Want the catch before the dive?
Three things that make catching work for a beginner, with no gloves needed.
Teach goalkeeper catchingGoalkeeper Diving for Kids: The Kneel-to-Stand Save Ladder
Skill-Building Games
Teach the fall before the dive: start sitting, roll the ball and count good landings.
Here is how to teach a child to dive as a goalkeeper at home: sit them between two markers on a soft lawn and roll a size 3 or softer ball just to one side. They tip onto a hip and put both hands on it, then climb one rung at a time from sitting to kneeling to standing. Sitting is my own first rung, and from kneeling up it is the order coaches' diving sessions use. No flying dives and no shots off the ground until the landing is boring.
The first time my child asked to be taught to dive, I stood up and threw one at chest height, and we both learned what a hard landing looks like.
Safe goalkeeper dives start with the ground
Before Any Diving: Where, What Ball and How Low
Where your child dives matters more than how. A soft lawn forgives a clumsy fall. Paving doesn't, and no amount of good technique changes that.
| Surface | Dive on it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dry lawn, with nothing hard within a few metres of the goal | Yes, rolled balls first | Grass gives a little, and there is room to roll out of a fall. |
| Wet or muddy lawn | Not today | Slipping turns a tidy fall into a twist. Wait for it to dry and keep it to standing saves. |
| Patio, driveway or decking | No diving at all | Hard ground does not give. Keep it to standing saves. |
| Indoor carpet | No diving | Carpet hides a hard floor. Play the indoor goalkeeper reaction game in front of the sofa instead. |
Then the ball: a size 3 is what England Football uses for every age group from Under 7 to Under 11, according to the FutureFit guidance on ball sizes, and a softer or lighter ball is fine too. If you're not sure what you have, here is what size football your child needs.
Never use an adult size 5 for a young keeper. In one Nottingham hospital, 12 of the 15 wrist fractures from saving the ball in children 11 and under, where the ball size was known, involved an adult-sized ball. That was a case series in one hospital, so it can show a pattern but not how often a save leads to a break.
How to teach a child to dive as a goalkeeper
How to Play the Kneel-to-Stand Save Ladder
Most goalkeeper diving drills for kids are written for a squad, with servers, cones and a coach. The coaches' sessions I found all start low, though, with the ball on the floor. A coach's diving session for young keepers starts on the knees. Another coach's session plan for under-8 to under-11 keepers starts kneeling too, then moves to one knee and one foot. The sitting rung below theirs is my own addition, for a very first go.
- 1
Two markers, four steps. Two plant pots or a pair of trainers, about an arm span apart, make the goal. You kneel about four of their steps away and roll the ball underarm.
- 2
Rung one: sitting. They sit between the markers. Roll it a hand's width to one side, and they tip onto the hip and put both hands on it.
- 3
Rung two: kneeling. On both knees, roll it just past their reach so they topple sideways onto their legs and hips, elbows clear. Five each side.
- 4
Rung three: one knee. One knee down, they push off the standing leg into the fall, the way FIFA's exercise on learning to dive low starts.
- 5
Rung four: crouch, then standing. From a low crouch, then standing up. Still rolled balls only: the coach's session keeps the ball at ground level for the first few sessions, and so should you.
Count good landings out loud, not saves: "That's four good ones." A wobbly landing or a flop onto an arm steps back one rung, never back to the start, so nobody ever loses their place for long.
Ten rolls make a round, so stop while they still want another.
Make it easier.
Kneel closer, roll slower or drop back a rung. Sitting falls still count as good landings.
Make it harder.
Roll it wider, so they have to stretch. Keep it below the knee until standing landings are boring.
Make it theirs.
Swap places. They roll for you and judge your landing, which is usually the funniest part of the evening.
Low saves, landed well
What a Good Landing Looks Like
You don't need to know goalkeeping to spot a good landing. You need to know where to look, and there are only four places.
The hands go to the ball first and stay on it, fingers spread in a W shape. The elbows stay clear of the body rather than tucked underneath, and the outside of the legs and hips takes the ground. The eyes stay on the ball the whole way down.
The hands, elbows and legs come from the coach's diving session, which sets its objective as landing safely, but watching the ball is my own addition.
