KEEPERS RESOURCES
Cross training
"Cross training” (or circuit training) is the phrase used to explain athletes training in other sports than the one that is their main focus (i.e. hockey in our case!), to work on inherent skills like muscle memory, reaction speeds, response time, stamina and tactical awareness/decision making. With so much variety available, multiple sports give the chance for a sportsman (or woman!) to work on aspects of their own game outside the constraints and pressures of their sporting environment. Of course, although if, as internationals, they are going to be playing still with games over the course of the summer when everyone else is resting (on the laurels even perhaps!)
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Taping arm pads
A simple but effective tip for those arm pad wearers out there, who use the removable Obo pads (which also give you more set-up options, if you think about it versus attached ones sewn into the body armour!), more specifically, is to tape them! With the design of the elbow pad that goes around the bone, rather than a hard shell fixed in place, you will see a lot of Obo arm pad users taping their pads to ensure the pad stays fixed in place and gives more flexibility when bending at the joint for those glove saves nearer the body. The tape helps hold the inner bicep protection in place for the newer range of Obo pads, whilst at the same time also helping keeping that bend at the joint for all important flexibility for those instantaneous reflex saves. Some electrical tape taped around the arm pad in this way, will help to keep the pad together and give important movement as stated. With taping, it essentially forces the foam into the bend that you need for that bending motion for save making whilst wearing the arm pads.
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Goalkeeper or shot stopper?
As you look to move on from the basics of shot stopping and evolving your game as a goalkeeper, you need to think (perhaps thinking hard and conscientiously about it, if you want to!) about how you play as a goalkeeper, and your roles and responsibilities within the team. About how you need to work to intercept and interrupt passes by the opposition to stop them from gaining a chance to score. When you consider it, a goalkeeper should be able to shut down attacks and passing opportunities, providing a presence behind their defence that is able to do their job when the defensive line is ‘caught short’. You will see goalkeepers at the elite levels who play a more proactive style, rushing out to tackle or clear away the ball, especially in the indoor game, where being active and aggressive in challenging and intercepting a pass is really important for a goalkeeper to succeed in the fast paced indoor arena.
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The art of visualisation
Visualisation is a useful technique for any goalkeeper, to help them with their confidence and save making. Visualising making saves at specific times within the game (say, at short corners) and specific saves, the goalkeeper can visualise the process of the save to help them concrete technique and build on their confidence, whilst helping make those glorious, spectacular saves, because of the self belief developed from these thoughts running through your mind pretty much all the time! Popular in a variety of sports, it can be applied to our own favourite sport, our beloved hockey, and been made use of when we approach our goalkeeping.
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Plyometrics
With plyometrics (turns out it isn’t plymetrics, even though I thought otherwise, always thought it was plymetrics?!) needed for improving your jumping abilities and also useful for increasing agility and your explosive power, it is important that goalkeepers are made aware of this form of training and added it to their regime of outside-structured-training-training! They are a definitive aspect of athleticism when pushing out athletically and aggressively to save and explosiveness, ensuring an agile and athletic style that should crossover into your game and training sessions. It’s a standard part of training and exercising for football goalkeepers, who are expected to leave their feet to intercept and catch crosses, but they, for some reason, seem a little left out of the hockey repertoire.
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Turning with the face of the glove
With the glove offering a large surface area to block shots and turn away the ball on either side, it’s important to recognise that you should be facing them towards the play, so that you are already in a position. Like ice hockey goalies and footie goalies do anyway, with the analogy of already being in the right place for the right time (if that makes sense!). Pro-active and active hands are also better than lazy hands! Up and out is potentially how you want to have your gloves and normally the way to go, especially seen in Australia for example (potentially!), but you do see the same across Europe. And by having them faced, you can move with the glove, rather than trying to push out and swat upwards and at the ball.
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Lunging
Lunging, as the technique has become known as (or is referred to as, because it is, after all, a lunging motion!), has become a new and useful addition to the saving repertoire offered to us hockey goalkeepers. An option a lot like making splits saves, the difference being related to the ability to drive with the head and maintain balance and thus keep rebounds down and controlled (versus bouncing up and away!). Rather than pushing out low and dropping, the goalkeeper stays upright and extends out with the leg, pushing from an upright position to extend out with the leg to reach the ball, as opposed to diving and hitting the deck and the complications of recoveries and consequential save making.
