10 Reasons the U.S. Is So Good at Producing Goalkeepers

The United States is known for producing top-notch goalkeepers. Since the nation's return to the World Cup stage in 1990, four men have dominated the position in the national team.

Tony Meola, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and Tim Howard have all earned at least 70 caps during their international careers, as the U.S. has gone from strength to strength in goal.

At club level, Keller, Friedel and Howard all carved out distinguished careers for themselves in Europe. And they've been joined in the professional ranks across the Atlantic by younger players like Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann.

But what makes the U.S. so adept at churning out netminders? Here are 10 reasons the U.S. is so good at producing goalkeepers.

Individualism

Americans are individualists. They believe in individual rights, individual responsibilities and individual achievement.

As the most individual position on a football pitch, goalkeeping appeals to the sensibilities of even the most uneducated American viewer. They may have no idea what's going on all around the rest of the match, but that guy standing between the posts speaks for himself.

He can save a match, he can lose a match, but the goalkeeper will do it on his own. That personal responsibility speaks to a United States audience in a very basic way.

Hand-Eye Coordination

Whether their parents know anything about football or not, American children grow up playing catch of some sort. They throw baseballs, American footballs and basketballs. Kids can't help but learn how to track a ball flying through the air and bring themselves into a position to intercept it.

Kids play catch as soon as they can walk. Some of them even sooner. American dads throw things at their children like it would be considered abusive if they didn't.

You think a Cristiano Ronaldo free kick is tough to block? Imagine a much smaller ball being struck toward you from closer range at higher speed? That's what a young third baseman experiences pretty much every game of his life on a baseball diamond. And most of the time he catches it.

All that hand-eye coordination is just wasted space in the brains of most American footballers. But it translates directly for American goalkeepers.

Physicality

How much of goalkeeping is a simple willingness to put your body on the line? Whether throwing themselves at an opponent's feet or leaping through traffic to claim a high ball, keepers are constantly getting into harm's way.

You know who is generally unimpressed with even the most physically daring goalkeeper? American football players.

Say what you will in comparing the two games, but American football players do not fear bodily harm. And here's the thing. Almost every American boy has played football at some point in his life. He's smashed his body into another person's and come away alive and a little more daring.

By the time an American football player reaches his teenage years, he's as close to fearless with his body as a person can be. And if he also plays goalkeeper for his local club team, that fearlessness makes him a force to be reckoned with.

Population

At the moment, there are over 313 million Americans. That's a lot of people throwing and catching balls from cradle to grave. It would almost be a mathematical impossibility that the States didn't produce a few world-class goalkeepers.

For comparison's sake, the most populated country in Europe is Germany with just around a quarter the number of people running around the United States.

Tradition

Since Tony Meola trotted out for the United States in 1990, goalkeeper has been the most consistent position in the national team. The torch has been passed from one long-serving player to the next (or fought over in Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel's case).

If we're talking about the women's side, then you're only really talking about two women since 1994—Brianna Scurry and Hope Solo.

Each of those players has established themselves in the minds of U.S. fans. They've become familiar names and faces. That's called tradition, and keeper is the one position on the field where the United States can be said to have some.

The U.S. is still a very, very young footballing nation. But everyone around the world says we produce excellent goalkeepers. It's respect, and that's a powerful thing in forging the next generation of players.

Easy to Understand

Most American parents still don't really get football. The number that do is increasing, but you can still go through a lot of days without bumping into anyone who has more than a passing acquaintance with the game.

The thing is, those parents still let their kids play the game. For those parents, goalkeeper is the only thing they really get on the field.

What's little Johnny or Jane supposed to do? Keep the ball out of the goal? Got it.

On the car ride home, if Johnny or Jane kept the ball out of the goal, then mom and dad know their kid did well. If not? Well then it's back to throwing the ball around the backyard until they do.

World-Class Heroes

Until recently, young American field players didn't have a true world-class role model they could see doing it at the very highest level. But young goalkeepers have had a string of those players.

Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and Tim Howard for the boys; Brianna Scurry and Hope Solo for the girls. Those players are the ones who the youngsters could watch and aspire to be. Knowing that someone like you became the very best is a powerful motivator in a child's development.

With Clint Dempsey's ascent through the EPL this season, young American field players may yet get to this point. But goalkeepers have a decades-long head start.

Athleticism

What do you need to be a great goalkeeper? Height and wingspan don't hurt. Explosive athleticism is key. Well, it just so happens the United States excels at producing tall, lanky and explosive athletes. There's an entire professional league dedicated to them. I'm talking about the NBA.

But the NBA doesn't have the roster slots for all of the tall, lanky and explosive athletes we produce. That's a good thing for goalkeeping coaches.

It's no coincidence that both Tim Howard and Brad Friedel were basketball stars in high school.

Coaching

The way nations become better at sports is that players reach high levels and retire into coaching. Those new coaches teach younger players at a higher level and their students proceed to careers above and beyond those of their coaches. And the process repeats.

American goalkeepers are so much more advanced than the rest of the country's players because they succeeded earlier and to a greater extent. Those players became coaches and produced better players and on and on.

One example is Brad Friedel. Friedel was coached for a year at UCLA by former professional keeper Tim Harris. Friedel says Harris started him on his journey to a professional career. As Friedel nears the end of his career, he is already making efforts to move into coaching. The next generation of keepers trained by Friedel (and the recently retired Kasey Keller) will be that much better.

It's Not Really True

Here's the thing about the United States' renowned ability to produce top-level goalkeepers...it's not really true.

At the moment, the U.S. has two truly exceptional keepers plying their trade at top clubs. Brad Friedel and Tim Howard. Those are the ones who can be called world-class.

So the U.S. produces goalkeepers at approximately the same rate that France produces NBA stars (Tony Parker, Joakim Noah) or South Korea produces midfielders (Lee Chung-Yong, Park Ji-Sung) or, for that matter, the U.S. produces top-class field players (Clint Dempsey, Giuseppe Rossi).

It's not that I'm dismissing American goalkeepers. MLS is packed with excellent shot stoppers. And I imagine many more are coming through the youth ranks. But at the moment, the U.S. goalkeeper phenomenon is exaggerated by a couple dramatic examples.