The ART of Goalkeeping

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
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David James On The War Path

Interesting article in today's Sun newspaper with David James expressing his views on English goalkeepers, and specifically goalkeeping coaching. And he asks a question that has always perplexed me - why do you need to qualify as an outfield coach (Level 2) before you can take the goalkeeper coaching level 2 award? Madness! I am going to lobby the FA and ask some questions!

Anyway here is the article:

DAVID JAMES has blasted the quality of goalkeeper coaching in England.

The No 1 at last year's World Cup insists that is why there is a real lack of English top-flight keepers.

He said: "I'm frustrated with the situation. Time and time again, I've looked at our keeper coaches.

"If you do basic work, you get basic keepers. What they are doing is wrong. As a result, the players are not coming through.
"English clubs have had goalkeeper coaches for a long time. Inhad one at Watford as a schoolboy and although I signed for Liverpool in 1992, they had one in 1993-94. Down the years we've not had the English keepers to show for it."

Bristol City keeper James got 53 England caps and is taking his coaching badges.

He insists there are only a couple of top keeper coaches in this country.

James said: "Asmir Begovic at Stoke is a great lad. He is Bosnian but had a top coach at Portsmouth in David Coles.
"David also got me back into the Prem. Paul Barron, who was at Newcastle and Villa, was also great. He trained Shay Given and Mark Schwarzer. Good coaches make good keepers."

"Most of our English keepers in the Prem come when Championship clubs go up. It frustrates me nothing has been done. You have to become a qualified outfield coach before being a qualified keeper coach. It doesn't make sense."


Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

The Development of Young Goalies

The following article was featured in the Scuola Calcio Magazine. Was written by Marco Stoini, Director of Coaching for San Luigi Calcio Trieste and Techncial Director of the Ascoli Soccer Academy from the Italian Professional Soccer League and translated by Antonio Saviano.

It is been said that the role of the goalkeeper is a single role, but as we know it is always a child that is in the goal and that will become a man through the frequent goalkeepers development stages. The program of the goalkeeper’s technical work can be divided in two great age groups:

1. From 6-12 years old
2. From 12 years old up

From 6 to 12 Years Old

In reality the very young goalkeeper is not a complete goalkeeper yet. The child playing in the goal does not have the mental and physical structure characteristics in order to be a goalkeeper as an adult would. We are dealing with a child that must be developed and we must stabilize his motor and coordinative abilities, which in many cases are harder for a goalkeeper than a field player. Example of some coordinative abilities:

- Trajectories to save
- Agility
- Relation – ball – ground
- Relation – body – ground
- Relation – eyes – hands
- Relation – eyes – hands – body
- Etc.

Furthermore the physical structure can often prevent the correct execution of many technical fundamentals (sometimes it can also be impossible): for example, the simple size of the hands will not allow easy stops, it will not allow an easy re-start play and so forth.

With these premises it is logical that under the 12 years of age (and in particular until 10 years old) the goalkeeper follows a program integrated with the team, therefore the program should have a general broad activity necessary to all the players on the team and that has objectives to reach based on the age we are working with.

Perform normal practices that all teammates benefit, one of them should be using the feet, which in part is very important under most useful ways. However, at least two times per week the activity should be provided, in specific part, to the particular of the goalkeeper and divided in groups of at least 3-4 goalkeepers and for a duration of approximately 90 minutes. As for all the roles of the soccer players as well as for the goalkeepers the techniques must be placed in first place when training. When speaking about goalkeepers, especially “strong ones” we often refer to goalkeepers with solid technical bases developed from a younger age, and that are like a strong foundation for the rest of their career.

The young goalkeepers psychological side is also very important. Much attention goes to those activities that should not exceed the actual abilities of the student, in order not to create failure feelings, having the young goalkeepers overcome fears that begin with the contact body-ground and development of body movement.
To free their strength is a physiological necessity of the children, but to let them have fun and satisfaction, but also have a feeling of authority and prestige, it is a primary task of a good instructor.

The young goalkeepers see and admire some champions on TV who rise to be their idol, they may have and wear their jerseys, may be their caps or gloves, but for sure will not be able to copy the technical movements, because their mental and learning abilities will prevent them from making does decisions. The instructor should remember this important information and convey to the young goalkeepers in a simple way.

From 12 Years Old and Up

At this age the young goalkeepers begin to assume the abilities of the “true goalkeeper”. Now the techniques can and must be learned and without any limitations, they can and they must be repeated to the intend to create the complete necessary development that will stabilize the specific abilities. Now, the mental and the tactical aspect of the development can also be trained:

- Concentration
- Subsequent choices – understanding the game

At this stage, the athlete training will be able to assume greater weight in the activity: for the role of the goalkeeper the strength is the base to support the major part of typical body movements (jumps, quick sprint, executions, etc), the agility, the flexibility and the acrobatic training are an integral part of the development.
The aerobic component should cover the importance of general conditions.

Regarding Strength:

- High expressions: (fast – maximum resistant)
- Under expressions: (flexible volatile – reflected flexible volatile – resistance to the maximum strength – resistance to the instantaneous strength)
- Types of reduction: (concentric – eccentric – isometric – ply-metric)

All of the above has to be taken into consideration with a specific development, but at the same time we should be careful to the structure of a body that is still unbalanced and in a developing stage. In fact the speed or the rapidity is influenced from the strength level of the goalkeeper and are naturally unavoidable qualities. In the training the complete development aspect of the goalkeeper can not be neglected: it is true that the standardized repetitions are important for the reflex, but is also true that if we work in different situations, it will be possible for the athlete to decompose the technical body movements and to use only those parts that time to time will be necessary for that specific need.
I would like to point out that with two-three weekly training sessions of approximately 80 minutes each, we should attain good results.

With the goalkeeper who by now, at this age has exceeded the evolutionary phase, it is moreover fundamental to work on the specific errors. The instructor must maintain a direct contact with his own goalkeeper students. Because it is important to have a direct contact, it is better not to have many goalkeepers for training. But the instructor must also be careful, along with the head-coach, not to isolate the group of goalkeepers from the team, something that happens more then we think.

This article was featured in the Scuola Calcio Magazine.

Scuola Calcio Coaching Magazine is aimed and dedicated to providing first class soccer information for instructors at all levels throughout the North America and the World.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

The World's Most Underrated Keeper and Why He Hated Playing

Victor Valdes became a goalkeeper because his brother needed someone to practice his shots on. He started in a team because his dad thought he was good and he joined La Masia when he was 10 because they saw a talent in him. He left because he hated being a goalkeeper but came back because he wanted to be on TV.

Victor recently said that Josep Guardiola taught him to enjoy playing football, to enjoy being a goalkeeper. Before that, Victor Valdés had always hated his job. As a child he used to dream about another life where he didn’t have to be a goalkeeper. Every week he felt bad knowing that at the weekend he would have a game where he would stand in the goal. The only reason why Victor kept on was because he was born to be a goalkeeper.

He was a hard worker even if he hated his job; he always trained hard to get better. In the 2002/2003 season, when he was only 20 years old, Victor made his debut for Barcelona’s first team. By the time the season was over, he was the first choice keeper and he has been ever since. His dream of being on TV had become reality, but his nightmare as a goalkeeper kept going.