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The number one
So. You want to be the number one, right? You want to be the first choice, the one your team turns to, to play for them and get the wins? The one with the honour, the prestige and all the glory; the go-to-guy, the hero, the saviour of your team, the highlight reel shot stopper. You want to be considered the best around, maybe even the best of the best. Well, good for you. But do you know what cost it’ll come at; the blood, sweat and tears that it will take you to achieve this dream? Because, let’s face it, it’s in no way easy and takes a lot of personal sacrifice and effort. It’s going to be a hard fought, tough ride. You may even end up earning it after a battle with an incumbent (i.e. the current starter who is well respected by the team/club and been in the starting spot for a while now), but you might lose it to someone else looking to do what you’re intent to achieve.
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The need for speed
Not the video game I used to enjoy playing as a youngster, but making use of a title with the phrase with an allusion to the same premise, when it comes to getting involved with the game and being able to instantly sprint out when called upon, rather than looking like you’re not interested in winning! Arguably, whilst a goalkeeper may not be ‘on the move’ all the time as their team mates go up and down the pitch, the goalkeeper needs to able to react explosively and be able to run as quickly as possible within their kit to charge down an attacker or rebound opportunity say. And when it comes to your role and play within the overall game as a goalkeeper, you have to be ‘quick off the mark’ and a ‘speed demon’ (well, maybe not, that’s more like ‘Need for Speed’ but the metaphor’s there!) in relation to sprinting out for loose balls or interceptions; same for foot work and getting across goal.
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Thermals
Along with baselayers, which are great for wicking away sweat as I’ve written about some time back, thermals can be pretty useful when playing in the winter months (whichever side of the globe you’re on, the earth spins on an axis after all!). In fact, there are some thermals that do that as well, so you can get rid of built up sweat (as you play well and build up a sweat, as they say in ice hockey, “working up a sweat out on the ice”!) and stay warm at the same time. Pretty useful, “killing two birds with one stone as the phrase goes”, goalkeeping wise! I currently have a pair of thermals that I also wear when skiing or maybe, eventually, snowboarding (if and when I get the rare opportunity to do some snow sports!) that are a pretty quality set that also wick away sweat, for warming the legs! Personally, I’m not a fan of British weather. I know it’s not the coldest place in the world (I’ve seen some awesome pictures of Canadian hockey goalies – I think they were – warming up outside in the snow!) but it can never make its mind up, so those dreary, cold and wet days when you’re playing in the damp that can get through your kit and the chill that gets to your bones, it’s handy to have something to keep you warm!
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Decision making
Decision making is an essential part of goalkeeping in the wider role of influencing the game and eliminating scoring opportunities to reduce the number of shots you face during a game. Shot stopping is obviously down to technique and fundamentals (positioning, angles), but decision making is a skill that is so fundamental and essential, yet difficult to learn and arguably something not totally taught by goalkeeper coaches, in the sense that if you are working purely and simply on technique. You may be able to do well in training focusing on shot stopping and foot work and so on, but if drills are not representative of in-game action or skills, then maybe it is possible to argue that.
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The cocky goalkeeper
The idea of self confidence is important for goalkeepers when thinking about how to play at their best, game in game out. And one way of thinking about it, is to consider a goalkeeper as cocky or evaluate their cockiness. As I’ve tried to write about recently, it is important to play confidently, ensuring that you are confident to come out and make tackles or interceptions and to get to lose balls that attackers may latch on. If you don’t/didn’t feel happy doing this, then you’re going to struggle to decrease the amount of scoring opportunities you will face in a game. And if you did not feel confident enough going up against the top of the table team or playing in an important and decisive game that could affect your playing ‘career’ (I say, I’m not sure !), then you’ve got to be confident.
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Playing it ‘your way’
When it comes to sport in general and goalkeeping, we are all different and unique and approach things differently. Like opinions maybe, we’ve all got our own opinion on things! Take runners, it’s a poor analogy, but Mo Farah isn’t exactly going to switch to doing sprints and Usain Bolt isn’t going to do marathons! With lightning speed versus endurance in that example. Everyone has their own strengths and qualities (in life as in goalkeeping!) and it should be realised and acknowledged, that you need to play in the way that suits you. You cannot play like someone else, unless of course of course you play in a similar way and find it useful to ‘shadow’ the way they play from game footage, highlights etc. And when it comes to being aware of kit and how affects the way you play, is a good idea to look at your own set-up and find foam and protection that suits your goalkeeping style.
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Keeping emotions in check
One thing that isn’t always considered when delving into the complexities of the psychological impact of our ‘mental game’ on the way we play, is how we balance the emotions that we feel; the ups and downs, especially within a game where the ability to do so is pretty important and essential to our chances of a comeback say and ‘keeping our team in it’. But these things can and will impact our game if we let them, and it’s important to recognise this when playing in between the posts. Whereas our team mates might feel the highs of a goal scored or the lows and disgruntlement of a goal being allowed, our position and the way we deal with the stresses and pressure of the role is a hard task, with ‘our backs up against the wall’ and ‘up against it’ as they say. Our temperament needs to be more lucid and calm, able to withstand the hardships of a goalkeeper and the things that ‘do our head in’, enough to play to our best. In order to perform to our optimum best, we goalies need to focus on keeping our emotions in check, sufficiently capable of managing things internally to get through the game with our sanity intact!
