education

Futsal

Summer Break, What do we do now?

This article was written by Chris Rue, Futsal Manager

We are at that time of year again when players and parents are scrambling to find the best solution for the upcoming year. Since the demise of the US Development Academy, the alphabet soup of playing options creates an absolute nightmare for all constituents involved during this time. With over 25 years’ experience, I am frequently asked to advise players and parents on what they should do. My typical answer is; take a break from all the nonsense. What is the hurry? Enjoy the summer and use FUTSAL to develop.

An often-overlooked aspect of the whole tryout season is player psychology. The desire to be included in a tribe makes us human. Subjecting young players to a barrage of tryouts is not healthy. Coaches are there to monitor and grade performances in a narrow time frame which leads to varying results. Some player’s abilities set them apart on the field, but can be harmful off of it and vice versa. It really is a difficult time for all involved. Coaches and parents can help alleviate the stresses by encouraging players to simply play and enjoy themselves. Futsal offers a great environment for this.

In the south, summer futsal season is here. Clubs who offer futsal programming during this time have a great advantage. Not only are some players seeking clubs who offer futsal, they can get a feel for teammates, coaches and environment to make an informed decision. Coaches can also get a feel as to the right fit of a player. It’s a win-win for all.

Futsal offers a completely different vibe. We play music at our futsal trainings and encourage players to be dynamic. First time flicks, dummies, elastico’s, and megs are celebrated. The gym gets rocking and all those tryout concerns go out the window. The important stuff; friendship, comradery, passion, and love of play emerges. These are the environments that players and parents’ thirst for, offering this will separate your club from the others.

Most factors determining what team a player/parent chooses are out of the club’s control. What a club can control is the environment. Fostering a setting filled with all types of development opportunities in a fun environment can be a difference maker. In the past few years, many players and parents, especially in the younger ages, have been exposed to futsal. Most see the obvious benefits and now choose clubs offering it. Be that club!

May 30, 2022

Goalkeeping

GOALKEEPING – What do coaches look for in tryouts?

This article was written by Sean Connors, Global Goalkeeping Director

Every year, tryouts bring out emotion for players, parents, coaches and clubs. Excitement! Fear! Anxiety! All parties involved are heightened to the importance of tryouts.

Goalkeepers are a unique position to the sport, and with that also have unique requirements when it comes to tryouts! To gain some insight I asked Head Coaches the following question:

As a head coach, what do you look for from a goalkeeper during a tryout? How do you select a GK?

“I think first is what they show they CAN do right now. Then what you think they are CAPABLE of in the future. And for me their ‘presence’, how they carry themselves, how their teammates respond to them AND how their opponents respond to them.”

~ Arby Busey, Head Coach: Seattle Pacific University Women’s Soccer ~

“Because of the way we want to play, we put a high priority on a goalkeeper’s ability to build from the back so we look for goalkeepers that are comfortable on the ball, have a wide range of passing, and are comfortable executing under pressure. We look for guys that have a command of the box and communicate. Guys who are leaders and organize their teammates. Ultimately, goalkeepers are always judged on their ability to keep the ball out of the goal so that will always be an important piece of what we look for – Does he save the ones he should save consistently? Can he come up with a big save when the team needs it?”

~ Kevin Sakuda, Head Coach: Seattle Pacific University Men’s Soccer ~

“If I had the perfect scenario then I would prefer an athletic and strong goalkeeper, able to react and reach the edges of the goal with great reaction speed. Willing to dominate the box in the air and remain patient and big while confronting 1v1 situations“
~ Arian Hoxha, NTD Rush Soccer ~

A goalkeeper -continues Arian- “should be willing to dominate the box in the air and remain patient and big while confronting 1v1 situations. Must be comfortable with both feet and able to remain calm while playing out from pressure. Able to distribute from restarts and in the flow of play and able to start counters safely. Obviously understand how to set up for free kicks and all other restarts. Finally, become part of the game and help the defenders with information and caution them about undetected movement from opponents”

“As quickly as possible I put them in big goals in a 5v5 setting. Here, I look for all the attributes needed, confidence, ration, moving on to the next play, reading of the play. Not much can be hidden during this scenario.”
~ Tim Schulz, CEO Rush Soccer ~

As a coach, go into your tryout with a clear understanding of the needs and player profile your team requires of the goalkeeper. Of course the GK needs to keep the ball out of the goal, but what else does your team require? What are the non-negotiables for your team?

