The Loneliest Place on the Pitch
A goalkeeper spends most of a match waiting, and all of it in full view. When an outfield player misplaces a pass the game moves on; when the ball crosses the goal line, everything stops and everyone looks at one child. Alfi Myers opens his goalkeeping book by taking those nerves seriously instead of talking a young keeper out of them. This is what he tells them.
It is okay to feel nervous.
Even the best goalkeepers in the world get that flutter in their stomach before kick-off. Even they wonder if they’ll be ready when needed. That nervousness isn’t a sign you aren’t good enough, it’s a sign you care deeply. It shows you want to do well, you want to protect your teammates, and you want to give everything for the shirt you wear.
Being a goalkeeper is about so much more than never letting a goal in. It’s about learning to stand tall after things go wrong. It’s about calling out to your team, guiding your defenders, and knowing you aren’t truly on your own.
Alfi Myers, head of football development at Hoddesdon Town Youth FC
Read more in The Love of the Game: What Being a Goalkeeper Really Gives Us.