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‘Bouncing’

Guus Vogels, the prominent goalkeeper for Holland (who recently a little while ago) was a ‘bouncer’ i.e. he would bounce in his stance before facing the shot! Martijn Drijver coached him and has coached his replacement, who also uses the technique. ‘Bouncing’ is essentially ‘popping up’ off the tips of your feet; preparing for the shot by readying for an explosive movement.

‘Popping up’

‘Popping up’ is simply a way of readying for the shot by popping up in the ready stance, as has been said. As the shooter prepares to strike or flick the ball at goal, the goalkeeper ‘pops up’ off the tips of the feet. The following videos show a rough idea of the technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt8Eep46xEw (ignore the stance, but rough idea of technique)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybG_VzJ7KU0 (better idea, but feet may leave the floor at times)

This video gives a better idea of the Dutch method (as coached by Drijver); watch the goalkeeper’s kickers closely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3unyWIenyI

Why?

There is always theory behind everything and as with ‘bouncing’ there is technical knowledge. The idea is that by bouncing around with explosive energy it makes you explosive and gives extra drive for lunges or diving (up or down).

Tips:

• try to keep it minimal i.e. don’t over do it to the point where your feet literally leave the floor!
• keep your balance by keeping your head forward

When to bounce:

• at penalty corners or when the ball is just outside the D (and being brought in) when you have time to get ready for the shot

When not to:

• against shots at close range: you can easily wrong foot yourself and not have enough time to bounce and then react properly to the shot/flick
• when moving side to side – you obviously won’t be able to side step and bounce without a lot of difficulty

To bounce or not to bounce?

To bounce or not to bounce? That is the question. Or at least one of the many questions that face us goalkeepers (who to be fair are very analytical and like to pick up on the technical aspects of our position)! Believe it or not, I didn’t come across the technique until recently and don’t know where I stand on the matter. Drijver is a well known and knowledgable goalkeeping coach, so there must be some reason for doing it!

Don’t?!

However, I was always told to ‘sit still’ in my stance and prepare for the shot before the ball was released, but others believe it has its benefits, so here’s a look into it. When I was training with a top level goalkeeper (National Premier league and junior international), I was told that when readying for a shot popping up or tilting away is the worst thing you can do as you are moving away from the ball. I would therefore be against it generally, but it’s something to consider to add to your repetoire, or disgard if it doesn’t work for you. It may work wonders at lower levels, but when faced with national league and higher shooters you may be undone by attacking players.

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