At the end, the ball gets pinned into the grass. FIFA's guide to learning to dive describes gripping the ball into the ground, and with a young child that means two hands pressing it down until you say "got it".
- Hands on ball. The hands go to the ball first and stay on it, fingers spread in a W shape.
- Eyes on ball. The eyes stay on the ball the whole way down, which is my own addition rather than the coach's.
- Elbows clear. The elbows stay clear of the body rather than tucked underneath it.
- Legs and hips. The outside of the legs and hips takes the ground, not a straight arm reaching for it.
A bad landing is easy to see once you've seen a good one: a straight arm reaching for the ground, a belly flop or a head-down tumble. If you hear the landing, it was too hard, so go back a rung.
Count the landings out loud
What to Say, and When to Stop
The words matter more than the rolls. A child who hears "dive for it" will throw themselves at the ball, and that's exactly the landing you are trying to avoid.
Leave out "dive for it", "be brave" and "unlucky". The first asks for a big fall, the second makes a fall a test of nerve and the third turns a missed ball into a loss when the landing was the point.
Stop on a good landing and before their arms get tired. If they don't want to play tonight, a "no" is a fine answer.
There is no rush. From the 2026-27 season, Under 8 and Under 9 matches are 5v5 with a goalkeeper on each side, according to England Football's guide to 5v5 games. A child who wants to go in goal will get the chance, and nobody needs to be made to. If yours wants nothing else, here is when your child only wants to play goalkeeper.
What is known and what is not
What the Sources Say About Young Keepers, and Where They Stop
Read the study on wrist fractures in young goalkeepers by Boyd, Brownson and Hunter (2001). Over 17 months, one Nottingham hospital saw 29 wrist fractures in goalkeepers aged 6 to 15, all from saving the ball. Among children 11 and under where the ball was known, 12 of 15 fractures happened with an adult-sized ball.
That study is a case series from one hospital, with no comparison group and no way of saying how often a save leads to a fracture. It is from 2001, and it says nothing about diving technique or surfaces. It supports using the right-sized ball, not a promise that any method prevents injury.
The sitting rung is my own, and from kneeling up the ladder follows coaches' session plans and FIFA's goalkeeping material, which are expert practice rather than studies. The FA's own goalkeeping session for 5 to 11s lists diving as one part of keeping goal, alongside blocking and protecting the goal.
Format and ball size come from England Football: 5v5 with goalkeepers at Under 8 and Under 9 from 2026-27, and a size 3 ball for every age group from Under 7 to Under 11. See how Our Kickabout researches its pages.
This is first-aid orientation, not medical advice, so when you are unsure, ring 111.
More for a keen young keeper
Where This Fits
Diving is one goalkeeping job among several. If your child wants to read where a shot is going and pick a side, the garden penalty shootout and its on-screen game do exactly that.
A keeper who can't hold the ball yet will get more from teaching a child to catch as a goalkeeper before any diving. If the ball itself is the worry, start with football games for a child who is afraid of the ball.
For kit, here is what to know about goalkeeper gloves for kids. Goalkeeper throwing and kicking can come later, along with other goalkeeper games for kids, because the ladder is enough for this month.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Teaching a Child to Dive as a Goalkeeper
What age can a child start learning to dive as a goalkeeper?
No source gives an age. Start with sitting and kneeling falls whenever they ask, on soft grass with a rolled ball, and move up a rung only when the landings are soft.
Should my child dive on astroturf or a hard surface?
No source I found covers diving on astroturf, so I cannot say yes or no. At home, keep diving to a soft, dry lawn and never on hard ground. On a club's artificial pitch, ask the coach what they do.
What if my child hurts their wrist diving?
Stop for the day. A wrist that looks the wrong shape or a hand that is numb or tingling means A&E or 999. Growing swelling or pain that stops them using the arm means ringing 111 (NHS).
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next, depending on what your keeper wants.
Want to read the shot on screen?
A garden-sized penalty shootout, plus a game to practise picking a side.
Play the penalty shootoutRaining tonight?
Standing saves in front of the sofa with a soft ball, and no diving indoors.
Try the indoor gameTonight's five minutes
Ten rolls from sitting, then put the ball away.
If every landing was soft, that is the whole lesson.