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The goalkeeper duel
A game is essentially down to how the goalkeeper performs, at each end of the pitch. The more goals one of them allows, the more likely their team is to lose, obviously! Ultimately, it’s a battle between the goalkeepers. Yes, but really any game (as I’d like to think!), it boils down to how well the goalkeeper at each end performs. If one has a bad day the office then they’re probably going to lose and lose out in points, and if the other does well, with the backing of their team, they can win and take home the three points with and for their team! But really, if you are struggling to find motivation in a game to play well, then perhaps you may want to think about mirroring yourself and your goalkeeping performance in response to the other team’s goalkeeper that you are facing up to?! And a simple yet potentially effective way of rethinking psychological inspiration and the ‘mental game’, is to consider the chance to prove yourself as a goalkeeper and pitting yourself against your opposite number, to encourage yourself to outperform them.
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Being a goalkeeper is boring
I don’t particularly think it is (although it can be very frustrating behind a team with a poor record), but at times you’ve got to be a little controversial to make a point, especially in writing. Those saves that make you look flash or superman aren’t going to be in every game and as your playing life develops, you’ll probably start to reconsider how you think about the position! In training you will often have a lot to do, but during games, you may not, commanding your defence and stopping chances developing before they come to fruition. But really, the boredom affects your game in terms of your ability to concentrate, pay attention and be able to make the important, decisive save as it happens, whenever it occurs time wise during the game (say early on to help keep your team in with a chance of taking the lead, or near the end of the match, to ensure you win!).
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Welcome to ‘the suck’
“The suck” as the Americans call it (I think I’m right there, please correct me if I’m wrong any would-be American readers!), is to do with things sucking and just learning to live with it, in the modern sense, I *think*! It’s something I read about somewhere recently in some discussion online between ice hockey goalies and thought it could be applied for understanding the ‘mental game’ and how we as goalkeepers need to be able to deal with the pressures and pains of playing the position we love, but more than; to manage the sensitivity of not letting things get to us. Without the ability to overcome the ‘suck’ in a goalkeeper’s season, it can have terrible affects on your team’s season. Just like the attempt to use ‘swagger’ as a way in to looking at self confidence, this is the chance to use a conceptualisation of dealing with adversity and a chance to do the flipside and look at how you keep it together when things are getting difficult. Especially so within a game (where you want to turn things around to tie it up or make a comeback) and also in a season (if it has derailed).
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Goalie ‘swagger’
‘Swagger’ is not exactly what you expect to think of when referring to hockey. But when it comes to goalkeeping (which is a part of the sport!), then you might be open minded in reconsidering!
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Low gloves at short corners
Just like I wrote about a couple of years back about using high gloves to help make standing saves against drag flicks at corners, the opposite (low gloves) can be argued as well, for those menacing and difficult low placed flicks you cannot reach from your standing position. Thoughts and analysis on how gravity and holding them low equates to reaching such flicks, as well as a new trend that seems to be becoming popular at short corners.
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Aerial ‘punts’
Another article trying to 'think outside the box' and consider the goalkeeper's options for punting away high balls or punting a high ball as an outlet pass.
Edit: managed to get some action shots after heading to Guildford to watch a game, where Mason thankfully did so!!
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‘Time wasting’ at the short corner
A quick article on the option of standing outside your goal to prepare for the corner. Not everyone uses it and might consider this sort of thinking to be a little tedious, but I think to think outside the box and enjoy writing about all things goalkeeping, so something to mull over if you've never considered it before!
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Goalkeepers ‘are like wine’
Goalkeepers are always told they will reach their peak at a later age and though some defy this expectation with their abilities, it is often safe to say the goalkeeper has a harder time of getting first eleven game action! Like wine, mature and develop as your career goes on.
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Looking to win
If you want to win the league or a tournament, you're going to learn how to win. Here's a rough guide!
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The ‘No goals rules’…
With easy goals not encouraged, the 'no goals' rules can be a useful reminder of how not to get scored on!
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Control your rebounds!
Rebound control is an important part of reducing the opposition's scoring chances.
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Experience is important!
Experience is a quintessential aspect of goalkeeping but making use of it to 'read' the game matters the most.