For all that he has achieved, Victor Valdés remains one of the world’s most underrated goalkeepers and he deserves some real recognition.

A lot of football fans can’t see how good Victor Valdés is; they often say that he would never be good in any other top European football club, that the only reason he let in so few goals is because Barça has a fantastic defense and that they often have 70-80% possession. And then they can never forget the mistakes a young Victor Valdés made in his first years at the top level.

I have no idea how good Victor Valdés would be if he played at another club, but I know that he is the perfect goalkeeper for FC Barcelona. This has to do with the possession, that the anti-Valdés people often use as an excuse, saying that anyone could be a goalie for a team that keeps the ball so much. In their recent history, FC Barcelona has always had that kind of possession in their games and yet still they have always had huge goalkeeper problems. That’s an equation that doesn’t fit. The fact is that the kind of possession FC Barcelona has actually makes it harder to be their goalkeeper. Just like the other players, a goalkeeper needs to be warmed up, but what if he doesn’t get to touch the ball for 80 minutes? Doesn’t get to make a single save? It will then have been 80 minutes since he warmed up. When suddenly the shot comes, the keeper who hasn’t had a thing to do will need to be there and he will need to be ready. This can be a very complicated situation and had given Barcelona a lot of problems until Victor Valdés came.

Another thing that is different for a goalkeeper in Barcelona as opposed to other teams is that Valdés needs to be a extra outfield player. Which means he needs to be really good at passing and at seeing where to pass. Victor is basically an outfield player that can use his hands. When Victor was younger, just 20 years old, he didn’t have the same level of confidence as he does now. It happened that he failed with his outfield playing duties and this led to huge mistakes like giving the opponents the ball. These kinds of mistakes don’t happen as easily for goalkeepers in other teams because they don’t need to play with their feet as much. Often Victor did a great job, but it so happened that he failed on occasion too. The people who didn’t understand the difficulty of Valdés’ job as Barcelona’s keeper started to complain. On youtube, videos went up with names like “Victor Valdés, the world’s worst goalkeeper”, highlighting his mistakes.

But in Barcelona they never stopped believing in the young keeper, and he would make important saves. Like in the Champions League final in 2006 when Victor was only 24 years old. He made it impossible for Henry to score and was probably the best player in the game. Later on, no one talked about Victor because no one ever talks about the goalkeeper for Barça.

Just as he hated to be keeper as a child watching his teammates celebrate a goal without him, or the team’s sadness every time and when he let in a goal: it was the same now. No one talked about his amazing saves but everyone remembered his mistakes.

He hated his job and all over the world people complained about what he was doing, saying he was Barça’s weakest link. Still he kept on doing what he had always done. Because he knew he had people believing in him.

When journalists criticized him, he would say: “I find it very hard to take any criticism from someone who has never been a goalkeeper.” The only thing the criticism did was to make Victor work even harder, to show everyone that they were wrong.

At the age of 24 Victor had won La Liga twice as well as the Champions League. He had also won the Zamora trophy as the keeper having the lowest “goals-to-games” ratio in La Liga. Still he had never played a game for the Spanish national team.

The reason why I think Victor wasn’t a part of the Spanish national team, even after he had won all those titles, was because people only saw his mistakes. The comments were that he would fail in any team other than Barcelona, and he was lucky to play for Barça because there he didn’t need to do much. But they didn’t even give him the chance to perform well for the national team and show how good he was. I’m not saying that he should have been the first keeper in the national team, because back then Casillas was better then Victor. I’m just saying they at least should have given him the chance as third keeper.

Since Guardiola took over at Barça three years ago, Victor has changed. He himself says that for the first time, he is actually enjoying being a goalkeeper. That has shown on the pitch where he become better than ever. The mistakes Victor Valdés is famous for have disappeared for three years now. He has won the Zamora every year since Pep’s arrival. For me, Victor Valdés has these last two seasons been the best goalkeeper in the world. I know that many agree with me on that, but sadly, most still view Victor as a goalkeeper who makes mistakes. For the World Cup in South Africa, Victor finally got called up for the national team, he was third keeper and didn’t get to play a single minute at the tournament. But still, the fact that he finally got called up shows that Spain couldn’t hide anymore the talent of Victor Valdés.

Why will Victor never be the first choice keeper in the Spanish National team? To start with, you just don’t change a first choice keeper, as the team needs to have someone they trust and feel safe with. Spain’s keeper today is Iker Casillas, and even if Victor has been the better keeper the last two seasons, Casillas is the team’s captain and you just don’t change your captain either. The third factor may have more impact than we’d like to believe. That is the fact that Spain’s National team today has a lot of Barcelona players. To change the keeper from a Madrid player to a Barça player would pretty much make the team FC Barcelona and that wouldn’t look good for Real Madrid. I know it sounds a bit cheeky but I sadly believe this point has an impact.

Victor Valdés, whether a Spanish national team player or not, is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world and the only thing I wish for is that people around the globe would forget about the mistakes made by a young boy standing terrified in the Camp Nou goal almost a decade ago. I want people to forget about that and see the fantastic saves this man now makes with confidence while proudly standing in the Camp Nou goal today.

Honours

Zamora Trophy 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011
La Liga 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
Champions League 2006, 2009, 2011
Copa del Rey 2009
Spanish Supercup 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011
European Super Cup 2010
World Club Cup 2010
World Cup 2010



Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Krul vs. Vorm - Interesting!

Following on from the previous post about Krul and Vorm we now know that the score ended 0-0. Anyone that saw the match would know that Vorm was the busy of the two Dutch keepers; something backed up by the two charts below showing their distribution in the game (blue arrows are successful, red arrows are where distribution has gone to the opposition).

Interesting.






Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Merry Christmas

Guys,

Merry Christmas from the MINDSi Team to all our clients, wherever you are in the World.

Looking forward to a successful 2012.

Enjoy!

Gavin, Jessica and Tom

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Krul vs. Vorm

It is probably safe to assume that Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg will be taking an acute interest in events at St James' Park on Saturday. Although the 6ft 5½in Stekelenberg is still widely regarded as Holland's first choice goalkeeper he knows he is coming under severe pressure for his place at Euro 2012 from Newcastle United's Tim Krul and Swansea City's Michel Vorm.

Arguably the two outstanding goalkeepers in the Premier League this season, Krul and Vorm will be at opposite ends of the pitch as Newcastle's aim to rediscover how to win and Swansea seek an eighth clean sheet of the campaign.

It is interesting to remember that, when Vorm arrived at the Liberty Stadium for £1.5m from Utrecht last summer, Brendan Rodgers, Swansea's manager, was seen as taking a gamble as, at a mere 6ft, the 28-year-old was regarded as rather small for a keeper. Similarly Krul, who joined Newcastle for £200,000 from Den Haag nearly seven years ago, prompted considerable raising of Geordie eyebrows when, back in August, it became clear that he, rather than the experienced Steve Harper, would be Alan Pardew's No1 this season.

Pardew's decision has been vindicated by a series of quite brilliant performances from a 23-year-old whose progress is reportedly being closely monitored by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Two inches shorter than Krul, Vorm did not have the benefit of the sort of loan spells which saw his Newcastle counterpart toughened up by stints at Falkirk and then Carlisle. Instead Swansea's last line of defence works regularly with rugby tackle-bags in a bid to harden him for Premier League combat.

