Is there any need to include upper body plyos for GKs? Under the term ‘upper body plyos’ (UBP) I mean doing various push up and clap, etc, not explosive medball throws or medball tempo…
My logic is that they should do some form of UBP, once they develop appropriate upped body strength, due the fact that GKs often fall on hand and need to stand back as fast as they can.
Thoughts? ESTI?
When I first read this, the first thought that came to my mind is, “would someone who can get up from the ground quickly have the ability to perform upper body movements explosively?”
When I have youth athletes perform scramble starts/push ups starts, some struggle to get up, some pop up. The ones who pop up are usually the fastest too. So maybe there is a correlation, in which I think it would be something to add to a keepers training program.
I think whole body work might be more appropriate if required. I’m not sure I see the need to seperate the upper or lower body.
ESTI, what are scramble ups? Acceleration from lying face down?
Yes, push up starts from the GPP video…some call them scramble starts.
I agree that whole-body strength is the main factor but there IS a degree of upper body plyo action in Mad ball accels as you explode forward and land on your hands, absorbing the landing forces. See the MB accels on the GPP DVD.
Charlie,
Would you include upper body medball throws with keepers (i.e. chest pass against wall, side throws etc)?
Also, would you do anything differently for a keeper compared to other field players?
Yes, I’d follow that approach for Keepers and I might bo a slightly higher number of reps for them but i wouldn’t restrict the work to them alone.
I am not Charlie, but I would completely eliminate metabolic conditioning work (RSA, SE) [altought our GK coach do some technical drills of prolonged duration and high intensity: 20-40sec], reduce work capacity training (total tempo volume, usage of only 100s and 200s) and increase strength and explosive/reactive strength training. Their physical training would be some sort of blend of sprinter/OL/jump training 
That is what I have been doing so far.
Another question I have been debating with myself is can reaction be improved in teenagers. It might be said that many keepers struggle to react and get to the posts. They might be able to naturally, but not when reaction is involved…
so, what about reaction work with keepers, besides the practices themself.
More practice! According to motor control theory, athlete cannot learn to anticipate on non-specific stimuly (hand direction, whistle blow), thus you can clap, whistle all day long, if you don’t inlcude the ball and the kick then you are not doing anything.
Like the relay zone work without a full pass, you can have players take shots and have the GK react in the direction he expects the ball to go without fully going after it. The value would be to sharpen reactivity without tiring the GK.
Interesting. You gave me the idea how can players practice penalty shots without fatiguing GKs in the days preceding the match. Thanks