To stop a penalty, the goalkeeper usually prepares both physically and mentally to be ready and face any play during the match. In training, the goalkeeper tests his body to have more agility in jumps, speed, attention and reacting at decisive moments.
Goalkeeper training is an obligation to prepare you and transform you into a true expert at taking shots, even over distances as long as 11 meters. Here are some practical tips to become the star of the team and of your fans.
How to tackle a maximum penalty?
Today’s goalkeepers use many techniques to intimidate and distract the pitcher at decisive moments. For example, the goalkeeper needs to figure out with his intuition and concentration what the opposing player will do at that moment.
There is a practice in which the goalkeeper, in the middle of his stamina, determines whether to make a climactic jump, jump from left to right, or from right to left and guess the thrower’s definitive movements with the ball towards the goal. This is where the goalkeeper becomes a true expert in catching a maximum penalty.
Practice every day
If you want to achieve perfection in your movements and technique, you need to train every day. During practice, you need your coach, or a close friend, to hit the ball as many times as necessary against the goal, so that you have a better perspective at different crucial moments of the game.
Manage stress
While Football is a high-performance sport, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to be anxious in your goalkeeping position. You must enjoy the game and the moment. If you trust yourself fully, if you know that you prepared yourself mentally for this moment, you will make your movements even more precise, and your body will have the ability to respond automatically at any moment.
Analyze your opponent before each game
Study their movements very well, observe their matches closely, their techniques, and weak and strong points. However, you must always be prepared for any play, as players can change their usual techniques.
Observe the best
Pay more attention to professional archers who win awards for being the best of the year. Analyze what their reactions and techniques are at the time of catching a penalty. If they go ahead of the pitcher, if they make movements to distract or confuse the opposing player, if they dialogue with him to make him nervous, etc.
What is your opponent’s position?
Pay attention to your opponent’s look and gestures, as this can give you some clues to solve their game a few seconds before its launch and, thus, prepare and anticipate their movements. You must be very careful with tricks and distractions, as they are usually very deceptive for goalkeepers.
Some extra tips
Pay attention to all the hip, waist, and leg position movements your opponent may use to throw the ball. Get into a defensive stance before the pitch. Don’t stand still while your opponent calculates his best angle.
Focus on how the player hits the ball. If you find it necessary, move slowly, and you may react with better precision. It all depends on what you have learned during your practices.
In short, you need to make the practice a habit both physically and mentally, and a lot of perseverance to specialize as a professional archer.
Also, to save a penalty and expose a better performance on your part, you need to wear good gloves and appropriate clothing for games and practices in sport.