"It's so different from Holland," he says. "In your head and, of course, physically. After playing Premier League games you feel broken. You can get battered and I'm not that big so I have to be smart."

Boasting excellent footwork, Vorm's sure touch, incisive distribution and, on occasion, willingness to leave his area, not only earn him a "sweeper keeper" label but are a big part of Swansea's build-from-the-back style. Big on psychology he has further burnished a reputation for saving penalties begun in Utrecht where he was known as "the penalty killer". Apart from devoting hours to studying penalty takers and their habits on his home collection of DVDs, Vorm also aims to psyche out his opponents.

"The secret is in the eyes," he says. "I like to look at penalty takers straight in the eyes and then I can tell what they are thinking. Then I leave it [the decision as to which way to dive] as late as possible. In training Danny Graham [the Swansea striker] almost always scored penalties against me but I've told him that he wouldn't be able to do it if he was up against me in an actual match."

Incredibly agile, Vorm's height has long since ceased to be an issue. "People said we were taking a big gamble with Michael because he wasn't 6ft 4in," says Rodgers, who reckons the Dutchman will probably earn Swansea at least 10 extra points this season. "But his agility is such that he makes saves most 6ft 4in keepers can't manage."

If Krul had not made it as a professional footballer he intended to train as a pilot and the articulate, supremely calm Dutchman certainly seems to possess the sort of unruffled, unfazed, temperament which would be ideal for coping with mid-air emergencies. Having made his full international debut for Holland by keeping a clean sheet against Brazil in June, Krul hopes to follow in the glove-prints of his hero Edwin van der Sar, who now serves as his mentor and with whom he is in regular telephone contact. Krul's prized possessions include one of Van der Sar's old shirts and a pair of the former Manchester United and Holland star's gloves.
He was marked out for great things when, at the age of 17, he made an impressive Uefa Cup debut in a 1-0 win at Palermo in Sicily after being thrust into the first team at the last minute by the then manager Glenn Roeder due to injuries. Shortly afterwards a knee injury required two operations and six months on the sidelines but Roeder, who engineered his arrival from Den Haag, never had any doubts Krul would make the grade.

"From the moment he joined Newcastle's academy, it was obvious Tim was a fantastic talent," he says. "In my opinion Tim is now Newcastle's most valuable player; he has been in unbelievable form this season. He is now one of the best keepers in Europe."

Such praise is widely echoed. As Martin Jol, the Fulham manager and a compatriot of Krul, puts it: "Newcastle have a young goalkeeper who is a great talent." Yet if his reflexes, capacity for acrobatic saves and polished handling were never in doubt, until this season, Krul was, albeit sporadically, prone to making some bad decisions under pressure. Now, though, it appears that nerves rather than major technical flaws were primarily responsible for those, admittedly occasional, moments when he ill-advisedly left or stayed on his line, showed off some uncharacteristically clumsy footwork or misjudged a cross.
"Tim still had a lot to do when I came to Newcastle this time last year," says Pardew. "When he played in the first team last season he looked a bit nervous." Things improved radically when he began working with Pardew's specialist goalkeeping coach, Andy Woodman. "We've given him self belief," says Newcastle's manager. "Tim's been outstanding this season."

With Rodgers equally complimentary about Vorm it promises to be quite some beauty contest on Tyneside this Saturday.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Tom Fawdry Joins The MINDSi Team

MINDSi Sports Performance are delighted to announce the arrival of Tom Fawdry to our team of experts.

Here is a bit about Tom:


TOM FAWDRY
Sports Performance and Goalkeeper Development Coach



Tom successfully completed a full time degree in Football Studies (BA Hons) at Southampton Solent University and as a result his approach to coaching combines academic study in tandem with practical coaching experience. Tom’s range of skills includes performance analysis, applied sports psychology, and more specifically, goalkeeper coaching.

Tom has specialised in goalkeeper development for several years, implementing his ideas and philosophies at all levels of football. Tom has successfully gained several coaching qualifications including FA Level 2 in outfield & goalkeeping, FA Youth Module 1 & 2, and various other qualifications, including SAQ & futsal.

Tom has a very modern approach to goalkeeping, through the study of goalkeepers and coaches at the highest level, and he looks to frequently apply new techniques and coaching methods. Furthermore, Tom has been given the opportunity to study goalkeeping all over Europe, learning from coaches and goalkeepers from Norway, Sweden and Spain. Additionally, he has written goalkeeper development programmes for various different football clubs and has undertaken specialised research in the study of goalkeeper development.

If you would to book an appointment with Tom, please contact us on 01752 696756 or email us at info@MindsiOnline.com


MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Caption Competition

Guys, a chance for you to win a pair of KA goalkeeping gloves plus our very own goalkeeping performance CD. (http://www.mindsionline.com/goalkeeper-shop.htm).

All you need to do is come up with a hilarious caption for the photo below.

Funniest entry wins.

Email your "answer" to info@MindsiOnline.com

Closing date of competition is 31st December 2011.


Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Spot The Difference Competition

Guys, a chance for you to win a pair of KA goalkeeping gloves plus our very own goalkeeping performance CD.

All you need to do is play Spot The Difference with the two photos below. I'll give you a clue - there is only one subtle difference.

Funniest entry wins.

Email your "answer" to info@MindsiOnline.com

Competition ends on 31st December 2011.






Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

A Goalkeeper's Guide For Coaches

Goalkeepers are special.

The position of goalkeeper is one of the most psychologically demanding on the soccer pitch. Mistakes are final. The glory is usually reserved for the players at the other end of the field. It's not a position for everybody. You can't be stupid and play goal, but perhaps you must be a little crazy.

A coach must, of necessity, be a part-time psychologist, and nowhere is this more important than for the goalkeeper, where confidence is key. Here are a few ideas I have found a coach can use to help a goalkeeper's mental toughness and attitude.

Only play those who want to play in goal. In youth soccer, everyone is encouraged to try all positions. However, I would not include goalkeeper in that category, at least in game situations. It does no good to put someone in the box who simply does not want to be there. It can be shattering for a youngster to be scored upon. If you must, try everyone in practices, but limit game play to those who want to be (or at least, don't mind being) in net.

Stay positive when goals are scored. It can be tough to be positive, especially when a simple lapse has just let in the game-losing goal with seconds to play. Goalkeepers need to be able to put mistakes behind them quickly and recover, so try to put a positive spin on things:
Credit the shooter. Sometimes the opposing team has just made a great play; give them credit - it's not always a mistake by the keeper that lets a goal in.

Don't dwell on it. Help the goalkeeper shake it off quickly, make a fast coaching point if necessary, and move on once the kickoff has been taken. You can cover problems in more depth at the next practice.

Look for the technique that needs improvement. Focus on the skill that needs work, not the fact that the goal was scored. Very often it's just basic footwork or catching that needs brushing up.

Give credit for other than direct saves. A keeper can keep the ball out of the net in more ways than making a direct save - forcing a missed shot gets the job done too. Aggressiveness goes a long way here - by making the striker decide too early, a keeper can force a miss or a pass on an otherwise open shot. A goalkeeper who can get into the heads of opposing forwards early has a huge advantage.

Don't panic after a save. This applies to both coach and goalkeeper. Give the keeper time to internalize the save (builds confidence), calm down, give outfield players time to recover, and look upfield to restart the attack. Six seconds is plenty of time to do all this. If you stay calm, you're showing that you have confidence in the keeper's ability to control the ball and the game.

