THE GOALKEEPER’S BASIC PHYSICAL SKILLS

In general, the following physical abilities are recognized: Coordination, Balance, Flexibility, Endurance, Strength and Speed.

Coordination. Neuromuscular capacity that allows organizing motor actions and adjusting movements to game situations.

Coordination Types:

General Dynamic.  Involves the functioning of the brain and skeletal musculature.

Fine Motor Skills. It is present in actions involving small muscle segments (for example when tying the cords).

Gross Motor Skills. it is presented to order large muscle segments (for example in a flight or a goal kick).

Hand/foot-eye Skills: it is the interaction between visual perception and fine motor skills.

Intermuscular: different muscle groups intervene in a certain motor action.

Intramuscular: a single muscle intervenes in a certain motor action.

Balance. It allows controlling the body, both statically and in movement, against the action of the force of gravity.

Balance types:

Static: allows a person to stand within his/her base of support.

Dynamic: allows to keep balanced by making movements with the whole body or part of it.

Flexibility. It makes possible to carry out broad movements. Having a good flexibility allows amplitude in the movements of the joints.

Components of flexibility:

Joint mobility: property that allows the joints to perform certain movements.

Muscular Muscle elasticity: characteristic of muscle tissue that allows it to shorten when contracting and to stretch when relaxing the contraction.

Endurance: ability of an athlete to maintain, repeat and sustain a motor action over time, delaying the onset of fatigue.

Types of resistance:

Global: involves a large volume of the musculature.

Local: involves small volumes of muscle mass.

Aerobic: allows actions with very low oxygen debt.

Anaerobic: the muscles work with high oxygen debt.

Mixed: actions that demand both energy pathways,

General: endurance that has no relation to the sport performed.

Specific: endurance related to the sport performed.

Short duration: appears in efforts ranging from 20 seconds to 2 minutes.

Medium duration: appears in efforts ranging from 2 minutes to 8-10 minutes.

Long duration: appears in efforts beyond 10 minutes.

Strength. Ability to generate muscle tension to balance or overcome a load.

Types of Strength:

Maximum strength: maximum force that an individual can do only once. It depends on muscular hypertrophy and intra and intermuscular coordination.

Resistance strength: it is the strength to oppose fatigue produced by repeated and relatively prolonged actions.

Useful strength: it is the force that is produced at the speed that the action is performed.

Explosive strength: is the greatest amount of force that can be done per unit of time.

Explosive elastic strength: action in which an athlete performs a stretch-shortening cycle at high speed.

Reactive explosive elastic strength: it manifests in a similar way to explosive elastic force; the stretch-shortening cycle also occurs and the stretch reflex contributes to the concentric phase being more effective.

Power strength: allows maintaining the speed of execution at every moment of the movement.

Speed: ability to travel a distance or make a movement in the shortest possible time.

Types of speed:

Isolated movements speed: neuromuscular processes to carry out a motor action in the shortest time (motor gesture).

Complex movements speed: possibility of performing motor actions in a minimum time and as efficiently as possible (more than one motor gesture).

Since many of the actions of the Goalkeeper differ from those of field players, every GK trainer should know the relevant Goalkeeper’s physical skills for performing appropriately its role. When planning a training session, the trainer must decide which skills to train, and the exercises’ intensity.

References

– Capacidades físicas básicas en Educación Física. http://eduteka.icesi.edu.co/proyectos.php/1/12470

Mitjans Torres, P.L.; J. Costa Acosta; Al. Rodríguez Madera y R. Ruiz Viladón (2013) Características del desarrollo de la capacidad física resistencia aeróbica en las clases de Educación Física en la Universidad de Pinar del Río. EFDeportes.com, Revista Digital. Buenos Aires, Año 18, Nº 184

–  https://www.efdeportes.com/efd184/desarrollo-de-la-capacidad-fisica-resistencia.htm

–  García Manso, Juan Manuel y Col. (1996) Bases teóricas del entrenamiento deportivo. Principios y aplicaciones. España, Editorial Gymnos.

–  Le Boulch, J. (1997): La Educación Psicomotriz en la Escuela Primaria. Ed. Paidós. Barcelona.

–  Juan José González Badillo. Capacitaciones. 28 agosto 2018.

–  Zartsiorsky V. (1994) Advanced Sport Biomechanics. The Pennsylvania State university Biomechanics Laboratory, PA, USA. Traducción de Jose Acero (2002)