On-field training - Between-The-Posts (2024)

An opponent with a ball behind your goal is a special situation. You should not lose the overview about the field in front of you, but also should never lose the contact to the ball and the opponent. The opponent has two options:

• Starting a dribbling and moving himself that smart that you lose the ball out of your eyes during your re-positioning all the time whereas you get beated and he scores
• He does a strong pass into the field where another opponent takes a direct shot

Independent of his decision and your chosen movement, your body should always face forwards to the field. Even if you lost eye contact to the ball, it maximises the chance for a save, as you cover at least some part of the net with your body. Therefore position yourself on the goalie line (legs are in the goal). It may sound weird, but trust us, you will benefit from it when you stay between the posts.

Besides the shots in the slot, shots from the short distance area are very dangerous too and almost impossible to catch. The reflex to close your hand when the ball touches your palm is too slow. Therefore always be ready for the rebound. As you have almost no time to bring your body in the right position between the goal and the ball, you already have to be positioned when the shot comes. A key to the success is the scanning of the players and the field. Identify possible strikers to move with the right power immediately when the pass comes for the final shot.

posts with exercise are coming :)

Shots from the “long distance area” are the “least” dangerous ones. Your benefit is the time that you have to react. Bring your body in the perfect position, focus the ball and be ready for the save. The chance is high that you catch the ball to avoid the rebound.

Actually, shots from the long distance area do not happen that often during the game as not many players have the faith in their shots to score from such a long distance.

However, it gets more difficult for you, independent of the strength of the shot, if a player crossing your view and you lose the ball for milliseconds. That’s why the right positioning is that important!

Let me repeat one important sentence about the areas. These areas like in the picture are not set in stone. The borders vary depended of the player and his game play. Some players have a huge red zone and less green and other players vice versa. Always keep that in mind!

• Goalie focused - The focus of this category is the training of single goalie skills. Therefore less frequency and less field players
• Team focused - The focus of this category is the training of the whole team. This means a higher frequency and more field players

The default shows you exercises of both categories.