Goalkeeping Strategy 101

You're the last line of defense. Are you up to it? 

The midfielder wins the ball and starts a counterattack. He sprints past one defender and passes to a forward, who slips behind the defense to create a breakaway. There is only one player left to beat. 

So why is Brent Erwin smiling? Because he used to be the player to beat. 

And they remember, too. When grooming potential goalkeepers, Erwin is just as interested in their mindset and resiliency as their hands and footwork around the net. 

“Everything in soccer is about scoring goals. The goalkeeper basically says, ‘Forget it.' Goalkeeping is very mental. Height comes into play. And you want to have good hands, a good vertical leap and be very agile. But you also want somebody who wants to be there. Somebody who has a fierce commitment toward not allowing goals.” 

Erwin equates the position to playing cornerback in football—reflexes, speed, athleticism go a long way but quickly are rendered useless without the courage to stop a penetrating player. 

“People say, ‘Show me a great athlete and I can make them a center forward,’ ” Erwin says. “I say, ‘Show me a great athlete and I can make them a goalkeeper.’ But you have to be committed to win the ball. If there is a crossing pass, you can’t say, ‘I’m going to intercept it, I’m going to intercept it’ and then at the last minute say, ‘Uh, I don’t know.’ As soon as a cornerback says that, the receiver catches the ball and is going down the field. If a goalkeeper says that, it’s a goal.” 

Goalkeepers are the only players who can use their hands to intercept a pass or save, block or box away a shot. Erwin teaches keepers to catch anything they can because rebounds, just like in hockey, are more dangerous than first shots. They lead to goals. 

“The hands are so important,” he says. “You should always try to catch it. If you do try to block it, you have to make sure it clears the danger zone, because if I leave you something, you’ll take it.” 

As important, keepers also use their body and mind, often in conjunction, to align the defense, close gaps and limit scoring opportunities. Positioning is crucial to reducing angles and stopping shots and explains why keepers rarely stand on the goal line. The closer to the goal, the more ground they have to cover. By moving forward to defend a shot, the keeper reduces the attacking player’s angle and lowers the percentage of a goal. 

“I want to organize my team,” Erwin says. “The goalkeeper is the only player on the field where the game is always in front of him. He can see everything. He always has to position himself and to put himself in the best position to save the team. He is the last defender, the last in line to eliminate goals. 

“Prevention is better than a cure. If I don’t have to make a save, I don’t want to.”