Goalkeeper soft hands

I think we’ve all heard the term goalkeeper soft hand. As one student said once, "that is when the keeper puts on his JELLO gloves for game day".   Honestly, there are many coaches and keeper who use this term the wrong way.   Let see if we can help you understand this term.

 Our just4keepers training in Colorado we talk about working on all areas of goalkeeping but we stress that a goalkeeper needs to catch the ball as much as possible. So the term “soft hand” is very handy. This does not mean that your hand will be soft like a pillow when a ball comes to you 40mph, at this speed your hands needs to be like a board and you should be thinking deflection.

 What we mean is to give just enough cushion to receive the ball into your hand.  Example: if you throw or kick the ball against the wall, the ball will rebound right back to you very fast.   However, if you throw or kick the ball to the net, you will see the ball simply drop right there on the spot or near by.  Your hands should be shaped in a form of a basket and with the hard speed of the ball, you will need to avoid catching the ball with a stiff arm. Your arms will need "just enough" backward movement to make a nice catch but without losing your technique and making exaggerated movements.

During our J4K goalkeeper training in Colorado, we not only train them to catch balls at an easy pace but eventually we increase the speed and power of our shot to help them get used to those catches as well. We make our training as real as possible without giving up technique. Therefore, as a goalkeeper coach I use the term “soft hand” every so often but I make a clear point to tell the students to follow all proper techniques to make great catches.

Please be sure to understand that "soft hands" sounds like a simple enough term but it is not something that you are naturally born with i, you have to train under different conditions and situations to make the appropriate catch and adjustments.

 So when you hear the term soft hands make sure you remember this particular blog. Go and catch some balls with soft hands not JELLO hands. By the way, we have HUNDREDS of drills that will help goalkeepers train using this term.

For information on Goalkeeper training in Colorado or in Denver, please call 303-907-9389 or email zurilozano@just4keepers.com

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Goalkeeper Summer camps in Colorado 2014 and Training June 9-11 @ Colorado Academy