Did you see the Man U v Roma match from Mile High Field in Denver on Saturday? Man U on 3-2. Pretty good match.
One aspect that I thought was particularly interesting was Roma's 1st goal. A 50-60 yard shot from MIralem Pjanic over Ben Amos in goal for Man U. Now, Ben Amos is a good GK. On the England U-23 squad, and certainly looked at as a front-runner for a future England #1 spot. Here's something that I immediately thought of after Pjanic's goal settled in just under the crossbar, but beyond a flailing Amos: I wonder if this will temper the "sweeper/keeper" trend which has sort of been revived after Neuer's (Germany) superb showing in the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
One of the great things about World Cups is that they tend to sort of ignite nuances in coaching, tactics, systems of play, etc. Most of these are manifested in the collegiate, high school, and club levels in the Fall season following the World Cup. From the Brazil WC, we will most certainly have GK Trainers working on improving the range of their GKs and encouraging them to not hesitate to play well outside of their penalty areas and play more as a deep-lying defender. And as with all things soccer in the US....the concept is excellent! But sometimes the practical application is lacking. For example: in an earlier Blog I discussed how important it is for a modern GK to be able to play with his/her feet and support their defenders. However, the key to this is know your limits. In other words, endeavor to play like Neuer, but realize that there is ONLY ONE Manuel Neuer-and you're probably NOT him. (He might read this blog....but alas, I doubt it). Ask Ben Amos if we was perhaps a bit too far out of goal, and he would most likely relpy, "Yes, absolutely". Ask him is Pjanic's shot was perfect, and again Amos' reply would most likely be the same. (It was a perfect shot, by the way). Ben Amos would probably be the first to tell you that he learned from his mistake. I'll bet he would say to you, "what I learned from that shot was that as a GK, you must always be ready for opposing players to shoot from anywhere. Literally anywhere." And I would bet the farm that Ben Amos will not let in another 50-60 yard goal again this year....maybe for the rest of his career. Because a fact of life for GKs is....you learn from your mistakes. The good GKs learn from a mistake, put it out of their mind, and re-bound to make match-winning saves later. In fact, Amos did make a wonderful stretching save a few minutes later as he pushed a ball off of his post to preserve the 3-2 win for United.
So, what's my point? It's two-fold. First, as a GK, train at your weaknesses. Try things in training that you would not try in matches. Extend your range in training. Play beyond your comfort zone. Challenge yourself in training to do things in goal that you normally would not do. (By the way, Pjanic and some of the Roma players had been practicing hitting shots from 50 yards away just the day before.....so the goal was NOT a fluke.) But come match-time, you observe and stick to your limits. As a good coaching friend of mine, Brian Kohen says (actually BK was a player of mine and he was a GREAT Midfield/Forward--8 years pro) "You're playing for points. Each game, you play for points. You get points by winning." The GK can win points for his/her team. That's what you train each day to do.
Second, learn from your mistakes. You're a GK. Your mistakes will most likely end up in your net. They're not necessarily failures....rather, they're lessons. Learn from them. Make a pledge not to repeat them. Then, wipe the slate clean, get ready for the next save, and play within your abilities. Continual improvement is sure to follow. And with improvement comes 'points'!
As always, may the ground beneath your dive be soft. May your opponents always shoot right at you, and my your goalposts be 3 feet wide.
All the Best-EV
One aspect that I thought was particularly interesting was Roma's 1st goal. A 50-60 yard shot from MIralem Pjanic over Ben Amos in goal for Man U. Now, Ben Amos is a good GK. On the England U-23 squad, and certainly looked at as a front-runner for a future England #1 spot. Here's something that I immediately thought of after Pjanic's goal settled in just under the crossbar, but beyond a flailing Amos: I wonder if this will temper the "sweeper/keeper" trend which has sort of been revived after Neuer's (Germany) superb showing in the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
One of the great things about World Cups is that they tend to sort of ignite nuances in coaching, tactics, systems of play, etc. Most of these are manifested in the collegiate, high school, and club levels in the Fall season following the World Cup. From the Brazil WC, we will most certainly have GK Trainers working on improving the range of their GKs and encouraging them to not hesitate to play well outside of their penalty areas and play more as a deep-lying defender. And as with all things soccer in the US....the concept is excellent! But sometimes the practical application is lacking. For example: in an earlier Blog I discussed how important it is for a modern GK to be able to play with his/her feet and support their defenders. However, the key to this is know your limits. In other words, endeavor to play like Neuer, but realize that there is ONLY ONE Manuel Neuer-and you're probably NOT him. (He might read this blog....but alas, I doubt it). Ask Ben Amos if we was perhaps a bit too far out of goal, and he would most likely relpy, "Yes, absolutely". Ask him is Pjanic's shot was perfect, and again Amos' reply would most likely be the same. (It was a perfect shot, by the way). Ben Amos would probably be the first to tell you that he learned from his mistake. I'll bet he would say to you, "what I learned from that shot was that as a GK, you must always be ready for opposing players to shoot from anywhere. Literally anywhere." And I would bet the farm that Ben Amos will not let in another 50-60 yard goal again this year....maybe for the rest of his career. Because a fact of life for GKs is....you learn from your mistakes. The good GKs learn from a mistake, put it out of their mind, and re-bound to make match-winning saves later. In fact, Amos did make a wonderful stretching save a few minutes later as he pushed a ball off of his post to preserve the 3-2 win for United.
So, what's my point? It's two-fold. First, as a GK, train at your weaknesses. Try things in training that you would not try in matches. Extend your range in training. Play beyond your comfort zone. Challenge yourself in training to do things in goal that you normally would not do. (By the way, Pjanic and some of the Roma players had been practicing hitting shots from 50 yards away just the day before.....so the goal was NOT a fluke.) But come match-time, you observe and stick to your limits. As a good coaching friend of mine, Brian Kohen says (actually BK was a player of mine and he was a GREAT Midfield/Forward--8 years pro) "You're playing for points. Each game, you play for points. You get points by winning." The GK can win points for his/her team. That's what you train each day to do.
Second, learn from your mistakes. You're a GK. Your mistakes will most likely end up in your net. They're not necessarily failures....rather, they're lessons. Learn from them. Make a pledge not to repeat them. Then, wipe the slate clean, get ready for the next save, and play within your abilities. Continual improvement is sure to follow. And with improvement comes 'points'!
As always, may the ground beneath your dive be soft. May your opponents always shoot right at you, and my your goalposts be 3 feet wide.
All the Best-EV