Skill Testing question

Discussion in 'Girls Youth Soccer' started by GKparent2019, Jun 18, 2014.

  1. GKparent2019

    GKparent2019 Member

    Jun 10, 2014
    Club:
    --other--
    I was hoping someone could shed some light on something for me. My Daughter is going into U13 and is a GK. She just went through testing for US National training and was never tested on any GK stuff. Now she has been going to training for the last yr so they know she is a GK. She said they said in the beginning that all Gk's need to be able to do everything a field player does.
    They tested on juggling with both feet and head, speed dribbling, shooting and dribbling in slalom course. None of these she does in any game. We watched many world cup games and never saw Gk's do any of these things. They did get tested on receiving and passing, 2 touches, which she did fine in. Something she does all the time. One more thing the did was passing the ball off the ground into a box that was 20 yrds away. Another thing I understand Gk's need.
    She walked off the field deflated because she is not any where as good as the field players and these things.
    My question is do I tell her she needs to work on juggling? shooting? even though she knows she will never really use those skills. Why does it always seem like Gk's are forgotten?
     
  2. nicklaino

    nicklaino Member+

    Feb 14, 2012
    Brooklyn, NY
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    The future is the sweeper/keeper. So she has the skills of a field player like ball control I guess that the juggling was to see that. Dribbling she has to be able to dribble, shooting? Got me on that one? The job of a sweeper/keeper is too intercept opponents throw passes when the keeper comes out of the area.

    She has to be able to distribute throwing, half volley distribution is important get distance with less height really good for a quick strike.

    Have to be able make saves on your left and your right. When you dive and make a save you should use the ball to help break your fall.

    Have to be able to do the calaspe save which should be almost faster then gravity.

    Be able to box or punch the ball in heavy traffic.

    The only time a keeper had to shoot might be in doing headers. Sometimes a keeper might have to head the ball. Or volley or half volley a ball as a save.

    When she catches the ball it should be a relatively silent catch. They call that catch the contour catch.
     
  3. GKparent2019

    GKparent2019 Member

    Jun 10, 2014
    Club:
    --other--
    Nicklaino - I understand dribbling to an extent but you wouldn't want your GK dribbling to far away from the goal. The ball control you mention by juggling is not something a GK would really do. If there are players around the GK when the ball is near, the GK wouldnt juggle the ball but either grab it or kick away.
    Everything else you mentioned that is actually GK stuff , that field players do not do, she can do and does. Also , that GK stuff she was not tested on. No GK stuff.
    We were always told the GK would have to learn everything field players do but never realized juggling and shooting would come into play. Just odd to me. Now I have never played Soccer and my experience is from 5 yrs of my daughter playing, the TV and internet. So I really don't know.
     
  4. stanger

    stanger BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 29, 2008
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It goes to ball skill and athleticism. Some keepers look like idiots when the ball is passed back to them under pressure. keepers need to be able to control a bad back pass, something juggling and dribbling abilities enable them to do.
     
  5. nicklaino

    nicklaino Member+

    Feb 14, 2012
    Brooklyn, NY
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Well things happen in a game. A keeper does not just stay on the goal line or in his area. You have to be prepared to play the ball when you can't use your hands, and the ball is in the air not just on the ground. Team mates won't alway be around to get the ball. But opponents might you have to be prepared.

    Well I have played probably before you were born. Good luck to your daughter.
     
  6. GKparent2019

    GKparent2019 Member

    Jun 10, 2014
    Club:
    --other--
    I do understand a bad pass back or if she is out of the box situations. She gets unhung up watching the field players juggle and get 50 to 100 then she steps up and gets maybe 10. To control a bad pass she might about 2 touches to bring it down to her feet. She takes passes back and does a good job with them. I guess she will have to move on from this experience and learn from it. Something I tried to explain to her. She will be back at US National training next month, we were told everyone was coming back.

    Thanks for the insights.
     
  7. stanger

    stanger BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 29, 2008
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    50-100 juggle touches isn't that many. There are kids in my daughter's club that can do 1000+.

    If the coaches are looking for those skills, she should be in the backyard with a ball at every available moment.
     
  8. Norsk Troll

    Norsk Troll Member+

    Sep 7, 2000
    Central NJ
    I'll take a player who can bring the ball DOWN out of the air, rather than juggling it back UP, any day of the week.
     
  9. stanger

    stanger BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 29, 2008
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's the same skill. Kids that can juggle should be better at volleys, first touch shots and controlling a ball in the air.
     
  10. Norsk Troll

    Norsk Troll Member+

    Sep 7, 2000
    Central NJ
    I wasn't talking about volleys and shooting out of the air. I said bringing the ball down, as in settling it onto the ground to be played under control, which I do not agree is the same skill. Learning to cushion the ball and deaden all of its momentum quickly, while redirecting it onto the turf, either with foot, thigh, chest or head, requires completely different angling of the surface and resistance to the ball than what's required to gently and repeatedly send the ball back upwards in a nicely controlled parabola.
     
  11. stanger

    stanger BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 29, 2008
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have gone over this with more than a few high-level club coaches and they disagree with you.

    Juggling the ball requires foot/eye coordination in addition to the amount of force applied to the ball and part of the foot/leg/chest/shoulder/head and sometimes back/neck.

    The ability to play a ball flighted to a player requires not just trapping it but usually some kind of directional touch. kids that are experts at juggling have the ability, where kids that can't juggle might be good a some of it but not as much.

    I can use my daughter's team as an example (u16 girls, State Cup team). We have one girl that posts youtube videos of her ball tricks, can get 1000's of juggle touches. You can play a ball to her at any level from on the ground to her face and she usually can bring it under control.

    My daughter's ability is nowhere near that but can still trap a ball. the difference comes from the pressure from the defenders. My daughter isn't as able to control a flighted pass under tight pressure as the girl that can juggle.
     
  12. Norsk Troll

    Norsk Troll Member+

    Sep 7, 2000
    Central NJ
    Because she spent hundreds/thousands of hours touching the ball to perfect her juggling. She could have spent a third of that time working on bringing the ball down out of the air and be just as good in a game situation, and could have spent the other two thirds perfecting other skills.

    In my mind, the outlier (1,000+ juggles in a row) doesn't prove the case, but simply proves that any player willing to put that much time and effort into working with the ball will be a good player, regardless.

    Clearly, we disagree, but no matter.
     
    stanger repped this.

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