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The Keeper's Line |
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Sometimes you're the hero and sometimes
you're the goat. That's the nature of the position. The
responsibility to do your job and to do it well is tremendous,
especially at higher levels when a single mistake can be punished
and cause a club to lose millions of dollars (or pounds or euros).
But occasionally, everything comes together and in the case of
21-year-old Schalke 04 goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, he was able
to lead his team to victory by saving three penalties in the
shootout and two point-blank headers. Said
Schalke Manager, Slomka, "We only had the chance because of Manuel
Neuer's performance, not only during the shoot-out, but he made
several outstanding saves during the game."
ESPN Analyst and SoccerPlus FieldPlayer National Director Janusz
Michallik described Neuer's performance as, "one the best
goalkeeping performances I can remember." And all of this in a
Champions' League elimination game.
For his efforts and poise under pressure, Manuel Neuer is TKL's Keeper
of the Week.
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Manuel Neuer:
Schalke 04 Goalkeeper led his team past Porto in the Champions League and is the
Keeper of the Week.
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Soccer Champions Clinic:
Advanced Handling
On February 29th at Mohegan Sun, SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School
Founder and President Tony DiCicco did a presentation on Advanced Handling for
Goalkeepers; as many of you were not in attendance at the clinic, this is a
summary of the session and the topics that he covered.
First off, there are many different types of advanced handling:
-Collapse Dive and Extension Dive Saves
-Heel of the Hand Parrying (1 and 2 hands)
-Controlled Catching and Boxing Shots
-Tipping and Saving Back to the Bar
-Double-Saves
-Deflected Balls
-Point Blank Saves
Some of the training tools used:
-Mini (size 1) Balls
-Medicine Balls
-Numbered (Super Goalie) Balls
(It's important to note, that while we are discussing all of these topics in
brief for this article, as Tony did for the clinic, as a goalkeeper coach I
would pick one or, no more than, two of these topics to cover during a session.)
Warm-Up:
The warm up should include basic goalkeeper movements and handling. The warm up
should prepare the goalkeeper for the techniques that we will train during the
session. For example, if we are going to train double-saves and/or point blank,
we want the goalkeepers to utilize a drop-step and crossover/shuffle during the
course of the warm-up so that we go more live, we're not introducing the
footwork, simply reviewing it.
The warm up can including handling of medicine balls and handling that requires
no diving or controlled diving, from hands or to a predetermined post or cone
from feet to introduce comfort.
Series 1: Mini Balls (Exacting the Touch)
The use of mini balls is not something you're going to pull out at training
every day, but the reasoning behind using mini balls is two-fold. First, it
creates some variety in the otherwise standard routine that is training. It is
important during the course of a long season, that we keep our trainings fresh
while also forcing the goalkeeper to change his/her focus. They need to focus
differently when training with mini balls than with a regular ball.
The other element we're using mini balls for is to force the goalkeeper to have
"exact touches." The center of a mini ball is much smaller than the center of a
regular ball, so in order to save it, more precision is required. This means
that when we return to using size 5, the touch is more exact and the goalkeeper
will ultimately have more successes.
When training this we use both volleys and half-volleys and play from different
angles.
Series 2: Double-Saves & Movement Across the Goal
What we're talking about with a double-save, is any two-save sequence that's
forcing the goalkeeper to adjust, refocus and make an additional save.
The most standard setup for this is to have one server outside the six yard box
and outside the near post. They serve a volley or ball off the ground towards
the near post. Then the goalkeeper reloads and handles a shot from the top of
the 18 that can be anywhere on the target. So the first ball is more
predictable, the second ball is more challenging.
Depending on the level of your goalkeeper there are a lot of ways to adapt this
to make it work. For younger or less experienced goalkeepers, your first service
may be a hand toss forcing them to collapse dive, followed by a shot into the
middle third of the goal. For your older or more advanced goalkeepers, you can
utilize a medicine ball for the first service or place sticks or plastic men
from a free kick wall to challenge the goalkeeper's vision and efficiency of
movement.
Goalkeepers will want to get to the middle of their goal for the second shot,
but its more important that they get on the striker's rhythm and are set when
the ball is being struck. Encourage them to get back to their ball line (the
imaginary line between the ball and the center of the goal), but if they don't
get all the way there, again it's more important that they be set and able to
respond.
