Fundamentals I: Learning to catch - FIFA Training Centre

To catch the ball effectively, a goalkeeper must first understand and apply key technical fundamentals.

In this session, FIFA Goalkeeper Coach Thierry Barnerat works with a group of young goalkeepers to establish the essential body actions required to secure the ball when catching it, such as:

adopting the correct catching posture, keeping the upper-body posture strong, and knees slightly bent;
raising both hands together to the same level, so they contact the ball at the same time; and
ensuring the forearm is slightly bent and the ball is caught out in front of the face.

Exercise 1: Hands on the ball

(1/3) The ideal catching position features slightly bent knees and an upper body that is tilted forward.

(2/3) For the first few rounds, the ball should be dropped from a higher position, then lowered gradually in subsequent rounds.

(3/3) Goalkeepers should keep their eyes open and avoid blinking as the ball drops toward the face.

This exercise focuses primarily on developing proper arm mechanics and refining the precise positioning of the hands on the ball, so the ball can be tracked through the air. The goalkeeper is in a lying position to emphasise soft hand contact and secure control close to the body, then progresses to standing to apply these fundamentals in more dynamic, game-like situations.

Exercise 2: Kneeled catch

(1/2) The starting position is the goalkeeper kneeling, with the upper-body weight slightly shifted forward to be ready to attack the ball.

(2/2) The ball should be claimed out in front with the forearms slightly bent, and the shoulders and upper body tilted forward slightly.

In the second exercise, the goalkeeper is kneeling, focusing on upper-body stability and bringing the ball in front of the face to catch correctly, maintaining a firm core and steady shoulder alignment while tracking the ball’s flight with the eyes.

Exercise 3: Kneeled catch from kick

(1/2) The starting position is the same as in Exercise 2, but now the ball is kicked towards the goalkeeper.

(2/2) The kicks are more powerful than the throws in the previous exercise. The challenge for the goalkeeper is to remain stable and maintain balance.

In the third exercise, the technique of catching is refined with game-realistic difficulty. While kneeling, the goalkeeper transitions from receiving throws to handling a volleyed kick, focusing on clean hand shape, soft absorption and centring the ball in front of the face, while maintaining upper-body stability and consistent eye tracking through the ball’s flight.

Exercise 4: Standing Catch

(1/2) In the standing position, the goalkeeper must pay close attention to the position of the feet, knees, pelvis, upper body and arms.

(2/2) The upper body must remain stable and be bent forward slightly to attack the ball.

In the fourth exercise, the goalkeeper moves to a standing catch, focusing on full-body posture and positioning—feet shoulder-width apart, knees flexed slightly, chest tall, and weight balanced on the balls of the feet—so the technical action can be performed efficiently.

Exercise 5: Body orientation and catching

(1/3) The goalkeeper starts by facing the ball outside and must readjust their position to be ready for a shot coming from the centre.

(2/3) The goalkeeper must show good footwork with lateral movement, while also gathering information and adjusting to the new position.

(3/3) As the goalkeeper is in motion, which can cause instability, both hands must remain firm equally to ensure a clean catch.

In Exercise 5, the goalkeeper must draw on the key technical elements of catching the ball and combine them with excellent body orientation, adjusting footwork and posture to position effectively for shots arriving from different angles.

Exercise 6: Catching from different angles

(1/2) The goalkeepers work here on coordinating the movements they learned in the previous exercises.

(2/2) The goalkeepers must adapt more because the ball does not always arrive at the same height. They need to adjust their body position, first to the origin of the shot, and second to the ball’s speed and direction, to determine the optimal point at which it can be caught.

In Exercise 6, catching from different angles, the goalkeepers work on orienting their bodies to the ball while maintaining correct technical elements—balanced stance, soft hands in front of the face and steady eye tracking to deal effectively with shots arriving from a variety of angles and trajectories.