Posts tagged uhlsport goalkeeper gloves

In soccer, the goalkeeper has the most important role of all.  He is the last person in the line of defense and the first in attack and it’s certainly takes plenty of training and special skill to fulfill this role. As a professional goalkeeper, one must have his preferred soccer goalkeeper gloves to be it a reusch goalkeeper gloves or uhlsport goalkeeper gloves, this will be his secret weapon.  His main objective and most important role are to prevent the opposition from scoring a goal.  This is often done with split-second decisions and proper footwork.

The Goalkeeper is the only person on the field who is allowed to use his hands and gain control over the ball.  This can only be done by using his hands.  It is important to always get the hands to the ball first as this gives the goalkeeper an advantage.  Also the goalkeeper must have soft hands, meaning he should use his entire body, legs, arms and chest to cushion the ball and absorb the energy.

Methods of handling the ball


The “W” or contour catch involves catching any ball from the waist up.  It is caught by forming a “W” behind the ball using the thumb and index fingers of both hands.

The inverter-contour-catch are for all balls below the waist.  The hands are behind the ball but downwards, forming a basket and keeping the pinkies together.

During the rolling-ball-pickup, the goalkeeper gets his hands down, palms up and his fingertips brushing the grass.  Footwork is important here to prevent the ball from rolling through his legs.  During a straight-leg-pickup, the goalkeeper’s body is bent forward at the waist, knees are slightly bent and both feet are behind the ball.

A moving pick up is similar to the knee bent pickup but is used when the keeper is moving towards the ball.  The keeper stays close to the ground and bends over as he approaches the ball.  The ball is then scooped up from behind in one rolling motion.

A knee-down-pickup involves the player bending down on one knee, but keeping it close to the heel of the other shoe.  The knee should never touch the ground.  This is a tricky pick up and should only be used when the keeper has plenty of time to recover his position.

pic from jbgoalkeeping

Diving for an air shot is an incredible technique but should only be used when you cannot get your body behind the ball by running and you need to dive and catch or deflect the ball.  This should be done only when really necessary.

Stopping crosses are rather basic skills to master and by intercepting a cross, the keeper will decrease any chance of scoring.  The goalkeeper is required to come off his line and beat attacking players from kicking through balls and crosses.

It is also vital for a goalkeeper to have a special soccer goalkeeper gloves such as uhlsport goalkeeper gloves, sondico goalkeeper gloves, reusch goalkeeper gloves and etc which has extra or better grip and new technology implemented.