Help the keeper develop good habits. Teach them good technique, then build on it with repetition. Don't allow any lazy or sloppy technique, even when they're not officially doing drills or playing. Good habits will show themselves in games just like bad habits. Repetition is the key; doing it right every time (consistency) is what separates a good goalkeeper from a great one.

Don't allow less than full effort, every time, every shot. Every shot deserves an attempt at a save, even if it seems futile. Eventually, the shots that seemed impossible to stop before will start coming into range. If the effort is there, the results will start to come.

If things aren't going well, handle the goalkeeper with care. Many coaches will criticise a keeper if they are getting easily beaten but be aware of the repercussions of this. Some players will take this as a sign you lack confidence in them, and only go downhill. Make sure you stay positive, and point out you're not pulling them because they are a poor player or person, just that it's not their day.

Encourage additional training.
There isn't always time to properly train a keeper in normal practice sessions, especially when that player needs to develop foot and out field skills as well. Encourage them to attend club or private training sessions, goalkeeper camps, buy books or DVDs or visit the MINDSi website (www.MindsiOnline.com) and purchase the Eye On The Ball goalkeeping performance CD.

A player who is serious about goalkeeping needs all the encouragement, motivation, support,extra training and practice they can get. As a coach, it is in your interests to develop them.

Goalkeepers are special.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

A Valuable Lesson For Valdes

Interesting article courtesy of askmen.com:

I have just found an anecdote that helps explain what makes Barcelona’s coach, Josep Guardiola, special. It appears in A Life Too Short, Ronald Reng’s excellent new biography of his friend Robert Enke, the German international goalkeeper who lay down on the train tracks and committed suicide in 2009. In a book about depression; the Guardiola story is about joy.

It’s told by Victor Valdes, now the longtime owner of Barcelona’s goalkeeping shirt, but who nine years ago was still Enke’s junior rival for the position. Like Enke (and like most goalkeepers), Valdes was obsessive. He didn’t enjoy keeping. He was driven above all by fear of never making mistakes. “You know, between the ages of 8 and 18 there was so much pressure in my life that I couldn’t find peace,” Valdes told Reng (himself a keen and knowledgeable amateur keeper). “The mere thought of next Sunday’s game horrified me. Playing in goal was, to put it mildly, a special kind of suffering.”

Lessons From Guardiola
Valdes was already Barcelona’s established keeper, and a European champion, when Guardiola became the club’s coach in 2008. “Pep” told Valdes that he didn’t just want good players. He wanted players who actually enjoyed soccer. As Valdes recalled for Reng:

"Victor, said Guardiola, if you go on like this, eventually your career will be over and you won’t have enjoyed this wonderful job for a single day because you’re always tense, because success is the only thing you want. Watch some soccer on TV, try to understand the game."

Guardiola transformed the way Valdes experienced his profession. “He taught me to lower the intensity during a game and coldly analyze what was going on rather than just lurking there with grim resolution,” Valdes says.

Reading about Enke, you almost wish he’d met Guardiola!

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Interesting!

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Goalie Summer Camp

Sign up to our Newsletter for full details of our exclusive and exciting Goalkeeper Summer Camp!


4GOALIES
by MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
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Goalkeeper Psychology

Take a look at this fantastic article by MINDSi Sports Performance coach Tom Fawdry -
http://blamethekeeper.blogspot.com/2011/10/goalkeeper-psychology-with-gavin-wilson.html

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
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Toby - Loving Life At His New Club!

Pepe - Superstitious? A Little!

Now, here at MINDSi Towers we are firm believers that luck, whether good or bad, should never be relied upon in the preparation of goalkeepers. The reason? Luck is outside of your power of control and influence and vital energy is wasted on any aspect of your preparation and performance that you have no control over; so go focus on the things you can influence.

However, we are firm believers in routine but even we were amazed at this crazy pre match preparation from Liverpool and Spain keeper Pepe Reina:


THE NIGHT BEFORE:

“I stay at my home and go through the same steps as always, out of a fear that if I do anything even a little bit differently it could stop things from turning out the way I want them to.

“That might sound strange and there will be plenty of people who say it isn’t logical to be like this, but the smallest details can make the biggest difference in football.

“Once I find something that works for me, I stick to it no matter how hard it can sometimes be.

“Before I go to bed, I have a couple of cheese and ham toasties. Then I have a glass of wine.

“Fitness experts and nutritionists would not advise that kind of diet for a sportsman but I never feel able to eat a proper meal the night before we play, and the wine helps me to sleep.

MATCH-DAY:

“I get up and have a shower, put my suit on and then head out to the car to buy petrol that I usually don’t need.

"Six hours before kick-off at Anfield, and before I can even think about the game, I have to get to a petrol station.

“After getting into the car, I turn the engine on and look at the fuel gauge.

“It is almost full. I still need petrol, though, so I head to the same garage that I always go to when Liverpool are at home, a small filling station almost exactly halfway between my home and the stadium.

“I get there, open the petrol cap and begin to refuel. I am only at the pump for 20 seconds or so before the tank is full, so I go in to pay. The cashier gives me a bit of a funny look.

"To be fair, I cannot blame him. I have just pulled on to his forecourt, queued up for five minutes behind other motorists and all for £8 worth of petrol, just so my tank is full to the brim.

“He does not know it, but I do the same thing before every home game. It is one of countless rituals I have to perform to make sure I am in the right frame of mind to play for Liverpool.

“My desperation for success makes me superstitious.

“If I have done something on the day of a game and we have gone on to win the match I try to repeat it the next time we play.

“When I get to Anfield, I always park in the same space – bay number 39 in the car park in front of the Centenary Stand.

"I have tried number 41 and 42 and a few others, but when I went to 39 we kept clean sheets two weeks in a row and so I have stayed there ever since.

“We have to be at Anfield for 11:15am when it is a 3pm kick-off and after we’ve left our cars there we get the team bus to Melwood.

“We always have a walk at the training ground and after I’ve had my pre-match meal of pasta and fish, I have a shower just to make sure I’m fully awake before the manager gives us his pre-match team talk."

AT THE GROUND:

“I always get undressed in the same order – jacket, tie, shirt, shoes, trousers and socks – and then I get onto the massage bed, so that Rob, our physio, can work his magic on me.

“I lie there, reading the match programme while he is bending and stretching my legs. Then I strap myself up and put my kit on. I always sit in the same place - just next to the wall as soon as you walk in, right next to Carra [Jamie Carragher].

“I go to the toilet to have a pee about three or four times in the hour before kick-off because of my nerves. Then I go out a little bit before the rest of the lads to do my warm-up."

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF:

“I have to make sure that I am the last one out onto the pitch before kick-off, and I always touch the This Is Anfield sign with both hands as I walk down the tunnel.

"When I cross the white line I have to do it twice with my right foot. Stepping on, then off and then back on again. For some reason – and probably not a very good one – it helps keep me calm.

“Then I head towards my goal, but before I get there I have to touch fists with my back four – except Carra, who doesn’t like doing that, so we share a high five instead – and then clap the supporters on the Kop to show my appreciation for their support of me.

“As I get to my goal, I go straight to the right post, bang my studs against it, then touch the crossbar, then bang my studs against the left post, then go back to the middle.

