CONNECTING OUR EYES, BRAIN, AND BODY CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Alisson Becker Is (Among) The Best Goalkeeper In The Premier League: His 3 Secrets
How you can leverage these skills for success
Alisson Becker is likely one of the best, if not the best, goalkeeper
in professional football.
Standing 6 foot 3 inches tall and 29 years of age he was named the 2019 best goalkeeper by FIFA. He won the inaugural Yashin trophy awarded by France Football being selected by former Ballon D’Or winners.
During the 2021–22 season, he made 36 appearances, with 76 saves and only 24 goals conceded. He had 20 clean sheets, tying for the cleanest sheets in the Premier league.
His most important stat though maybe his 19 successful punches during the season, placing him 3rd for Premier League goalkeepers.
A successful punch requires optimal use of three critical vision skills all of which Alisson has perfected!
Visual Anticipatipion
The ability to anticipate an event is critical to optimal sports performance. By definition, visual anticipation is the ability to make accurate predictions from partial or incomplete sources of visual information.
Ideal anticipation requires both neurologic “visual streams” of information. The Dorsal stream provides “where” and “when” data, while the Ventral Stream provides “what” information.
By leveraging optimal visual acuity and other basic visual skills, the athlete is able to identify what to track as well as its position and motion allowing for ideal anticipation.
Alisson employs perfectly timed visual anticipation, to know exactly when the approaching ball will arrive allowing him to intercept and punch it away from the goal.
Visuo-Motor Reaction
Once a target has been identified and its impending approach timed, the athlete must next employ a quick motor action based on what they see. These reactions must be lightning fast and perfectly timed to intercept the oncoming ball.
Alisson employs lighting-fast reactions, allowing him the flexibility to create the ideal punch, often putting the ball out of play.
Hand-Eye Coordination
The final piece is coordinating the physical body movement with the anticipated, quick, action. This is measured thru hand-eye coordination.
The movement not only has to be timely, but it has to be accurate in placement, as well.
Alisson has demonstrated time and time again an incredible ability to place his hands in exactly the right place to block or punch the ball away from the goal.
All three of these abilities will serve Alisson well as he defends the goal for Liverpool in the critical matches this season as well as in years to come, cementing his spot in goalkeeper history
Would you like to learn more about how your eyes can help you play better in your sport? Sign up for my 5-day FREE Email course by clicking here (safe link to my website).
