Split-second decisions, lasting impact: Inside the goalkeeper mindset

What is life truly like for a goalkeeper? What’s that moment like when for 79 minutes and 55 seconds, it’s just been another day of soccer and then, suddenly, it's there? It's you versus someone one-on-one to decide the outcome of the match. What’s all that like?

“It’s extremely exciting to prove what I can achieve to people, but it’s still important to stay focused,” Triway sophomore goalkeeper Addison Gentry said. “Coach (Tyrone) Hostetler once told me, ‘Never be satisfied,’ and it’s stuck in my head ever since. Even though it’s exciting, I try to stay focused and rejoice when it's over.”

Three area goalkeepers have established themselves on the soccer pitch. A year ago Norwayne junior Morgan Hamby and Gentry were the area’s top two goalkeepers with Gentry being named the area’s Goalkeeper of the Year. This year Orville's Paige Baer has played extremely well and had a statement game against Hiland to show she belongs on that same big stage.

“I want to be the best at each game,” Hamby said. “No matter what is handed to me, I have to do whatever I can to ensure the ball doesn’t hit the net. It doesn’t matter what my teammates in front of me do. It simply matters if the ball is in the net or not, and I have to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“I’ve gotten a lot more confident this year,” said Baer, a junior. “Being a goalkeeper is a position where you can have the best game of your life, make some incredible saves and then one wrong mistake can cost the whole game. I can be critical of myself because I don’t want to let the team down, but I just clear my mind, focus on what I need to do and lock in.”

Throughout the course of a game, a goalkeeper has a lot of responsibility. Some try to delegate it out, but ultimately, the game falls on the goalkeeper.

“I just stay focused and confident,” Gentry said. “I try to stay composed and bring energy to my team, even during tough games.”

It's those tough games and moments that ultimately define goalkeepers. In asking these three goalkeepers how they handle that pressure, each is different, but what is similar is their desire to prove themselves through those moments.

“I can panic as most goalkeepers do,” Baer said. “But with each shot comes an opportunity to make a great save and another opportunity to prove myself.”

“When the intensity rises, it can be extremely hard to stay calm, but there isn’t time to think about that,” Hamby said. “There is no time to think. Just simply do. Taking time to think could mean missing the shot. To be totally transparent, I do not necessarily stay calm, but it’s more of a situation where I do it or there is a possibility of getting scored on.”

So how do they handle that high-pressure moment when an offensive player bears down on them and the game hangs in the balance? In what truly happens in a blink of an eye, it can seem like eternity for both players as the goalkeeper tries to get that final read.

“All about angles,” Baer said. “I step off the line a couple feet to really be able to cut down their angle, watch their hips and their plant foot. I try to read the shot, adjust and then aim to get a hand or a body part on the ball. If I do that, I feel that I’ve done my job.”

“I try to stay locked in on the ball and the player’s body language,” Gentry said. “I’m reading their touch, their eyes and which corner they’ll pick to try and score on me. I try to focus on what my coaches have taught me during practice. Focusing on my stance and my position in the box helps me stay ready to do anything to keep them from scoring on me.”

Getting aggressive is partly what has made Hamby very successful.

“I try to panic the striker,” Hamby said. “I know I am personally better within my box, but if I see it is necessary, I will try to come out and get as big as possible. If it comes to making a dive, I make sure my feet are towards the center, making the angle even harder. Honestly, in that moment, you barely have time to think. You just have to know what to do. The instinct is from my great training I have received from various coaches.”

Ultimately, much like a closer in baseball, a goalkeeper isn’t talked about much unless a game is lost. As one can see from Hamby, Gentry and Baer, sometimes the best moments happen in those few brief seconds when time is in slow motion and legacies are cemented.

“I remind myself that I am the best and I can achieve anything,” Gentry said. “I think of the people who are watching me, and I don’t want to let them down. Even when someone does score on me, I stay confident so that next time it doesn’t happen again. Keeping a good mindset is important, especially as a team leader.”

“A tough save can make me feel accomplished as expected, but I also know the game goes on,” Hamby said. “The anxiety of the save winds down as the ball moves the other way, and I focus on the game until it is over. Then I reflect on my performance. It is extremely rewarding to be able to come off the field knowing amazing saves helped the outcome of the game, but I would say it is even more rewarding knowing your teammates and fans are proud of you.”

Despite the pressure on their shoulders, these three young ladies and their contemporaries across the area handle the moments with ease. At the end of the day, they are just one of 11 on the pitch, just one part of their big family and no question a key component to their team's success.

“After scoring a goal, you can admire it, hug teammates and bask in that moment,” Baer said. “For goalkeepers, we mentally pat ourselves on the back, punt the ball out to our team. There are times where the crowd applauds, your back line thanks you, and those moments are so special because of the validation. At the end of it, everything I do in soccer is for my family and teammates.”