For point blank saves, the goalkeeper can start on their near post and on a
verbal command or the visual cue of a ball being played across the six can
drop-step and footwork in and make him/herself big as they prepare for a point
blank shot (inside 8-10 yards).
Point blank saves are among the most difficult saves for a goalkeeper to make. Help your goalkeeper
to understand that in that situation they WILL give up goals. However, if they
get across the goal quickly, make themselves big and are brave, they will get by
the ball by virtue of being in the proper position. In point blank situations,
any save is a brilliant save.
Series 3: Back to the Bar Saves and Extension Diving Saves
These are the saves that make the SportsCenter Top 10, but are fairly
rare. While many goalkeepers start playing the position to fly around and be the
hero, the key is in the goalkeeper's footwork.
Both situations occur because of either poor positioning or an exceptional
effort by a striker.
When making making a save back to the bar, the goalkeeper must first identify
that the ball is going to be in over his/her head. Once they've identified that,
the key is to work back to the goal-line as quickly as possible (this is one of
the few saves a goalkeeper makes without setting). The footwork is a drop-step,
meaning opening your hips so that your feet are almost 180 degrees apart,
followed by a crossover until within about 2 yards of the goal-line. Then plant
the lead foot and use the leg closest to the field and the arm closest to the
field to drive you up. Then using your fingertips, tip the ball over the bar
with the high hand.
With extension diving, it is a similar transfer of momentum, but instead of
moving back, we move laterally. The only way you can reach the ball is with some
quick footwork and to propel your body explosively through the air. Unlike the
collapse dive your feet are airborne when you catch the ball. However, to make
the big save in the air you remember that it is your feet that will get your
hands to the ball.
In similar style to a collapse dive you take a forward step with
the foot closest to the ball; but now you place your weight on that leg as you
bend it like a coiled spring. Using your arms and opposite leg you then drive
your body to intercept the ball. The movement should be explosive to get your
body off the ground. Upon catching the ball you must continue to drive through
the ball and begin your descent. The ball must be the first thing to hit the
ground to absorb the impact. The arms, midsection and legs will follow. And
again, like the collapse dive, your body should be facing the field of play upon
landing. Because of its exciting nature some keepers tend to overuse the
extension dive. Do not use this save until it is absolutely necessary. Remember
to make simple saves simple.
Coaches:There are several topics covered above, as reminder, choose one (maybe
two) to train with your goalkeeper in a session. Any more will be too much for
them.
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Tony DiCicco:
Explaining the proper technique for parrying the ball during the 2008 Champions'
Clinic.
Mini Ball Training:
An FSASoccerPlus Goalkeeper prepares to save a mini ball during the 2008
Champions' Clinic.
Extension Diving:
A SPGS ANTC student flys through the air to pull a ball out of the top corner.
Tips on Tipping
· Once
the goalkeeper realizes that the ball is played over the top, immediately drop
step and move into a crossover step, then into a sprint if needed. It is a race
between you and the ball to the goal, and you must win!
· At
the last possible moment, leap off your back foot and drive your closest hand to
the ball. Time your take off so that you don’t jump too early and deflect the
ball in yourself.
· When
tipping or deflecting the ball over the top of the goal, contact the ball with
strong fingertips and with a subtle jab at the ball. DO NOT SWING AT THE BALL,
just assist or continue its flight over the crossbar.
· Keep
your head steady and focus solely on the center of the ball, where you land and
how high you jump should be the last thing on your mind.
· Make
contact with the ball as you jump up and not on the way down. Deflect first and
worry about diving later. |
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Upcoming Goalkeeper Clinics
March 16th (DE) Schutte Park in Dover, 5-8pm
March 22nd (Western PA) Slippery Rock Univ., 12-3pm
March 30th (Western NY) Monroe CC, time
11-2pm
March 30th (Eastern NY) USMA, time
11-2pm
In a future TKL we will announce Spring Goalkeeper Clinics in Texas and Ohio.
Stay tuned!
For the past several weeks the SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School staff have been on
the road putting on clinics for goalkeepers. We have had more than 400
goalkeepers come out since the beginning of 2008.
