Courtesy: dusanmatic.com

Mental Preparation of Goalkeepers

Good mental preparation is becoming increasingly important in the modern-day futsal, particularly for the goalkeepers.

It is not unusual for a technically and tactically well-prepared goalie in excellent physical form to make an inexplicable mistake in the game, causing his team to lose the match. After such situations you will often hear that the goalkeeper “had a bad day”, that he was “down on his luck”, or suffered a “lapse in concentration”, but the simple truth is – the goalkeeper was not mentally prepared for the match!

Many are trying to come up with a simple “recipe” for the psychological preparation of goalkeepers, but they are looking at it the wrong way… Each goalkeeper is a unique person and each of them requires a unique approach – there are no patterns to follow!

The position of a goalkeeper differs considerably from that of all other players... During the match, the players in the field can be substituted an unlimited number of times, while the goalkeeper in most cases remains on the pitch for the entire match. Besides his role of keeping the goal intact, the goalie also “commanding” his team’s defense throughout the match by setting up the field players depending on the opponents’ formation. This causes an even greater MENTAL strain on the goalkeeper, and when he makes a mistake he is, as a rule, criticized by those who have never been goalkeepers and do not fully understand their position in the team.

Remember this: ONLY A GOALKEEPER CAN UNDERSTAND A GOALKEEPER and that is why this matter requires a completely different approach.

Most people agree that a good goalkeeper is worth at least 50% of the team… This is true, but how many of the people who say this are making an effort to provide their goalkeepers with adequate working conditions and help their progress?

Technique and tactics make the difference between the bad and the good goalies, but what sets apart the best from the rest is the mental preparation!



















Posted by Mico Martic --> mico.martic@futsalplanet.com