A synopsis of why your set position as a goalkeeper should mirror your squat base.
Goalkeeper is an incredibly athletic position that requires strength, explosiveness, coordination, and other physical attributes.
In the run of play, and more often in training, these capabilities are on full display. Any goalkeeper coach will tell you that your shot stopping success rate is dependent upon your set position.
I addressed where I believe we should place our hands in Hand Positioning: An Overview so I won't rehash that information. Instead let's take a few minutes to analyze the athletic roots of the set position, where we should place our feet, and the orientation of our toes to achieve the most success.
The Squat: A Great Athletic Exercise
The squat is an extremely useful exercise that can be directly applied to the position of goalkeeper.
Whether you're loading weight onto a barbell or using your body weight, squatting activates and trains all the muscles that we as keepers use to make saves in the far reaches of the goal while also improving our jumping ability.
It also helps us build fast-twitch muscle fibers that will increase our overall explosiveness and reduce the time it takes to achieve maximum output.
Everyone has a different squat base, it depends on your body dimensions and flexibility. I highly recommend working with a trained professional to identify the best spot for you.
I was fortunate enough to work with many great strength coaches throughout my playing career, primarily during my time at the University of Cincinnati, where we had access to state-of-the-art facilities and extremely knowledgeable strength coaches.
The squat develops power and strength all in one. Conventional squat technique consists of:
Pushing your butt back to initiate the movement
Keeping your feet flat footed
Keeping the chest postured
Shoulders pulled back
Sit down in the squat until your knees hit a 90 degree angle with your hamstrings almost perpendicular to the floor.
Toes are pointing outward
Refer to Fig. 1 for preferred squat technique.
At the 'bottom' of the squat movement we activate the glutes, hamstrings, and quads all in harmony in an explosive movement upwards. Resisting goalkeepers' arch nemesis, gravity, on the way down and pushing against it on the way up the squat helps hone the muscles that are crucial in plyometrics and overall speed for athletes.
We as goalkeepers need to be comfortable with the squat technique since it compares so closely to our set position.
How the Set Position Mirrors the Squat
Our set position as goalkeepers mirrors the squat technique in many ways. Some of these ways include:
Legs are bent to 90 degrees in a low, explosive position
Chest needs to be postured keeping the spine straight
Shoulders are pulled back
Our feet our based slightly wider than our shoulder-width
To have the most shot stopping success while maintaining solid technique we do need to make slight adjustments to this squat base.
Specific Adjustments for Goalkeepers
Some slight adjustments to the squat position are needed to get us ready for saving shots which include:
Instead of orienting the toes pointing outward as in our squat, we want to keep them pointed straight
We will obviously have our hands low and forward
Contrary to the squat where we're flat footed we want to rock forward onto our toes and find a nice balance with a slight forward lean. We want at least 80% of our weight onto our toes or whatever percentage gets you to expose your heels off the ground. We want to be mobile and balanced so find out what works best for you (see Fig. 2)
All of these adjustments are necessary for being set up for making saves with great technique.
Refer to Fig. 2.1 for side-by-side comparison of squat vs. set position
Why the Adjustments Matter
Having our feet slightly wider than shoulder-width seems to be the best for the goalkeeping set position because it allows us the most mobility as well as raw explosion.
It embodies some of the best athletic aspects of the squat technique and gives us a baseline to always work towards that yields consistent results.
The squat exercise foot-width is ideal because it guarantees that we will have ample space and time to take a power step into our dives. We will be able to shift our upper body weight over our power stepping leg with ease which is very important when generating lateral power. The weight bearing leg will be bent at 90-degrees, charged, and ready to push out and extend to the save.
It also keeps us square to our target and improves the hand's approach into the save. The fact that we're able to be balanced, quick, naturally low and explosive are the most important selling points when choosing where to place your feet.
Refer to Fig. 3 for an overview of proper foot orientation and spacing
If our feet are too narrow a few technical pitfalls will begin to manifest, including but not limited to:
We will be forced too tall as you can't get low into the set position
The power step in diving is forced to be elongated which negatively impacts our quickness
By being forced tall we now have to add an additional level change in our upper body and hips when stepping into a dive, again impacting quickness and timing
If our feet are set too wide (wider than shoulder-width) we will also be impacted negatively between the sticks.
Some of the negative effects of a wide set position are:
Our power step is basically useless (unless the goalkeeper has been trained to take a negative step [where the feet are wide and the step moves inward to generate lateral propulsion]
We are slower laterally when our feet are too wide
It takes longer to get our upper body shifted over our power stepping leg which is a detriment to our lateral explosiveness.
Toe the Line
Let's talk about our toes and why we want them to point forward. Having our toes angled outward will have negative side-effects in our diving abilities from the set position.
Stepping into a dive with toes pointed this way will cause a few breakdowns in our diving technique that include:
Our step will be pointing away from where the shot is coming from which will rotate our upper body away from the save messing up our approach.
It's more difficult to generate lateral power and quickness as we have extra hip rotation now
Refer to Fig. 4 for improper toe orientation
Having our toes straight will:
Keep our hips square to the target (the striker/ball)
Allows us to generate lateral propulsion by 'rolling' onto the outside of the power step and push ourselves to the save quickly without rotating the hips which will help our landing
Allows our shoulders to stay square to the target with ease making handling easier at full extension
Refer to Fig. 4.1 for proper toe orientation
Goalkeepers need to be agile and are required to keep the game in front of us.
If we were to be flat footed in our set position not only will we be late to react to any sort of shot, our footwork will be drastically inhibited, and our saves will take up a negative shape which we want to avoid.
For squatting, being flat footed is okay because the weight is counter balanced by your hands and or the weight on the bar. In goalkeeping we need to keep everything in front of us because anything behind is almost a certain goal so it's very important to make this adjustment and find your balance.
The Laws of the Universe
Everyone has a different squat form and set position but there are a few laws that govern success in shot stopping and one of those is having a set position that allows you to be low, balanced, quick, explosive, and powerful.
While the precise foot placement may vary we know the following are required for success at any level:
Our feet must be shoulder-width apart, too wide will cause too many problems with other technical areas and too narrow will negate our ability to be explosive and be low
Our toes need to be pointed straight, this is more important in terms of how we step into dives (which I'll be writing a blog post about that alone so stay tuned)
We need to be up on our toes
Our chest needs to be postured and shoulders pulled back to give us the strongest foundation with our upper body.
I see all sorts of set positions across the ages and levels of the game but rarely at the top do you see narrow set positions. Generally goalkeepers at the highest level take up the position closest to that of what their squat base would be. The athletic advantages that come from a position closest to their squat base far outweigh any other style of set position that I know of.
I believe goalkeeping showcases some of the most athletic skills in any sport. It is why I've dedicated so many years to playing and to studying the position. It's a specialized position and is unique in what it demands from the player who straps on the gloves. Hit the squat rack and see the benefits in your overall athletic ability and most importantly, inside the frame.
Comments