The Lonely Position - "It's Good To Talk"

By Lloyd Yaxley

Since moving across the pond i have noticed two different types of goalkeepers that i come across all the time whilst watching youth games:

1. The kid who just stands there and is completely mute....or

2. The Goalkeeper who will not stop talking and end up being like a commentator as the play is going on!

For me both are as bad as each other!

There are some calls that i hear "the commentator" say that make me cringe every time (this is my favorite one, i'll paint the picture a little) ball goes out for a corner kick and they shout "MARK UP, EVERYONE MARK UP"  so 3 players mark the same player, ball gets crossed and someone has a free header 7 yards out, then they say "I said Mark UP"

We will come back to the above later...

Lets talk about "Mr Mute" why is he/she so silent? one reason may be they do not want to be the goalkeeper they just ended up playing there or another reason may be they just have no idea what to say as they have never watched a game live or on TV before. The final and most obvious reason is they have never been taught!!

So lets start with the very very basics!!

I always ask my young keepers why do we communicate?

- So the defense know how we are going to deal with the situation
- So the opposition know i am coming to get it.
- Organisation

With those points in mind you do not need to shout "Keeper" when you are making a save!! There are no other players involved in this situation as the ball zooms past the defenders and fly's towards goal! They expect you to make that save.

"KEEPER" encourage your goalkeepers to shout this when they are going to take control of the situation DO NOT SHOUT "Leave it" "I've got it" "Mine"

But why does it matter -

so everyone knows that the crazy person who can use their hands is coming to get the ball and if you are in their way guess what......smash!

Its a bit like a police car having a siren......why so everyone knows it is a police car coming and to get out the way if they had a horn like every other car no one would pay attention!

Now when do they shout "keeper"? not when the ball touches your hands!!!! If that is the case you have called just a little late!

AS SOON AS YOU MAKE THE DECISION THAT IS WHEN YOU CALL.

i.e.

Through ball is played splitting the defense - you come sprinting out and smother the ball from the strikers feet. CALL AS SOON AS YOU TAKE THAT FIRST STEP OUT.

As your Goalkeepers get older there will be other situations such as a cross where a early and decisive call is going to help with their timing- with crosses my coach used to say "call early move late" that way you can call judge the flight,adjust your feet then make the catch or punch!

If you do not want to come and gather the pass or do not want to catch the cross then the call is "AWAY" so your team knows to get it away!
Last weekend i honestly heard a goalkeeper say from a cross "OK defenders lets clear it" Just shout AWAY the call is to the point and quick and not a commentary!

Goalkeepers have a split second to make a decision so your calls need to be sharp and get your point across!

Keeper and away a pretty self explanatory, so what else is missing? Being able to see play developing and snuffing it out. this is a huge weakness within American Goalkeepers i feel- why.. they do not watch games on TV or go to games.

If you are having to make a save - one or several of the other 10 players have done something wrong or something has broken down somewhere. It is your job to get them organised with short precise communication.

What the goalkeeper must do is see the danger about to happen, read the game and then break it down!

Do we need to "step up", "drop off" "tuck over" " Gary Right shoulder" "Megan open up" all short quick and to the point.

I really could write a encyclopedia on different calls a goalkeeper might make and why but that is not for me to say the goalkeeper must work it out.and figure out their own style of communication.

One of the big issues with "the commentator" is their team mates just end up ignoring them or fading their voice out. its a bit like when your mum is telling you off if she stands there for 10 minutes giving you a piece of her mind and after 20 seconds all you hear is blah blah blah blah. Same with the Goalkeeper constantly talking for no reason- verbal diarrhea.

All together make your shouts to the point and quick, if you do not get a reaction from the player your voice needs to intensify or get loader so a sense of urgency comes across.

Great example of this is free kick is given 20 yards out..... goalkeeper walks to his post and goes " ermmmmmmmmmmm 3 no 4 ermmm gary you go in the middle ermm ok right right no no left a little ok thats good no actually right a yard"

HOW LONG DID THAT TAKE!!!!!

Quick decision...to the point communication

"3,THREE right, Right RIGHT, STOP" now i get into position.

For each set piece give players responsibility, especially if this is something that hasn't been worked on in training "Shelly near post, Steph mark 9" that way if #9 scores Steph is at fault, if you just say"mark up" there is no urgency or quickness about the call.

To finish this edition of "the lonely position" Parents, Coaches and GK's always ask how can i get better at my communicating?

The Magic formula is to WATCH GAMES Here are several different ways!

1. Sit on the couch see situations developing and see if you can call it before the player makes the pass, see if you see anyone unmarked from the corner kick

2. Go to a local High School game or older brother or sisters game and do the same see if you can begin to read the game and think how could i have communicated to stop that situation from happening?

3. Go to a college game or a Pro game and sit behind the goal with a pen and paper and write down:

• What the Goalkeeper Says
• Why they said it
• What the situation was
• how the players reacted

If anyone has a chance to come to a Washington Spirit game there is a mound behind the goal by the entrance if you are a young goalkeeper i would strongly encourage you to try and sit behind their, and Listen and watch how Ashlyn Harris or Chantel Jones communicate with the outfield players.

Thanks for taking your time to read this again you can conatct me on twitter @GKeepersUnited if you have any questions or comments i would be more than happy to help.

The Lonely Position - NWSL, Pre-Season with the Washington Spirit

By Lloyd Yaxley

So here we are 3rd time lucky with the formation of a new women's professional league in America. In previous years there was the WUSA (Women's United Soccer Association) this league lasting under two years three seasons.

