PDXFA GOALKEEPER ACADEMY
PDXFA has partnered with Oregon’s best Goalkeeper coaches to ensure that our players are fully prepared for their club environment. Our Goalkeeper coaches bring a wealth of knowledge to our goalkeepers from being able to run high quality sessions to working with our goalkeepers on their mental DNA to play at the highest level.
SHOT STOPPING
Shot stopping is what makes a goalkeeper a goalkeeper. To excel in the position, you must be competent in this aspect of the game. Proper shot-stopping comes from working on several smaller components. Reading the shooter’s body language, reading the field and off-ball opposing players movements, knowing how to properly navigate across the goalmouth to play the angles properly, and emphasizing a good set position with solid hand placement around the ball are all important to creating a solid ability to keeping the ball out of the net. These are all components that the PDXFA Goalkeeper union will focus on and emphasize in every drill. By focusing on these elements in the most basic of drills, the more difficult moments will start to become much easier to handle as the smaller aspects of the position are perfected.
DISTRIBUTION
Goalkeeping has evolved to the point where most goalkeepers have to be like an 11th field player. Many professional and collegiate programs have adapted systems where the goalkeeper is now used to both start the team’s attack and be a key contributor to getting out of high-pressure situations in the defensive third. With the PDXFA goalkeeper union, distribution will be given the attention that it deserves to help improve confidence with the ball at the feet of the goalkeeper. Each goalkeeper will be trained to handle the ball under pressure and shown the correct outlets to look for in a diverse variety of situations. The goal is to create better all-around goalkeepers that are both confident with the ball in their hands and at their feet.
COMMUNICATION
The goalkeeper is the eyes of the team. From the far back position, the goalkeeper often sees more than anyone else on the field. It is key to build a solid foundation of terminology that allows the goalkeeper to move the players in front of them into the best position possible to prevent a shot on target. The PDXFA goalkeeper Union will emphasize the use of loud and confident communication. This will be done by breaking the element of communication into several smaller pieces. These pieces include proper tone and volume which allows for one to emphasize urgency, proper wording and terminology to communicate easy to understand instructions to the rest of the team, and lastly by breaking down each moment to properly instill when to give praise and when to be tougher on the players in front of them.
MENTAL DNA
Iker Cassias once said, “being a good person is like being a goalkeeper. No matter how many goals you save, some people will only remember the ones you missed”. This is why the mental aspect of the game is key. Goalkeeping is as much a mental game as it is a physical position. Your mistakes are emphasized and you are looked upon differently in the position. The PDXFA Goalkeeper Union will be taught from the moment they step into the program how to properly handle both the added stress and the added pressure that comes with the role. Mistakes will happen, it is how you move on from them that matters. The mentality in your approach and sculpting a good sense of mental strength is as equally important to goalkeeping as any other part of the game.