Last weekend, Anthony DiCicco, Laurie Pells, Neel Bhattacharjee, Scott Fox and
Katie Jo Spisak were at the Maryland SoccerPlex for a beautiful early Spring
Day. The sun was shining, the new artificial fields at the SoccerPlex were a
perfect venue for the 50 goalkeepers who showed up ready to work. We can't wait
to come back to Maryland!
If you are interested in hosting a SoccerPlus clinic in your community, please
contact us at tkl@goalkeeper.com or
1.800.KEEPER.1.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Goalkeeper Day Camp
(Zionsville, Indiana)
An addition to the 2008 Summer Schedule. SoccerPlus
Goalkeeper School will return for a second year to the Eagle Fields in
Zionsville, Indiana (outside of Indianapolis) to host a goalkeeper day camp. An
abbreviated version of the residential program, the camp will run June 9-13
from 9am-3pm. For more information, please visit:
www.goalkeeper.com/indy or call the
SoccerPlus Main Office at 1.800.KEEPER.1.
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Analysis of Goalkeeping from USA
versus China from Algarve Cup
by Katie Shields, Assistant Director, SoccerPlus
Goalkeeper School and Assistant Coach, Harvard University and Mariel
Wilner, SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School Assistant Director and
Assistant Coach, Penn State University
(3/5/08, Portugal) The U.S. dominated the
run of play the entire game. Nicole Barnhart played in goal for the
United States earning her fifth career cap. Barnhart was not truly
tested. Distribution was her main job for the day. Despite her
ability to strike the ball well, she consistently chose short range
distribution options which occasionally put her back line under
immediate pressure.
Yanru Zhang played in goal for
the Chinese. The relentless attack from the U.S. exposed Zhang’s
weaknesses. Zhang lacked presence from the onset of the game and her
communication with her backline was minimal. The U.S. capitalized
on Zhang’s indecisiveness just five minutes into the game. Lloyd
floated a ball into the box that Zhang hesitated to come for which
allowed Tarpley to run onto the ball and easily finish from ten
yards out. Following this goal there was no communication between
Zhang and her backline to address the mistake.
Zhang’s vertical positioning
throughout the match was consistently too high. However, she was
never exposed over the top by the United States. She failed to
adjust her positioning depending on the penetration of the U.S.
attack. She also appeared to be off her ball line. Despite the
movement of the ball at the top of the penalty area, Zhang remained
stationary in the goal.
One of the most glaring
weaknesses was Zhang’s inability to strike the ball over distance on
a goal kick or pass back. Most of her distribution decisions were
short, and when she was forced to go long they were misplayed.
The difference in the two
goalkeepers athleticism, distribution ability, and adjustments given
the cues of the game were what separated the two. As the tournament
continues, it will be interesting to see how other foreign
goalkeepers compare to the Zhang and Barnhart.
Shields and Wilner are at the Algarve Cup as part of a NSCAA
Women's Committee Sponsored Coaching Education Course in which
participants have the opportunity to not only watch matches, but
meet, interact with and question national team coaches from the US
and abroad in addition to the course instructors, former WNT Coach
April Heinriches and former WNT Sports Psychology Consultant Colleen
Hacker. Shields and Wilner will provide a more in depth analysis of
the tournament's goalkeeping for the next issue of TKL. For more
information about the NSCAA Course, contact Lisa Cole at
lisa@soccerpluseducation.com.
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Nicole Barnhart:
Earned her 5th career cap playing for the USA against China on March
5th.
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RetroLine (originally published July/August 2000, Issue
132):
The Relationship Between Defenders and the Goalkeeper
By Janusz Michallik
Former Defender, US Men's National Team, Columbus Crew (MLS), and
New England Revolution (MLS); National FieldPlayer Director,
SoccerPlus Camps; Director of Coaching, FSASoccerPlus FC; US Soccer
Foundation, Board of Directors; ESPN Soccer Analyst; Known for
wearing "I'm a Keeper" Shirt at Camp.
As you can imagine the relationship between defenders ad the
goalkeeper during the game is vital.
Nothing makes defenders more comfortable then a vocal
and confidant goalkeeper.
When I played I always looked
for keepers that were in absolute command of the penalty area and
were comfortable in coming of the line.
One of the key components of for
the GK is their ability to deal with crosses and especially the
long, deep balls being played behind the defenders.
