Another goalkeeper has joined and I'm suddenly thinking about every mistake

Question

We've signed another keeper who's a bit older than me and now every training session feels like an audition. I was fairly settled before and I've started judging every save and every kick. How do you handle proper competition for your place without letting it change how you play?

Verified Coach · Accepted Answer

Competition for the position is real, but treating every action as a selection test will usually make you play worse.

Try to separate what you can control from what the manager decides. Your job in training is to prepare well, communicate, make clear decisions and respond properly when something goes wrong. You do not need to win every individual moment against the other goalkeeper.

It is also worth asking the manager what he values in the role. If you know the selection criteria, you are less likely to invent your own and assume one misplaced kick has decided the week.

The other goalkeeper joining does not remove what you have already shown. It simply means the position is being competed for. Use that competition to sharpen your habits, not to turn every session into a judgement on whether you are still good enough.

Hannah27 · Answer

I think it helps if the competition stays normal between the two players as well. Train together, talk, don't turn every drill into a private scorecard. The manager will choose. You still have to be a teammate.

QuietAwayDay · Answer

I'm not a keeper but I recognise the feeling. When someone comes into your position you start playing to avoid giving them a reason. That's usually when you stop doing the things that made you good enough to have the shirt.

TwoConesShort · Answer

Blunt answer: you were making mistakes before the new keeper arrived as well. You just weren't attaching a selection decision to every one of them.

SundayFloodlights · Answer

Competition makes you notice things you used to forget five seconds later. Another keeper comes in and suddenly every kick feels like evidence. I found it got better once I stopped trying to compare each individual action.

Another goalkeeper has joined and I'm suddenly thinking about every mistake

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