Communication
The goaltender should be the director on the field. No one can see the entire game as well as you can, and you need to open your big mouth and tell people what you see.
If a teammate has time to get the ball under control, yell “Time!” If he needs to get rid of it immediately, yell, “One touch!” or “Man on!” or whatever other term your team uses.
Tell your defense to push up if they're hanging back. Call a defender off if you think you can get the ball first. It's much better for the goalkeeper to have the ball under control than for a defender to merely be clearing it out of the goal area.
The keeper needs to communicate during free kicks as well. When the referee calls a direct kick against your team and the ball is down near the goal area, your team will want to set up a wall. This is when your direction is most important, because the kicker doesn't need to wait for the referee's whistle to take her free kick.
Tip
Because the kicker doesn't need to wait for your wall to set up, your team might want to position the wall too close to the kicker. Now the kicker will wait until the referee moves them back the required 10 feet. This gives your defense chance to get into the right spot.
If you don't set up your wall quickly, then you might not have the opportunity. The defend ers should know automatically that they need to get into a wall, but they will need your help getting into the right spot, and you need to know how to do it.
First, take the last player on the wall and line her up with the post. Tell her to move left or right until she's covered that whole area of the goal. Every other player should be shoulder to shoulder with that first player. You'll learn more about the field player's role in the wall in the chapter on defensive strategies.
FUN FACT
Tim Howard
One of the best goalkeepers ever to come out of the United States is Tim Howard. He was a superstar in high school and drafted by the NY/NJ Metrostars (now the NY Red Bulls) a year later. His incredible saves attracted international attention, and he became Manchester United's first American player ever. People were skeptical, but Tim Howard was used to proving himself. He's also fought a battle with Tourette's syndrome most of his life.
You take the space on the far side of the goal that's left open. Now there's very little space left for the kicker to put her shot. If she tries to chip it over the wall, it won't have much power, which should give you the time you need to move over.
The wall
We're With You!
This team is really supporting their keeper! Using a simple number substitution code (A=1, B=2, etc.) figure out what the team is spelling out with the numbers on their jerseys.