If the defense does not have
confidence in their keeper they will continually drop back and allow
the opposing team to play on their half of the field.
Some of the best goalkeepers I
have played with allowed us to play high and compact, because of
their ability to come off the line and deal with that type of
service.
So, remember if you want your
defense to have confidence in you be “ alive” in front of your goal.
Give directions to the players in front of you by being vocal and
looking in charge. Also remember that you are the only player that
sees the whole field.
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Janusz Michallik:
Former defender for the US MNT discusses what a defender looks for
in a goalkeeper.
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Speed: The
Fitness Progression
by Paul A. Cacolice LAT, ATC, CSCS, National Administrator
SoccerPlus Camps, Strength and Conditioning Coach & ATC,
SoccerPlus CT (WPSL)
This is a multi-part series
on developing goalkeeper-specific speed.
Part 1
– The Basics of Speed
Of course, we all want to be
faster, even the fastest player on the team. Many athletes look for speed
development from a simple, finite set of activities or something
developed in a nicely wrapped 6-week program.
The truth is: if speed were
that easy to gain or train, then
everyone would be
fast. There is no magic bean.
Speed gains
are achievable for
those who are patient and persistent enough to develop through a
progression of skills and body development. For some athletes,
this may be a step-wise progression with continued improvements
over as many as 5-7 years. Just like your goalkeeper training.
One of the biggest myths
about speed is that you are born with it, or not born with it. If this were the case, then
identical twins would be able to move at the exact same speed
and have the same successfulness athletically. Although twins
often do play sports at the same level, I personally have worked
with several sets where one twin actually ends up playing at a
higher level of play and actually is faster than the other.
Yes, every athlete has a
‘genetic potential’ that proper, progressive training allows one
to maximize, but as we stated above: speed is a technical skill
and can be improved. If it isn’t worked on, it won’t improve.
****
In my own fitness practice,
the most common requests are for increased vertical leap, faster
first step, more power and strength and less risk for ACL
injury. Sounds good, huh?
The one thing that these all
have in common is that they occur with improved neuromuscular
(nerve-to-muscle) control. That is where we
must start with speed
training.
Visualize a muscle as being
very good at doing only one thing: contracting on the proper
stimulus. A muscle can contract many times each day, or against
extreme force or at high speeds, but it doesn’t really have any
variability (or ‘memory’) to what it does: it contracts.
The many nerves that enter a
muscle segment can send a variety of contract commands to that
muscle. One of the nerve’s roles is the speed of the
contraction. The leg muscle of a trained distance runner can
contract 4,000 times without significant fatigue. But, if we
have that athlete lightly tap their toe on the ground extremely
rapidly for 30 seconds, the rate at which the foot taps will
slow down and become uncoordinated. If this fatigue were solely
the fault of the muscle, this shouldn’t happen. But it does.
It is because the nerve
doesn’t regularly send high speed signals to a distance runner’s
leg muscles. (This is a simple reason why running long, slow
distances is not a great training idea for a goalkeeper).
The muscle is solely
responsible on the nerves to tell it not only to contract, but
how quickly, for how long, to what degree of intensity and at
what position. Repeated nerve signals in a repeated pattern over
time can cause a more efficient nerve firing pattern and
therefore more efficient muscle contraction for the purpose you
desire. This is the basis of PRACTICE and is the reason why all
motor skills (like goalkeeper technical training) must be done
with excellent attention to speed, body position, intensity and
strength for it to become more efficient. Speed development is no
different.
The speed progression can be
somewhat challenging to understand at first, but just as coaches
understand that any teaching progression moves from simple
skills to more complex and from a simple to complex environment,
then speed development as a skill must do the same.
This is why athletes must do
a speed skill without any resistance (such as parachutes or
elastic bands) until they can do that skill perfectly. Then and
only then can they slowly challenge the environment.
A great base speed activity
should then have little resistance and many fast nerve signals.
****
One of my favorite drills to improve speed is to have an athlete
balance on a large physioball (often called a Swiss Ball). Most
younger goalkeepers such as in my winter clinics here at
SoccerPlus Camps will have a challenging time just sitting on
the ball at first without falling off. Within a few weeks, they
might be on all fours on
the ball. In 6 weeks, we actually work to have the goalkeepers
kneeling - or even standing (with spotters) on that same ball.
