I always felt a sense of responsibility when a goal was scored against me. However, the truth is that my responsibility was no greater than any other player on the field.  Whilst as goalkeeper I was the last line of defence, many actions preceded my involvement in having to attempt a save.  Developing team responsibility, where every player accepts that their actions will impact on the players around them and the outcome of the game, ensures that all team members understand the importance of their decisions and their involvement in the play; this is about developing all players as leaders and this is why the goalkeeper is not the only one responsible when a goal is scored.

This rationale seems acceptable; however, there is that awful gut retching feeling when you let a goal in, especially if you know you made an error in your attempt to save the ball.  For me there was a huge difference in my ability to immediately bounce back from a goal being scored if I knew it was a cracking shot and I had tried my hardest to save it compared to if I have made an error, used the wrong technique, made the wrong decision and a goal had been scored.  The issue here is that even when I know that I should have done a better job, I still have to be able to put that goal behind me and switch straight back on to the job at hand in a positive, focused frame of mind. I had to work on this as a developing goalkeeper and by the end of my career I think I had got much better, but it was still a difficult task to manage.

So how do you manage to bounce back after a goal is scored?

The goalkeeper must realise that his or her body language, attitude and communication impacts on the team as well as the opposition.  When a goal is scored the keeper must remained composed and must try and hide the visible frustration, anger and disappointment that they have let a goal into the net.  They must realise that the negative reaction will only lift the opposition more and it will make his or her team feel the frustration and disappointment of the error.  The goalkeeper’s reaction after a goal is scored must be pre-meditated.  I tried to have the same reaction; calm, immediately retrieving the ball and then setting on my semicircle ready for play to begin, trying to show no visible signs of the displeasure I felt.   I also knew that the game was not over and that I may be required to make another save very quickly and so I had no time to sulk or be upset. I had to be ready to call the play, react to movements and make the save.

If a goal was scored against me and I knew that I had not been focused, in the correct attacking stance and on the right line to the ball, then I would remind myself to be more organised and move more quickly into position, be up and ready for the save. I would use ‘self talk’ to trigger a refocus onto the job at hand.  This sort of reminder was pretty simple. If however, I had really made a bad mistake and had made an incorrect decision about how to save the shot, to go or stay or to be down or upright, or if my technique let me down, I would put that behind me, packing the goal away into the back of my mind until I had time to talk with my coach and view the movements leading up to the goal being scored and to look at my attempt. I knew that I could do very little immediately to change or improve my technique and that the error may be something I would need to work on at training as part of my continuous improvement program.

The key is to remain positive, use positive affirmations, visualise the good saves you know you have made and realise that part of the responsibility of being the team goalkeeper is to be prepared for the next passage of play, to be focused and ready to make the next save. This resilience is vital and this is also something that coaches must help to develop in their goalkeepers, something that selectors should also consider.  The ability to bounce back from a set back is a vital element to any team’s success and during a game this ability often is bought to life because the goalkeeper believes and inspires those around him or her, even after a goal is scored.