Petr Cech has shared a – quite frankly – genius training technique on his Twitter account.
A goalkeeper’s job is far more complicated that just preventing balls from rolling into the back of the net. They have to be able to read the game, players and extenuating circumstances, all while the game plays out in front of them. Said circumstances might be the wind, which has affect on the speed and direction of the ball, or other players, who can ‘influence’ the flight of the ball.
Deflections – I’m talking about deflections.
Preventing a deflection, particularly if it’s off one of your own defenders, is probably one of the hardest parts of being a goalkeeper (I imagine anyway – it may shock you to know that I’m not actually a goalkeeper myself).
Osmý den / day eight: Trénink. ⚽️ Training … pic.twitter.com/qb04Um72Ey
— Petr Cech (@PetrCech) June 15, 2016
With this is mind, it appears that Petr Cech has taken matters into his own hands – or gloves, laying out dozens of plastic bottles as obstacles in front of his net. He’s then got his training partner to kick the football so it bounces off the bottles. Although it must be hard to actually be able to predict where the ball is going once it bounces, I’m sure this quickens his reflexes.
Clever, very clever.