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Shot-stoppingRepresentativeTechnique

Collapse save after a close deflection

Train the collapse save — with no time for a full technical dive, when the ball is deflected close to goal and the only possible response is letting the body drop toward the ball.

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Load

minutes
8
dives/set
5
Sets and reps
3 × 5
Intensity
High

dives per set, per goalkeeper

Microcycle days it fits

MD-3, MD-2

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

Setup

Goalkeepers
1
server
1
outfield player
1

Space: 10 × 6 m

Equipment: Balls, Full goal

The coach serves and manages the breaks.

2 steps

A server shoots at an attacker positioned close to goal, who deflects it immediately. The goalkeeper no longer has time for a technical dive and resolves it with a collapse save.

Exercise sequence

Coaching points

  • Don’t try to force full dive mechanics — the collapse is a different response, shorter and closer to the ground from the start.
  • The hands reach the ball before the rest of the body, even as the support base is already giving way.
  • Accept the movement looks less clean than a dive — effectiveness matters more than form here.
  • Recover immediately after the collapse; the ball can still be live close to goal.

Progressions

  1. Reduce the deflection distance further.
  2. Introduce a second attacker shooting the rebound.

Regressions

  1. Increase the deflection distance, giving more reaction time.
  2. Reduce the first shot’s speed.

Sources · 2

  1. StudyData-driven strength and conditioning, and technical training programs for goalkeeper’s diving save in football (2022)
  2. BookJoe Luxbacher, «The Soccer Goalkeeper: Techniques, Tactics, Training»