General comment

Here we can see Dani López using the 2 hands for the lunge, clearly going out of the water in front of the trunk (something essential to save time when the ball is approaching, apart from being able to see oneself at all times). In addition, we have to look at the high intensity of the eggebater kick to achieve a good impulse and to be able to free the hands in time (the sculling motion does not have to be too intense).

Important

Note that the maximum elevation of Dani's hands is slightly higher than the crossbar. It is not necessary to go higher since a ball at that height would go off target. It is all about optimizing energy and executing the moves with a good technique.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"It is not a matter of achieving the maximum elevation with the lunge, but taking the hands quick out of the water in front of your head (so that you can see them yourself). The eggbeater kick is shortened to be able to rise."

General comment

What Dani prioritizes first is a very quick and almost imperceptible small turn of the hip to face where the rest of the body will lunge, in this case the upper corner of the cage.

The hand that goes to the strong side of the goal to block, putting less sculling motion than the other. The hand that will not be used to block will provide the impulse together with a good leg work. The head and trunk follow the movement that leads the hand going to the strong side of the goal.

Important

It is important to be very efficient when lunging. As we can see in the video, López never rises higher than the ball (it is not necessary to surpass the crossbar). Besides, it is key to recover the ready position quick after each lunge, with an over the hip move followed by an eggbeater kick.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"The sculling hand is the opposite to the side we are going to lunge. The other hand is free to reach the upper corner. The closer the shot, the less sculling with our hands and arms."

General comment

Very similar to the previous one, let's focus on the body orientation towards the low corner, which is where the closest hand will go, leading the movement of the rest of the body. López covers the strong side of the goal, using his legs and working with the hand that will not block. Again, there is no need to waste energy; it is important to measure the impulse very well to cover all the angle, but without passing the post.

Important

As always, balance and stability of Dani's body is excellent and an example to follow for all goalies. As soon as the lunge ends, his abdominal work and eggbeater kick are key to recover the base position.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"We have to go find the base of the post with the hand. It is very important not to rise too high and leave the forearm close to the surface of the water, so that the ball does not slips through the armpit."

General comment

At a technical level, this is a type of lunge that the goalkeeper could use to to steal a ball from the center or to intercept a pass near his area. Starting from a base position with good elevation and the minimum sculling with the hands, intense eggbeater kick to be able to perform a good breastroke kick to move horizontally and try to get the ball.

As for the upper body, one of the arms will go to the ball (not necessarily always the dominant hand) while the other will be used as an impulse under the water to reach farther.

Important

As always, getting back to the base position after the action will be very important to be ready for the next move.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"We have to shift from the vertical to the horizontal position without sculling too much with the hands and with a breastsroke kick (it is much faster and more powerful than that the eggbeater kick). Get strong with the arm that goes to the ball."

General comment

López starts from the ready position in every angle, moving from positions 1 to 5, that way he can execute the best lunge technique: one hand goes all the way out of the water after a quick push on the surface, while the other pushes away from the ball together with the legs work. 

Important

Dani performs two lunges on every position, one towards the strong side of the goal (the side closest to the ball) and the other towards the weak side of the goal. He comes out and gives direction to the arm (in front of the trunk), enough to try to block the ball at short range. By coming out and cutting off the angle, López diminishes the amount of net available.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"Bring your hand directly to the shot angle, without lunging excessively. This is about covering the angles and trajectories of each angle of shot."

General comment

Here we see López's execution of one of the most essential lunging technique drills for goalies: "the fan." It includes a sequence with the most common lunges that the goalkeeper has to perform during a game: upper and lower corners, donut shot (2 hands above the head), coming out to the center and lob.

Similar to the previous videos, it is important to keep a low sculling motion with the hands, close to the waterline, one ready to go out of the water while the other hand pushes (one-hand lunge). As soon as the lunge ends, we have to move over the hips to recover the ready position and be ready for the next action.

Important

The hand starting and leading the lunge has to gain a lot of speed to reach the ball and extend the rest of the body behind.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"The important thing in this drill is to recover the ready position after each lunge."

General comment

Here we can see three different blocks: right hand, left arm and 2 hands. Any portion of the body should be used to reach and block the ball, although the most common are the hand or the arm.

