Being a goalkeeper may seem easy because some might think that all you have to do is save the ball from going in the net, but what you may not know is that there are actually 7 key factors if you want to become a goalkeeper. In a soccer match there is a goalkeeper, then there is the defenders, then there is midfields, and lastly there is forwards or strikers. All of these positions have important roles to the team, and today I will be going over how to become a goalkeeper and the necessities to becoming a goalkeeper.

The first factor of becoming a goalkeeper is knowing how to catch. Catching is one of the most important parts of goalkeeping because if you don't know how to catch then you wont know how do many of the following tasks. You may be thinking that you would just catch the ball like a kickball, however there a multiple different ways to catch the ball. The first type of catching is where you make your thumbs touch like they are a W, you want your hands to be like this because then you are able to catch the ball easily because you have a firm grip of it. The next way to catch the ball is when the ball is coming near your waste. When a situation like this happens you need to pretend like you are scooping a scoop of ice cream but with both of your hands connected. And the last form of catching is the same movement like you are scooping ice cream, however this time you are scooping the ball from the floor

The next factor to becoming a goalkeeper is being able to communicate to your defense and midfielders. This is because goalkeepers have the best vision of the field because all the other players are in front of them. Another reason why communicating is important, is because if you defenders are not able to see someone that is near them then you can alert them and they will be able to guard that person.

The next factor to becoming a goalkeeper is knowing how to distribute the ball Distrbiuting the ball is a key factor because if you catch the ball then you can either punt the ball, throw the ball, or roll the ball to one of you teammates. All three of these types of distrubution can be unsed at different times. When the other team is further away from you then you can roll the ball to your defenders. If the other team is guarding your defenders then you can either throw the ball to someone in midfield or you can punt the ball up the field. Knowing when and how to distribute the ball is important to beoming a goalkeeper. If you are going to roll the ball you want to roll it like a bowling ball and don't get a lot of bounce on it, because then it is more diffucult for your defenders to control it. When you are throwing the ball you don't want to throw the ball like a baseball you wan't to take the ball in your dominant hand and then throw the ball over head while leaning.

The next factor to becoming a goalkeeper is being able to have good reflexes. Having good reflexes is important because if you make the initial save you might have to hop back up because the striker might be there to put the ball into the back of the net, and if you have fast reflexes then you will have a better chance of saving the ball. Another reason that having good reflexes is important is because if someone takes a shot that might be diffucult to save then you would be able to save it because you had good reflexes.

The final way to becoming a good goalkeeper is coming off the line and being able to stay cool under presure. Goalkeepers have to come off the line because you will be able to cut of the strikers shooting angle which makes it harder for them to shoot because you will be able to block it. Another example of coming off the line is in 1v1's. This is important because if the striker gets past your defenders then it is up to you to save the ball. The last reason why being off the line is a good thing is because if you are on the line and hit the ball away when diving you might hit it in the net, but if you are off the line there is a better chance that you won't hit the ball into the net. Staying cool under pressure is a good thing because if the other team gets a penalty kick and you are not stressing then you will be more likely to save to the ball because you were confident.