Wide vs Neutral Stance | Which one is for you?
This topic can sometimes ruffles some feathers (because everyone has a strong opinion about their way of approaching this), so instead of stating something as fact, I just wanted to share my thoughts on this debate & hear some feedback!
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📝: I’m all for individualized goalkeeping styles, as @gktackett_scsg and I have discussed. What I mean by that is that we’ve seen just about every style of goalkeeping have some form of success in the pros. So generalizing or saying that “your style” or “your way of coaching” is the end all be all, would be a little overzealous. And of those many “styles”, something that is often discussed is the preset stance.
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- In my opinion, I’d recommend starting wide and staying wide and/or starting neutral/narrower and maintaining that stance prior to a shot. Ter Stegen is one of the best in the world at maintaining his wide stance through the entire progression of a save sequence and Pau Lòpez of AS Roma is one of the best with his neutral stance. Both are successful at “their style”. But when you start narrow and jump wide, 2 things can happen: 1. You root your feet into the ground (making it difficult to pick them back up) *Unless timed perfectly* 2. With that rooting, you limit yourself to a “reach only zone”. Making it difficult to reach anything outside your bubble because your legs have been taken out of the equation.
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- In saying all of this, it’s important to film your sessions and see which approach you take. Once you know that, you’ll be able to make any necessary modifications that you feel can improve your preset leading you into your save approach! Let me know your guys’ thoughts! - @omarzeenni
