GK Footwork: Shuffle and Set

Set-up

Four cones in a straight line about two steps apart, roughly the width of a small goal, on flat grass or a patio. The keeper starts at one end with a ball in their hands. No goal is needed: the line of cones is the goal mouth, and the work is the feet and the hands.

What you need

• 1 soccer ball
• 4 cones or markers

The ground: 20 × 15 ft (about 6 × 5 m). One child can run it alone in a backyard. The space and equipment check lists every drill that fits the ground you have.

How to run it

1. Set up. Four cones in a straight line, about two steps apart, as wide as a small goal.
2. Set position. Feet shoulder width, knees soft, weight on the balls of the feet, hands up and ready.
3. Shuffle. Side-step to the next cone with short, quick steps. The feet never cross.
4. Set again. Stop at the cone and be completely still before anything else happens.
5. Catch. Drop the ball from chest height and catch it on the half-bounce, thumbs almost touching behind it.
6. Back and forth. Down the line and back is one set. Five sets, then count the clean catches.

Coaching points

• Short side-steps with the feet never crossing. Crossed feet are the moment a keeper cannot push off to either side.
• Set before the catch, every time. The still moment at each cone is the habit that stops a keeper diving late.
• Hands in a W behind the ball, and the body behind the hands, the same grip as GK Handling.

What to watch: Feet never cross, and the keeper is still and set before the ball is caught. A keeper still moving at the catch is a keeper diving late in a match.

Common mistakes

• Crossing the feet on the shuffle, which leaves no push-off to either side
• Catching while still moving instead of setting first
• Hands beside the ball rather than behind it, so it squirms through
• Standing up tall with straight legs, which makes every movement slow
• Watching the cone instead of the ball at the moment of the catch

What good looks like

A good target: 18 of 20 catches held cleanly, with the feet never crossing on the shuffle.

Progressions and variations

Making it harder

• Level 1: Walk the shuffle slowly, setting and catching at every cone
• Level 2: Full-speed shuffle, eighteen clean catches out of twenty
• Level 3: A partner calls the cone number so the direction changes
• Level 4: A partner throws instead of a drop, at waist and chest height
• Level 5: Low throws that need the keeper down on one knee to collect
• Level 6: Add a short dive to the last cone onto a soft surface

Alone, with a sibling, or in a group

• Solo: shuffle, set, drop the ball and catch it on the half-bounce at every cone, counting clean catches out of twenty.
• Sibling: one stands behind the line and calls a cone number; the keeper shuffles there, sets, and catches a gentle throw.
• Co-op: a line of keepers takes turns down the cones while a parent serves, rotating out after each set so nobody tires.

Adjusting it by age

• U14: Keep the cones close and the pace steady. The whole goal is feet that never cross and a still set before each catch, so count those before speed.
• U18: Widen the cones, have a partner call the cone late, and finish each set with a throw to the far side that needs a push-off and a dive onto soft ground.

For the parent running it

• Lay four cones in a line about two steps apart. Ask for quick side-steps, never crossed feet, and a still, set body before every catch.

On their own: Hold the ball, shuffle to each cone, set, drop the ball and catch it on the half-bounce in a W grip. Twenty clean catches.

Safety

• Flat ground with nothing to trip on between the cones, and any dive only onto grass or a mat

More on training safely at home: Safety at Home.

Why it matters

None