Learn the one-handed high save in the handball goal: stop high balls with one hand, stand correctly in the goal and read the thrower's take-off and the block.
In the one-handed save you stop high balls with one hand. Reach is greater than with two hands, but control is smaller. The rulebook allows you to touch the ball with any body part inside the goal area as long as you are defending [1]. It is one of a goalkeeper's most important tools against backcourt throws.
The honest answer to "Should I save with one hand or two?": As a beginner with two. The teaching sheet of the Swiss Federal Office of Sport recommends two-handed saves to beginners because a larger surface results and the ball can be controlled better [2]. The one-handed save comes when the ball flies outside your two-handed reach. How long it takes to get a secure one-handed save depends on where you start; there is no solid study figure for it, that is coaching experience.
A look at the data: at the 2015 World Championship, goalkeepers saved on average 30% of shots on goal. The upper left corner was the hardest to save with 17% saves, and all goalkeepers of the tournament were right-handed [4]. The upper corners are exactly the area where the one-handed save is needed.
The one-handed save is not a heroic act, it is the extended arm of your stance.
Stand about half a metre in front of the goal (the smaller you are, the further forward), legs hip-width apart, weight evenly distributed, arms at chest and shoulder height, slightly bent forward [2]. On throws from 9 metres, top goalkeepers stand on average 1.10 m in front of the goal line, legs about 2.5 times shoulder-width apart and hands at hip height, so differently from the textbook (0.75 m). One analysis arrives at about 1.44 m as the optimal distance against 9 m jump throws, roughly half a step further forward than the textbook [3]. That is a hint from 78 video sequences, not a law. Milestone: You can check your stance with a tape measure and a photo.
First save high balls with both hands, as the teaching sheet recommends for beginners [2]. Milestone: 8 of 10 gentle head-height balls land securely with you.
When the ball is above two-handed reach, the arm on the ball side pushes up and slightly out to the side. The leg on that side takes a small step and the upper body follows. Spread your fingers, palm to the ball (practice standard). Milestone: 6 of 10 balls into the upper corner touch your hand.
Read the thrower: according to an interview study, goalkeepers use cues such as the thrower's take-off and the block position [6]. Timing counts too: experts started their movement on average 193 ± 67 ms before ball release, with a save rate of 67% against 24% for inexperienced ones [5]. Milestone: Before the throw you say where the ball will go and are right in 6 of 10 cases.
Allow real throws, at first with a soft ball, then with a normal one. Make sure you do not fall into a hollow back. Milestone: You touch 5 of 10 throws into the upper area with your hand.
The hand is first in contact when saving. In a survey of 296 youth elite players, 42% reported at least one hand or wrist injury per season, most often at the middle finger joints (47%) and the thumb (29%) [7]. With swelling or deformity you go for medical assessment. The shoulder is loaded in overhead movements. In a meta-analysis, prevention programmes in handball reduced shoulder injuries (odds ratio 0.60) [8]. So warm up shoulder and wrists before every session.
Practise hard throws only once the technique is secure with soft balls (practice standard). This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach, especially not a goalkeeper coach.
Move with the ball, not with the hand. When the thrower looks at your arm side, set the feet first, then the arm. Whoever reacts with the arm only is too slow. That is practical experience; we have not read a study that measures exactly this.
With the arm on the ball side, pushed up and slightly sideways, a small step with the leg on the same side and spread fingers. As a beginner you practise the two-handed save first [2].
Teaching material names about half a metre [2]. A video analysis of 9 m jump throws found top goalkeepers stood on average 1.10 m in front of the line and about 1.44 m would have been optimal [3].
At the 2015 World Championship it was the upper left corner with 17% saves. All goalkeepers of the tournament were right-handed [4].
That depends on the starting level. There is no solid figure.
Jumping Jack Save in the Handball Goal: Arms and Legs Wide Against Close-Range Shots