Dealing With The Inevitable Goalkeeper Blunder

It’s quite disheartening to see a goalkeeper make a mistake, but in this online world we soccer fans call home, it seems that the only time a goalkeeper really gets mentioned is when they make a terrible mistake. Just came across this extremely laughable video at The Offside, which shows some very awkward goalkeeper blunders. On a serious note, how do we as goalkeepers recover from a mistake…a blunder which can inevitably lead to the opposition winning the match? Let’s look at some key points to prepare the mind for the inevitable goalkeeping blunder.

• Mistakes…They Happen: Yes, goalkeepers will certainly make that critical mistake during a high pressure game. But in the end it is the way in which you deal with the situation, and how mentally prepared you are to cope with the aftermath of a mistake during competition. The best way to deal with a mistake is to make certain when going into a match that blunders will be made. This is why training is a critical time to make mistakes, and have your trainer can iron them out before competition. Preparation is everything.

• Wipe It Off: You’d be surprised how many goalkeepers dwell on their goalkeeping blunder. You shouldn’t. What you need to learn to do is wipe it off? Huh… you retort! Yup, get up, get your hands and wipe the mistake off your goalkeeping gloves. When you do this action, think very deeply and calmly and visualize the mistake being wiped off. Seriously, give it a try during training (if you have made a mistake that is).

• Stay Calm: I can vividly remember a mistake by Buffon during a high competition match. He totally bundles a back pass and you know what he did? He just shrugged his shoulders, raised his eyebrows and had a chuckle. It might piss off the rest of your team, but the rest of a team is not in your position, so they don’t know what you are going through. So learn how to stay calm and have a laugh about it. Don’t take it to heart, and don’t let others get you down.

Overall, mistakes are inevitable in high competition…they just happen from time to time. This is why your training time is so important, and why your goalkeeper coach (if you have one) needs to guide you through a process of dealing with any inevitable mistake you may find yourself in (if not, contact me)! So, don’t let mistakes get you down, they are inevitable and even the best goalkeepers on the planet go through mistakes in their career…they have learned to wipe it off, you should too.