Women’s World Cup - Oz / NZ

[tom_widdows]

I'd like to think in a couple of seasons time the position of goalkeeper will get more recognition in the womens game and the coaching will drastically improve.

Several years ago at the request of a colleague who was involved with the childrens team of a Scottish league club I wrote a short opinion piece on the need to start training goalkeepers as early as possible. It seemed that much like when I was at primary school the position of keeper (and defenders) was still often being pushed on the less 'athletic' kids and they weren't given any guidance by the coaches. 
Ross County used to come to my school to do evening training sessions and the occasional summer camp and it was really usedful for goalies to get specific training.

I've only been to one women's game in my life (supporting a friend's team) and just before kick off she told me the opposition's goalie had been drafted in the night before and had apparently never so much as kicked a ball. I felt so sorry for her as my friend's team ran riot and I wonder if the goalie ever set foot on a pitch again.

I'm involved with an Aussie Rules Team in Glasgow and one 'skill' which a fair few women who come along to training struggle with is kicking a ball out of their hands. I've been kicking football or rugby balls out of my hands since I was about 4 years old and it is actually quite hard to teach it to an adult.
Many of them have never played rugby/ football etc and as with so many things in life, the older you are, the harder it is to learn. As adults yer more aware of potential injuries so when a ball is suddenly kicked or thrown towards you the tendency is to duck, flap your hands while you look away or simply get smashed in the face, stomach, groin etc. 

Schools (and parents) restricting and/or brainwashing girls to only do Hockey, Netball, gymnastics, dancing ie the 'activities for young ladies bullshit' really needs stopped. 

[wee toon red]

Height has to play a part in goalkeeper performance too, no? Back in 1863, when the size of the goals was set, average male height was higher than the current average female height. That can't help? There have been arguments that the size of the goals and pitches in the men's game should be increased to reflect the increase in size of the players in order to make scoring goals "easier".

[RicoS321]

28 minutes ago, wee toon red said:

Height has to play a part in goalkeeper performance too, no? Back in 1863, when the size of the goals was set, average male height was higher than the current average female height. That can't help? There have been arguments that the size of the goals and pitches in the men's game should be increased to reflect the increase in size of the players in order to make scoring goals "easier".

It does and it doesn't. There are obviously some that are too small to reach the extremities of the goals (like the loanee at Aberdeen last season), but I suspect they are in the minority. The height of the England goalie is about 5ft8 according to the internet, which is enough to reach a crossbar. She was good because of the way she spread herself as well as overall agility etc. Given that goals weren't exactly flying in, it's clear that any disadvantage in stature is offset by power/accuracy of shooting, so I'm not convinced there's a requirement to decrease goal size or anything. The biggest factor seems to be the professionalism of the leagues in the various countries, much as it was back in the 70s-90s (and earlier) in the mens game. You see it within leagues too, where in Scotland, the top few professional sides are streets ahead of the others. Goalkeeping is the one specialism that highlights this the most I think (although overall fitness is also a big factor), and that is clear when you play/watch men's amateur football too. The lack of dedicated coaching leads to a lot of concentration and rudimentary errors that are significantly rarer in the men's professional game these days.

 

12 hours ago, tom_widdows said:

Several years ago at the request of a colleague who was involved with the childrens team of a Scottish league club I wrote a short opinion piece on the need to start training goalkeepers as early as possible. It seemed that much like when I was at primary school the position of keeper (and defenders) was still often being pushed on the less 'athletic' kids and they weren't given any guidance by the coaches. 
Ross County used to come to my school to do evening training sessions and the occasional summer camp and it was really usedful for goalies to get specific training.

The problem with that approach is that goalies need to be good footballers these days. Given the likelihood of any player actually making it in the game, it seems to me that every player should be tested and coached in goals, much the same as any other position. In theory, you shouldn't really define any player positionally until they've been playing for a good number of years. I think it's around 8-9 they start playing with goalies in Aberdeen/shire boys/girls football, before that they're encouraged to just play. I think that at about aged 10 they allocate a goalie and they continue there until they give up or whatever. That does seem short-sighted. Although it does seem to work, as we're not short on goalies in the game. I wonder how it works in other countries? I wonder if, for example, Roos was just a generic footballer up until a certain age? They were mentioning goalkeepers' abilities with the ball on the radio at the weekend (discussing the Tims of course), and mentioned something about some goalie (De Gea maybe?) coming through the Ajax system so being a good footballer, so perhaps they do things differently over there. Either way, I'm guessing the approach will be fast-tracked through the women's game, and they'll go straight to the current training methods.

[tom_widdows]

To clarify the 'specific' training we got was only a small part of it. About 80% of the time the drills were the same for everyone but then the outfield and goalies would be split. 
We had drills on reaction time, catching etc while outfield would have 'keep possession' etc
Recall a horrific one where we had to lie in 'boat pose' (essentially sitting on yer ass but leaning back with yer feet slightly off the ground so yer abs start to burn) while the trainer and other keepers stood in a square (or circle depending on numbers) casually throwing the ball to you which you had to twist/ turn to catch and then throw it to the next person who then chucked it straight back at you. 

I was a passable goalie at 5s and occasionally OK at 7s but 11-a-side I was only to be picked as a total last resort (and even then I'd need bribing). The only thing I felt I was OK at was 'one on one' situations largely thanks to a book on goalkeeping by Peter Shilton which drilled into my head that as soon as yer thigh hits the ground yer stranded and the striker can easily go around you. It does also help to appear to be alot bigger than most of the other players

 

[tom_widdows]

One thing I personally hope doesnt become a legacy of the tournament is the american style referee announcements after a VAR decision. 

Although it would be interesting to see how many scottish refs were able to keep the smugness out of their voice when they award a penalty to the Tic or SEVCO
 

[Goldie03]

I enjoyed this World Cup but now already feel I've watched too much football and its only August!!

I first saw a live women's game at Hampden in the 2012 Olympics and now see a huge difference in terms of skill and aggressive play. Apart from the penalties, some of them were shockers!! 

So glad Spain won and thank fuck we don't get a bank holiday 

Also who would want to be a goalie!!  

Will Sarina stay?? 

[Kowalski]

Spanish FA doing their best to take the shine off their team winning the WC. Shameful. 
 

Their president looked like a right creepy cunt with his actions that looked like that of someone who was half way through a bag of gear!