Lateral Low Dives of the Soccer Goalkeeper. Incidence, Biomechanics and Training

Abstract

Front, lateral, and rear dives are actions performed by goalkeepers to intercept balls beyond their immediate reach. The trajectory of the goalkeeper’s center of body mass towards the ball may produce low, mid, and high dives. The goal of this contribution is to describe qualitatively the biomechanics of low lateral dives and evaluates their incidence during a game to improve their training. Maximizing the effectiveness of such dives requires goalkeepers to move their center of mass downward quickly and as directly as possible. For close and fast shots, a low set posture, positioning the center of mass closer to the ground, is more appropriate than for more distant or slower shots. Also, diving with parabolic trajectories delay the arrival time to the ball at low levels and decreases the efficiency and effectiveness of the action. In very tall goalkeepers a low Body Mass Index and specific training improve performance of low dives. Half of the analyzed actions of goalkeepers during a competition required the execution of low lateral dives. Specific statistics based on clearly defined criteria help to guide training planning regimes.