Gaspar - Star Goalkeeping Academy
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