As a player, focus on what you can control during the tryout. You may or may not get a lot of action on the goal. Some shots may not be saveable. But the GK can always control how they communicate and interact with the team. Focus on being clean in possession and making good decisions as often as possible.

When evaluating a goalkeeper, use the game! Goalkeepers can trick head coaches in evaluation if they only base the decision off, of a GK training session. Sometimes GKs have great hands and footwork, but when placed in a pressure situation wilt. Use the game to see how they can protect the goal, communicate, distribute, and handle pressure!

May 26, 2022

Coaching · News

Tryouts:”Should we just split them up and play?”

This article was written by Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director.

Over the years I’ve seen two sorts of tryouts. The first one had a battery of irrelevant training activities and the second one was the ‘let’s split up and play because ultimately I want to see what you’re capable of doing in the real game’.
I’m personally quite against the first one and until a few years ago, to be fairly honest, I would have been a strong supporter of the second type, but now I’ve realized that there is a third option that actually works best, but first things first, it is worth mentioning that a common mistake in tryouts is that we observe but we don’t know what we are looking for. This needs to be put in context. Which is the developmental stage we are looking at? Everything you need to consider, in that sense, is straightforwardly expressed in Rush’s Development Blueprint.

Now let’s imagine that I’m running tryouts for a U9-12 segment. What am I looking for? Skill. Do I actually care too much about the tactical understanding of the player? Not really, if it’s there I’ll think that is great, but it is not a priority to me. In other words, I would way rather find a tactically deficient U11 that has great skills than the opposite.

Then, if I want to assess skills, I’ll definitely need to play a real 7v7 or 9v9 game and observe that, as there is only one fully realistic situation that is the game itself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use other activities in brief intervals to ‘get a quick glance’ at more specific areas, so in this case and to over simplify the approach, I would want to know as soon as I can who’s good at Dribbling, Passing, Receiving, Shooting, Heading (if possible, second priority), and 1v1 Defending. How can I accomplish that? Simply running some short activities and finishing with a scrimmage. Here’s an example of a tryouts session I’ll be running.

Bantam Division: 2-3 Touches 3v3 + 2 Neutrals Keep Away

In 30 x 20 fields play 3v3 + 2 Neutrals keep aways in 2-3 touches max (adjust depending on the level of the players: the less touches, the more complicated). Teams can score by completing 10 passes.
This simple keep away, played for 15 minutes, might be all you need to quickly perceive who’s good at Passing and Receiving. Plus, you might get to recognize who has a basic understanding already of utilizing space.

Bantam Division: Finishing 1v0, 1v1, 2v1

This is another extremely simple activity you can run for 15 minutes. These repetitions of 1v0, 1v1, and 2v1 situations will quickly allow you to get an idea about who is good at Finishing, Dribbling, and 1v1 Defending. Place three parallel cones close to the center circle and line players up in three teams, having the first line in one color and the other two in a different one. This is a finishing activity in double roles.

The first line starts by going to goal 1v0 (you can add a condition or a line to have them shoot from outside the box, for example). As soon as that player shoots, he turns around to become a defender. Then, the player in the second line goes 1v1 against this defender. Once he/she finishes, the second player becomes a supporting attacker for the player in the third line, and the first player continues to defend one more ball.

Bantam Division: Attacking – 4v4 + GK’s Scrimmage (Or 7v7 or 9v9)

Now that you have a base idea of the skills you are looking for, make them play a scrimmage and try to check if your initial observations were accurate. If you followed the session so far, you’ll probably have 45 minutes to play so you can always use simple conditions to create more repetitions of the skill you are trying to ‘double check’.