Balancing on an unstable surface requires low muscle strength,
but many nerve firing signals to maintain balance on the ball,
even as many as 50 balance corrections through the nervous
system each second.
THAT is fast nerve firing signals!
Next TKL, we’ll address
taking the science to the field and activities to develop
improved neuromuscular speed. These same activities will also
reduce the risk for injuries!
Paul is
currently the National Administrator for SoccerPlus Camps
and the ATC and Strength and Conditioning Consultant for the
SoccerPlus CT Reds. He owns Cacolice Conditioning &
Consulting (nomagicbean.com) and lives with his wife,
Carolyn and two boys, Camden and Quinn in Enfield,
Connecticut.
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Paul Cacolice: Demonstrating standing on a
phsyioball, which requires constant nerve-firing, a crucial element
of speed.
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Reader Letters and Questions
Thank you
for bringing your program out to Maryland this weekend. It is
great for these girls to be able to get out to group training,
and let them see how hard all of their peers are working. Megan
thoroughly enjoyed herself this weekend and is counting down the
days until summer break so she can attend your camps.
Take care and thanks again,
Laura Hinz
Elderburg, Maryland
Laura, we appreciate your kind words. We agree that goalkeepers
aren't getting enough opportunities to train with other quality
goalkeepers and with top goalkeeper coaches, so we love getting
the chance to provide that for them. We'll look forward to
seeing Megan back at camp this summer. -AD
I've got an excellent
keeper on a U15 premiere B level team (Gold) but he's
already on the short side at around 5' 7". He really wants
to be a keeper, but looking at his parents I can't see him
getting any taller than 5'9" tops. He has tremendous
athleticism and quickness, and a great vertical jump - he
can calmly jump and place both palms on the top of the
crossbar with ease.
Here is the question. How
likely is it that he'll be able to be a university level
keeper at 5' 9" (his objective)? He went out for his high
school senior squad last fall as a grade 9 student and has
coach told him "he was the best keeper at the tryout, but
way too small to play keeper on a high school senior team."
Should I be discouraging
his desire to be a keeper? He could be a good field player
too. Oh, yes, he's a leader as well -- he was a unanimous
choice for captain.
Thanks
Rick Gruneau
Canada
Rick, thanks for your note.
Certainly the mentality of his high school coach is not unusual for
coaches in the modern game. The prototype for a goalkeeper is 6'4",
athletic, able to come for crosses, mostly just physically
intimidating.
While I think that there is sound logic behind this move, I also
don't believe that we are seeing the death of short goalkeepers.
Especially, athletic, quick goalkeepers. Any sensible coach will
play the best goalkeeper he has (if he's not going to do that, you
probably don't want to be playing for him anyway). It just might
take some extra effort to prove that he deserves to be on the field.
The best examples I can give you are Shay Givens (Newcastle) and Jon
Busch (Chicago Fire). Both are shorter goalkeepers but they play
bigger than they are. As former SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School
Director and former Columbus Crew Assistant John Murphy once
described him, "Jon is 5'10" and plays 6'5"."
I wouldn't discourage him from pursuing his dream, just help him to
work past the naysayers. This is going to require his timing to be
impeccable and strong mentality. But I would never discourage the
dreams of a high school freshman! -AD
My son who is eight has shown signs of goalkeeper ability in
AYSO play. He enjoys it and likes the responsibility that comes
with the position. My question is:
I really don't know much about soccer, so what is the best way
to practice? Basketball and baseball is fairly easy, catch the
ball and shoot the ball, but soccer is a whole different beast
for me. Thanks for your time.
Best,
Daniel
Rojo
Daniel, my
suggestion is that at his age, let him grow and enjoy the
position. Practice should just be him playing and continuing to
develop all of his technical skills (non-goalkeeper specific) so
that he's able to strike balls, dribble and maybe even catch a
few shots.
What you're talking about with basketball and baseball isn't
that different from how you develop as a soccer player, you
learn to dribble the ball and strike the ball then the rest will
come. Most importantly, make sure its fun for him.
Thank you for an affordable,
wonderfully coached clinic! I have told everyone I know
involved in soccer what a great clinic it was.
