Stupid Is, Stupid Does.

Training when you are injured is a one stop shop to goalkeeping calamity. Playing at a highly competitive level means that, one time or another, you will be faced with the looming prospect of injury. The surefire way to sideline your talent for good relies solely on being stupid and stubborn, yes I was stupid a few year ago too! You don’t have to be stupid, in fact being a smart goalkeeper entails structure, even more so when you are injured. Following are a few pointers as to how you should structure your rehabilitation to get back onto the field quickly after injury.

Many injuries in soccer can be prevented, one study by Linkoping University & UEFA showed that the most prominent reason why players are sidelined for longer than necessary is that they return to full time play sooner than they need to. So here are some tips that you can utilize to stay fit and strong during injury:

1. Stop…seriously: If you do not rest and recover actively, you will be in a whole world of pain going forward through your recovery regime. Active recovery means that you stop focusing on competitive play, and start focusing on your own well being, and how you need to get back into shape, it’s apart from the team…it’s really about you, so be selfish.

2. Other alternatives: Not many people understand that the best way to get back on track is physiotherapy and alternative medicine like acupuncture and massage. I personally think that if you don’t want to fork out money to recover effectively…you’re undermining your recovery immensely, and that is plain stupid! 

3. Don’t listen to your ego: Every goalkeeper has a little nasty voice inside that tells you to continue even when you are in pain, and that is understandable because you want to show that you are a big, bad goalkeeper. This is called "ego", and it is a surefire way to curb your performance for good. Listen to your body, and get advice from experts, don’t waste time.

Make sure that rest is active, it does not mean that you stop completely, just competitively…for a short while. Your body will thank you for it.

Space Equals Goalkeeping Success In Penalty Situations

If you give a little, you might get a whole lot back when it comes to a penalty situation, at least that is what a study released by the Association of Psychological Science has found. Goalkeepers who stand either 6-10 centimeters on either side of the goal in a penalty situation have a solid chance of saving a penalty. Traditionally, the study has found that only approximately 18% of penalties are saved during a penalty situtation. Following are some further finding of the study.

After conducting experimental studies and carefully evaluating the results, Professor Masters and his team concluded that it is feasible for a goalkeeper to influence perceptions of space and consequently the direction of penalty kicks by standing marginally to one side or another of the goal centre. The goalkeeper can then strategically dive to the side with more space.

Extrapolation of their data indicates that the optimum displacement of the goalkeeper in real life is from 6 to 10 cm. Their results suggest that the penalty taker is unlikely to notice a displacement in this range, but is at least 10% more likely to direct the penalty kick to the side with more space than to the side with less space.

So a great way to see if the study is valid is to try giving yourself a little space in your penalty practice at either 6-10 centimetres to either side of goals, and see if the test works. This could be a great little strategy to utilize during the game, as penalty situations are really a game of Black Jack. Therefore, if you notice that the penalty taker shoots wide mostly, you can gauge the effectiveness of the study.

Goalkeeping Can Be Fickle.

Nothing lasts forever, and if you are a goalkeeper you can count your lucky stars that longevity is a major plus that the gods have bestowed you. Goalkeeper Tony Meola, at 38 years of age, has been asked to step aside from the New York Red Bulls, and has felt the brunt of negative emotions about his mentor from college through to the national team, Bruce Arena, whom has decided to part ways with his services. Though in this instance, it is not why Arena has let Meola go, it is how.

Arena had sent through an email to Meola telling him that he needed to let the 38 year old goalkeeper go. An email is not the way to let a professional know that their services are no longer wanted, especially a professional of Meola’s calibre. Apart from the email incident, it has been difficult for Meola to understand the loss of "faith" in his goalkeeping ability. I have felt the same way and have experienced the same intense emotions as Meola would understandably feel. But, there comes a time in every athlete’s life when they need to let go, Tony Meola must cope with this departure.

Now if I look into the incident a little more deeply, I can see that goalkeeping (or any sport for that matter) can be extremely fickle. Coaches and trainers (especially in the top flight of football) have their own drivers, and at the end of the day it’s business. Coaches utilize great players as vehicles for their own success and vice versa, but there must always be a realization that nothing lasts forever. In this case Arena lacked professionalism and integrity, with the loss of possibly a life long friendship with a goalkeeper whom he groomed, and that is sad.

The maxim that every goalkeeper should take away from this incident is to never let your guard down, and nothing in a professional environment should be taken for granted…not even friendship. One very dear family friend of mine, who was also a talented Australian Middleweight Boxing Champion told me "John…in this [professional] game, if you can count the amount of friends you have on just one hand, then you are an extremely lucky person". These are words of wisdom that every goalkeeper in a semi-professional or professional environment should take heed of.