Example:

You need five passes to score or teams can also score goals by making 5-10 passes (Passing & Receiving)
Everybody plays man to man marks for 5 minutes (Can help observing defending behaviors, dribbling, and receiving)
Teams need to shoot to goal every 10 seconds max (Finishing).
You need to dribble at least one opponent to be allowed to score (Dribbling).

These are just some of the many conditions you could use.

Tip for observing: Do it alone during the session. Don’t assess players with another coach, in fact try to stay away and not observe one another, so your analysis remains objective and is not influenced by someone else’s thoughts. After the session, get together and discuss what you’ve seen.

Hope this helps, Coach! Good luck on tryouts! Go Rush!

May 3, 2022

Futsal

“Fixo – The court General”

This article was written by Chris Rue, Rush Soccer’s Global Futsal Director

The fixo position in futsal could be considered the most vital position on the court. Strong, quick and vocal, this player is in the center back of the diamond and typically breaks up the opponent’s attack and starts the offense. A team’s success can be attributed to the quality of their fixo. With leadership qualities similar to a point guard in basketball, they become the court general and are very comfortable with the ball in possession, even when pressed. They can anticipate the game to intercept passes and start counter attacks, either by penetrating on the dribble or with a pass. A high level fixo has a great passing range with different techniques to find the pivot, but above all, their bravery to block shots can be considered their greatest asset.

When developing a player, coaches should encourage experiencing this position. The level of concentration required to play fixo is very high. Anticipation, bravery, and good decision-making attributes, both offensively and defensively, are key characteristics. They often use deception in their passing with no look passes, sole delays with scoops, and little flicks to evade defenders. The fixo should be comfortable with the ball under pressure. The ability to see past the first pressing defender with confidence combined with the spatial awareness to deliver the telling pass or penetrate with the dribble from deep, will create scoring opportunities.

Watch Futsal fixo super star Wesley Bocão do the job!

A fixo is also very adept in the 1v1 tackle and will disrupt the opponent’s attack. Their communication to get the team in defensive shape is an important role for this position. The court general will also lay their body on the line to get that last ditch block in to stop shots, encouraging teammates to do the same. Energy, courage and bravery displayed by this player is contagious.

In my experience with futsal, I find it interesting that the game flips a bit, positionally speaking, from soccer. Strikers and attacking midfielders make some of the best fixo players whereas defenders make for good pivots. This may be one of the reasons players find the futsal experience so enjoyable. They get to play in different positions to develop other aspects of their game. The fixo position carries a lot of responsibility on the team. Players should all see the game and feel the pressure from this position as it will enhance their development and understanding of the game.

There’s a special beauty in watching a fixo play his part. Nothing defines them better than brave hearts and smart feet.

April 28, 2022

Goalkeeping

“What are you doing?! Don’t you know you have to catch the ball?!”

This article was written by Sean Connors, Rush Soccer’s Global Goalkeeping Director

One of the Rush GK Program Standards is that coaches must work to create a safe environment for the goalkeepers. This is specific to the GK Coach but also holds true for the team coach as their interactions with the goalkeeper carry significant weight. The team coach is there on game day and typically makes decisions about play time. Interactions on game day, and managing the emotions highs and lows, can impact the GK’s performance in both the short and long run.

The following excerpt is from the Rush Goalkeeping Curriculum:

Coach must show constant unwavering support
Coach must communicate every day
Coach must be honest – good and bad news
Coach must care for them as human beings
Coach must be strong for them in the bad times

The reality is that every Goalkeeper will make a mistake. Every Goalkeeper will let a ball in their goal. How Goalkeepers handle this setback will define their success. Work with each Goalkeeper to handle their emotions and work to be as even as possible. Never allow the Goalkeeper to get too high or too low. Instead ALWAYS focus on learning from the movement and moving on to the next save.

