Aaron Asked,

1.what is the best way of stoping top corner shots?

2.we play on stone grounds and i ge bruised everytime i dive to stop a shot. is there any way of protecting your body while diving?

Aaron,

Thank you for submitting your question to Ask the Goalkeeper. Let’s start with your first question. The most important thing with making a high upper 90 save is footwork. Think about it this way. Why is it easy to save high shots that are close to the center of the goal? The obvious reason is because you are closer to the ball and you don’t have to dive as far to get there. Therefore it would be easier to save a top corner shot if you are standing closer to the corner. That’s why footwork is so important. The closer you can get to the corner before you actually dive, the easier it is going to be for you to make the save. I see a lot of keepers trying to make these types of saves, but they are diving from the center of the goal or from their original angle. Sometimes a shot is just a good shot and even the best goalkeeper in the world isn’t going to be able to safe it, but if you are going to give yourself a chance you need to get a couple extra steps in before making your dive. The closer you can get to the ball before the dive the more likely you are going to make the save. Many times goalkeepers can take an extra step before their dive.

The second most important thing is taking a good “power step”. The power step is the last step you take before your dive. This step is where you are going to generate all of your power to explode to the ball. Stay low when taking this step and point your toe toward where you are going to dive. This step will help you get your maximum distance. Finally, after exploding with your power step bring your other leg hard across your body. This movement will help generate momentum and help carry you across the goal. Hopefully some of these tips will help you come closer to making that tough save.

Now let’s talk about protecting your body while diving on stone ground. I don’t think that there is going to be much you can do technically to prevent bruising when diving on stone ground. Your best bet is going to be to get protective clothing. There are several items you can purchase such as padded sliders, knee pads, and elbow pads. I really like the HexPad type of padding. You can see an example at the following link: https://www.keeperstop.com/store.php?StoreLevel=3&PrevStoreLevel=1&productid=4343&Level1=21&p=1&BrowseBy=0&term=&KSSearch=0

I hope I was able to answer your question. If you have any more questions please let me know.

Thank you,

Chase Harrison

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