Hands and Knees

If it were medically possible, all would-be goalkeepers should have their knees removed at birth to prevent them from getting in the way later on!

The worst goalkeeper sight to behold during the beginner phase is the keeper bending down with both kneecaps protruding, where the knees, not the hands, become the leaders.

There is an old song's refrain which goes, "Hands, Knees, and Bumps-a-Daisy." This is not as bad as "Knees, Hands and it Bumps away!"

So if doctors are not able to cooperate then the goalkeepers must remove the offending part of the body - the knees - from contact with the ball.

This can be accomplished by:

1. Making sure the hands are kept well in front of the legs - particularly on low shots that are being collected.
2. Either turning the knees to one side (the keeper may look like Quasimodo, but it works) or by keeping the knees as far back as possible by bending the body forward of when bending down to collect a low ball.

Please note : Turning the knees to the side still requires the upper body and shoulders to be square to the ball. And the knees, although turned out to the side, can and should still be used for double cover.