Game day is special to the players, coaches and fans and what we do and say as coaches can have a direct impact on all participants. Here are some tips to help you and your GK have a successful game day:

Create a routine. This starts with consistent communication. If there are two GKs on the team, establish how play time will be decided, and if it changes game to game, establish when, where, and how they will be told.
Warm up. Ideally there is a GK coach available to take the GK through their game day warm up. If not, work to figure out how the GK will be properly warmed up. Is it the head coach stepping away from the team? Is it the other GK on the team? Is it one of the bench players? There are pros and cons to each scenario. The key is to make it consistent so the GK knows exactly what is coming their way game to game.
Coaching the GK during the game. There is no special formula for speaking to a GK during the game. They are players just like everyone else. However you have to take into account key physiological information into consideration:

They are special to coach
They define the game – Win or Lose
They are always under pressure
They emotionally crave success
Their mistakes are easily observed
They are an easy target for criticism
Their life has Highs and Lows
They suffer constantly Changing Self-Esteem

When coaching the GK during the game try to stay positive. Reinforce the next save mentality. Help the GK to diagnose what went wrong for them, how they can improve for the next action, and give them continued support and belief.

Common coaching language myths!

“If you can get two hands on the ball, you should catch it.”

Yes and no. Being able to get two hands on a ball gives the GK the opportunity to catch the ball. Take into account the pace of the ball, the movement/knuckling of the ball or even the GKs ability to see the ball. Also take into account the skill of the goalkeeper. Are they able to catch the ball consistently to start with? If not then there should not be an expectation to execute the skill consistently during a game.

“You need to catch every ball if it goes into the six yard box.”

This is not a realistic expectation. The statement doesn’t take into account the pace of the ball, type of service, traffic in the box, skill level, and most importantly exact location of the service. There is a big difference between a ball floated middle six and a ball whipped near post with pace. Be mindful of those differences when speaking with your goalkeeper and setting unrealistic expectations.

“You can never get beat near post.”

Hate to say it, but getting scored on near post will happen to all GKs even at the highest level. The real issue is about the GKs starting position making sure they are in the ball line to protect the goal. Then the GK must be disciplined to protect the goal first and not cheat to defend a potential cross. If the GK moves early to defend the cross and then is scored on at the near post, the GK must be taught to be patient.

To wrap it up, I believe the Rush Goalkeeping Curriculum says it best: “The coach must work to create an environment that is safe for the GK to train and make mistakes. The reality is all Goalkeepers will let in goals, especially during training when they see shot after shot. Work with them to be ok in those moments by focusing on learning from the goal and then moving on to the next save”

April 25, 2022

Rush Way

Rush Way: Playing Time Using The 80-20 Rule

This article was written by Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director.

I’ll start with an honest comment: I totally made the following two mistakes when I started coaching.

I was starting my coaching career and I had decided after studying and hearing from more experienced professionals that I wanted to give equal playing time, so suddenly I found myself coaching games in which I was spending most of my time trying to fight the clock and make it as balanced as possible for all of my players.

I had also studied and was supportive of the idea that a developing player should not specialize positionally too early, so as my team was under the generally referenced age of 13 to start the specialization process, I was playing, within the game, many of my players in different positions.

You can imagine how chaotic and complicated it can be to try to coach a game in which you’re trying to accomplish both things simultaneously: Give equal playing time to all, and allow players to experience multiple positions. It was a mess and I had so much going on that my coaching was almost completely based on administering these two factors.

It didn’t take me long to fix the second one and say: “Ok, I do want these players to experience different positions, but that doesn’t mean they have to all do it within the same game. Let’s spread that out”, so suddenly Danny that year was playing some games as a mid and some others as a defender, and here and there as a forward. Good, we got that one sorted out.

Now for the always debated topic of playing time. I re-stated my resolution that I still support to this day: Give equal playing time. Just because Danny is a bit better today than Johnny, that doesn’t give him an automatic pass to have more developmental opportunities. What if Johnny is just a late developer? Does he deserve to get less opportunities to develop his potential just because of that? The answer is no, so the problem to solve is how we can give equal playing time without going into the craziness of my early days. The Rush Way 80-20 gave me the answer. Read it below from the Rush Way Philosophy.

Playing Time

Playing time for any individual is completely at the coach’s discretion. Rush encourages that playing time at all levels should be equal throughout the season. At the younger developmental ages, players should be exposed to as much of the game as possible. Limiting team roster size will aid in increased playing time for all players.

