Catchers Glove Mitt

How do you become a better soccer goalie? The answer is to master the lost art of actually catching the soccer ball. Hopefully, the theory of just making sure the ball does not land inside the goal will be a faint memory. Simply blocking shots normally will not do much more than increase your save stats. As the old frame of mind returns, so will a new breed of "better" goalies.

Change Your Thought Process

First of all, goalies have to change their thought process. Just slapping the ball away accomplishes nothing more than giving the offensive team another crack at the goal. Considering the fact that the goalie is probably on the ground or horribly out of position, a ball in the back of the net becomes a near certainty. Of course, if the ball goes out of bounds behind or over the goal, you have earned a dreaded "corner"  Next to a penalty kick or a free kick right outside the 18, a corner is the most dangerous play for a defense.

Adequate Training

After a goalie is properly convinced catching the soccer ball is the most effective technique, the next step is adequate training to reach this milestone. Repetition is the key. You play like you practice. A goalkeeper should attempt to catch every single ball in the air in practice. It is most efficient to train with a partner. Start off by kicking the ball in the air at each other. Make the shots progressively harder. Use a mix of volleys, half-volleys, shots of the ground, and headers. Make sure to practice good form and fundamentals with each catch, and most importantly, "cushion each catch."

Cushioning The Catch

While trying to avoid becoming a physics professor, here is a fairly simple explanation of 'cushioning each catch.' It is embedded in the impulse-momentum change theorem. Since Force and Time are inversely proportional, this means that the longer an object is making contact, the less force it exerts. This is the reasoning behind airbags since they increase the amount of time your body is impacting the inside of a vehicle. An airbag will increase the amount of time versus an impact with a windshield by approximately a factor of 100. This same effect is seen when a boxer "rides a punch" by moving his head backwards during a punch. The cushioning in a catcher's mitt, a soccer goalie's glove, a gymnastics floor, a football helmet, a wide receiver moving his hands with the football - all use the same theory. If the time of impact is changed from 1/10 of a second to 1 second, the force felt will similarly decrease to 1/10.

For a soccer goalie, the cushioning effect of the gloves can be further enhanced by having the hands in front of the body and bringing the soccer ball toward the body as the ball is impacting the hands. Increasing the impact time from 1/10 to 1 second for a scorching 80 mph kick would make it seem like a lollipop 8 mph ball. You will never have to shake your hands again after a "hard" shot.

Expect Success

Once you learn how to properly "cushion each catch," keep practicing until you develop the muscle memory to do this. You will see that it will become easier and easier the more you practice. Your next step is to make sure you are expecting success, because it will come. Good luck until the next lesson!

For more great information to help you become the best soccer goalie you can, please check out http://soccer-equipment-reviews.com/soccer-goalie-equipment-reviews/

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