• Hand block: Dani makes an internal rotation gesture moving the big toe inside, towards the water, making sure to control the ball in front of him.
• Arm block: The gesture would be the same like as with the hand, an internal rotation with the objective of controlling the ball.
• Two-hand block: In this case the ball will be coming fast. When raising the hands out of the water, we have to keep a 90-degree bend at the elbows and take away the holes beside the ears. When the ball is approaching, we have to bend the wrist down to control the ball.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"Make a slight move towards the water surface when you hit the ball with your hand or forearm in order to keep control of the ball and not grant second chances to the opponents."

General comment

This drill requires great power and speed, it is a very specific technical action for goalkeepers that intends to reach the maximum arm motion speed maintaining a good elevation and a  constant leg work.

The lower body supports the work of the upper body. Dani has a high frequency on the eggbeater kick, always keeping the knees very high and close to the surface so that they give balance to the trunk and arms.

The work of the arms, guided by the hands, consists of gestural speed: it is about simulating very quick blocks  with 1 hand or 2 hands and towards different directions.

Important

López performs with excellence one of the most important automatisms goalies: left hand - right hand - two-hand block. The work with the legs will be key to keep the balance, in addition to a good coordination between the upper and lower body.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"The work with your legs is key in order to keep a constant height while the arms move as fast as possible, without pushing the arms in the water."

General comment

We see how Dani pivots his torso and even the head to point one shoulder at the ball and the other toward the extreme opposite post of the cage. This will help the sliding hand to go further. 

In the beginning, it is important to increase the frequency of the eggbeater kick previous to a breaststroke kick in order to slide as far as possible. The other hand sculls rapidly. At the end of the slide, it is time to recover the base body position and be ready for the block (next video).

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"It is the first technical gesture before a lob shot. The longer is the slide, the higher you will be able to lunge. It is important to do it as quickly as possible."

General comment

López shows us the final part of what it would be like to block a lob shot. As he slides backwards (previous video) he starts to cross the other hand in front of his trunk to wait for the ball, extending the arm and fingers. Here we have to try to calculate the maximum height that he the ball could reach when it is in flight to save efforts.

Important

The key would be to find the balance between the horizontal distance gained from the slide, the vertical lift you can give to the body, and a little final vertical lift to get the ball.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"We have to block the lob with the opposite hand and never lose sight of the ball."

General comment

López is without a doubt one of the best quarterback goalkeepers in the world, if not the best. In the video we must pay close attention to the technique: vertical elevation of the torso, arm, shoulder and elbow propelled by the leg work. Even though we are passing with the hand, the balance and strength of the lower body work is key, because elevation lifting, we lose accuracy.

• We have to place the support arm (the one without the ball) in front of the shoulder and satying on balance, to ensure the accuracy of the pass.
• The arm used for the pass, in half-bending, starts from the front of the trunk while we raise the elbow, as if throwing darts.

Comment

Unlike the passing technique of a player, the goalie's arm does not go all the way back, because we are not looking for strength or brute force, but precision.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"Maintain arm stability to be able to pass accurately at any moment.. Don't fake. The modern goalkeeper must be a good passer."

General comment

Just like the other players, goalkeepers can also be attacked by the opponents in an attempt to steal the ball, so they have to master tricks to get away from this pressure. In this case, we see López sliding and then getting back to the vertical position to pass. 

First he slides horizontally keeping the ball out of the water (we must practice all directions). After the slide, we have to recover feet and knees moving over the hips to get back to the base position and be ready for the pass (previous video).

Important

IIf we do not recover the base position after the slide the efficiency of the pass will lose efficiency and the precision, because we will be off-balance. 

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"Slide when you are being approached by an opponent to find space and be able to survey the team as they counter-attack down the pool. It is important to quickly recover the ready position to give the pass well."

General comment

Another way to get away from the defenders would be to swim with the ball. Dani takes some strokes and then perfectly recovers his lower body moving over the hips to get ready for the pass.

Tip by Dani Pinedo

"The same as the previous video, but here we try to avoid the pressure by swimming. Still, the most important thing is to recover the vertical position to the give the pass well."