Marianne Sevy
Our pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it. -AD
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Tony's Bookshelf:
The Vision of a Champion
by Anson
Dorrance and Gloria Averbuch
Anson Dorrance came up to Connecticut a
few weeks back for the 2008 Champions' Clinic and did sessions with
the FSASoccerPlus U12, U13 and U14 girls teams. No introductions
were necessary; Anson is one of the most famous names in women's
soccer. He has led the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill to
17 national championships since 1979. And his list of
accomplishments goes on.
This book is a look into that remarkable soccer culture. The title,
The Vision of a Champion comes from a note that Anson sent to
Mia Hamm in 1992 (her senior year at UNC) in which he wrote, "The
vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat,
at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching."
For those of you who have already
read The Vision of a Champion, there is a new biography about
Anson that has just been released, called, The Man Watching
now available.
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(left) Anson Dorrance: Signing his new
biography The Man Watching at the 2008 Champions' Clinic at
Mohegan Sun. |
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QuickSave: The Art of the Save,
for Goalie and Investor
New York Times, Saturday, March 1, 2008
by Patricia Cohen
When it comes to choosing what
to do, sometimes the best thing is nothing.
Consider Radek Cerny, the No. 1 goalkeeper for Tottenham
Hotspur, who was facing off against Manchester United’s
exuberant young midfielder, Cristiano Ronaldo, for a penalty
kick during the recent fourth round of the Football Association
Cup in Britain. As Ronaldo’s foot swung back for the kick, Cerny
leapt to the left expecting a sharp shot to that corner. The
ball barreled into the lower right.
Goal!
Cerny’s mistake, in Ofer H. Azar’s eyes, is that he moved to one
side instead of remaining in the center, where he would have had
a greater chance of stopping the ball.
Mr. Azar is not a coach or a goalie. Actually, he does not even
play soccer. He’s a lecturer in the School of Management at
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. Mr. Azar, however,
is interested in decision-making, and the split-second response
of goalies to penalty kicks struck him and several of his
colleagues as a perfect real-life test case of why people
sometimes make irrational decisions.
Classical economists often criticize experiments on how emotions
influence financial decisions because they do not involve
meaningful monetary rewards. Examining professional soccer
players seems to solve that problem.
"Incentives are huge," Mr. Azar and his collaborators argue in a
paper that appeared not long ago in The Journal of Economic
Psychology. What’s more, "goalkeepers face penalty kicks
regularly, so they are not only high-motivated decision-makers,
but also very experienced ones."
The Israeli scholars are not looking to break into the Premier
League. Their point is that a preference for action over
inaction can play a significant role in all kinds of economic
choices.
When the economy has been doing poorly, officials are more
likely to "be tempted to ‘do something,’ " they argue, even if
the risks outweigh the possible gains. "If things turn bad, at
least they will be able to say that they tried to do something,
whereas if they choose not to change anything and the situation
continues to be poor (or becomes worse), it may be hard to avoid
the criticism that despite the warning signs they ‘didn’t do
anything.’ "
That sort of thinking can affect whether managers stick with
their firm’s current strategy or change course. And, apparently,
whether goalkeepers stand still or take a leap.
The soccer field has turned out to be a popular laboratory among
economists, with penalty kicks a particular favorite.
Awarded after certain kinds of
fouls, or sometimes to decide a championship match, a penalty
kick pits one player against the goalkeeper. (Mano a pie instead
of mano a mano, though, since the goalie is allowed to use his
hands.)
Standing just 36 feet away,
the kicker sends the ball hurtling at the goal at 60 to 80
m.p.h., giving the goalie just 0.2 to 0.3 second to respond.
Given the speed, the goalkeeper has to decide what to do even
before observing the direction of the kick. Stopping a penalty
kick is considered one of the most difficult challenges in
sports. Not surprisingly, 80 percent of all penalty kicks score.
For their study, Mr. Azar,
along with Michael Bar-Eli, a sports psychologist; Ilana Ritov,
a psychologist; and two graduate students, scanned the top
leagues in the world, collecting data on 311 penalty kicks. Then
they computed the probability of stopping different kicks (to
the left, the right or center) with different actions (jumping
left, right, or staying put) to see which one "maximizes his
chance of stopping the ball."