Next was the WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) this league lasting three seasons.

And now here we are at the beginning of a new era. The NWSL (National Women's Soccer League). Before you all click the red cross in the top right hand corner I have neither the time or knowledge to decipher why the two previous leagues failed and I'm certainly not going to bore you on "what we are going to do differently".

What I am going to do though is say LETS LOOK TO THIS EXCITING FUTURE!  AND GET BEHIND IT!

There was a mixture of allocations, drafts, and free agents whilst beginning to form the eight teams (basic outline there! really basic!!).

So what next....... that's right Pre-Season! 

I'm really fortunate to be given the opportunity to coach the goalkeepers for one of these teams -- The Washington Spirit. 

Our pre-season camp started last Monday where I met one of the goalkeepers, Chantel Jones, whom I will be working with throughout the season. Chantel played at UVA and had just returned from playing in Iceland. Meanwhile our other goalkeeper, Ashlyn Harris, was away with the US Women's National team making her international debut against Sweden in the Algarve Cup.

So unluckily for Miss Jones she has had to deal with me alone for the time being.

This week for me has been about a few different things: 1) getting to know my player/players, 2) seeing what level of fitness she is at! 3) pushing her as much as I can to perform even when exhausted.

Day 1 was ladder work variations, into basic handling saves, after a brief rest then we where using the width of the 18 yard box to do what I would call "up and down' variation  drills! i.e. dive to left..get up...dive to right...get up dive to left etc etc etc all the way across the width of the penalty area. Quote from day one "I'm not as fit as I thought I was!" 

Day 2 was.....wet .....very wet- again a tonne of footwork.

Day 3 Windy....very windy!!!! Today we focused on our core lots of sit up kind of drills with volleys as rest periods,  by now I'm sure a picture of me was on a dartboard in Chantel's house.

Day 4 Medicine ball and upper body work- again volleys for rest periods, in the afternoon we where inside working on handling and reaction times with a shot coming off the wall.

Day 5 Lighter- kicking back passes talked about pre-game warm up.

In between all of this we where integrated with the rest of the team for other exercises.

So the week has been filled with fitness, wind, rain and saving everything the field players hit at us!! 

Even with a statement "I'm not as fit as I thought I was" which I thought was a little harsh on herself, Chantel took everything I threw her way and worked her butt off the whole week. She has a fantastic work ethic, great attitude, and is constantly looking to improve her game. These three attributes are why she is a professional soccer player.

Game day rolled around on Sunday where we played Penn State- winning the game 1-0.

Two big break-away saves in the 2nd half when the game was tied at 0-0 which all of the coaching staff were very happy with. All in all a decent performance- all goalkeepers are looking for perfection, there were some things we spoke about that we felt she could have done better during the game but sorry, that discussion will remain between us! I can guarantee you those things will be tidied up over the next few weeks.

This past week has just been the start of the journey, next is where the competition for that starting spot really begins when Ashlyn and the other internationals join the squad! I am confident that both these players will push each other to perform to their absolute max. 

Next up, more training followed by Duke at 3pm on Sunday. Come out and watch, tickets are free so you have no excuse! Then you can see what all these hours of training go towards.

Again, any comments tweet me @GKeepersUnited and come to support the Washington Spirit.

www.washingtonspirit.com (go here for your Free Tickets for the pre-season friendlies)

The Lonely Position: Voodoo Goalkeepers

The Lonely Position

By Lloyd Yaxley

I guess the best way to start this blog is to briefly introduce myself and to give you all a taster of what to expect from my blog in the future!

Myself- i played as a Goalkeeper in England floating around the Semi-Pro scene, then went into coaching. I've worked with some great coaches and have always tried to be a sponge and soak up any information or drills that they have to share. I'm now coaching within a few of the Youth clubs in Northern Virginia helping develop their Goalkeepers, I'm also really excited about the new women's league the NWSL where I will be the Goalkeeper coach for the Washington Spirit and am really looking forward to putting our keepers through their paces!

So the taster......"The Lonely Position"
No its not the lone striker taking all the glory from a long ball rounding the keeper and scoring on the counter attack, Its the player lying on the floor as the size 10's stumble past them and slip the ball into the net.....Yes the Goalkeeper!

Anyone who has played in this position will have experienced feelings and emotions many other players have not; anyone who has watched the game will have jeered at the opponents Goalkeeper as the ball slips through their hands for what should have been a routine save!

This is why the position is lonely - it is a individual sport being played within a team sport -
There are plenty of lows being a Goalkeeper but I would take all those lows every day for the feeling you get when the crowd, opponents, even your team mates think the ball is hitting the back of the net and you manage to get the slightest touch on the ball to deflect it onto the goalpost!

Just look at Joe Hart these past weekends, against Southampton made a blunder even his manager calls him out and then this past weekend against Chelsea with the game at 0-0 he gives away a penalty, look at his team mates thinking "Joe what are you doing!!!" Twelve yards out Frank Lampard 1-0 Chelsea but NO....Fantastic agility from Hart to get his hand down and make a huge save.... some may say a Match winning save as it changed the game!

Throughout my blog I want to examine Goalkeeping mentality, show you guys some highlights and maybe some blunders, but mainly keeping Virginia updated on the individuals that play "The Lonely Position". Tweet me @GKeepersUnited with your feedback or any areas you would like me to discuss within the blog.

Thanks for taking the time to read my short intro look forward to delving further into the mystical position that is the Goalkeeper