“Next, I take six steps to the edge of the six-yard box, another six steps to the penalty spot, another six to the edge of the 18-yard box and then do the same thing in reverse.

“Then I stretch up, do some high knees, jump, sprint to the right, jump, sprint to the left, wave hello to my wife in the stand... and then I’m ready.

“Anyone watching me must think I’m crazy, but it works for me.”

Yes Pepe, you could be right!

Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Don't Quote Me!

Some insightful quotes from Goalies, for Goalies. Enjoy!

“Being a goalkeeper gives you a unique perspective on things. You are part of a team yet somehow separate; there are no grey areas, with success or failure being measured in real time; and you have a physical job which you can do well only by paying attention to your mental well-being. A great goalkeeper has to have the keys to a great mindset. To be able to work well in the box, I believe you have to be able to think outside of the box” (Brad Friedel)

The Qualities of a Goalkeeper

The attributes a goalkeeper needs?: “Massive, massive mentality. The mental strength, you’ve just got to have that because you get a lot of stick, as a goalkeeper you’re the last line of defence. When a goal goes in everyone looks at you, you’ve got to be able to deal with that. If you make a mistake, it could be a bad mistake, how are you going to recover? Are you going to react positively or are you just going to cave in?” (David Seaman)

Playing Tips for Goalies

“As a goalkeeper you need to be good at organising the people in front of you and motivating them. You need to see what’s going on and react to the threats. Just like a good manager in business” (Peter Shilton)

“Of course a sports psychologist can help – it’s certainly helped me. People think you must be crackers if you’ve got a psychologist but psychology is part of the building bricks to make a top athlete” (David James)

“Being fit will keep you mentally sharp and people forget that” (Peter Shilton)

“Every goal is like a knife in the ribs” (Gordon Banks)

“The main factor in a penalty shoot-out is luck…you need to stay calm and focused but the biggest thing you need is luck” (Peter Shilton)

“You don’t feel sorry for yourself, you get on with life” (Jens Lehmann)

Funny Goalie Quotes

“You’ve got to believe that you’re going to win, and I believe we’ll win the World Cup until the final whistle blows and we’re knocked out” (Peter Shilton)

“The atmosphere’s given me goose bubbles” (Jens Lehmann)

Inspirational Goalie Quotes

“Wake up every morning, be happy that you are here and achieve as much as you can every day” (Peter Schmeichel)

“We’re not bothered what anyone says. Put a ball out there, put 11 versus 11, and we want to win. It doesn’t matter what the competition is” (Tim Howard)

“Winning the treble with Manchester United and saving Bergkamp’s penalty against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final was not a surprise. You have to believe you can win” (Peter Schmeichel)

“The joy of seeing Yuri Gagarin flying in space is only superseded by the joy of a good penalty save” (Lev Yashin)


Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Wear Green and Don't Be Seen!

Ignore the blatant plugging for Nike (and Manchester United!) in this video and what they say makes sense for all goalkeepers.

Whilst wearing red is proven to boost your confidence, goalkeepers should wear green....and it is a bit old skool!!! Am I showing my age, or what?

Gavin Wilson
Senior Sports Performance Coach
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Vialii at Villa

This week I had the pleasure of visiting Aston Villa's state of the art training facility at Bodymoor Heath. Italian legend Gianluca Vialla was there too and was speaking to the Academy players. This was what he wrote on the whiteboard for them. Wise words indeed. Take heed.

Gavin Wilson

Senior Sports Performance Coach

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE

www.MindsiOnline.com

Want Some Motivation? Then Watch This!

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
http://www.mindsionline.com/

Awesome Tekkers? Not For English Keepers!

Starter for ten: Which Premier League player has made the fewest appearances over the longest period of time? Give up? The answer is Stuart Taylor, the goalkeeper once of Arsenal and now of Manchester City. Over a 14-year period Taylor has played 86 games (just 30 in the Premier League) for a host of clubs.
It isn't that Stuart Taylor is a poor goalkeeper; he wouldn't have been contracted to three Premier League clubs since 1997 if he wasn't rated. His opportunities, though, have been restricted courtesy of, among others, David Seaman, Brad Friedel and the current England No1, Joe Hart. Naturally there will be some that question a perennial No2's desire to play, but the fact is that the role remains a necessary requirement of any squad.

The reason I mention Taylor is that in many ways his career is a microcosm for the problem English goalkeeping has faced over the last 10 years, whereby opportunities to break through have become fewer and the talent pool has dried up. The end result could be seen in Bulgaria at a recent England international, where Frank Fielding and David Stockdale, who are both playing in the Championship, were the back-up options for Hart.
I sincerely hope the experience gained by Fielding and Stockdale benefits them enormously because there is precious little chance of them getting any in the Premier League. Look at last weekend, when 20 Premier League clubs fielded just four English goalkeepers between them. One was England's No1, two have retired from the international scene and the other, John Ruddy, has just been promoted to the top flight with Norwich.

What a difference in Spain. The national team currently have a choice of Víctor Valdés, Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina, and out of the 20 teams that kicked off La Liga last weekend, 15 had Spanish goalkeepers. It would have been 16 but Manchester United took David de Gea from Atlético Madrid in the summer and the Spanish club replaced him with a young goalkeeper on loan from Chelsea, who happens to be Belgian rather than English.
Peter Shilton, England's most capped player, suggested last year that English goalkeepers are not coached on the technical aspects of their profession as well as their foreign counterparts.

One foreign Premier League goalkeeper disputed that was the case when I spoke to him this week, and told me that the young English keepers were as good if not better technically, saying their handling skills are often superior because they are more comfortable catching balls that others would punch.

Yet if you look back through the Premier League years, the top English clubs of their time have barely produced a goalkeeper of note between them, with Ian Walker at Tottenham Hotspur, and Paul Robinson and Scott Carson at Leeds United the only real success stories.

When you then consider that Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all currently have first-choice goalkeepers in their 20s who could, quite feasibly play for another decade, and look at how tough it is to bring someone through who can only fill one position on the pitch, you could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that it is simply not in the interests of top Premier League clubs to invest time into trying to identify and develop one of their own.

Yet when I put that to a coach at one of those five clubs this week, he insisted that was not the case. "We are constantly looking but our remit has changed in recent years," he said. "We aren't looking for something near to the finished article any more. Initially, we are looking for somebody that has the physical attributes to be a top keeper rather than the technical ones, which you hope can be developed over time. Height has become more and more important. The first question anyone asks about a goalkeeper is 'How tall is he?' Six foot is no longer tall enough."
I'm no expert in genetics, but I do know that the landscape for outfield players is very different. Despite the class of Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal were able to find a position for Jack Wilshere while Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck have forced their way through at Manchester United. All three players were aided by loan spells at other Premier League sides that accelerated their development and proved they could handle the top flight coupled with players around them that were able to sweep away any little mistakes. But what would happen if any of the elite clubs produced a top-class English keeper? Would another Premier League manager give them a chance without knowing they could play at that level?
Hart appears to have got it right by learning the ropes at Shrewsbury Town, where he got the experience at a young age that is so critical to any player's development, before joining City. He was brought through under Sven-Goran Eriksson and had a taste of the Premier League before the successful loan spell at Birmingham that convinced Roberto Mancini to pick him ahead of Shay Given.

