Peter Shilton's four tips for young goalkeepers

REACH FOR THE SKIES

A goalkeeper must practise catching the ball at its highest point. Don’t wait for the ball to drop, because the more it loses height, the closer an opposition head will be to it, so tell your goalkeeper to get both hands on it at the earliest point. This is obviously easier if the keeper is tall, but remind him that no matter what his height, his arms fully outstretched above his head should reach higher than even the tallest of strikers!

THE PERFECT POSITION

Make sure your goalkeeper has a good body position when playing. This could be in the instance of going for the ball, if being confronted by a striker, or even just when kicking. When the keeper gathers the ball, always make sure he has his shoulders well positioned and bent. Ensure his head is forward and check that his stance is similar to that of a boxer. That will mean he can drop down quicker to protect the ball.

COMPACT = COMPLETE

Every time I hear coaches telling young goalkeepers to spread themselves in one-on-one situations I wince, because there are times when that can be the worst advice. It goes against what you’d expect, but the best thing to do is to make your keeper adopt a compact stance so that shots cannot go through him. In that way, he can collapse on the ball and get in a position similar to that of a parachute jumper. He must form a barrier to prevent the ball getting past him, but he’ll get better propulsion reaching out from a compact position than he will spreading himself too early. Think about it, how often do we see keepers getting balls dinked over them when they’ve gone to ground at the first opportunity?

STAND TO ATTENTION

Following on from the last tip, this one is to encourage goalkeepers to stand tall and to stay on their feet for as long as possible. They have to try to make the striker go they want they want him to. Make sure your goalkeeper doesn’t give the striker an opportunity to make a simple decision. Instead, get him to force the forward into rushing his effort. If he does that, he has won. If the striker still beats him, then fair play, it’s probably a good finish, but the keeper has to trick him first into thinking he is in control.