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Injury preventionAnalyticMovement

Safe landing on the high dive (senior)

Reinforce landing technique on the high dive, to dissipate the impact without hurting the shoulder — safe landing protects the position’s most-injured joint and deserves explicit training.

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Load

minutes
10
dives/set
5
Sets and reps
2 × 6
Intensity
Medium

dives per set, per goalkeeper

Microcycle days it fits

MD-4, MD-3

Each bar’s height is that day’s dive ceiling.

Setup

Goalkeepers
1
server
1
outfield player
0

Space: 10 × 8 m

Equipment: Balls, Full goal

The coach serves and manages the breaks.

1 steps

Dives to mid-height and high balls, with full focus on the ground-contact sequence: ball first, then forearm, side of the body and hip, never the elbow or a pointed shoulder.

Exercise sequence

Coaching points

  • The landing sequence is ball, forearm, side of the body and hip — never break the fall with a flat hand or the elbow.
  • The shoulder never lands on a point; the forearm and side of the body absorb the impact for it.
  • The dive’s force goes to the ball and upward, not to the ground — whoever dives into the ground gets hurt.
  • A light roll on landing dissipates the impact instead of concentrating it in one point.

Progressions

  1. High ball with a full dive.
  2. Increase the lateral distance.

Regressions

  1. Mid-height ball.
  2. Reduce the dive distance.

Sources · 2

  1. StudyData-driven strength and conditioning, and technical training programs for goalkeeper’s diving save in football (2022)
  2. StudyInjuries and Pain Associated with Goalkeeping in Football — Review of the Literature (2021), Applied Sciences