Coordination Ladder and Ball Reception
Coordination circuit for young goalkeepers: quick feet through the ladder, a diagonal sprint to the goal and a clean reception of a ball from the coach.
Step 1Escalera y desplazamiento
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Apoyos rápidos en la primera escalera y desplazamiento diagonal hasta la posición de base.
Objective
Develop the goalkeeper's foot coordination and speed of steps, linking work without the ball to an immediate technical action.
Organisation
A 20x15 m area with a portable or full-size goal at one end. One goalkeeper, a coach with balls 8 m from goal and two 4 m coordination ladders placed in parallel about 10 m from goal. Two cones in front of the goal mark the set position.
Development
- 1The goalkeeper starts beside the first ladder and performs the footwork pattern called by the coach: one foot per rung, two feet per rung, or lateral in-and-out.
- 2After the ladder, they sprint diagonally to the set position between the cones in front of the goal.
- 3As soon as they are set, the coach serves a low or mid-height ball and the goalkeeper receives it securely.
- 4They return the ball to the coach by hand and move to the second ladder.
- 5They complete the second ladder with a different pattern and return to the set position to receive another ball.
- 6Each goalkeeper completes 4-6 full laps; ladder patterns change between laps.
Coaching points4
- Quick, quiet steps through the ladder on the balls of the feet, with the arms driving the movement.
- Look ahead during the ladder, not at the feet, to be ready to see the ball.
- Stop and fix the set position before receiving; a goalkeeper on the move receives badly.
- Receive with the hands in front of the body and the elbows bent.
Common mistakes3
- Looking at the ground through the whole ladder and picking up the ball late.
- Skipping rungs to go faster.
- Receiving the ball without being stopped in the set position.
Variations3
- The coach varies the height of the ball without warning to work different receiving techniques.
- Replace the second ladder with low hurdles to introduce jumps.
- Run the drill in pairs as a relay to add competition.
Progressions2
- Add an immediate second ball after the first reception to work on reaction.
- Place the ladder diagonally and increase the distance to the goal.
Regressions2
- Use a single simple ladder pattern and low balls delivered by hand.
- Remove the second ladder and work only ladder, movement and reception.
Tips
- With very young goalkeepers, demonstrate each ladder pattern first and use fun names to remember them.
- Keep sets short with full rest so the quality of the footwork does not drop.