At the older/higher levels there will be instances when playing time will vary from game to game, but if player placement has been completed correctly, then equal playing time throughout the year should be achieved. For instance, of your ten field players, this could mean you play eight of your starters and play two of your weaker players, 80/20 rule. This will provide a more balanced level of play. Especially in the youth division, starters should vary throughout the season.

Simple and effective solution. If one day, because the game was like this or like that, Suzie played more than Jenny, you don’t have to feel so bad about it, maybe next game Jenny plays more. Sometimes this happens naturally and you don’t even need to plan it so much.

At the younger ages, I think the 80-20 is also great to remove the “I’m a sub feeling”. As you constantly rotate the starting team, everybody feels important.

Tim Schulz, Rush Soccer’s President & CEO, and the founder of the club, talked to us about this during a podcast interview highlighting this same last point.

However, I do think that the 80-20 loses strength as the players enter the last couple of years at the club. U17+ to use an age group as a reference. Even if I truly think and frequently tell my players that to be a starter within my team doesn not necessarily mean I consider them better, because players are different and might offer diverse skill sets and there are so many reasons why a coach might pick this or that starting team, it is true that most of the times there is a certain tendency, or a certain preference for an eleven, and at this stage I don’t want to shy up from actually talking about starters and subs, and the reason for that is that we get close to the performance stages that they aspire to (whether it is college or professionalism), and this is how it will be then, so I care about preparing them to deal with adversity if they’re not in the first eleven. To be a good sub is actually something that you can learn and I know many high level coaches that look at this because they want to know if a player, in case they’re substitutes, will still contribute to the group or will become a cultural assassin (quoting Damien Hughes on his book ‘The Barcelona Way: Unlocking The DNA Of A Winning Culture’). In fact, when we spoke to Fernando ‘Bocha’ Batista, who at the time was Argentina’s U20 & U23 MNT Head Coach, he made a strong emphasis on this topic.

Beyond that aspect, I don’t want to be hypocritical. The players realize that there are teammates that I overall think are my first picks, so I don’t want to lie to them.

Lastly, this actually allows me to also coach the starters to be good starters, so I tell the group openly: If you’re in the first eleven, train hard to stay in it and know that I support you even if you have a couple bad games, don’t fear to be on the edge because you got up with the wrong foot today, and if you’re a sub, work even harder to prove me wrong and know that if you make it to the first 11, I’ll support you just like I did with the player that was starting before.

Maybe there’s a better way, but I think you stay honest, loyal, and fair to your players when you approach it like this.

In summary and to make it a simple rule of thumb, use the 80-20 until they reach U17 and from there move progressively to a more similar format to what they’ll experience at performance stages. This might be obvious, but basically we are saying: The closer you get to performance stages, the more we try to resemble the environment.

February 8, 2022

News

Rush’s Worldwide Sporting Project

This article is based on an interview with Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director, based on his presentation “How To Develop & Implement A Club’s Player Development Approach” at the 2022 USC Convention.

“Every sporting organization makes philosophical statements publicly, expresses core values, and beliefs, but very few manage to imprint this in every action. If we took away the logos, the colors, the banners, and everything was neutral, on a field we’ve never been at and with a group of players and coaches we’ve never met, running a session we’ve never seen before, would there be anything on that session that would tell you ‘yes, that’s a session from my club’? I think in most cases, most sporting organizations would honestly say ‘no’. Well, that’s what we want to accomplish, and today I’ll explain our project to make that happen” – expresses Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director, at the start of his presentation at the 2022 United Soccer Coaches Convention and continues – “There’s no secret sauce, the right approach or the ‘solution’, in most cases, tends to be specific to the context of the ‘problem’. Our sporting project is not an undeniable truth, it’s a project tailored to the characteristics of our club, players, and coaches, and has the objective of imprinting our club’s DNA in everything that we do, of turning words into actions. This is something that very few sporting organizations in the world have accomplished. I believe we can”.

Rush Soccer’s sporting project, in terms of technical development, is basically explained in three basic stages that run simultaneously but alternate priorities.