For the record, I've never regarded English goalkeepers as a soft touch on the pitch, I've also found them to be calmer off the field than their foreign counterparts, who in some cases (and I've room-shared with a few) are the sort that you half expect to see on the six o'clock news for non-football-related reasons. English keepers of the last 20 years have tended to be very capable, without winning too many plaudits en masse, but at least the future looks a little more promising.

Hopefully Fielding and Stockdale will go on to prove that they belong in the same company as Hart. Behind them, I'm reliably told there are some exciting youngsters to watch out for, including Bryan Gunn's son, Angus, who has recently joined Manchester City from Norwich, and Sam Johnstone, a fellow England youth international who is learning the ropes at Manchester United. We can only hope that if they do become the answer to a quiz question 14 years from now, it is because they were used for more than a cheap start to a blog article.

Gavin Wilson

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Basketball and Goalkeeping - A Common Connection

As an avid follower of both basketball and football, I have for some time believed their to be a close links to the skills and demands of basketballer to those of a goalkeeper. My theory has been further enhanced by watching my 11 year old son develop so promisingly at both basketball and goalkeeping. Then I found this fascinating article courtesy of American basketball coach Brian McCormick:


"I jumped into a twitter discussion this week between soccer coaches because I felt that the coaches were settling for obvious explanations that ultimately affect our understanding of sports and talent development. The coaches were discussing goalkeepers, and the ability of the United States to develop several world-class goalkeepers while not developing any true world-class field players.

The soccer coaches latched onto the familiar answer: children in the U.S. grow up playing hand-eye sports like basketball, baseball, football and more, so they naturally gravitate to the goalkeeper position and excel with their hand-eye coordination.

I suggested that the explanation ran deeper into the development of the players. Because of European transfer rules (work visas), U.S. players have to prove themselves with the U.S. Men’s National Team or major League Soccer before transferring to a prominent European league, like the English Premiere League. Therefore, players are essentially near their professional peaks when they finally transfer, somewhere around 26 years old.

For a goalkeeper, this is no problem, as goalkeepers mature later and maintain their peak performance for longer because it is a position that relies heavily on perceptual-cognitive skills like reading angles, anticipating movements, and choice reaction time developed through experience, while field players rely heavily on physical qualities like quickness. A goalkeeper that transfers to an English club at 26-years-old has time to learn the league, fail, rebound and perform at the highest level for a dozen years. USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard transferred to Manchester United, played well, played poorly, lost his job and transferred to Everton where he was given a second chance and has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in England. Would a field player be given that second opportunity by another club at that age?

Field players develop through the U.S. system and have an adjustment period when moving to a better league. Basketball players have an adjustment when moving from college to the NBA. However, most basketball players are 19-23 when they make the move to the NBA. They have room to develop and have yet to hit their physical peak. They can learn for a year or two and have time to play into and out of their physical peak.

A soccer player undergoes the same transition, yet he is at his physical peak. If he cannot contribute immediately upon arrival with his European club, does he have time to learn the league, develop and get a second chance? Unlikely, especially with the stigma that U.S. players lack the skills to compete at the highest levels. The stigma becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, while the perception of the U.S. producing great goalkeepers improves a U.S. goalkeeper’s chances to get a second look.

The U.S. is transitioning from the players who played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups to those who will play in the 2014 World Cup (hopefully). However, few of the new players have established themselves, and they are not playing in Europe (unless they have access to European passports, like Stuart Holden or Timothy Chandler, are older, like Clint Dempsey, or are playing in a smaller league like Alejandro Bedoya).

Players who are imagined to be the future of the team, like Tim Ream and Omar Gonzales, are not that young (25 and 24) anymore. At that age, they are nearing their physical peaks and should be playing at the highest levels already to prepare for the World Cup and to challenge themselves professionally. If they are unready for the best leagues at 24 years old, the question must be asked if they will ever be ready? If they transfer at 27 or 28, they may play well for a year or two, and may hold on for a while in near-top leagues like Carlos Bocanegra in France because of their understanding and intelligence which compensates for their lessening speed, but they probably missed their window to accelerate their development by playing with and against the best at a more developmental age.

However, it is much easier to attribute goalkeeper’s success to a basketball up-bringing than to examine the entire developmental system. We are similarly short-sighted in basketball development and training, as we attribute success to a simple explanation while there are many. Parents tell me that their son needs to play year-round AAU basketball at 8-years-old because that’s how LeBron James developed, ignoring the fact that he also played football in high school.

When the facts do not support their argument, however, they are irrelevant. It is much easier to attribute James’ success to his play in AAU than to imagine that football had an effect on his development or that there were other things in play.

Great players often make poor trainers or coaches because they attribute their success to their training programs, even though their success likely had more to do with their work ethic than their training. Many perpetuate poorly planned training because of their attribution of their success. If they ran five miles a day in the summer and were good at basketball, they attribute their success to the five miles per day, not the random pick up games or their effort on the court.

Talent development is never a simple answer. There are many factors involved in an athlete’s development and settling on the easy or obvious explanation often short-changes the athlete and misappropriates his or her success, oftentimes leading to the continuation of biases or poor training."

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

What Can Goalkeepers Learn From Ronaldo?

Well, watch this:

So, what can goalkeepers learn from this? Well, Ronaldo has honed his skills through hours and hours of practice. He has practiced so much that he now intuitively knows where the ball is going to go by sub-consciously observing the clues he is receiveing from the player's body shape, the flight of the ball, the trajectory, the space around him and so on and so on.

Ronaldo didn't put the ball in the net, in darkness, by magic and it was not through natural skill. It was simply down to the hours and hours of practice that he has done over many, many years giving him the awareness and experience to know what to do, instinctively, at the right time- regardless of the conditions.

So what can goalkeepers learn from Ronaldo? To get excellent you have to practice; the more training you do, the more shots that you save, the more intuitive you will be in match situations. Simple!

Gavin Wilson
Senior Sports Performance Coach
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www. MINDSiOnline.com

Get Your ARSE In Gear!

A common occurrence that all athletes encounter is performance errors. All athletes make mistakes; it is a natural part of learning to be competent at any activity. Since mistakes are normal, it is beneficial to help athletes accept that errors will occur in sport. A unique approach to dealing with performance errors is presented by Halden-Brown (2003). In her book, she addresses the normalcy of making mistakes in sport and how coaches can use these errors to train athletes both physically and mentally. I propose that teaching athletes about resilience will facilitate their ability to accept mistakes and use these errors as a catalyst for optimizing performance.

In a book on mental training in softball, the authors delineate five principles of performance excellence. While set in the context of fastpitch softball, these principles can easily be applied to any competitive setting. The fifth principle, Resilience, is the key to overcoming performance errors. Simply stated, resilience is the ability to remain composed, confident, and consistent in the face of errors. A resilient athlete is one who can let go of errors and return to the present; s/he uses the error as an opportunity to learn and improve. The athlete who is not resilient will dwell on the mistake, be unable to stay in the present, and his/her performance will be inconsistent.

Solomon and Becker (2004) created a four-step process which athletes can use to deal with performance errors. The sequence is as follows.

