Goalkeeper positioning for crosses and corner kicks

How many times has anyone seen a cross or corner kick simply fly near and right past the goalkeeper near and sometimes inside the six yard box?

The arm chair goalkeeper like myself could not figure out why the goalkeeper wasn't able to catch or at least punch or deflect the ball away that passed so closely by him or her.

Well, the answer is that it is much harder to do than it looks, probably because of the overall game and ball speed at advanced levels seen on TV.

So the idea here is for the goalkeeper to position oneself closer to the top of the six yard box, or a little further before the cross or the corner kick.

Chances are, that is where these kicks are going to end up, so it would be easier for the goalkeeper to intercept these kicks if they are already prepositioned there ahead of time.

If they have to advance from their line after the kick, the ball will simply be harder to intercept, and any deflection on goal near the six yard box will be virtually unstopable.

This illustrates the difference between positioning and pre positioning.

The ability to predict where the ball is going to be several seconds before the ball is struck is more advantagious than having to rely on split second anticipation and reaction time the instant the ball is struck.

The only risk here is if that cross does end up very close to the goal. Then the keeper will have to quicky retreat back to his line to deal with it. The good news for keepers here it is highly unlikely, but not impossible, that the ball will go directly into the goal before the keeper can get back. Also, a good number of crosses and corners are kicked high and well out danger and end up out of bounds on the other side of the feild.

Like I have said before, if you are an active goalkeeper, and want to experiment with this idea, don't try this in a game first. There is plenty of time at practice or on your own time with team mates to do this.

If anyone can find a You Tube video with a goalkeeper trying this, succesfully or not, please post.
 
How many times has anyone seen a cross or corner kick simply fly near and right past the goalkeeper near and sometimes inside the six yard box?

The arm chair goalkeeper like myself could not figure out why the goalkeeper wasn't able to catch or at least punch or deflect the ball away that passed so closely by him or her.

Well, the answer is that it is much harder to do than it looks, probably because of the overall game and ball speed at advanced levels seen on TV.

So the idea here is for the goalkeeper to position oneself closer to the top of the six yard box, or a little further before the cross or the corner kick.

Chances are, that is where these kicks are going to end up, so it would be easier for the goalkeeper to intercept these kicks if they are already prepositioned there ahead of time.

If they have to advance from their line after the kick, the ball will simply be harder to intercept, and any deflection on goal near the six yard box will be virtually unstopable.

This illustrates the difference between positioning and pre positioning.

The ability to predict where the ball is going to be several seconds before the ball is struck is more advantagious than having to rely on split second anticipation and reaction time the instant the ball is struck.

The only risk here is if that cross does end up very close to the goal. Then the keeper will have to quicky retreat back to his line to deal with it. The good news for keepers here it is highly unlikely, but not impossible, that the ball will go directly into the goal before the keeper can get back. Also, a good number of crosses and corners are kicked high and well out danger and end up out of bounds on the other side of the feild.

Like I have said before, if you are an active goalkeeper, and want to experiment with this idea, don't try this in a game first. There is plenty of time at practice or on your own time with team mates to do this.

If anyone can find a You Tube video with a goalkeeper trying this, succesfully or not, please post.
The person taking the corner kick decides where to place the ball after observing the keeper’s position.

If you position the keeper 6 yards out, why wouldn’t I just try to hook it into the goal behind the keeper?
 
Are you a keeper coach? Have you played keeper?

You defense should be getting the balls at the top of the 6....and marking the. players who could redirect that corner kick. My kids keeper coach has always made a really. good point - it is easier/faster to come forward than it is to go backwards.
 
The person taking the corner kick decides where to place the ball after observing the keeper’s position.

If you position the keeper 6 yards out, why wouldn’t I just try to hook it into the goal behind the keeper?

Exactly. My son tried this a year ago or so only to have it curled into the far post. There are kids even in the boys U12 bronze/flight 3 that can make that shot if they see the goalkeeper off the line too much. The other danger spot is a cross to the far post runner. If the GK is too far off the line down the center he can't defend against a far post header so it would be vital to have a defender in the far post whose sole job is not to leave the goal.
 
Defensive player on the front post, defensive player on the back post, keeper on the goal line until the shot starts. If the keeper is being marked, fight for a position you do not want, and as the ball is kicked move to where you wanted to be. Fight though the players to get to the ball if it is landing anywhere near/in the box. And pray that your team doesn't lose the player they are marking (knowing full well that they will). And if the ball lands anywhere in the box and the keeper cannot cover it and/or the defense cannot clear it, the other team just scored. Easy peasy (NOT).
 
Are you a keeper coach? Have you played keeper?

You defense should be getting the balls at the top of the 6....and marking the. players who could redirect that corner kick. My kids keeper coach has always made a really. good point - it is easier/faster to come forward than it is to go backwards.
Exactly. My daughter’s keeper coach called it “praying to the lord” when she’d be back peddling with her arms in the air, trying to catch a ball that was going to drop behind her. Best to set up your players to mark the area in front. That way you can track it with the full vision of the box and react based on where the ball is going.
 
Defensive player on the front post, defensive player on the back post, keeper on the goal line until the shot starts. If the keeper is being marked, fight for a position you do not want, and as the ball is kicked move to where you wanted to be. Fight though the players to get to the ball if it is landing anywhere near/in the box. And pray that your team doesn't lose the player they are marking (knowing full well that they will). And if the ball lands anywhere in the box and the keeper cannot cover it and/or the defense cannot clear it, the other team just scored. Easy peasy (NOT).

A lot of teams now days (including several in the pro) are not using a backpost player unless they zone defense.
 
If the corner kick is an inswinger, the keeper should stay more on their line (not the goal line, but the keeper's line).
If the corner kick is an outswinger, the keeper should take a more aggressive position further toward the 6 yard box line.
 
Really wish our club and High School team would zone corners. At least 2-3 girls lose their mark. plus I’ve see girls leave the post because it isn’t kicked right at them.

Starting 1 yard off their line seems a good spot for the keeper to start, with anything inside the 6 possibly the keepers ball Depending on the crowd, speed and height of the corner. grabbing crosses is just as important.

If anyone has video on their keepers doing corners love to see it. ill try to put together some of my daughter.
 
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