Everything you need to know about playing – Goal Keeper

Published on June 6, 2025

Goal Keeper

The Goal Keeper (GK) is the last person on the court & needs to “limit the influence the Goal Shooter has on the game by reducing their chances to shoot”

4 key focuses to nail:

Strong one on one defence with the ability to defend multiple movements to intercept.
Variety of defence on the shot with awareness of what hands over style is challenging the shooter on the shot.
Strong first delivery from baseline throw-in.
Height, reach, and anticipation skills are crucial for a GK.

1) Body Positioning

Keep focused on staying ball side of your opposition – making sure you dictate the space for your opponent to be forced away from the ball. Keep on your toes. We know it’s tiring but you will be able to react quicker, move around the body & have more opportunities to intercept.

Open Defence:

Defenders back is to the attacker, which helps with intercepting passes and denying easy scoring opportunities.

Closed Defence:

Defender is facing the attacker, which helps to trap attackers, limit their options, and force them to play into the area you are dictating.

2) Defending a tall GS

Stay off the body

If the goaler has a strong hold and your defender is stuck on the body, 90% of the time you will miss the opportunity to intercept

Confuse the space

The defender needs to continuously work their feet & change their position around the goalers body.

Full team defence helps the GK

There is little chance for the GK to intercept, if the ball is coming down the court at lightning speed. It gives you almost no time to create what you need to take the intercept.

3) Focus on footwork

It’s footwork that gets you to the ball, footwork that gets you out of trouble if you over run it and footwork that puts doubt in the feeders mind, which create turnovers.
You need to work around the GS body and think about how to confuse the thrower. A GK needs to constantly be on the move, using great footwork, but not ‘over moving’ .
It is important you keep off the body of your opponent, when they try to put on a hold. Make sure you work your feet quickly, ready to get around your player.
Simple footwork drills as extras at home, can be what takes a GK game to the next level. Head to the NETFIT App to learn from some of the best GK in the game.

4) Read the play

Eyes up, even when the ball is down the other end.
A GK always needs to be able to see the ball, their player and their goal defence. That’s a lot to think about.
While you are repositioning in the goal circle, do you always know where the ball is? Not only do you need to focus on your body positioning, you need to keep your eyes up for the feed.
Make sure you are watching the movement down the court – keep repositioning your body on your toes/quick feet as the ball moves towards the goal third ready to cover or go hunting.

5) Defence on the shot

It is important that GK’s have a bag of tricks on the shot, using several techniques to contest the shooters shot. Here’s 2 to try.

Jump & lean

Always get your 3 feet distance, jump with one or two hands raised to try and intercept the ball during the shooter’s shot. The jump is aimed at applying pressure to the flight of the ball and potentially tipping the ball. You must land 3 feet away from shooter.

Supported lean

Lean for a longer duration with one foot grounded and consistent pressure on the shot.

6) Rebounding

Once you defend the shot, turn and block out hard, finding the body and preventing the goaler from making a run at the rebound.
Time your jump and pull the ball in with two hands.
Look to transition quickly by looking long, but releasing the pass with control.

7) Keeping the GS high

Keeping the GS high is to force them away from the goal post, stopping them scoring quickly, or forcing them to take a long shot.
As you keep the goaler high, it’s important that you confuse the space for the feeders pass.
Once a shooter drives up high in the ring, that is when you do your best to keep them there.

8) Flying intercept outside the ring

This is time for the GK to shine. If the GK knows exactly where the GS is, it creates opportunities for them to try & intercept some balls as the opposition brings the ball down the court, especially into pockets.
You need to keep your eyes up and look for GA, WA, C players long leads down the court and into pockets.
Having the courage and technique to have a go at these balls is something all GK should work on at training. This is a developed skill that gets better and better with practise and experience.

9) Partnership with your GD

GK’s work in close partnership with the goal defence, who marks the goal attack, to push both shooters as far as possible from the post, making scoring difficult.
You need to be able to trust & talk to each other so that you can both hunt & win ball in the game. Take the time to build a connection with GD and come up with what your roles are in a few scenarios.

Communication is key

The value of getting on the same page with your GD is key. You need to speak the same language. You need to understand each other’s calls. When you call ‘base’ does that mean you want them to go to the baseline or you are going base? Communication is the key to not leaving your teammate high & dry.

10) Your need resilience

You need to be determined, prepared to go hard all day and wear someone down, to make the shooters life difficult. You’ve got to be annoying and pick yourself up quickly.
Be persistent and have a strong game sense. In lots of ways, you’re playing a game of chess with your opponent, so it’s a mental game as well as physical.
GK’s often work long and hard with little reward. The hassling, the footwork & high work rate might not even account for a single intercept at the start of the game. However the goal is to wear shooters down. When players get tired, passes start missing and then the intercepts often come in the last quarter. That’s what good goal keepers do.