Handball Goalkeeper Training

The overhead save

A great exercise to train reaction times and quick sprints. This drill starts by having multiple players a 10 meters away from goal and they each have a ball waiting to overhead shot into the goal. The goalkeeper will tag a player on the arm and then the player will shoot and the keeper must quickly react to sprint back to the goal and make a save. Great variations of this training drill are to increase the distance away from goal, have two players make a shot so the keeper must save two shots at once, try different angles of the shot so the keeper has to rotate left and right to make the save.

The three shot rush

This handball goalkeeper training drill consists of 3 lines of shooters each at the left center and right angles of the goal. The drill begins by the shooter from the left side of the goal shoots and the keeper must make the save, after finishing the shooter in the middle repeats and then the same with the shooter on the right. Repeat this exercise for 10 minutes or until 60 saves are made. This is good training for improving the quick steps and reaction speed to save at each angle of the goal. Many variations of this drill can be to add more shooting at other angles of the goal, have the shooter try multiple shot types such as the jumping shot. 

Sprint to score

Believe it or not, the goalkeeper can exit the circle to stop saves and instead act as an attacker and score for their team, having an extra attacker on the field can put your team at a greater advantage of scoring a goal but this tactic is usually used only when the team is desperate and is most likely on the losing side. The drill begins having 2 players on either side of the goalkeeper and they all sprint to the other side of the court to the other goal and must make 3 passes between each other, once they are closing towards the opponent’s goal the keeper must make the shot on goal. Repeat until 10 goals are scored, the keeper can try multiple types of shots when attempting to score. Having a keeper that can also shoot when needed can give your team a very valuable and unpredictable edge to win the match. Mixing up the training drill can consist of adding more players to make passes, adding in opposing attackers to intercept passes and to add a goalkeeper to attempt to save the incoming shots. 

Jumping jack save

The most common save a handball goalkeeper makes is often referred to as the jumping jack save, this is due to the goalkeeper using their arms and legs to make themselves as big as possible to try and block the incoming shot. This usually happens during a one vs one where it's only the shooter and the goalkeeper left to face each other. When the keeper is in the moment of the save their arms go up and down and their legs move from side to side, the more they move the more off putting it is for the shooter to pick the side they want to shoot. Moving onto the drill, a line of shooters opposite of the goal will each have a one vs one shot against the keeper, it's the shooter's decision what shot they use but the focus of the goalkeeper is to keep moving their body and make it as big as they can to block the shot. This is ultimately one of the best training drills a keeper can do as this type of save is what they will mostly be doing throughout the whole game. 

The sliding save

A goalkeeper in handball can save with any part of the body including their legs, this drill will require the keeper to slide to a corner of the goal to make the save. The drill will have 2 lines of players away from the goal and each shooter is to aim for the corner of the goal while the keeper stands in wait at the opposite corner. Once the shot is made and the keeper attempts to save the shooter on the other side will repeat the process and the keeper must slide to the opposite corner. This is great goalkeeper training for improving the keeper’s quick sprints and maximum stretch capabilities. This exercise can be switched up by having to shots at once, having a pass made before shooting so the keeper must constantly refocus their position and to increase the distance of the sprints. 

Conclusion

Having less goalkeepers than the rest of the player’s doesn’t make their role or training experience any less significant, by using these goalkeeper training drills in 2019 you will become a pro in a short amount of time. Also, these are recommended by real handball coaches in schools as what is the most enjoyable, so these are essentially the most fun handball drills. These also work for beginners and newer players to the sport, so have fun training.