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Playing yourself out of a ‘slump’
'Slumps' can derail a season but going but to basics and working on your mental strength should work wonders!
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Intense goalkeeping
Playing with an intensity and determination to battle will help you to perform to your best.
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Always challenging the shot
By stepping further out and narrowing angles, you can more readily challenge shots with aggressive positioning.
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Following the injection
Following the injection at the short corner and being aware of dummies and set-ups will help make it easier to make the save.
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Solid foundations
Having a solid grasp of the basics and fundamentals will help you to play well as you move up the levels and improve as a goalkeeper.
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In-season Fitness
Hey goalies 🙂 I’m Soph, a goalie from the Lake District in the UK, and I’ve just been selected to attend the North Women’s U21 regional performance centre. However, at the moment, I’m not the fittest, and need to get fit quick, especially building on core strength. If anyone has any tips/exercises that are effective, … Continue reading "In-season Fitness"
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Dealing with drag flicks
Drag flicks can be difficult to deal with, but learning to make use of reactions and athleticism will make them easier to stop!
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Mistake making
Making sure you don't make regular mistakes and are able to bounce back from them is important for consistently good goalkeeping.
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High ‘diving’
High diving, extending out with a jumping motion like a dive, helps you reach those high balls you cannot get to when standing.
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Saving with the rhp
Making use of the rhp to make saves to the right will obviously help with shot stopping but also with rebound control.
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Attack the ball!
Actively acting the shot helps challenge and will improve your save percentage.
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Learning from the ‘sweeper keeper’ myth?
Looking 'outside the box', I think something can be learnt about goalkeeping from the soccer 'sweeper keeper' myth.
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Focus on the ball!
Focusing on the ball will increase your success rate in saving shots.
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Quantity versus quality?
When analysing performance, quality of saves versus quantity of shots is a point of interest.
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Setting up deep at penalty corners
At top level hockey you can often see goalkeepers setting up deeper in the D against corners, giving them more time to react to the flick.
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What makes a great goalkeeper?
With the Olympics upon us, now is a good time to reflect on what it takes to be a goalkeeper at the elite level.
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Foot-eye co-ordination
Just like hand-eye co-ordination, having good co-ordination with your feet will make you feel more comfortable reacting for kicker saves.
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Marshal your defence!
Whilst shot stopping is an important part of the game, being a vocal presence helps organise your defence, whilst helping you maintain concentration.
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Responding to an allowed goal
Being scored on isn't fun but if you let it get to you, you won't perform to the best of your ability.
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Being consistent
Playing to a consistent level is going to help you do better over a season and the long term!
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Always looking to improve
Being analytical of your own performances and always looking to improve will help you perform better.
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Never say never!
Never giving up on the play shows good mental strength and the determination to win.
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Are you a ‘fighter’?
Fighting for your starting spot in a club or team is important for success!
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Book or PDF? Using an open source approach?!
Just a lot of random thoughts on how best to move forward with the plan of ever getting a book out there. Would be helpful to get comments and feedback on what people want or if at all they like the idea?!
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Hand-eye co-ordination
As promised, have finally got round to uploading some new content. Having read the feedback on the Facebook page and the KR site, have found an article I previously wrote, which may or may not be of any use considering people seem to know what to do!
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Apology and new directive
A statement of apology and aim for the future of staying committed to this project.
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Spartan with OBO – An evening with Beth Storry, GB and England
Come and join us with Beth Storry, GB, England and World XI for an evening of goalee indulgence with her GB Coach and Co Founder of Spartan, Steve Bayer. Take a look at the flyer and get back to us. Its taking place this Friday, 4 Nov 2011 at Oxford Hawks HC, England. Its very … Continue reading "Spartan with OBO – An evening with Beth Storry, GB and England"
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Working out how to react at the short corner
Last article of the day! How to tell the difference between a flick and straight strike at the corner.
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Collecting the ball
Catching up on lost time - think I should get my act together and posting articles I've stored up!
Anyway, here's a super quick tip on collecting the ball if you haven't considered it before, although I guess the chances are slim... we don't all have ball boys at our games!
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Warming up the Dutch way
Another article on warming up, this time focusing on the Dutch method. If you are going to do it, make sure your shooter knows what they're doing, as I've heard a few horror stories!
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Training with a short stick
Another quick article, this time on using a short stick to help enforce making the save with the right hand glove or your glove.
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Removing your helmet to help being vocal
Just a super quick article on removing your helmet to be more vocal like Ali McGregor does!
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Keeping warm
Just another quick article on keeping warm during/between halves at a match.
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‘Bouncing’
Just a quick article on the technique of 'bouncing'.
