Goalkeeper Psychology: How to Overcome Your Mistakes
Sports Psychology plays a huge role in goalkeeper development. Learning to overcome adversity and mistakes will help to shape you as a goalkeeper for years to come. From being benched or making a mistake that leads to a goal to game-winning blocks and last-minute penalty saves, there is a range of emotions that goalkeepers will feel. But regulating and dealing with them is much easier said than done.
Be a goldfish
Step number 1 for every goalkeeper is to ensure that you have a short memory. As Ted Lasso famously said, “The happiest animal on the planet is a goldfish. Why? Because they forget every 10 seconds”. Be a goldfish. If a mistake happens, forget about it. After the game, you can review it and figure out what went wrong but don’t dwell on it. Once it’s happened, there is nothing you can do about it. What we can control is our reaction. Yes, you’re allowed to be angry or upset. But not for long. Just like the goldfish, I like to give myself 10 seconds to let all that rage out and negative emotions bounce around in my head. Then you gotta let it go.
“The happiest animal on the planet is a goldfish. Why? Because they forget every 10 seconds”
It’s important to refocus and set your sights back on the target, as your team needs you to be ready to make the next save. Although you may be disappointed your job is not finished, there is always gonna be another shot, whether it’s in 1 minute, 10 minutes, 45 minutes or next week. You gotta be prepared. The only thing that dwelling on mistakes is gonna do is keep you distracted from the task at hand and subsequently lead to another mistake.
Creating your Anchor
An anchor is a psychology technique that I like to use to help refocus myself at any time, whether it’s at training or in a game. Every time I feel myself losing focus or I have conceded a goal, whether it’s my fault or not, I have my own ritual on how to refocus. Once the ball has hit the back of the net, I can feel my head going, all the rage builds up in my head, and I feel like punching the post. But I don’t; instead, I take a slow walk over to the drink bottle next to my goal. I’ll wait there for up to 10 seconds, then take a sip. After I’ve taken that sip, that is my own personal sign to forget about the goal. I can’t change it anymore, so whether I dropped an easy own or conceded a top-corner screamer, the goal is out of my head. Time to focus on the next job. After that sip of water, I’ll walk back to the 6-yard box, making sure to look over both shoulders to make sure I’m in the middle of my goal. Once I have done that, I can continue with my game.
I encourage you to do the same. Create your own anchor. This might be as simple as taking a sip from your water
bottle or jumping up and touching the crossbar. Whatever it is, it’s important to have something there that can help you refocus and get your mind focused on your next job.
We all make mistakes
Every goalkeeper makes mistakes. I still make mistakes. It's a part of football. Even Neuer and Allison make mistakes. As keepers, we have to accept that some days we will be the hero and save everything, but others we will be the villain and let a few soft ones in. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the game. However, accepting that there will be mistakes from time to time is an integral part in overcoming them. If you deny the mistakes in your game, then you will feel worse about yourself when they inevitably do happen.
In the long run, it won’t be the mistakes that define you as a goalkeeper. What will define you as a goalkeeper is the way you bounce back.
Sports psychology plays a pivotal role in goalkeeper development. By quickly moving past errors, creating an anchor, and accepting mistakes as part of the game, you will not only improve as a goalkeeper but become more resilient in general. Ultimately, a goalkeeper's true measure is their ability to rebound from these setbacks, shaping their mental resilience and confidence on the path to success.
The Goalkeepers’ View
