WHENEVER I am coaching, one of the most common questions I am asked is ‘what is the most important aspect of being a goalkeeper?’ My answer is always the same. There is no one aspect that is more significant than any other as mastery of the position needs a competent level of ability in all goalkeeping […]
PATRICK MORRISON: It’s making, not taking
March 11, 2025
By Patrick Morrison THUS far the new 40-metre kick-out rule has sent teams back to the drawing board to rethink their restart strategies. Most teams have settled upon popping the ball to the corner-backs or pumping it long for the midfield battle. Indeed, every week of the league rounds we are regularly seeing teams smashing […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Another week, another rule
February 25, 2025
By Patrick Morrison “ANOTHER week. Another rule!!” This was a text message I received from a goalkeeper I coached several years ago when they heard of the introduction of the new 20-second kick-out clock to Gaelic football, the rationale for its introduction being that goalkeepers are taking far too long to take their kick-outs. Like […]
PATRICK MORRISON: The young goalkeeper
February 11, 2025
By Patrick Morrison CHILDREN are curious and insightful individuals who explore and learn through the process of trial and error just as nature intended. Their world is loaded with all kinds of imaginary games and toys. All a child wants to do is explore their world through the medium of play. And what child has not […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Making not taking
January 21, 2025
By Patrick Morrison IN the modern game of Gaelic football, we are under no illusions about the sudden rise in focus on restarts. This rise has also coincided with the rise in importance of the goalkeeping position as a whole. What the goalkeeper can offer to their team has grown exponentially over the past 25 […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Who’s in goals?
January 14, 2025
WHENEVER I was younger, Sherry’s Field in the heart of Armagh City was our playground. A very large field that 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 our time was used playing […]
Patrick Morrison: The 11 goalkeeping principles
December 28, 2024
By Patrick Morrison MY 11 goalkeeping principles are a fantastic starting point for any young goalkeeper wanting to develop their own goalkeeping style. They can also be used as a strong measuring system to assess your current style to determine if it may require being tweaked or updated. They incorporate all the major areas of […]
PATRICK MORRISON: One-to-one goalkeeping coaching
December 17, 2024
By Patrick Morrison IN 2015, my first year with the Armagh team, we played a challenge game against Dublin down in the DCU sports complex. This was the first year of their five-in-a-row dominance. We had started with a strong team with a handful of our regular starters rested. Dublin on the other hand, had […]
PATRICK MORRISON: Training brain v competition brain
December 9, 2024
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: Regress to progress
December 2, 2024
By Patrick Morrison DURING the Korean War in November 1950, the 1st Marine Division of the US Army were surrounded by 120,000 soldiers of the Chinese Army at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. They were led by Major General O.P. Smith, a native of Texas with 33 years’ experience in military combat. The Battle […]