DESIGN / DEVELOP is the phase in which the focus was to define the club’s player development approach. “The construction of The Heart Of The Rush as our cornerstone document that summarizes our identity, a Game Model that represented the concepts that we foresee our full rounded player has mastered and that sets the basis to favor the learning process by standardizing our language, and the Blueprint to provide a base structure and progression to teach the foundations that our players will need towards dominating those concepts, that’s the framework of it all. That’s where and how we ‘line the field’. Within that framework, the curriculum itself becomes purely an example, and this is important because we don’t aim to prescribe anything but provide a context that grants the representation of our club’s DNA (example below). Within that framework, you have the liberty of expressing yourself. We wouldn’t conceive or accept a different approach than that” – explains Pablo.

IMPLEMENTATION is explained as the ongoing, predominant phase nowadays. “Once again, solutions are specific to the problems. In our case, as the largest youth soccer club in the world, operating in so many different contexts, it would be nearly impossible to always work on an individual basis. We need to use massive approaches without becoming too impersonal. Technology, for the massive side, can be very useful. The creation of Rush Soccer Development as our “one stop shop’’ platform to access all of our resources for player, coach, parent, and club development, complemented with The Rush Coaching Manual to bring our curriculum to life, are vital tools for success.

The season planner, within Rush Coaching Manual and allowing us all to create Rush specific season plans by simply answering a few questions, has a special role in this project. The challenge we are facing now is to work on an individual basis with all of our clubs to customize the implementation model. Again, solutions specific to each context” – adds the presenter.

WHAT’S NEXT?

“July 2022 will find us releasing the missing piece: The Rush Way Coaching Certificate. This is a key aspect for implementation, to help us share the message massively and assist all of our coaches in learning to use our tools.

This will all be combined, as said before, with other initiatives and in person approaches: Club visits, workshops through Select events, podcasts, webinars, among many others.

After that, it will be about ASSESSING COMPLIANCE. That’s where we want to be in 2023. Once we’ve implemented the club’s approach in most locations, it will be time for us to adopt a ‘permanent improvement’ mentality, so it’s time to assess how we do in certain areas, but always granting a consequent development plan. There’s no point in assessing if we don’t know how to help the clubs and coaches develop in those areas after, so we’ll build a team of Club Technical Developers formed by top professionals from our network that can work with each club, based on an initial assessment, for months to help them improve in the areas identified, to then reassess” – he explains.

“In our case, there are nine Key Performance Indicators we want to see all across the board:

Coaching Training Session The Rush Way
Coaching Games The Rush Way
Rush Way Culture Implementation
Rush Curriculum Implementation
Programming to Maximize Playing Hours in U12 and under
70 Games Implementation & Tracking
6-3-1 In all teams
Rush Way Coaching Course Compliance
Continuous education

Ultimately, by 2024 we are aiming to start posting Rush’s Worldwide Technical Reports, through which we can bring transparency and clubs can observe how they rank in these areas in comparison to other partners” – expands Pablo to then conclude – “The last stage is to observe, as in the graph below, that this entire project forms one of the many areas that a long term well rounded club development program can incorporate. This is purely the technical side. The objective is to, long term, replicate the model to assist our clubs in other areas like HR, Marketing, or Governance, for example. It will take us time, not only to develop but to implement in such an extensive club, but we’ll make it happen, I’m confident of that”.

February 3, 2022

News

The Rush Mentor Program 2021-22 Is Here – APPLY NOW!

That’s right, coach! The Application Window for the 2021/22 cycle is open. Be part of our club’s top-quality Mentorship Program!

The Mentor Program is a 10 month-long education and mentorship opportunity for a select number of Rush coaches. This program was created to support standout coaches and Rush professionals with a desire to have an impact in the development of our organization, and become experts and ambassadors of the Rush Way and the Rush organization overall.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Format: The Rush Mentors Program operates on a blended format, with online events as well as in person.
Advice: Our mentees closely discuss and develop their projects and assignments with their mentors, who are chosen for their specific expertise and experience in such matters.

WHAT DO WE EXPECT FROM OUR MENTEES?

