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Footwork and movementIsolatedMovement

Movement patterns in a grid

Consolidate the four base goalkeeper movement patterns outside the context of shot-stopping, so the technique doesn’t have to be learned under pressure.

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Load

minutes
6
Intensity
Low
Sets and reps
3 × 4

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: 6 × 6 m

Equipment: Markers

The coach serves and manages the breaks.

A 6 by 6 metre grid marked with markers at the four corners. On the coach’s cue, the goalkeeper moves between corners using the indicated pattern, without a ball.

Coaching points

  • Shuffle: feet never cross, weight kept on the balls of the feet.
  • Backpedal: look forward over the shoulder, don’t fully turn the back.
  • Crossover step: used only when the distance to cover exceeds shuffle range.
  • Every pattern ends in a set position, ready for an action — the movement isn’t the point, the preparation is.

Progressions

  1. Increase execution speed to maximum.
  2. Chain two or three patterns into one sequence, without stopping.
  3. Reduce reaction time to the coach’s cue.

Regressions

  1. Execute each pattern in isolation, with a pause between reps.
  2. Reduce the grid to 4 by 4 metres.

Sources · 3

  1. CurriculumTechnical Coaching Points: Goalkeeping, Minnesota Youth Soccer Association
  2. Curriculum«Lifetime Development of a Goalkeeper», US Youth Soccer
  3. BookVaggelis Lappas, «Goalkeeper Training Methodology»