Soccer Goalie – Essential Conditioning Tips

How many times is the soccer goalie forgotten about at soccer training? In a lot of cases the goalie is left to his own devices and the coach says ‘don’t worry, you don’t need to do this because your a keeper’. Wrong! Soccer is one of the most physical demanding sports you can play and the position of soccer goalkeeper requires peak physical fitness. The soccer goalie is a specialist position and therefore the keeper needs to be as fit if not fitter than every other player on the field. The following should be used as a guide to developing a conditioning program for soccer goalies.

• Warming up and stretching is vital for the soccer goalkeeper to avoid injury. Before a training session and before each game, ensure that you go through a set routine of stretching and warm up exercises. Agility and the ability to move quickly from side to side or jump to knock a ball over the crossbar, all these movements require your muscles to be relaxed. A good stretching regime prior to training and a game will facilitate this. It is a good idea to get someone to assist you in this and make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to warm up properly. Ideally, after a warm up, you should have at least some sweat on the brow before you take the field or training paddock.

• Don’t be fooled by the fact that a soccer goalie spends most of their time in the penalty box and is not required to run as much as other players. Endurance training should still be an integral part of any soccer goalies training regime. During a game, a keeper is required to undertake short bursts of explosive effort and the ability to recover from this quickly is a crucial element in the success of a soccer goalie. There is no reason why soccer goalies should not be included in the rest of the team’s endurance sessions.

• Strength training is a core component of a goalkeepers conditioning regime. The goalie needs to be strong in the air, their clearing kicks both dead ball and out of the hands need to be strong and consistent and they need to be able to release the ball quickly with a strong and accurate throw. The type of strength training will of course be dependant upon the age and development of the goalie. For example it is not recommended that a young player undertake intensive weight training sessions. This is an area where the requirements of a goalie differ from those of a field player. The soccer goalie needs to have both upper and lower body strength while the field player will generally focus more on lower body strength with lesser emphasis on upper body. The soccer goalie can therefore join in lower body strength training with their teammates, however they will need to develop their own program for upper body strengthening.

• Sprint training and exercises to improve reflexes are also an important component of a soccer goalies conditioning program. Short sprint work will be more beneficial and this can also be performed with the rest of the team at training. Quick reflexes with the hands and the feet are equally important. With the keeper playing more and more as a defensive player behind the backline, the ability to react to situations is crucial. There are a number of simple exercises that can be performed individually to improve reflexes, however if a training partner is available, a more intensive workout can be achieved.

If you are coaching youth soccer, do not ignore the conditioning requirements of your goalkeeper. Involve them in all the normal training activities of the team where possible and take an interest in both their physical fitness as well as their keeper development. If you are a soccer goalie, I hope you found these tips useful and good luck with your goalkeeping career.

Murray Peck writes at soccercoachingguide.com a complete online guide to soccer coaching for coaches and parents alike.