Hero to Zero to Hero:

Goalkeeping’s Mental Challenges

Early in his career, English keeper David James allowed enough so-called I soft goals that the Brish media nicknamed him “Calamity James.” How I did James respond? He set the all-time record for most games played in the English Premier League (more than 500), represented his national team more than 50 times, and was still going strong at the top tier at age 40.

All goalkeepers give up goals that they should have saved. What really matters is how they react after giving up a goal. The exceptional keepers learn from their mistakes, move on, and are confident that they’ll keep improving. During the game, goalkeepers must always focus on the next play. Whether they give up the worst goal or make the best save, they need to get it out of their system and move on to the next play. In soccer, the next play is always the most important.

The mental approach that a player takes to the position will go a long way in determining how successful the keeper will be. Great talents have failed because of their mental approach. Less athletic keepers have thrived because of their smarts and fortitude. And it’s not just about shaking off a setback.

The great German goalkeeper Sepp Maier said that the goalkeeper position, although it doesn’t require running the distances required of field players, is just as demanding because of the intense concentration it requires. “Standing in goal for 90 minutes like a cat ready to pounce requires lots of energy,” he noted in his book Meine Towart Schule (Germany: Heyne, 1978). For long periods of the game, goalkeepers will not get a touch on the ball, and then suddenly they have to make a play. They have a lot of time to think when the ball is on the other end, and their mental state when they’re not near the action affects how they’ll react when they are called on.

But staying focused during the lulls is just one of the challenges that the goalkeepers face. When they are under pressure—as the other team attacks-.