The Psychology behind loan moves and how it benefits goalkeeping performance: A thread

Goalkeepers are faced with incredible amounts of information in matches - our brains are constantly perceiving and processing this information in working memory to make sense of it so that we can attempt to respond in the correct way in certain match situations.

As per Anders Ericssons Theory of Long-Term Working Memory (1993), over time we see so many different situations as goalkeepers that we begin to store the most important information in out Long-term working memory. This information is stored in info clusters known as 'schemas'

In short, schemas are memories about what has happened previously in certain match situations...e.g. a winger on the bar line will more than likely cut the ball back into the 6 yard box for a forward to hit first time...

The reason we know to predict this outcome is because our brain is able to map what we are facing in the present, to schemas which we have experienced in the past - our brain retrieves this information and tells us how to respond e.g. dropping onto the line to improve positioning

Over time - we build thousands of these schemas for potential situations, for everything from reading through balls to reading strikers body shapes - this is all a consequence of our brains ability to access schemas

Professional goalkeepers are able to read advanced postural cues (body shapes) and patterns of play at a more accurate and faster rate than amateur goalkeepers (known from research I am currently conducting). The reason for this is because they can access schemas more easily

The reason pro's can do this is because they have been exposed to thousands of situations under match pressure and their brains are able to access Long-term working memory unconsciously, whereas lower level goalkeepers use working memory which is more effortful and slower

Because pros also have larger schema library's, they can also respond more accurately because they can pick up really small details in unfolding situations - e.g. forwards eyes, deception, irregularities in patterns etc. (Savelsbergh et al. 2002 paper on penalty kicks)

Why going out on loan is important? Its not simply to get games - you are training your brain and your body to pick up lots of different types of information under pressure so that you can respond more quickly and accurately in the future. Contextual pressure is also important

Going out on loan or playing lots of games benefits psychological game development because it allows goalkeepers to respond to threatening situations more quickly and also with greater accuracy - in theory this will improve performance and likelihood of making saves

I'm hoping to publish a research paper on this topic in 2022. I've worked with 21 goalkeepers so far (7 elite, 7 non-league, 7 amateur) - the differences in game reading abilities and perception is statistically significant so far and quite frightening tbh!

Real world evidence? There does seem to be a relationship between games and performance: guys I've interviewed and spoken to like @ashmore77 @S1goalkeeping @lauriewalker89 @mitchwalkerGK have all played a lot of games. The same could be said the further up the leagues you go...

If you're interested in this topic, I'd direct you towards Anders Ericsson's papers on memory and expertise in sport, as well as North et al. (2016) - I'm using a number of theories which will hopefully help coaches in the future aid the psychological development of goalkeepers.