Späth also underlined the need to integrate the goalkeepers into the team: “You are alone, but you are not alone. It’s very important for everyone that you don’t separate your goalkeepers from the team.” He emphasised the growing importance of communication between the goalkeeper and teammates, as well as of coordination with the defence line.
The discussion with Bjarte Myrhol also included real-life training exercises designed to equip goalkeepers for modern handball, with Späth analysing clips of his own training sessions and explaining the key areas they target — from hand-eye coordination to footwork and adapting to different shooting scenarios.
The videos presented are part of the Learn Handball app, which now includes a new set of exercises from Späth, covering dedicated goalkeeping exercises — whether alone or in pairs, targeting areas such as mobility and activation — designed to help coaches better understand the goalkeeper role.
“It’s very important that the young players understand it’s not only the goal or the save, because the technique and the basics are very important,” Späth noted, urging players to look beyond the numbers or save percentages. “Goalkeeping is not only saving balls,” he added, pointing to the wider skillset needed today, including helping their team score easy goals and delivering fast and accurate passes.
Another essential message shared during the webinar was the importance of not chasing perfection: “It’s ok to make mistakes. It’s good to make mistakes because you can learn,” he explained.
Visit Learn Handball for more handball coaching content.
