This research shows the factors which make a favorable or unfavorable impression in regards to goalkeepers, based on a questionnaire to 295 junior soccer players 12 years of age and under, who belong to 17 local soccer clubs. Also it reveals each factor’s influence over favorability of goalkeepers and the feature of each factor.
The results are as follows.
1. As a result of factor analysis, 7 factors related to favorability of goalkeepers were extracted.
2. As a result of discriminant analysis, it was revealed that “perceived competence as a goalkeeper”, “impossibility of joining offense”, and “mental awareness that one is not talented in something” affect favorability of goalkeepers.
3. It was suggested that favorability of goalkeepers depends on whether junior players have ever played as a goalkeeper or not.
From these results, it is clear that the way in which a coach relates to a junior goalkeeper has an effect on giving a favorable impression to junior players. In addition, it is reasonable to suppose that, in coaching junior soccer players, it is important for coaches to have the players play as a goalkeeper and learn basic goalkeeping skills, and be careful not to make them feel pain and fear, to give them enough exercise as a goalkeeper, and not to make them think they are not good at playing a goalkeeper.
