Improving High Fielding

biffo2014

I know there's loads of Threads on this subject but I feel my story is different.

I'm 25 and 6'5. I am that height since about 16 so playing minor I never had a problem catching high ball. After Minor I moved into full forward-corner forward as I was excellent at point taking and what not so was keep closer to goal. High balls coming in weren't a problem for me and had no problem with them.

This year I have been moved to midfield by our new trainer. I love it as I have more freedom as such and like the challenge of covering all areas of the field - only problem is my high fielding is letting me down big time. Our club have 3 very good minors on the team this year. They are 6'7 , 6'4, and 6'3 in height. Their high fielding is exceptional and even training they would be winning 90% of the ball against me in matches. In matches for our club its the same - it stands out badly that I'm not winning enough high ball and is draining my confidence big time.

My problem is my timing and my jump could be a bit higher aswell. I can catch the ball when it was kicked into me at full forward out of the hands, but kickouts seem to be a whole different ball game (no pun intended). The ball seems to hang longer in the air on kickouts and seems to knock me off. What is the best way to practice this on my own? I work away a good bit so its hard to get down to the field with the keeper to let him kick it out to me. Any drills I can do to improve my jumping and my timing?

Thanks in advance

KevinK

I remember reading about Paul McGrane practising with a balloon...

Connorzee

Sounds like jumping is your issue..

1. Get the knots out of your leg muscles These knots — also called "trigger points" — are everywhere in your body and restrict the length of your muscle tissue, making them shortened and weaker. Use a foam roller to get rid of these knots and lengthen your muscles. With each exercise, move slowly and stop on tender spots. Work on each of the following muscles for at least 30 seconds before switching legs.

Calves: Put the roller under your calf and rest your other foot on the floor. Roll from your ankle to your knee.
IT Band: Lie on your side with the roller near your hip and rest your other foot on the floor. Move the roller along your outer thigh. You can increase pressure by stacking your legs on top of one another. Quads: Lie on your stomach with the roller placed under the front of your thigh. Roll up and down from the bottom of your hip to the top of your knee.

2. Do Bulgarian Split Squats. Your legs give you power to jump higher. Too bad most guys rarely train their legs. The Bulgarian split squat will help build strength, while improving your balance. To do it, stand a couple paces away from a bench, and place your non-working leg on it. The top of your foot should be on the bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand erect with your chest up. Descend until your back knee nearly touches the floor. Using your heel of your lead foot (the one that's on the floor), push yourself back up into a standing position. That's one rep. Try doing 3 sets of 8 reps on each leg on your lower-body workout day.

3. Practice Depth Jumps A depth jump is performed by stepping off a box and then exploding upward immediately upon landing on the ground. This teaches reaction time and will help your lower body muscles activate when you need to catch air. Start by standing on a box that is 6 to 8 inches off the ground. Step off. As soon as you touch the ground jump as high as you can, reaching your arms overhead. Land softly in an athletic position. Take a second to recover, then step back onto the box, set yourself, and repeat. Try doing 3 sets of 3 reps on Week 1, 4 sets of 3 reps on Week 2, and 5 sets of 3 reps on Week 3.

Innish_Rebel

Connorzee wrote: »

Sounds like jumping is your issue..

1. Get the knots out of your leg muscles These knots — also called "trigger points" — are everywhere in your body and restrict the length of your muscle tissue, making them shortened and weaker. Use a foam roller to get rid of these knots and lengthen your muscles. With each exercise, move slowly and stop on tender spots. Work on each of the following muscles for at least 30 seconds before switching legs.

Calves: Put the roller under your calf and rest your other foot on the floor. Roll from your ankle to your knee.
IT Band: Lie on your side with the roller near your hip and rest your other foot on the floor. Move the roller along your outer thigh. You can increase pressure by stacking your legs on top of one another. Quads: Lie on your stomach with the roller placed under the front of your thigh. Roll up and down from the bottom of your hip to the top of your knee.

2. Do Bulgarian Split Squats. Your legs give you power to jump higher. Too bad most guys rarely train their legs. The Bulgarian split squat will help build strength, while improving your balance. To do it, stand a couple paces away from a bench, and place your non-working leg on it. The top of your foot should be on the bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand erect with your chest up. Descend until your back knee nearly touches the floor. Using your heel of your lead foot (the one that's on the floor), push yourself back up into a standing position. That's one rep. Try doing 3 sets of 8 reps on each leg on your lower-body workout day.

3. Practice Depth Jumps A depth jump is performed by stepping off a box and then exploding upward immediately upon landing on the ground. This teaches reaction time and will help your lower body muscles activate when you need to catch air. Start by standing on a box that is 6 to 8 inches off the ground. Step off. As soon as you touch the ground jump as high as you can, reaching your arms overhead. Land softly in an athletic position. Take a second to recover, then step back onto the box, set yourself, and repeat. Try doing 3 sets of 3 reps on Week 1, 4 sets of 3 reps on Week 2, and 5 sets of 3 reps on Week 3.

+1 - do a google search on plyometrics...

davegrohl48

The main thing is that the timing of your jump is off. You really need to find a goalkeeper who wants to practice his kickouts. The kickouts are hanging longer in the air and is throwing off your timing.
Ask him to send them left, right, mid range in front, behind you.
In that way you have to get your run up and jump correct for the different ways your going to have to react to make the catches.