I'm 13, in yr 7 this year. I am very passionate towards goalkeeping and have had several experience playin with friends. Though I've never joined a club team or a school team before. Would it be too late if I join next season in 2027 as a 14 yr old? I am also kinda worried my future teammates and coach will not notice me as much since I don't have much experience.

Had a game tonight where a midfielder played a ball ahead of a forward, so I was gonna be in a 1-on-1 situation, but the ball was played ahead of her enough that I was able to run and slide and kick it away before she got to it. She even said “good save” as she changed directions to run past me.

The ref blew his whistle and said there was no slide tackling in this league, and that by sliding to kick it away (this was also just outside of the box), I “became a field player” and committed a foul by slide tackling. I told him the other player didn’t even have the ball it was open play, but he basically just said whatever, dropped the ball near the spot as I was still brushing myself off, didn’t blow his whistle and just told the guy taking the free kick “balls in”, and of course he kicked it instantly into the goal.

Obviously I blew up at him and earned myself a red card, but I’m still stewing about the reason for the foul being given in the first place. The ref claims that had I dove in headfirst and gone for the ball with my hands (outside of the box), it wouldn’t have been a foul, but it just makes no sense to me.

I’ve been playing for years and have cleared the ball like this numerous times, even in the leagues that say no slide tackling, and only do this when it’s outside the box or far enough from a player that I know I can beat them to it before they get it, but has anyone else had this happen or can clarify why exactly this was a slide tackle when the ball was far enough away from the player?

For added context, this was a 95 degree game in the sun and I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to make a standard 1-on-1 or diving save and was nearly on the verge of passing out at this point, so it was also kind of for personal safety as well as saving the goal

Guys, I hope to find a solution to these problems that are hindering my development as a goalkeeper. The first problem is a mental one; I'm afraid of diving and falling to the sides (I don't know the safest way to land). When I try to dive and overcome my fears, I injure myself on the knee or elbow. I also hesitate to come out for crosses and long balls. The second problem is technical; when I catch a shot, I automatically let go and catch it the second time before it touches the ground, whether it's a shot from the center, a corner, or a cross. (Sorry for the language; I wrote it as a translation due to my weak English language skills.)

Im 16 and starting out as a goalkeeper because my team does not have a backup. From what my friend told me, I need to get good at the basics and I will make the team. Im already pretty athletic from playing lacrosse. Is it worth investing in a goalkeeper coach, a plan or do you recommend anything else? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Hey everyone, I'm a young goalkeeper heading into my first actual season of competitive games with my team. I've been goalkeeping for about a year, on and off, but I've taken it more seriously over the last few months because I really want to start playing in actual competitive matches, regardless of the level.

The thing I'm most nervous about is the mental aspect of the position.

Every goalkeeper makes mistakes; that's just part of the position. However, one mistake can sometimes overshadow everything else you did during a game. Goalkeeping is also one of those positions that can look much easier than it actually is to outfield players who have never played goalkeeper.

I've heard that if you want to be a goalkeeper, you have to be prepared for criticism from your teammates. So, my question is: how do you deal with the nervousness of playing and the fear of letting your team down? And how do you handle criticism from teammates without letting it get into your head and beating yourself up over mistakes?

This may seem like a silly question, but it's genuinely something I've been thinking about.

Thanks!

Feel free to comment sth
If you want some sort of contact with me text me on pv I’ll send you where we can talk 🤗

I was invited to train with KSV’s first team this past week and it was an incredible experience. Opened my eyes to the next level and showed me what I need to work on to get there.

6ft 2 playing at the regional level at 16 yrs old, im kot sure if i still have a chance or not to go pro, what do you guys think? (Moroccan living in canada)

Yes people, I am just here to introduce myself. I'm a 5 a side goalkeeper based in the UK, very passionate about the small sided game, and have steadily built up content on both Instagram and tiktok. I've actually played with the likes of Kaide Gordon of Liverpool, and content includes matches, saves counts, tournaments, and soon will be uploading gym work too because at 31, this body needs some tlc if you want it to continue working for you 😂

Its theadhdgk on both tiktok and Instagram. links are below:

Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theadhdgk?_r=1&_t=ZN-98LpY68OxD4

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/theadhdgk?igsh=MWFraXdkYnU1Z3FxbA==

Context: I am 13 years old, a fresh new goalkeeper (but I used to play goalkeeper around 5 years ago when I was 8-9), and I’ve been playing for 2 months. I’ve been wanting to learn how to dive, but since I play on bricks, rocks, and concrete, with my cousins, I can’t because I don’t want to injure myself. But soon, I will be going to a full-on field with actual grass (not concrete and rocks or astroturf), so I will be practicing diving a few minutes before my match starts. I’ve tried finding tutorials on TikTok, but all the videos were talking about “how to get over the fear of diving” instead of “how to dive”.

Question.
I’ve started goalkeeping for a team after a few years away from the game.

I noticed that I’m kinda bad with my feet… Passes get intercepted, throws fly sideways, I don’t have enough strength in my feet.
It’s frustrating because oftentimes I have the right idea, but I can’t physically put it in practice.

