Keepers

    One of the more or less constant points of friction between a coach and his players or even between the coach and the parents is the issue of goal keeping.  Not many players enjoy playing in keeper and frequently parents have opinions as to which players should or shouldn't be in the goal. But from the coach's point of view it's critically important for the development of individual players that they get experience playing keeper even if they don't like doing it or feel they simply aren't good at it.  It's that second sentiment, the "I'm not good at keeper" attitude that is toughest to combat with young players because they don't really have the capacity or experience to judge their own or anyone else's performance.  They assume that if a ball goes in it was their fault and so they view the position of keeper as being  one of near guaranteed failure.
     I insist that every player on my squads take a regular turn in as keeper for several reasons.  First and most obviously, it may turn out that a particular player actually has an aptitude for it and they may pursue it as their preferred position later in their career.  Secondly, you need to be in there as keeper often enough to be able to become less sensitive to the apparent failure of letting a goal in and you need the reps in order to learn how to discern between shots you could have stopped and those you had no chance at.  Thirdly, becoming a quality defender (anywhere on the field) involves understanding how to anticipate what your teammate behind you will do as you challenge on the ball. At the very least a good defender knows that keeping goal ain't easy so you feel the responsibility to not leave your teammate hanging in the net alone.  Gaining that sense of responsibility requires some time spent standing on the line yourself.
     Finally, I'd add that young players tend to think of keeper as a strictly defensive position which to them means you're only playing half the game and you're only involved in the game in situations where the apparent cost of failure is high.  If you trip over your own feet trying to do a maradonna it's embarrassing but that mistake doesn't necessarily translate into a goal for the other team.  What if you bobble the ball while in keeper as the other team is charging into you for the rebound?  Disaster.  But a good keeper isn't simply playing defense, isn't simply playing as a shot-blocking crash-test dummy.  A good keeper sees themselves as the base of the attack.  They enthusiastically go after the ball, get possession and then re-start your offense by leading your teammates up field with a good punt or throw.  They form the point of a triangle that lets the fullbacks switch fields with the ball to unbalance the other team.  They even dribble out on occasion, surprising the other team with a sudden overload situation.
     So for all of these reasons I put all my players in keeper regularly, even the ones who don't seem to be particularly good at it, even when it clearly might cost us a goal or two.  As I've said before in different contexts, while I like seeing my teams be successful I am not coaching them to win by moving them around, chess-piece-like, taking advantage of the skills and talents they individually have right now.  I'm training them.  And that means for the long term.  And that means letting them experience the whole game from every position on the field.  It means challenging them to master some elements of the fundamental skills it takes to play anywhere on the field.  But skills and techniques aside, the best reason to keep rotating every player in as keeper is that from that lonely position they are truly forced to appreciate how important team work and communication are.  When I see one of my players become upset that they've let a goal in the first thing I think is that I want them to appreciate that the run of play that led to that goal was not in their control.  I would want to talk with them after the game and say "maybe you guessed wrong and went right rather than left.  Maybe you just didn't get your hands down quick enough and that's something we can work on.  But you didn't let that crossing pass come in did you?  You didn't dive in and let that midfielder get by coming up the left did you?  It wasn't you who made a bad touch and gave up possession when we had the ball in the other half was it?  So all of those things happened and in the end they led to a shot which you weren't able to block.  So who is responsible for that goal?"  The answer of course is "everyone".  Being a keeper forces you to understand "we're all in this together."

     Girl Power were back in action last night, kicking off the indoor season with a tremendous performance against a Kings team that plays in CUSL D1.  We scored first and really had them on the ropes the first half, both with our dribbling and with our stamina.  By the second half though the other team found their stride and began putting goals in and the difference I think was that our girls, physically strong as they are, did get a bit fatigued mentally and so they started drifting thoughtlessly toward the ball leaving shot opportunities open for the Kings' strikers.  I was thrilled with the level of quality that I saw from our girls.  Their first touch wasn't always brilliant but we can work on that.  They dribbled fearlessly and were winning 1v1s consistently.
     In the second half I asked Abby to take the keeper spot and she did so reluctantly.  Anna offered to go in half way through for her (Sugar Anne indeed) so about 12 minutes in when Abby had been scored on a few times I made the goalie switch.  Abby came off crying, devastated by what she thought was a bad performance on her part.  The truth is that she hadn't really had a chance at any of the shots that went in.  She'd played well and had a couple of especially beautiful punts, low but still long, leading her teammates right into the Kings' half.  At first I wanted to console Abby but I realized she probably wouldn't have it so I said calmly "I need you back out on the field so get it together.  You're not going in until you calm down."  A moment later she was fine and got back in in time to help her team mount a little come back.
     We got close and certainly gave that team a great game but in the end they were a little stronger in some ways that should be instructive for us.  Their best players were committed to a more refined sort of dribbling and they made it work for them.  Our girls are great at that fine dribble touch in practice but don't always bring it out in games, instead falling back into more of a sweeping sort of touch on the ball that frequently leads to giving it away.  So, we know what to focus on in training.
     The thing I was most impressed by was the fearlessness of the girls.  They played at such a high level in terms of their effort and energy.  In the first half a couple of the Kings players came off weeping because they were so winded from the effort of matching our speed.  I also noticed that our girls have become amazingly resilient, even stout, when challenged for the ball and they seem very casual about hard contact now.  The way I'd put it is that last night they looked very committed to the game and each other and as a result they looked very tough, not backing down from the challenge at any point.  I was more than proud...I was a little in awe.  They play a beautifully free-flowing and skillful sort of soccer.
     So in my post-game talk I emphasized the quality I'd seen in terms of their dribbling, their spacing and their tireless, dogged pursuit of the ball.  I wanted them to know they'd had a good game.  But I also had to take a moment to say something to them about the whole keeper thing.  I started out speaking gently about how hard the position is and how important it is that they all be willing to give it their best effort.  I asked them to understand that there is a difference between situations where you "maybe" could have made a stop and situations where you "should" have made a stop.  At this point I let my voice become a little more stern.  "None of you have the experience to always understand that difference so you don't get to decide when you did or didn't play well in keeper.  I make that decision and just like with everything else if I see you make a mistake I'll talk with you about it."
     Then it was back to discussing the tallies and how they all did.  I'm not always sure I like "them tallies" any more than Ashley does but I have to admit that it certainly gets their attention.
     After I let everyone go I asked Abby to stop and talk with me.  I tried to reassure her that she had in fact played a great game while in keeper and she was brilliant in the field with all of those lightning-quick cruyff turns.  "When you get home call your mom and dad and tell them about the game.  Tell them we played against that white-haired coach.  He was asking about you after the game and he wants you to play for them so bad he can't stand it.  But we're keeping you."  They're all keepers.