Goalkeeping agility is the ability to put your body in

strange positions, often in mid-air, while changing these

positions very rapidly indeed.
-- Alan Wade, Coach Yourself Soccer CONTENTS
TRAINING SESSIONS
Basic Principles
Sidebar: The Right Angle
Collapsed Dive or Cradling
Extension/Aerial Dives
Quick Summary/Mistakes to Watch For Collapsed
Dives
Extension Dives

The dive can be the most spectacular save in soccer, with

the goalkeeper seemingly flying in out of nowhere to keep
the ball from hitting the net. It's an important part of the
keeper's arsenal, but a keeper must have sound
fundamentals to perform a dive successfully.

Diving should only be done as a last resort - good footwork

and positioning should eliminate the need to dive often.
Beware the keeper who loves to dive too much and dives
even on what should be easy saves. It looks impressive, but
safety should come first.
Basic Principles of Diving

Many of the fundamentals of footwork and catching also

apply to diving: stay square to the shooter, move forward
towards the ball, use the hands to catch the ball. For diving,
they are expanded a little.
Use good footwork to get into position to dive. Small
shuffle steps, or occasionally even a quick crossover, need
to be used to get the body into the proper range to make the
dive. The Right Angle:
Just why do soccer goalkeepers dive backwards? The
explanation, and a Java applet that lets you cover all the
angles.

Move forward at an angle into the dive. The Right Angle:

Just why do soccer goalkeepers dive backwards? The
explanation, and a Java applet that lets you cover all the
angles.
The first step going into a
dive should be sideways towards the ball and forward at
roughly a 30-degree angle. This gives the keeper the proper
angle to deflect balls away from goal. One of the biggest
problems for keepers is diving backwards - they put their
weight on their heels and stretch backwards, and often will
deflect the ball back into the side netting. Don't let this
happen! Make sure they start with their weight forward on
their toes and step forwards into the dive.
Get low and shoot out towards the ball. Drive with the near
leg, starting low to generate power. This should come as a
natural progression after the step forward at the angle.
Stay square while diving and after landing on the ground.
Even while in midair, the keeper's body should be square to
the ball. Why? Because this gives them the best catching
position, gets the largest part of their body behind the ball,
and will have them land on their hip and side which is the
safest landing position. Same thing goes after they are on
the ground. Do not allow the keeper to turn face-down
while making the catch and land on their stomach! Not only
can the ball slip through, but landing on the ball can injure
the keeper. Similarly, don't let them roll over on their back
after the catch is made.
Catch the ball with the hands first, then cushion the fall.
Many young keepers are afraid of falling to the ground
while diving and fail to make the catch in the first place.
Always make the catch first, with the hands in good
catching position, then worry about landing. If they have
good technique and land on their side, it will hurt much
less. In addition, if they make a good catch and have the
ball in their hands, they can use the ball as a cushion to
soften the landing.
The Collapsed Dive or "Cradling"

The collapsed dive or "cradling" is used on balls fairly

close to the goalkeeper but far enough to the side that just
reaching out to make the catch does not get any of the body
behind the ball. The intent is to move the entire body
behind the ball and get the hands in good catching position.

The sequence of events on a collapsed dive goes like this:

Use quick footwork to get into proper diving position
Step to the side the ball is on, forward at an angle
Use the near leg push to drive to the ball
Get both hands to the ball to make the catch, using a good
"W" catch
Collapse softly to the ground, putting the ball down first to
cushion the fall and landing on the side (hip and shoulder)
Extension and Aerial Dives
For balls further away, the keeper must extend and get into
the air at the same level as the ball. Again, the whole idea is
to get the body behind the ball and the hands in good
catching position.

The technique is similar to a collapsed dive, except that

now the keeper must generate extra power to drive the body
both horizontally and vertically to get into catching
position. In addition, the landing will be a bit more difficult
since the keeper will be "falling" from higher up.

The technique for aerial or extension dives is this:

Use quick footwork to get into proper diving position
Step to the side the ball is on, forward at an angle
Drive outwards, and upwards if necessary, with the near
foot, starting low and exploding for maximum height and
distance - the goal is to get the body at the same height as
the ball. For low balls, no height is needed so don't waste
energy going up to make "rainbow", just drive horizontally.
Bring the knee of the other leg across the body for
additional boost
Get both hands to the ball to make the catch, using a good
"W" catch
Bring the ball to the ground first to cushion the landing,
then land as softly as possible on the side (hip and
shoulder)

Again, the diving technique attempts to get the body and

hands into position to make a good clean catch. In fact,
when a dive is properly executed, the body should be in the
same position as when making an easy head-high save
standing up. The only difference is that you are horizontal
three feet off the ground! Of course, it can be difficult for
young keepers (especially girls) to achieve great height or
distance, but if they develop proper technique early the
height and distance will come with age and strength.

The combination of stepping and driving with the near foot

and then getting extra boost from the other knee is often
referred to as the "power step". Many young players,
especially girls, will not have sufficient leg strength to get
airborne very well. That's okay - just introduce them to the
proper technique. A good power step and the ability to
explode to the ball will come in time. But don't let them
omit the power step, even if they can't generate much
power now.

Also, many young or beginning goalkeepers will be afraid

of the landing. Tell them to stop thinking so much and just
do it! Focus on getting to the ball and staying square and
the landing will take care of itself. This can be tough to get
past, so be patient.

However, be careful not to overtrain younger keepers when

working on diving, particulary aerial and extension diving.
Introduce the basics of proper technique, but don't push
keepers who aren't ready for the physical aspects of diving.

Finally, if they don't come up with the ball, the keeper

should be ready to spring back to their feet immediately to
make another save if they can (the ball doesn't always end
up in the goal when we miss!). If possible, they should get
back up without using their hands. Once the hands are put
down on the ground to push off, they become useless.
Quick recovery, with hands ready, can often keep the ball
out of the net. Quick Summary - Diving: Mistakes to
Watch For:
Use good footwork to get into position first
Step forward into the dive
Stay square to the shooter
Catch the ball with the hands first
Power to the ball with the near leg, opposite knee drives
across for extra boost
Land on the side (hip and shoulder)
Don't use hands to get back up
Diving backwards
Turning over onto stomach or back after the save
Weak power step and drive to ball

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