Injury Prevention for the College-bound Goalkeeper
A high school goalkeeper who has goals of playing collegiate soccer should be viewed not only as a developing athlete, but as an athlete preparing for the increased physical demands of the next level. An injury prevention screen provides an opportunity to identify modifiable physical limitations and movement patterns before they become performance limitations or contribute to injury.
Goalkeepers have unique physical demands compared with field players. They repeatedly perform explosive movements including diving, jumping, landing, cutting, accelerating, decelerating, and getting back to their feet quickly. They also experience frequent single-leg loading, asymmetrical movements, overhead reaching, and contact with the ground. These demands place particular importance on lower-extremity strength and control, hip mobility, trunk stability, landing mechanics, shoulder function, and the ability to produce and absorb force efficiently.
The purpose of an injury prevention screen is not to predict whether an athlete will get injured or to identify a single "perfect" movement pattern. Rather, it provides a snapshot of the athlete's current physical capacity and identifies areas that may benefit from targeted training, additional evaluation, or closer monitoring.
For a goalkeeper pursuing collegiate soccer, this is particularly valuable because the transition from high school to college often involves increases in training volume, intensity, frequency, travel, competition, and overall physical demands. An athlete who enters that environment with known areas of weakness or limited physical capacity can address them proactively rather than waiting until they become symptomatic.
The screen should assess several key areas relevant to the goalkeeper position, including:
Previous injury history: Understanding prior injuries, surgeries, recurrent symptoms, and current limitations can help identify areas requiring continued attention
Mobility: Assessment of the hips, ankles, thoracic spine, and shoulders can identify restrictions that may influence movement efficiency
Strength and force production: Lower-extremity, hip, trunk, and upper-extremity strength are important for jumping, diving, pushing off, landing, and recovering to the standing position
Single-leg control: Goalkeepers frequently load one leg during takeoff, landing, cutting, and repositioning. Assessing single-leg strength and control can identify opportunities for development
Landing and deceleration mechanics: The ability to safely absorb force is just as important as the ability to produce it
Trunk and pelvic control: A stable and adaptable trunk helps create efficient force transfer between the lower and upper body
Power and explosiveness: Goalkeeping requires rapid production of force for diving, jumping, and reacting to shots and crosses
Shoulder and upper-extremity function: Goalkeepers use their arms extensively for diving, catching, punching, throwing, and absorbing contact with the ground
Movement quality and coordination: This involves screening how the athlete combines the above skills to help identify movement patterns that may be worth addressing
Workload and recovery: The athlete’s capacity needs to be considered alongside training, competition schedule, sleep, recovery, and other demands
The most important outcome of the screen is not a score.
It is a plan.
The results should be used to establish an individualized training program that complements the athlete’s existing development. For example, if an athlete demonstrates effective mobility but limited single-leg strength, the intervention should emphasize consistent and progressive strength development rather than simply prescribing additional stretching. If an athlete demonstrates good strength but poor landing control, the focus may shift toward plyometrics, deceleration, and movement patterns.
This approach also allows the athlete to take greater ownership of their development. A high school goalkeeper hoping to play in college should begin learning how to understand their own body, recognize early changes in performance or symptoms, and communicate effectively with coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, and other healthcare professionals.
Ultimately, an injury prevention screen is an opportunity to move from a reactive model of care—waiting until an athlete is hurt—to a proactive model of athlete development.
The goal is not to eliminate all risk. Soccer is a high-speed, unpredictable sport, and injuries cannot be completely prevented. The goal is to help the athlete develop the strength, mobility, coordination, power, and physical resilience necessary to tolerate the demands of goalkeeping while continuing to improve performance.
For a goalkeeper with aspirations of playing collegiate soccer, the screen becomes more than an injury-prevention tool.
It becomes a starting point for building the physical foundation required to get there—and stay there.