When everything is going well, there’s a lot to love about being a goalkeeper. You make big saves. You win games for your side. You control your defence and feel confident and assured. Unfortunately, it’s not always smooth sailing. There are times where playing between the sticks can feel like the hardest job on the pitch. Times when you wish you could swap positions with any of your outfield teammates.
Read on to learn about some of the toughest aspects of playing in goal.
The Feeling of Making a Mistake
Let’s start with one of the worst parts of being a goalie: mistakes. Every goalie makes them. Even the very best keepers, on the biggest stages of all. They fumble crosses. They mistime runs out of their box. They get their dives all wrong when trying to stop a shot. It happens. But that doesn’t make you feel any better when it happens to you.
Undoubtedly, that feeling of making a big mistake and letting in a goal you should have stopped is one of the most unpleasant sensations in sport. Many goalkeepers speak about wanting the earth to swallow them up in those moments. Many replay mistakes over and over in their minds, or dwell on them for the rest of the game.
The Counterargument
Sure, making mistakes isn’t any fun. But, as stated, it happens to everyone. It’s part and parcel of the game, and players in other positions make mistakes, too. You just have to accept that. No keeper can be perfect or flawless. All you can do is your best, and it’s a great test of character if you can make a mistake and bounce back from it. So, don’t dwell on your errors. Use them as motivation to do better in the future.
An Unforgiving Role
Goalkeeping can often feel like a thankless task. You don’t get second chances in the same way a striker would. For example, strikers might miss multiple good chances throughout the game. But if they finally manage to score in the last minute, all is forgiven. They look like the hero, and most people immediately forget about the opportunities they squandered.
For goalies, it’s a totally different story. Your mistakes are magnified. If you let in a goal, that’s a game-changer. A pivotal moment, and not something you can simply “put right” by making a big save a couple of minutes later. Even if you perform fantastically for 89 minutes, people will still dwell on that one minute where you conceded.
The Counterargument
Granted, goalie mistakes come under much more scrutiny than the rest. But that just goes to highlight the importance of the goalie’s role. Goalies are arguably the most crucial members of the team, and it can be both fulfilling and exciting to have that much responsibility. It’s up to you to own that responsibility and do your best every single game.
Always Being Blamed
Goalkeepers are the last line of defence for their team. Their entire role revolves around keeping the ball out of the net. So, when goals are scored from time to time, they’re usually the ones who get blamed. Sometimes, that criticism might be justified. Other times, it can feel terribly unfair for a keeper to take all the responsibility after a goal.
For example, one of your defenders might have made a mistake that let a striker clean through on goal. You did your best in the 1v1, but still conceded. Then, you get blamed for not making yourself big enough or being strong enough to stop the shot. In reality, you know that the opportunity would never have even happened in the first place if your defender had made the right call.
The Counterargument
Unfortunately, this is just another part of the role of the keeper. You’ll often have to take the blame when things go wrong, even if it’s not entirely your fault. At the same time, you can also take the glory in the positive moments. Like when you make a big save, keep a clean sheet, or stop a penalty. It’s a role of highs and lows, and you just have to make the most of the highs when they come around.
Difficult Training and Warm-Up Routines
Training isn’t always easy for goalies, either. This is especially true at grassroots level, where teams don’t always have the relevant expertise or equipment to help goalies get better. A lot of amateur goalies have to make do with basic drills. They might have to just save shots over and over, not getting much opportunity to work on other aspects of their game.
Pre-match warm-up routines can also be a challenge. Often, goalies will have to stand in net while being peppered with shots from their teammates. As such, you spend more time picking the ball out of the net than actually handling it and getting into the zone. All of this can make it harder to develop as a young, aspiring keeper, making the path to success tougher than expected.
The Counterargument
While goalie training can be difficult at times, it’s not always that way. If you surround yourself with the right coaches, mentors, and managers, training becomes much more satisfying and rewarding. Good teams also use better warm-up routines to help goalies get ready for the game. Plus, even if your training regime isn’t the best, at least you don’t have to run around as intensely as outfield players.
Overcoming Goalkeeper Challenges
Clearly, there are challenges that come with being a goalkeeper. Overcoming those challenges may not always seem easy, but it’s essential if you truly want to succeed in this position. Rather than see them as problems, use them to improve. Learn from mistakes. Be humble in the tough times. Accept both the blame and the glory, and find your own way to be the best keeper you can be.