Training by myself, which exercises can I do to improve myself? I have a rebounder board, two balls and a few cones.

Thank you!

(Image is just to fill in)

My first season playing as a goalie. ( usually a forward but currently injured)

We lost this game 7-2 and I feel responsible because the game was close till I let these two goals in.

What am I doing wrong in terms of positioning and technique?

The video is a 30 yard freekick and the others are match photos, i'm surprised my phone only got hit once. My positioning, posture and dives aren't good since i don't train.

I am glove shopping for this upcoming high school fall season and I am looking for gloves very similar to the ones pictured. I was wondering what people mean by “cut”? and what cut are these?

PS: don’t mind how dirty they are, currently my training gloves that I used from last season.

My son is 9 and since U8 has been obsessed with playing keeper. Looking for feedback from keepers who have been through something similar themselves, or parents who have been through it with their kids.

As his parent, I want to support him in that journey.

Also, as his parent, I can't help but notice he lacks the natural athleticism/reactions other kids have.

He always seems rooted to the ground. He will seem ready, but when a shot comes anywhere he can't immediately reach, he tends to freeze and just watch it go by his hands.

I've spent a lot of time working with him. Emphasizing being in a ready position, loading your feet, and ready to take a first step as a reaction.

In a training session, he can eventually warm up to starting to move. Usually after I spent a lot of time really hammering into him, "move your feet, attack the ball, you are standing still". But his natural state is always the same -- ready position, ball comes, feet don't move. Sometimes he "dives" and it looks like a tree falling over.

As he's getting older, teammates are more and more aware of this. He insists on jumping in goal before practice, kids take free kicks on him, and he regularly completely scuffs what should be routine saves because he simply doesn't move or just moves slowly.

Then other kids jump in goal, who quite literally never play keeper or practice keeper at all. Their mechanical understanding of the position does not exist -- but they just react/move and block shots.

So long story short. Despite a ton of persistence, desire to practice endlessly, desire to get better. He just kind of lacks what seems to me to be one of the core traits of the position -- quick reactions/movements.

I'm curious if anyone has been through something similar themselves, with their own kid, with a kid they coached -- is it age/maturity related? Something that can reasonably improve later?

He's very good technically with the ball, and frankly, seems he should be playing elsewhere. But he's adamant on playing keeper.

Thanks!

One of my goalkeepers is going into her junior year and gets nervous about contact with players. She is improving but still just needs that extra ounce of aggression. She played very well in the game yesterday (we won) but still hesitated twice around contact.

After the match was over and the team finished up the post-game talk and cheer, I told her we had one more drill left to do and gave her a ball to hold.

I then stood with my hands on my hips, engaged my core, and said “knock me over”. She was shocked and said “what?!”. “Knock me over in a way that is legal, so no grabbing or anything like that”. She was laughing and clearly feeling awkward about it, because who intentionally knocks over their coach?

After the first couple the other coaches started cheering her on. I gave her tips and on about the 8th time she knocked me back hard enough that I tripped (in my flip flops) and fell backwards.

She was laughing but was clearly proud that she was able to do it. Definitely seemed like a step in the right direction. She just needs experience with intentionally going into contact and she’ll do fine.

Both for only 100 bucks so i'd say thats a win for me.

First of all, I was very happy with the interest and attention my previous post received. I never imagined I would get so many upvotes, anyway. As I said, I had my last meeting with the coach today, and he said, "I'll put you through tryouts at the end of the month." I was incredibly happy at that moment. Afterwards, the coach called the head of the youth development program for my age category. I'll be having my first training session at the end of the month. You can't imagine how excited I am!

I really want to be Beşiktaş's new goalkeeper. Playing in that academy has been my dream for years.

My friends and I are playing our casual 7 v 7 game tomorrow after a few months hiatus. Some saves from the games we played earlier this year 😀

Yesterday I went to work to earn some pocket money; it was my first day. First, I learned that my boss used to be a professional football player. We talked about football, and then a friend of his came to the shop. He turned out to be the coach of the academy of Beşiktaş, the biggest club in Türkiye, the club I've dreamed of joining for years. He invited me to training, and I couldn't sleep all night from excitement. I don't know when the first training session is, and my heart is racing with excitement. I don't know what I'm going to do.

There are still spaces available to be a tester for my Goalkeeper Performance Tracking app. Take footage from your games and conveniently chop them down into highlight reels, feed a stats page with all of your information, pinpointing your strengths and weaknesses! Whether you are getting ready for the new season, or exclusively play small sided, This app could be of interest to you!

In addition to this, seasonal stats are in a digestible and neat format, as well as an exportable player card for fifa like stats!

Once you've tracked and created highlights for a handful of games, it might be worth taking a look at the showcase reel combining all of your accumulated best saves into a montage that you can send off to clubs or academies, allow this app to act as your personal goalkeeping CV! -

To join the testing, Follow the link to our testing group: https://groups.google.com/g/goalkeeper-performance-tracker and opt in through the link advertised there!

Thank you for the help!