A = Acknowledge the error and the frustration it has caused
R = Review the play and determine how and why the error occurred
S = Strategize a plan to make the necessary corrections for the future
E = Execute and prepare for the next play

The ability to overcome performance errors is a skill that any athlete can learn.
Teaching athletes this sequence will give them a tool for managing the emotional response which comes with making mistakes and help them to get their ARSE in gear!

Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Funky Goalkeeper Gloves!

Psychology of Goalkeeping by Shay Given

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
http://www.mindsionline.com/

It's All About The Little Things or CNes To You And Me

Recently I was asked by a few coaches to give them my top 10 coaching management books. Number one on my list was a book called “Winning” by Clive Woodward.

I had the privilege to be a part of an amazing lecture about team management around five years ago. In this lecture, the speaker told us about the book “Winning!” The book is about the process coach Clive Woodward went through in turning a struggling England’s National Rugby team into an international Rugby powerhouse.

In an effort to take his team from good to great, Woodward set out to create a unique and incredibly special experience for the players coming into his program. His ultimate aim was to make the environment so good that once the players had experienced it they never wanted to be left out of it.

Woodward created this experience and environment by focusing on the little things he called Critical Non-Essentials (CNE’s). CNE’s are all of the little things or details that make your program what it is. Not just any kind of detail, but the development of things that would and could set your program apart from everybody else.

These CNE’s that he focused on include: the locker room (seating, equipment, lockers, extras, decorations, laundry); dress code (home games, away games); sports information (web, game, media guides, TV, radio, other); practice (before, warm-up, training, cool-down); equipment (practice gear, game gear, logo’s, colours); match day environment;(medical/rehab/recovery; nutrition; fitness/strength and conditioning.

Clive Woodward's team subsequently won the World Cup!

See? It's all about the little things!

Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Goalkeeping Essentials - What Coaches Look For

I thought it would help goalies to have an understanding of what coaches are looking for when selecting their Number1. The information I am sharing is based on being part of football for many years, as a player, a coach and a scout- as well as speaking to many coaches across the world throughout the years.

Although there is no exact science with goalie selection, the list below should give the goalies insight to how they are selected.

Movement

• Footwork – Goalies need to be one of the most mobile on a team. If he is not, it will cost the team.
•  Goalie-Specific Movement  – Goalies can’t stop the ball without strong position-specific movement.
• Is the Goalie Quick? – Goalie does not need to be fast, just quick (i.e. does goalie make too many movements in getting from Point A to Point B? Is the goalie able to move into position before the shot is released?)

Positioning

• Angles and Depth – For all shots, is goalie on angle and have correct depth? If a striker with the ball passes to teammate, does goalie understand the depth/angle relationship to get self in proper position again?
• Body Squareness – Being square for first shot is easy, what about the rebound?

Anticipation

• Read Developing Plays – Is goalie slightly “in-front” of the play or is he having to catch-up? Does goalie seem surprised with different offensive tactics?
• Ball Watching Goalie is not going to have any idea where the rebound is going if not concentrating on the ball.

Saving the Ball

• “Blocking” or “Reactive” Style? – Does goalie simply allow the ball to hit him or does he adjust body to best react to shot.
• Unnecessary Shots Against? – Does goalie control rebounds or consistency have to make another save?
• Predictability – Is the goalie consistently making the same save on the same shot every time or is he erratic?

Competitiveness

• Work – Does goalie work to save all shots or just every few?
• Fighting Spirit -Many goalies today do not have the “fighting spirit”, or heart, to be a successful goalie. They simply don’t control their surroundings. Examples, are rebounds allowed to sit in, or around, the six yard box. If striker appears to have goalie beat, does the goalie battle to make the save? It can be argued a goalie’s competitiveness is the most important component he can bring to a team. Technique and tactics can always be taught but the goalie’s fighting spirit is internal and rarely can be developed through coaching. Either the goalie has heart or they don’t and coaches rarely pass on the kid who does. Battle, battle, battle!!!!

Presence in Net

• Comfort – Does goalie seem to be confident, enjoy his job and the opportunity?
• Small or Big? – When it's cruch time and the pressure is on, does the goalie elevate his play or bottle it?

Emotional and Mental

• Coachability – Does goalie seem to want to learn or does he already know everything? If he acts as if he knows everything he may as well get off the pitch and give up!
• Focus – Does he allow bad goals during games appear like he “got caught napping?”
• Enjoyment – Is goalie just going through the motions or is he motivated? If the goalie is going through the motions in games and training?
• High Maintenance – Is the goalie going to be more work (off the pitch) than is really worth it? Are his parents?

Many coaches say they only want a goalie that “can stop the ball.”  This is a bit misleading if you take it at surface value.  All of the above go into stopping the ball for a coach. As a goalie, if you can commit this list to memory and work hard to improve in all the above categories, your goalie future will be very bright.

Gavin Wilson
Senior Sports Performance Coach
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Nothing Gets Past This Goalie!

MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Penalties - Goalkeepers Dive To The Right

New psychological research suggests that goalkeepers and teams aren't only affected by the high-stakes pressure of a penalty shootout. Without their awareness, goalkeepers also appear to be biased to dive to the right in some situations.

The bias primarily seems to affect goalkeepers when their teams are down, according to psychologists at the University of Amsterdam, who published their study in the journal Psychological Science. The psychologists believe the bias likely extends to other sports as well that involve rapid decision-making under pressure.

Marieke Roskes, Daniel Sligte, Shaul Shalvi and Carsten De Dreu said their hypothesis arose from a discussion they had with each other at a bar one Friday evening. The researchers were talking about two recent papers. One showed dogs tend to wag their tails to the right when approaching their masters. The other showed that goalies have a tendency to dive one way or another while facing penalty kicks — they seem to dislike staying still.

Combining the ideas in the papers, and referring to goalkeepers, Shalvi said the psychologists asked themselves, "Could it be that they would also, like the dogs, dive more to the right?"

On the following Monday, they started examining the evidence. They looked at penalty kicks in the men's World Cup soccer championship from 1982 onward and found 204 penalty shootouts. When teams were tied, they found that goalkeepers dived left and right equally. But when their teams were down, the psychologists found goalkeepers were more than twice as likely to dive right as dive left.

Now, there's a scientific explanation for this — and it doesn't have anything to do with being left-handed or right-handed. Among humans, dogs and some other animals, individuals unconsciously move to the right when they approach something they really want. Lovers tend to lean their heads to the right when they kiss; dogs wag their tails to the right when their masters approach.

The predisposition to go one way rather than another doesn't mean that individuals always have to go that way. But it does mean they have an unconscious tendency to favor one side rather than another in certain situations.

Shalvi and the other psychologists said the tendency likely arose in different species because there was an evolutionary advantage for many members of a given species to favor one direction rather than another — when they were hunting or avoiding predators, for example.

Shalvi thinks goalkeepers tend to dive right when all hopes are pinned on them. That's why they dive right, he said, "especially when their team is behind and their likelihood to be heroes is the greatest."

Interesting!

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Where Are England's Goalies?

A goalkeeper is a man apart in the strip he wears and the laws of the game that apply to him. In Joe Hart's case there is a further distinguishing feature. He is the one goalkeeper in the England squad who plays in the Premier League. The issue troubles Fabio Capello and his coaches, but there is no obvious way in which the problem can be solved.

