diving tips

it takes a lot of practice, preferably with someone who knows what there doing. while i don't mean to add to your fear, i would be wary of taking much advice in this forum - you need to be working with someone who sees what you are doing and guides you correctly, as you don't want to hurt yourself.

good luck

 

If you're scared of hitting the post then you're diving all wrong, you have to dive forward, at an angle. Nobody here is really going to help you break that fear, you better start asking around for a Goalkeeper Trainer.

 

helmzgk is right - you should not be near the posts when diving.

The key is to concentrate on the ball. All of your movement should be a natural extension of going for the ball. Don't think about diving. You arn't diving. You are just going for the ball. The dive comes naturally from that. You should not realize you have dived until after you are picking yourself back up.

 

Well it will only hurt for so long...

I'm only joking I played Keeper on my indoor team a few years back and well that was tough to say the least. It's important to know where your diving and into what to prepare yourself. And get your hands over that ball so that the offense can;t get to you, then they'll back off. Supposidly.

"Soccer is not about life or death, but something more"

 

i thought this was a post about taking a dive on the feild, beinga forward i could give advice on that one but not on the goalkeeper stuff unless its taking a dive after contact with the keeper

 

Start off easy...

Stand on ur knees, and then practice with somebody tossing balls to the sides. This feels extremely awkward but it's a buildup .

Then move up to crouching position. Your dives should look like your body's collapsing, your whole body shouldn't touch at the same time. Lead with your thighs, and try to cushion your fall with the ball.

Next get on your feet, and do the same but don't leave your feet yet.

Finally get your server to toss balls a bit further, slowly working your way up to balls with more pace and further away.

Not only should you be diving forward, don't ever play right on your line, play a few yards out depending on the shooters distance etc.

 

The key is to make it look as natural as possible. Let your body go limp as you fall and don't engage in extra theatrics, like a yell or rolling. Usually, the referee really isn't in a good position to tell whether you were clipped or not. It's always a good idea as well to save your dives for when the defender is tackling from behind or at an awkward angle, as that's where it's most likely that the referee will give you the call.

Oh, wait, my mistake, you said you're a GK. Sorry, I'm a striker. Forget everything you just read. I don't dive. Really.

 

another thing is, make sure when you dive your legs dont swing around. Your whole body should remain straight.

And don't dive onto your stomach either

 

again, at the risk of repeating it, i'd strongly encourage you get someone with some experience to work with you on this so you don't get hurt.

that said, i agree that it is good to work up to the air dive, but starting on your rear, then your knees, then to a squat, etc. especially once you get to the squat, you'll be beginning to dive and hopefully getting more comfortable with it and understanding where the various body parts need to end up so that you don't hurt yourself. from there, continuing progressing onward, until you are diving to your side over some object (a ball, a teammate, etc.), thus forcing you to go airborne.

(fyi, if i understand the earlier post correctly, i don't agree with the part about wanting to lead with your thighs on an "air" dive as your legs really should be the last thing returning to the ground).

if you're issue is psychological, you might try working up to it by finding a softer surface to land on while you're practicing. a pool would work as a last resort, but i wouldn't recommend it as it is too unrealistic. however, perhaps a sand pit, or even gymnastic mats, would provide you with a little bit of cushion.

 

What ever you do, DO NO use your hands to break your fall. It's extremely easy to break a finger.

Yes I do know from experience.

 

I was refering to just a normal collapsing dive, lead with your thighs and then sort of rock downwards.

But your right your legs leave the groud last when leaving your feet

 

It's probably best that you do get someone with experience to train you. Ask your coach if he can help you out. Emerson from Brazil missed out on a world cup because he was goofing around at practice playing keeper and dove and injured himself. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just saying be careful.

 

Isn't there a keeper on these boards that also plays in Virginia? Maybe he lives close enough to this kid to help him out. Shoot, if you were in Cali I'd help you out myself, I'm coaching 8 keepers at my old high school. But really, you can tell him all you want on these boards, it's not going to help him. He's gotta be shown how to dive and somebody has to get it into his head that diving is natural for a true goalkeeper.

 

YELLOW CARD!

 

My Keeper friend said yesterday at practice (randomly) that the best Keeper is one who reacts without thinking. Meaning that a good Keeper will make the save no matter what or who is in the way. (S)He will not hesatate(sp?) to put him/herself on the line. The same can be said about a striker (s)he will go for that header, keeping his/her eyes on the ball and not looking away and caring who or what is near him or her. To be a Keeper is to be brave, heck I think thats the most exciting postion (if the game is right) I only wish I could play Keeper better...

"Soccer is not about life or death, but something more"

 

that's very true...the best striker is that who goes into the box with the mentality that "The ball is mine"

 

Amen to that bro.

what happens when the gk and the forward both believe the "ball is mine"? I say the gk wins.

I feel sorry for you, I remember a couple years back i was second guessing myself also, it took a while to get the confidence back, a whole year off from goalkeeping. I wonder if Fabien Barthez was going through the same thing a couple of seasons ago.