By Nicole Barnhart - pro GK for Washington Spirit
One question that players often ask is, "How do I work on getting to the ground for low dives faster?" This is something that even pros will continue to work on throughout their entire careers. And it's something you will always have to spend a little more time focusing on after coming back from an injury.
We're going to look at 4 key factors that will impact how quickly you can get to the ground, and we'll offer tips on how to improve in these areas: Reaction speed, set shape, dropping your hip, and loading your leg.
Reaction speed: Off the wall
How quickly are you able to read the flight or path of the ball? If you are late to react, you will always be slow to get down low. To improve this skill you need repetition of reaction work. That work can be live work with a soccer ball or tennis ball work is great as well, because it really forces you to pick up the ball quickly since it is smaller and travels faster. One great way to work on reactions with a soccer ball is have someone stand behind you and volley the soccer ball off the wall, so you quickly have to react to it coming off the wall at different angles and at different speeds. For tennis ball work, you can have someone hit tennis balls directly at you. In both situations, be sure to maintain good, balanced shape, and keep the shoulders and upper body forward.
Set shape
Does your set shape allow you to drop quickly or are you having to make some kind of adjustment first? If your feet or upper body have to adjust in any way, and don't allow you to move immediately, you will always be late moving into a low save. To improve this skill I strongly recommend filming yourself while training, as this allows you to see what is happening (both the good and bad moments), and then allows you to make changes based on what you see and feel.
A very basic way to work on this and find what shape is best for you is to simply put a ball in front of you at an angle, get into your set shape, drop low and dive through the ball. If you find that you had to move your foot in any way before being able to drop low into the dive, then you probably have to make a slight adjustment. If you find that it is hard for you to drop low quickly, you will probably have to make a slight adjustment. If you find that it is hard for your to push through the ball, then you will need to make a slight adjustment. When you get it right, you will feel it!
Dropping your hip
Are you dropping your hip quickly and then attacking the ball with your chest and hands forward or are your popping backwards and losing power? If you are not dropping your hip, then you will be high and reaching for the ball, limiting your range and ability to get low. Practice dropping your hip with drills that start off will service closer to your body (or even a stationary ball) and then work to extend your dive a bit more once you feel comfortable with the closer service.
Loading your leg
Once you get low, are you really loading your leg and pushing through the ball? This is in the final stretch of your dive, and imperative for increasing your range.
To improve this you can work with a stationary ball - get into your set shape, lean forward and over your dive leg (leg closest to the ball) so all of your weight is on that one leg. Drop low and really push off that one leg to attack the ball. If the push is good, you should slide through the ball and move it. If you are just falling over, then you are not actually pushing off of that leg. As you start to get more comfortable, move that ball just slightly farther away, so you have to start pushing more and more each time. Each time, focus on really pushing off the ground as hard as you can each time. Your knee should go from bent when you are about to push off the ground to straight as you are attacking the ball.
Put it together!
We created a mini training session for you to focus on this work. Here are 5 drills you can practice that will help you get to the ground faster when you're diving:
All of these are things that take time, focus and repetition. If you struggle to get low quickly for shots, break down these individual parts of your game. If you need to work on any of these specific areas, break them down one at a time and give yourself time and repetition to create these new habits. It can get frustrating, but over time you will start to see a difference, and you will no longer have to think about it to make it happen.