Hart, Ben Foster, Paul Robinson and John Ruddy all started matches in the top flight last weekend. Foster and Robinson, however, do not now wish to be considered for the international scene and Norwich's Ruddy is thought unsuitable by Capello. Should anything untoward happen to Hart in Friday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Bulgaria, and with Rob Green injured, he will be replaced by David Stockdale, who is on loan at Ipswich from Fulham, or Frank Fielding, Derby County's England Under-21 goalkeeper.

Capello will be glad that Hart's circumstances are markedly different. The 24-year-old features for Manchester City, who will give him further experience at the highest level. This is a shot-stopper who can be seen, too, as a saving grace for his country, yet such a depiction is unsettling to him. "There are plenty of English keepers," Hart says, "who could hold down a position at a Premier League club and could be in the England squad. It is just [about] getting that opportunity."

Even so, Hart operates in a special environment that puts him to the test, with practice sessions at City likely to be as much or more of a trial than the games themselves now that he faces David Silva, Sergio Agüero, and Edin Dzeko. "It messes with your head sometimes," Hart says. "You go for one ball and the next minute it's gone through three other people and it's in the other side of the net before you've even dived. But that's the exciting thing. It's going to help me improve, playing [against] these good strikers and the passing football that goes on."

Thank goodness that we have Joe Hart.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Motivation To Be A World Class Goalkeeper

If you ever needed a little motivation to reach the top as a Goalkeeper, then just look at some of the rewards on offer!

Mrs Buffon!






Mrs De Gea!




Mrs Cesar!


Mrs Given!



And of course, who can forget the former Mrs Casillas!





Unfortunately, poor old Joe Hart still has some way to go before he reaches the top!


Jessica De La Souza
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Valdes Has Left!!!

Shock news! Valdes has left Nike and joined forces with Brazilian sportswear company Penalty. Interesting!

Gavin Wilson
Senior Sports Performance Coach
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Is De Gea Up For The Challenge?

From Sir Alex Ferguson, there were only supportive words. David De Gea was embarking on "a learning process", he said, and the Manchester United manager went on to recall how Peter Schmeichel had endured some difficult moments of his own during the early part of his career in England – "and Peter went on to become the greatest goalkeeper of all time".
What he did not say for certain was whether he would persist with the Spaniard or whether this was now the time to remove him from the team. But there was a clue. "Pat him on his head," he replied when asked what approach he should take. "They battered him in the second half and the referee should have protected him more . . . but welcome to English football."
The message was simple: stay calm, no knee-jerk decisions and remember why United paid Atlético Madrid £18.3m in the first place. Deep down, though, Ferguson has to be concerned. He had known there could be mistakes from the new goalkeeper but surely not of the magnitude we have seen over the past two weekends.
For long spells Ferguson's team outpassed their opponents. Ashley Young has slipped seamlessly into a fluid, attacking side and Wayne Rooney looks like a man who has found the summer break a personal affront. He is now level with Stan Pearson as the 11th highest scorer in United's history, with 148 goals. Two more and he will be level with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes.
But Ferguson's thoughts have to return to De Gea, particularly now that Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have joined Rafael and Patrice Evra on the injury list. United embark on a run of eight games that include Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool. Not every team will be as generous as West Bromwich Albion and there has to be a case for Anders Lindegaard to take over, even as a temporary measure.
Lindegaard's United career has been restricted to two FA Cup appearances so far but the Dane is seven years older than De Gea, has a greater penalty-box presence and, when he played in the United States in pre-season, had the trust of his team-mates and looked like a man determined to take his opportunity. There is an argument that dropping De Gea now would damage his confidence but what good will it do the 20-year-old if he keeps his place and continues in this manner? And how many points could be dropped in the process?
Ferdinand could be seen at one point clapping his hands in De Gea's direction, trying to cajole him. The keeper – sloping shoulders, wispy stubble, looking at least a couple of inches smaller than his alleged 6ft 3in – nodded back. But his body language was not convincing. Shortly afterwards a high, dropping ball came to Fábio, inside his own penalty area. The Brazilian thought about cushioning it back towards his goalkeeper but was so uncertain of his new team-mate he tried to head it clear instead. He could not get enough distance, Chris Brunt had a chance to score (he shot over) and it was that moment when we saw the first signs of the players in red starting to wonder whether the guy in goal was a danger to his own team. De Gea looked disconsolate, young, vulnerable. Jamie Redknapp talked on television afterwards of someone who "needs to grow into his kit".
At Wembley last weekend De Gea was spared a full inquisition because his team-mates were talented enough to drag themselves back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. This time he was even more fortunate but the mistake for Shane Long's goal was so wretched that all the good stuff will be forgotten. And there was good stuff. De Gea survived the second-half bombardment. There were two or three decent enough saves and he just about held his nerve, even if there was never really the sense of a man in command of his penalty area.
For now, though, what we have is a man whose presence will encourage opponents. The Premier League can be an unforgiving place and, rightly or wrongly, De Gea has already been identified as a "dodgy keeper" – someone who can be unnerved and got at. At the opposite end was a goalkeeper whom Ferguson once tipped to play for England for 10 years. Except Ben Foster lacked one key quality during his time at United: courage. That, in essence, is the first part of the learning process for De Gea – the knowledge that playing in goal for this club is not just about talent; it is a question of mentality.

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com

Given - Bouncing Back From Adversity

The best goalkeeper in the Premier League is back. Here at MINDSi HQ we call his return as "Bouncebackability", here's why Shay has it - in bucketloads -

Given put his Manchester City nightmare behind him with a stellar debut for Aston Villa in their otherwise disappointing goalless draw at Fulham on the opening day of the season.

The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper was robbed of a year of his Premier League career after being consigned to the bench for virtually the whole of last term.

Despite his desire to leave City after being deposed as number one by Joe Hart, Roberto Mancini refused to sell until Villa came calling this summer.

And if he had a point to prove at Craven Cottage, Given certainly succeeded, rescuing a point with more than one crucial save.

"Last year was frustrating - it's probably well-documented and the word's overused at this stage," said Given, who at £3.5million, could prove the bargain of the season.

"But it's nice to be back and nice to feel wanted again and feel part of the team and be playing in front of big crowds again."

He added: "In the run-up to the game, there was the excitement of the Premier League starting again and, for me personally, knowing I was going to be playing was pretty special.

"So it's great to be back and it's nice to start with a clean sheet with my new team."

So long had it been since Given had played in the Premier League, he might have forgotten his last appearance.

But he remembered it to the month, probably because it was a match in which he dislocated his shoulder, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.

He made just four club appearances after that - in cup competitions - compared to 11 for his country, before Saturday.

Given, now 35, said: "I left home at 16, and even before I left home, I'd been playing football all my life.

"I was pretty regular at most clubs I'd been at, so it was a bit strange last year.

"It's great to be at Villa and feel part of the group."

The former Newcastle star conceded he made a step down after moving from Champions League City to the midlanders, who were battling relegation last term.

"You're not going to be able to compete with Man City with the amount of money they're spending on players, and they will continue to spend in the future," he said. "It's a different budget here. It's unrealistic saying we're going to compete with them.

"But there's a togetherness in the squad and hopefully we can get a couple more players before the window closes, be it loanees or whatever, and I think it'll help us to have a good season."

Gavin Wilson
MINDSi SPORTS PERFORMANCE
www.MindsiOnline.com