According to their
calculations, staying in the center gives the goalkeeper the
best shot at halting a penalty kick — 33.3 percent, instead of
14.2 percent on the left and 12.6 percent on the right.
Yet when the group analyzed
how the goalkeepers had actually reacted to these penalty kicks,
they discovered the goalies remained in the center just 6.3
percent of the time.
The reason, Mr. Azar contends,
is rooted in how the players feel after failing to block the
ball.
Their soccer speculations
build on the work of Amos Tversky and the
Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, who explored the
idiosyncrasies of decision-making. In a landmark study, the two
psychologists found that people had more regrets when they lost
$1,200 because they chose to act, (in this case, change an
investment), than people who lost $1,200 because they left their
investments untouched.
What Mr. Azar and his
collaborators wanted to show was that in certain situations,
those results could be reversed: when acting was the standard
response — like a goalkeeper’s jumping to one side on a penalty
kick — not acting would make someone
feel a deeper emotional pang. The result is an unconscious bias
toward action.
To check, they asked 32
goalkeepers in Israel’s Premier League and National League to
rate how bad they felt on a scale of 1 to 10 after missing
penalty kicks. As it turned out, about half of the group said
"10" no matter where they stood.
Of the remaining 15, eleven
felt worse when they remained in the center instead of jumping
to the side. Nothing definitive, the authors acknowledge, but it
does at least suggest "that goalkeepers feel worse about a goal
being scored when it follows from inaction (staying in the
center) than from action (jumping)."
Outside the stadium, Mr. Azar
and company argue that "action bias" can influence not just
goalies but also investors as they decide to sell their stocks
(action) or leave their portfolio untouched (inaction) during a
downturn, and whether a worker chooses to look for a better job
or stay put.
Marcel Zeelenberg, a social
psychologist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, has found
that a bias toward action or inaction often depends on whether a
previous result was good or bad. After a team has a big loss,
for example, the expectation is that the coach should replace
the starting players, whereas after winning, leaving the lineup
unchanged is considered the normal response.
In an e-mail message, Mr.
Zeelenberg said he thought the Israelis’ "paper is convincing
because it uses real, already existing data to test a theory
that was recently developed and tested only in the lab."
Paul Romer, an economist at
the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, said the
study illustrated an important point about economic
decision-making.
"How people feel about various
kinds of activities means a lot about what they decide to do,"
Mr. Romer said. "In many situations, we just look at the narrow
monetary payoffs and we forget about the effects of preference
or feelings."
For instance, going to school
for an extra year will mean higher wages in the long run, Mr.
Romer said, but "going to school can be very rewarding and
satisfying for some, and very painful for others." By looking
solely at the financial rewards, "you might miss the single most
important factor in determining that decision."
Shame, humiliation, feelings
about one’s competence — all of these emotions play a huge role
in decision-making.
"There is a very large social
component to feelings," Mr. Romer said. "Economists typically
assume that people understand what makes them feel good," but
"people actually don’t always understand what makes them happy."
So what do the men on the
field think?
Danny Cepero, a goaltender
with the New York Red Bulls, said he could understand the
emotional downside of doing nothing. If you stay put because you
think a ball is coming straight up the middle and miss, he said,
"you look like a fool.
"Definitely it’s more
acceptable to pick a side and just go."
Still, Mr. Cepero was
skeptical that staying in the center makes the most sense. "You
rarely see a goalkeeper stand in the middle and make a save," he
insisted.
To Des McAleenan, the Bulls’
goaltending coach, no computer analysis can capture the
complexity of players’ responses. "Now, everybody’s got
extensive dossiers on the opposition," he said.
The journal article does point
out that the center strategy is not an absolute rule; if
goalkeepers spend more time in the middle, penalty kickers would
undoubtedly shift their strategy and their aim.
But for the moment, Mr. Azar’s
team would advise those who play soccer or the market that
nothing is sometimes better than something.
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The Keeper's Line
Anthony DiCicco, Editor
SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School
11 Executive Drive Suite 202, Farmington, CT 06032
goalkeeper.com | 1-800-KEEPER-1
© SoccerPlus Camps, Inc. 2008
Comments can
be sent to:
anthony@goalkeeper.com.
To subscribe to the The Keeper's Line, send an e-mail to
tkl@goalkeeper.com.
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