The harsh reality of being a goalkeeper is that one person will likely play the position for a majority of the season. In college, you are not likely to disrupt the rhythm of the game by splitting time with someone else. On a college roster, most teams will carry 3 to 4 goalkeepers as opposed to 20 to 25 field players. Field players can be fit to play any position on the field where a goalkeeper is a more unidimensional player.
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This dynamic makes the recruiting process for a goalkeeper a little more complicated compared to a field player. Here are some tips when making your list of schools if you are a goalkeeper:
- Watch games: One important thing to do when looking to get recruited is to watch potential school's games. Watching games gives you a feel for the style of play, how involved the goalkeeper is and overall trends of the goalkeeper, this will give you a good idea as to how your skills could compare to the coach's preference.
- Look at rosters to see trends: If you are a shorter goalkeeper (like myself), you are unlikely to get recruited by a coaching staff who is recruiting goalkeepers who are 5'8 and above.
- See what classes the other goalkeepers are in: Take a look at when the other goalkeepers will be graduating. If two of them are seniors and one is a sophomore, the staff will likely be looking to bring in someone in the incoming freshman class
- Check statistics to see which goalkeeper is playing: Similar to the tip above, look at which goalkeeper is currently starting for the university to see if you are similar to them in any way and look at when they are graduating. If a freshman has consistently been starting, she will likely be the starter unless she is underperforming or gets injured.
- Ask coaches questions: When you gain interest from coaches, be very honest with the questions you ask them. Check in with them to assess where they see you fitting in with the returning goalkeepers, why they want to bring in another goalkeeper, what their current goalkeeper situation is. These are all fair questions to ask because you want to commit to the best college possible for your future as an athlete and student.
You should never feel discouraged during the recruiting process as a goalkeeper. You are truly one of a kind and if a team needs a goalkeeper, they will recruit one.
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* Originally published on April 1, 2022, by Andrea Leitner