Passion – Mentees will be passionate about their own development and committed and diligent about their goals. They will currently be working within a Rush club.
Accountable and Tenacious – Mentees will hold themselves accountable and strive to perform at their highest level, even when stretched outside of their comfort zone.
Unity – Rush Mentees will be committed to the Rush community, to learning, and to implementing the Rush Way.

APPLICATION PROCESS

STEP 1 – APPLY TO THE PROGRAM: Apply to the program by filling a quick form. The Rush Mentors Program Application Deadline is September 30th, 2021.

STEP 2 – REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS: Applications will be reviewed by the Rush Soccer Technical Staff and a candidates shortlist will be contacted on an individual basis.

STEP 3 – SELECTION OF CANDIDATES: After careful review, the Rush Soccer Development Team will select a number of successful candidates, who will be contacted on or before October 15th, 2021.

STEP 4 – READY, SET, GO! The Rush Mentors Program commences on October 18th, 2021.

Are you one of the ideal candidates? APPLY NOW!

September 10, 2021

Goalkeeping

Clueless About Goalkeeping? Part 2 – How Far Out Of The Goal Should My GK Stand?

This article was written by Sean Connors, Rush Soccer’s Global Goalkeeping Director.

Missed Part 1? Click HERE to learn more about GK Coaching!

How far out of the goal should your GK stand? What does it mean to have a goalkeeper stay connected to the team? Learn some basics that will make your goalkeeper, and your team, better right away!

How far out of the goal should the GK stand?

Where is the ball? Who has possession of the ball? Is possession secure? The answer is not always black and white.

When the ball is in the attacking third in clear possession the GK should be out of the box, and if athletic enough, advanced into the middle third of the field. In possession their role is to be an additional player available to pass to and keep possession. Defensively they are in an advanced position to intercept through balls and act as a sweeper keeper.

If the ball is in the middle third the GK should be at the top of the box if they are athletic enough to cover the goal if a turnover occurs. There responsibilities are the same. Act as an outlet in possession, intercept through balls out of possession, and protect the goal.

Is your Goalkeeper giving up long range goals, or being chipped? Lets fix it.

Depending on your GKs age, athletic ability, experience, and height they may be giving up extremely frustrating goals! If your GK is getting beat over their head, their starting position needs to be adjusted. It is great to have your Goalkeeper connected to the team and moving up the field with them, but their number one job is to protect the goal and not concede goals.

When an opponent enters an area of the field where they can score from, encourage your GK to drop back to the goal line. Being deep and close to the goal gives even the shortest GK the best chance to block a long range effort or a chipped ball. Be mindful that by dropping deep the GK is conceding the space behind the backline.

The Goalkeeper must be aware that by dropping deep they still need to be ready for a through ball if it happens. Although not ideal, they can still defend this space because they can move faster going forward to make up ground and intercept the ball.

As Goalkeepers get older they need to find the best balance for their ability. Can they handle the responsibility to move forward and stay connected to the team while still defending the goal? If not they need to prioritize defending the goal first. Keeping the ball out of the net is their number one job above all other roles.

August 25, 2021

News

Come To The HUB & Learn The Rush Way – Nov 18th-21st, St. Louis, MO

JOIN US FOR A FREE IN PERSON COACHING EDUCATION EVENT, NOV 18th-21st, ST. LOUIS, MO.COME TO THE HUB & LEARN THE RUSH WAY!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE ‘HUB’ FREE COACHING EDUCATION WORKSHOP – THE FIRST 10 COACHES THAT REGISTER RECEIVE A $100 REIMBURSEMENT ON THEIR TRAVEL EXPENSES!

The HUB is Rush Select’s Regional Competitive Level Event.

At the HUB each age group and gender is divided into four regions (West, Midwest, Northeast, and South). Many of the top coaches within Rush Soccer lead these teams and the strongest players from each region. At the tournament each team will have the opportunity to compete against the other Rush Regional teams.

The event also hosts a FREE in-depth Coaching Education workshop for all coaches led by Rush Soccer’s Technical Staff.

Through this three day workshop, Rush coaches learn, actively experience, and assess compliance to the Rush Way in different matters like Coaching Games and Coaching Training Sessions.

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