The following article is written by former college player and coach, Aaron Siefker, Founder of GOALSHOT®.

Top soccer programs seem to know something that other programs don’t and I’d suggest this is precisely why they are the top programs in the sport. Fortunately, the knowledge they possess is not a secret nor proprietary, rather it’s available to players and coaches of all levels; it just takes a slight reframing of the ways we’ve been previously taught…and a little science. Let me explain:

A player’s vision is key to success on the pitch. Our game is one of constantly changing variables and fluid movement, so every situation that presents itself is different than the next. For a striker, a scoring opportunity can come and go in an instant, truly a fraction of a second. With each missed opportunity a chance goes begging. What if there was a way to shift your approach to training that improved your ability see these moments and capture them more strategically? Sound intriguing…

Ask any high level striker and he will tell you that all he saw was the back of the net on a great goal. This player was able to block out all distractions around him and concentrate on the task at hand. While he might not be able to explain how he did this, the placement of the goal would tell us that his last “visual cue” was a particular part of the net and not the keeper. The concept is simple in that whatever you see before shooting increases your chances for the ball to reach its target. Recent research has shown that elite athletes are able to concentrate on a smaller visual cue for a longer amount of time before they execute a physical movement. The difference between a college player and pro player could measure in how well a player can focus on his target in this way. Athletic ability, understanding of the game, and technical skill might actually be the same but the pro can score more often. He can focus on these scoring zones quickly and efficiently before shooting and for that he’s labeled a top “finisher.”

Professors at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom have studied this phenomenon in a soccer specific laboratory test. One team was split evenly into two separate groups. One group would employ a Keeper Independent (KI) strategy, which means to visualize a zone on the net and ignore the keeper. The second group would employ a Keeper Dependent (KD), which was to look to the keeper and then shoot away from him. Without question the (KI) strategy was far more successful in scoring goals. Not only was this the more effective training method, but the great news is that it was also trainable. Players using the (KI) strategy continually improved on their accuracy during the study. This becomes really critical information to consider in the ways coaches train players to finish. The classic attempt to provide target based training solutions actually pushes players more into the (KD) approach and I can say, based on the science, that it’s an antiquated approach.

Armed with this knowledge and knowing there had to be a better way, I wanted to create a training product that forced players into the Keeper Independent strategy on a daily training basis. As a result, GOALSHOT® was born and having passed the test with professors, has been adopted at the higher levels of the sport for providing the right visual framework needed for success on goal. Again, the great thing about this is that it’s not proprietary to the top programs, rather all levels using a regular sized goal can tap into the science behind the tools and the training methods being utilized by top clubs. GOALSHOT® provides every team and player the ability to improve their game on a daily basis.

These types of research findings are changing our game for the better by maximizing player development and ability. My hope is to be on the front end of the curve and to help improve the quality of play across all levels of play. Let’s keep this dialogue going, but for now…see you on the field and don’t forget your GOALSHOT®!

- Aaron Siefker has been a college player and coach, whose love for the game has moved him to the training and product development side of the sport. His passion for the game and desire to improve strategic training compelled him to start GOALSHOT® and develop the revolutionary training device. GOALSHOT® is based in Newport Beach, California and can be found on the web at goalshot.com.

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