If you are a serious Goalkeeper, at some point you have had to come to terms with your 'Work Ethic' --or lack thereof. Top level GKs have spent hours and hours training at their craft. Each day, they have put on the gear, and gone out to participate in GKs drills. Most of the time, these drills are physically demanding and strenuous. And in order to get the most out of a training session, GKs need to really push themselves. Goalkeeping is a position that demands the GK to open him/herself up to injury in order to train and improve.
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers repeatedly cites the "10,000 hour rule". Gladwell claims that the key to success in any field is, to large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. (Thanks wikipedia). So, it begs the question, does a professional level GK spend 10,000 (a bit over a year) in development and training? Most likely. And probably much more! And putting that time in is important, however, in order to get to that magic 10,000 hour mark, a GK has to have a strong Work Ethic. So, what are the "ingredients" of a good Work Ethic? Well, over the course of 36 years of coaching, here are some attributes that I have noticed about Work Ethic:
1. Commitment to the task
2. Preparation for training
3. Willingness to leave the "comfort zone"
4. Willingness to push the limits physically, mentally, and emotionally
5. Objective view of one's abilities
6. Paying attention to small details
7. Paying attention to large details
8. Willingness to be a leader
9. Acceptance of training tedium
10. Acceptance that improvement comes in small increments
11. Acceptance of failure
12. Determination to avoid failure
13. Acceptance of coaching instruction and criticism
14. Trust and acceptance of coaching knowledge and curriculum
Now, there are many more aspects of Work Ethic. And I'd love to hear some of your views on what constitutes good GK Work Ethic, but one thing I do know for sure--without a solid Work Ethic, a GK will not reach the highest levels. A GK with a good Work Ethic will go as far as he/she wants to go in the sport. So the question is.......do you have, or are you building, a good Work Ethic? Think about it.
Good luck with your pre-seasons! Shoot me your opinions! And may the ground beneath your dive always be soft, may the other team shoot every ball right at you, and may your goalposts be 3 feet wide.
All the Best-EV
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers repeatedly cites the "10,000 hour rule". Gladwell claims that the key to success in any field is, to large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. (Thanks wikipedia). So, it begs the question, does a professional level GK spend 10,000 (a bit over a year) in development and training? Most likely. And probably much more! And putting that time in is important, however, in order to get to that magic 10,000 hour mark, a GK has to have a strong Work Ethic. So, what are the "ingredients" of a good Work Ethic? Well, over the course of 36 years of coaching, here are some attributes that I have noticed about Work Ethic:
1. Commitment to the task
2. Preparation for training
3. Willingness to leave the "comfort zone"
4. Willingness to push the limits physically, mentally, and emotionally
5. Objective view of one's abilities
6. Paying attention to small details
7. Paying attention to large details
8. Willingness to be a leader
9. Acceptance of training tedium
10. Acceptance that improvement comes in small increments
11. Acceptance of failure
12. Determination to avoid failure
13. Acceptance of coaching instruction and criticism
14. Trust and acceptance of coaching knowledge and curriculum
Now, there are many more aspects of Work Ethic. And I'd love to hear some of your views on what constitutes good GK Work Ethic, but one thing I do know for sure--without a solid Work Ethic, a GK will not reach the highest levels. A GK with a good Work Ethic will go as far as he/she wants to go in the sport. So the question is.......do you have, or are you building, a good Work Ethic? Think about it.
Good luck with your pre-seasons! Shoot me your opinions! And may the ground beneath your dive always be soft, may the other team shoot every ball right at you, and may your goalposts be 3 feet wide.
All the Best-EV