Right attitude, concentration, speed, power, agility, reflexes like lightening, technically proficient and yet goals still go in that really should not go in!  A key keeper selection criterion that cannot be overlooked is the goalkeeper’s capacity to make correct decisions.

Amazingly some goalkeeper’s have the natural ability to correctly analyse, decide and act in crucial situations; most, however, learn about the game, study patterns, attacking and defensive manoeuvres and this is what enables them to develop their capacity to make correct decisions. The goalkeeper cannot live outside of the team, he or she must understand the game and study the defensive and attacking movements presented in various situations.  Obviously good goalkeepers are resilient and they learn from their mistakes by watching footage of the play leading up to a goal being scored or the wrong decision being made, by talking candidly with their coach and by training in ‘game situation’ mode where they can replicate problem situations. A goalkeeper must be able to make correct decisions in all situations, but especially when the team is under pressure.

Often when I was playing for Australia and for my state teams I worked hard at building my knowledge about how my team mates played, where their strengths lay, watching where and how they distributed the ball, identifying how they tackled and approached players, how they managed pressure and how they reacted to calls.  This is an important aspect of the goalkeeper’s game.  The goalkeeper must understand his or her team, know how they play, how they attack and defend. More than this, the goalkeeper is a vital playmaker – he or she must manage and direct play, especially defensive movements. The goalkeeper should also study his or her opposition, watch the strikers, know how and where they lead, the types of shots taken and from where, one on one manoeuvres, penalty corner set plays and penalty strokes. All of this will help develop their decision making skills. The goalkeeper should also build his or her knowledge about other goalkeepers, their weakness, strength, skills they may have that they themselves can duplicate and learn to improve their own game. I had a number of elite goalkeepers that I studied carefully to improve and develop my rebound game, none more so than Ian Taylor (Great Britain), Neil Snowden (Australia) and Suzie Schmidt (Germany).

There were times I would come off the field having touched the ball once or twice but I knew that had I not communicated clearly and precisely with my defenders than my work rate in the game would have been much higher.  I was organising from the back, calling lines, leads and spaces.  If I was not required to be involved in the play I knew that I had done a good job managing my defence.   Clear and precise calling is a very important skill and is used when the goalkeeper has analysed and decided. The act of calling cannot be under estimated.  The rules are very simple, call the defenders name first and then the action you require them to make; e.g. Debbie, move right, player leading behind, or Natasha, left, player leading wide.

The goalkeeper must be able to correctly decide whether to stay or go out in situations and in some cases he or she must decide which type of save technique to use that will give his or her team the best possible clearance and counter attack.  The goalkeeper must also be able to decide to stay on his or her feet or make a slide or reverse stick diving save. A goalkeeper that spends too much time on the ground is a serious concern to a coach. 

Whilst the technical skills and physical attributes are vitally important to any goalkeeper and certainly must be considered during a selection process, the ability to make correct decisions is paramount and is a key selection criterion.  Goalkeepers and coaches must focus on this aspect and work hard at developing this skill. When it comes down to selecting between two goalkeepers who have very similar skill proficiency and physical attributes, their decision making capacity should always set them apart.