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Injury preventionIsolatedMovement

Pre-training shoulder activation

Reduce shoulder injury risk through external rotation and scapular stability work, following the principles of the FIFA 11+ Shoulder programme adapted for goalkeepers.

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Load

minutes
8
Intensity
Low
Sets and reps
2 × 12

Microcycle days it fits

MD+1, MD+2, MD-4, MD-3, MD-2, MD-1, MD

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

Setup

Goalkeepers
1
server
0
outfield player
0

Space: 4 × 4 m

Equipment: Resistance band

The coach serves and manages the breaks.

2 steps

Band anchored to a fixed point (a post, a railing) at waist height. Two exercises, 2 sets of 12 reps each, before any technical ball work: (1) External rotation — stand side-on to the anchor, elbow bent at 90° and tucked to the waist, forearm pointing across the body. Pull the band outward, rotating the forearm until it points away from the body, without letting the elbow drift from the waist. Return slowly. Do 12 reps, switch sides, repeat. (2) Horizontal row (scapular retraction) — face the anchor, arms extended at shoulder height holding the band. Pull the elbows back, squeezing the shoulder blades together behind the back, without shrugging the shoulders up. Return slowly. 12 reps.

Exercise sequence

Pre-training shoulder activation

Coaching points

  • Controlled, slow movement — speed isn’t the goal, joint control is.
  • In exercise 1, the elbow stays tucked to the waist from start to finish — if it drifts away from the body, it has stopped being shoulder rotation and become the trunk compensating.
  • In exercise 2, squeezing the shoulder blades together is the movement — if only the elbows bend and the back doesn’t “close”, the shoulder blade isn’t doing the work.
  • Shoulder blades active and slightly retracted throughout the set, not only at the moment of movement.
  • Stop if joint pain appears — muscular discomfort is expected, pain is not.

Progressions

  1. Progressively increase band resistance over the weeks.
  2. Add unilateral exercises with greater instability.

Regressions

  1. Reduce band resistance.
  2. Reduce the number of reps per set.

Sources · 1

  1. StudyShoulder injuries in soccer goalkeepers: review and development of a FIFA 11+ shoulder injury prevention program (2016)