Additional Post: March Part 2: Beating the Mind

As a goalkeeper, there are situations you have to be able to handle that most would consider scary, even borderline crazy.  Several times throughout the game keepers are challenged one-on-one and are required to dive at the attackers feet.  Other times the keeper might be called on to make a big save that requires you be close to flying.  For this instance, it's the flying that has always scared me.

The ball is flying to your right, nearing the point where the cross bar and the post meet.  You need to make the jump to get your hands high enough to catch the ball, and the only way to do that is to take the leap of faith.   You have to have total trust in your body and skills that you know how to land properly and hold on to the ball.  It took a very long time for me to be able to know that everything would be okay.  I'm not going to break anything in the process because I know how to land.  I have been taught how to dive.  I can do that in my sleep (well, maybe not.  But you get the point).  I know how to land and how to hold on to the ball, the next step was diving to high balls.

Essentially, you need to make a rainbow with your body.  My coach (and mentor) used to have me jump over cones, ball bags, anything that was high enough for me to dive over.  I have never been able to do it.  I get scared, I jump over it instead of let my body fly.  Finally though, I conquered it.  It took a new technique, rope between 1 and 2 feet off the ground, and about 30 more minutes.  Then I got it.  I broke the mental barrier, and also led myself to what is most likely my best answer.

The following is a picture of me making the leap of faith (and fall of doom), catching balls I never would have previously been able to save.  These pictures are without the rope since my photographer didn't show up in time for that demonstration (thanks, Dad).  However, you can see my feet off the ground.  This is towards the beginning of my dive, so I was still on my way up.  With the rope you can really see how high I get.

This next picture is of the fall of doom (as mentioned earlier).  I've got to land with my arms outstretched, ball first.  As you can see in the picture, the my hands are more on top of the ball.  This is so I can hit the ground with the ball first.  My legs then follow, one up to protect myself, and the other sliding along the ground.  This is the end of the high dives I was never previously capable of stopping (I can thank my height for that one).

Blog 18: Third Answer

Content:

EQ:How can a goalkeeper best avoid having goals scored against her during a soccer game?

• Answer 3: A goalkeeper can best avoid having goals scored against her during a soccer game by having a strong technical background.
• There are many different kinds of saves needed to properly prevent a goal.
• Diving v. Jumping v. Attacking
• Goalkeepers can't step out onto the field for a game with no technical background.
• Without technical ability, anyone could step on the field.  Technique is the basic physical ability to play any sport.
• Knowing a wide range of skills allows for better on field judgement
• Having a wider array of saving styles to choose from allows you to identify which one is the best for a specific situatioThe research source (s) to support your details and answer
• Sources: 
• Source 6: The Importance of Goalkeeper Specific Training
• Source 18: Goalkeeping: Defending the Soccer Goal
• Source 39: Areas of Concern in Youth Goalkeeping by Phil Wheddon
• Concluding Sentence:
• A goalkeeper can better prevent a goal by having a strong foundation in technical ability.

Additional Post: March Part 1: The Many Faces of Goalkeeping

Here is a compilation of faces I make during the course of a single training for my Independent Component.  Part Deux will be more related to my actual EQ answers. I just felt the need to share the, "Many Faces of Sarah Solar."  I should publish a picture book.

The "I'm focusing and you can't stop me now" Face
Also, The "normal concentration" Face

The "calm before the storm" Face

The "ball replaced my head" Face

The "ugh, I just hit the ground...hard" Face

Look Closely. This is the "I hit the ground and my face jiggled around like in a slow motion video" Face

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

1. How do you position yourself to have an optimal angle against an oncoming shooter?
2. When coming towards an attacker (say in a 50/50 scenario) how close do you get to the play?
3. In regards to the last question, when you position yourself do you measure the distance from the ball or the player? Why is that your preference?
4. What do you tell yourself after you made a mistake?
5. I’ve been faced with a potentially career ending injury.  When you’ve suffered an injury bad enough to take you out of the game for an extended period of time, what do you do to keep your mind positive?
6. After coming back from an injury, what do you tell yourself after your first game back?
7. What do you feel is more important, the tactical or technical skills a goalkeeper learns?
8. What type of training do you feel you’ve benefited from the most, watching, teaching, or straight up training?
9. When your training has plateaued, what do you do to get yourself out of the rut?
10. Distribution is an important part of goalkeeping, but there are a few different techniques used by different goalkeepers.  Which do you value more, speed or accuracy?
11. What visual cues do you use to stop penalty kicks?
12. How do you analyze the players you’re going up against?  And with that information, how do you use it to your advantage?
13. When organizing your defense, do you focus more on the front post or the back post?
14. What do you feel is the proper way to set up your defense on a set play where the player is 30 yards out and close to the sideline?
15. How much should a goalkeeper depend on their defense to clear deflections?
16. Can a short goalkeeper with good jump height ever compare to a naturally tall keeper?  Don’t worry, I won’t take offense to your answer either way.
17. Is there something you do before a game that if you were to not do it, you would be taken out of your game?  How important do you think the idea of a pregame ritual is to your mental game?
18. When you realize that something is going wrong with your game, how do you change it?
19. Do the best goalkeeper come from alternate playing positions?
20. What do you see in a keeper’s mentality that is different from a field player’s mind?
21. How can a goalkeeper best avoid having goals scored against them during a soccer game?

Additional Post 7: Understanding Weaknesses

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to sit in on a one-on-one training evaluation done by Jeff Tackett, the goalkeeping coach I mentored under over the Summer.

The process goes like this:

Tackett attends a few games of each of his players and rates their tactical play (the in game "tactics" that are needed to produce a winning team).  During training sessions he takes note of their technical skills (the depth and spread of the "technique" used during each drill).

He basically grades each of the players on a 10 point scale in about 45 different sub groups falling under Tactical, Technical, and Personality.  He expects his younger keepers to be in the 7 range and his older keepers in the 9 range.  He requires a high level of intensity and skill, and at the very least, a high level of improvement.  Without either one of those things, his coaching career would be over.

After he's scored them, he sits with the athlete and her parents and goes over each and every skill.  He goes over problem areas, areas of great improvement, and explains things the keepers may not understand.  Tackett opens the floor for questions after each explanation so the keepers get the most out of their session.  Few coaches do this, and that's part of what sets him apart.