Experienced this for my child. There are some positives to learn from goalie that makes you a better field player but you have to enjoy the position and want to do well.

Child liked playing goalie but didn't want to do it all game as young player. Typically played field first half and then closed game as the No. 1 option. There were times in middle school, the child was forced to play the whole game and soccer got boring because of the lack of touches. Tried to explain that you get more involved in game as it gets more complex, but ended up to sitting out one fall and playing another sport. Child returned to play and eventually specialized in goal and will play in college this fall.

Agree with all the points about training. It's a totally different position and club didn't offer much until high school years. Even then it wasn't enough. Finally got a keeper coach that worked on the technical side that was lacking. Once you see how hand placement and positioning is supposed to work, you see how untrained even good goalies are because they rely on athleticism. If you want a rec happy to provide.

How about you talk to the coach for five minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Understand GK requires special training outside of team practice. Most clubs never give the GK proper training. Its more than serving a ball and teaching to catch. The GK sees the game from a totally different view than the other field players. Unless your coach can teach that aspect he is failing your player. Dont be afraid to request and stay stern that your player is not getting the proper training.

+1000000 this. DD is in college now and plays GK at a smaller D1 school. Over the years, she's trained with several excellent GK coaches who gave her a lot of very good advice. Looking back on her soccer "career", I would humbly offer this advice:

GK is a unique position with specialized training that many team coaches aren't qualified to provide. Beyond the technical skills and understanding of the game, being a GK also requires mental toughness and resiliency. In particular at younger ages, one of the most important things a coach can do to help foster this is to take a "positive" approach to coaching. https://positivecoach.org/ is a great resource for that. Young GKs need to know that it's ok to make a mistake and that they're not going to be blamed/criticized for it. Often, coaches are more focused on winning games than anything else. Obviously giving up a goal isn't conducive to winning games and I've seen more than a few coaches who were quick to be critical of a young GK when it happens. Think about what that does to the (usually fragile) psyche of a young player who is often known as the "last line of defense". I'm not suggesting that coaches can't be tough, just that they should be cognizant of how that message is being received. Building trust and confidence will matter a lot more in the long run than winning a particular game or even a tournament. Unfortunately, it can be hard to know if your coach subscribes to this philosophy or not, especially on a new team.

Depending on age, I would also suggest that a coach singling out (young) players to play GK is actually not a good thing unless the kid(s) are interested in the position. If that's not your DS, I would simply explain that you're ok with (most) everyone rotating through goal but your son isn't interested in being a full-time GK (or even splitting time with one other player). If the coach doesn't respect that, then it might be time for you to find another team. Your childs' happiness and enjoyment of the game are much more important (especially at a young age) than filling the GK role if his heart isn't really in it.

My son's U13 Coach used to put the ball hog in goal at practice when he continually would not pass the ball. Dad and kid were both real prima donnas used to everyone kissing their butts. It was wonderful! Made the rest of the team happy. Taught the kid a lesson and after a full season he finally stopped dribbling into the ground on every.single.play.

It's only the first week. Someone has to play goalie, and it is not that practical to rotate them around within a practice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid ends up really sucking as keeper, they will stop rotating him/her in...even when they say everyone will play there

When my kid was U11, the Coach put him in keeper in a tournament final that went into penalty kicks. The kid had only been put in goal once or twice since U9. WTF. And we had two kids great at keeper that usually switched on and off. I always wondered if he had $$ riding against our team in some Coaches pool.

That happened to my kid at the tournament at the end of their u9 season. She missed all the shots, was totally crushed and determined not to end up as goalie after that. Her team for this year still doesn't have any kids that really enjoy the position, so we will see what happens.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid ends up really sucking as keeper, they will stop rotating him/her in...even when they say everyone will play there

When my kid was U11, the Coach put him in keeper in a tournament final that went into penalty kicks. The kid had only been put in goal once or twice since U9. WTF. And we had two kids great at keeper that usually switched on and off. I always wondered if he had $$ riding against our team in some Coaches pool.

If your kid ends up really sucking as keeper, they will stop rotating him/her in...even when they say everyone will play there

About to have this with our team - currently the coach is planning on a rotation of 6 players per game. A bit disruptive, but since my kid is probably the best or second best goalie and doesn't want TO BE the goalie, I prefer the disruption to full halves in goal.

Anonymous wrote:Just play the position or quit the team

+1, but I would talk to the coach first. I would have no problem leaving a team if the coach put my kid in GL and my kid didn't want to play it and I didn't want to pay for my kid in that position. I'd leave as soon as possible.

Just play the position or quit the team