PATRICK MORRISON: Make a difference


By Patrick Morrison WE all know how the importance of the goalkeeper has been magnified over the past 15 to 20 years but what has not coincided with this magnification is the amount of quality goalkeeping coaching for young goalkeepers across the country. I regularly find that the vast majority of goalkeepers that I am […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Always attacking


By Patrick Morrison STEVEN Pressfield’s 2004 novel ‘The Virtue of War’ follows the life of Alexander the Great and his story is told through the eyes of a Hellenic-Persian scribe who was serving under him during his campaigns into India. In the novel there is a quote from Alexander himself which states: “Always attack. Even […]


Scullion answers the ‘Screen call


By Michael McMullan HE may have been a major injury doubt, but there was never a question of goalkeeper Ryan Scullion’s involvement in Ballinascreen’s do or die relegation play-off with Lavey. Scullion saved three penalties in Friday’s shoot-out at end of a nip and tuck 80 minutes of action before Antain Donnelly’s winning penalty ensured […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Raise your standards


By Patrick Morrison TO reach the top and become the best takes a massive amount of time and effort to perfect your goalkeeping. You will spend hours and hours refining your skills with the aim of improving your performances between the posts. Ultimately, it is important to understand that perfection is unattainable because each time you […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Training brain v competition brain


By Patrick Morrison WHENEVER a goalkeeper is performing during competition and performing during training sessions, they do so with two completely different approaches. The mindset a goalkeeper will have when they are performing during competition will greatly differ to the mindset they will apply when they are training. During competition, the goalkeeper has a greater […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Who’s in goals


By Patrick Morrison WHENEVER I was younger, Sherry’s Field in the heart of Armagh City was our playground. A very large field, it included five full tennis courts, a soccer pitch, a playground as well as some fringe areas for building tree huts and the like. No matter what the weather was like, most of […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Master your situation


By Patrick Morrison OVER the past few weekends, we have seen some excellent exhibitions of goalkeeping in numerous matches. Colm Reape (Mayo), Shaun Patton (Donegal), Niall Kane (Down), Shane Ryan (Kerry), Odhrán Lynch (Derry) and probably the best and most all-round performance from Tyrone’s Niall Morgan against Armagh in Omagh. All of the goalkeeping skills […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Never give up


BY Patrick Morrison ON Saturday, November 30 in Stamford Bridge, David Martin made his long-awaited Premier League debut for his boyhood club West Ham United at the age of 33. After 16 years plying his trade as a professional, the Hammers third choice goalkeeper finally got his moment in the spotlight against fellow London rivals […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Recovery comes first


By Patrick Morrison WITHIN my 11 goalkeeping principles, number eight is named ‘recovery.’ This principle deals with two types of recovery within the abilities of a goalkeeper. The first aspect of goalkeeping recovery focuses on how quickly the goalkeeper can reset themselves back into their set position after having made a save, caught a high […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Don’t go mad, go mental


By Patrick Morrison THERE has been no doubt that over the years that the goalkeeper position has been one that has always required a specialised set of skills. Compared to the rest of the team, some of the traits required to play in goal are totally alien to any other position. Playing as a goalkeeper […]