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Baselayers
Sorry for not writing more this past year; been more busy than I'd hoped with studying. Here's a very quick article to point you in the direction of baselayers if you didn't know about them before!
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Watch and learn off other goalkeepers
Been pretty busy lately and will be this year, so unfortunately can't post as much as I'd like. Nothing spectacular, but a basic concept about how to learn by watching other goalkeepers (generally of the higher levels!).
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The Mental Aspects of Goalkeeping
A great resource download for all you amazing people on staying sharp between the ears!
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Beating the lob
Lobs can be a tricky thing to deal with; here's how to stop them.
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Dominate your D!
The D is your zone; you need to learn to control it.
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Warming up
Warming up is an essential part of a pre-game routine. By warming up properly, you will be ready to go as soon as the whistle is blown.
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P-flicks: commit or react?
On spot flicks, the goalkeeper can either pick where to go and commit, or react to the flick. By reacting, the goalkeeper increases their chances of making the save.
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Playing the passed shot
Playing against a pass is a difficult situation for the goalkeeper. If you come out and try to commit yourself to taking on a player, then you leave open space to shoot into. Instead, by staying deep and waiting for the pass, you can successfully make the save.
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Shots outside the D
For a shot to be a goal it needs to be scored within the D. If a shot is taken from outside the D and no-one touches it within the D, then it won't count as a goal. By leaving it, you will give your team a 16 and the chance to restart play to their advantage.
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Being set for the shot
When making a save, you need to be in position in time. If you are still moving, then you can put yourself off balance or turn away from the shot. Instead, it is important to cut down your movement and pre-set for the save.
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The self-pass
The new self-pass option is also available to goalkeepers. The goalkeeper can take advantage of this at a 16, learning to further the options of their team by freeing up a defender who would normally take the free hit.
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“Logging”
"Logging" is still an important save selection at the short corner, even if drag flicks are becoming more prominent at the high levels of the game. The goalkeeper should be going down on a straight strike at goal, so that they can get behind the shot. Here's how to 'lie down' on the shot.
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Aerials into the D
Aerial passes into the D are difficult for a goalkeeper to deal with, especially if a player gets on the end of the pass and deflects it onto goal. The goalkeeper can actively react to this danger, coming out aggressively to beat the opposition player to the ball and clear it; thus eliminating the scoring chance.
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Maintaining concentration
It is important to maintain concentration throughout the game. If you play on a strong team and don't face many shots, then you will need to stay alert for long periods of time, even though you having nothing to do, until you face a shot, so you can readily stop it. This is an art form which is difficult to craft, but if you can, you will be very successful.
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Face the shot on the corner
Previously goalkeepers set up on short corners facing the injection to watch it happen, before turning and moving out to face the shot. Rather than statically watching the injection, it is now more commonplace to see the goalkeeper focusing on the shot; facing forward already to move out to stop the ball, giving them extra advantage of time and ability to track the shot. If you get a chance to watch high level games, you'll notice how it is being used. As the game changes, so does technique. The majority of the Hoofdklasse goalies face forward on short corners, as do the goalies in the English National Premier League. It is becoming more universal, with Belgian's number 1 using at, along with USA's starting men's team goalie, as a couple of examples.
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Raising your gloves on short corners
Facing a powerful drag flick aimed high on a short corner, the goalkeeper stands little chance in making the save if they have their gloves down low. Therefore, you need to raise your gloves on such situations, if you want to have a chance of making the save.
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Attacking clearances
Attacking clearances are a great way of eliminating a scoring chance, running in to get rid of the ball before an attacker can get to it. Standing up and kicking away, you do not take yourself out of the play as you would with a dive; allowing you to get back into the game if things mess up!
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Staying mentally strong
The mental game is often ignored by goalkeepers and coaches alike. However, it is essential in order to succeed. The best goalkeepers are those who believe in themselves; nothing can 'get them down'. To play well, you need to play with confidence and it's worthwhile working out for yourself how to encourage this!
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Passes Across The Back-Line
Defenders often like to pass the ball around the back of the pitch, in order to open up pitch space and allow for an attack through the middle; holding the ball and passing it amongst themselves to force the opposition to press forward (and thus making gaps appear). For this to happen, the goalkeeper must play their role in stepping out of the way!
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Different Arm Pad Set-Ups
With the style of removable arm pads and separate chest pads, rather than a full all-in-one body suit, the goalkeeper has a lot of choice concerning their protection. With the 'padding down' style of goalkeeping offering a number of combinations, the goalkeeper can choose how to set up their arm protection in relation to the reflex qualities that freedom of movement allows.
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Standing when the ball is outside your half
When the ball is outside of your team's half, you can actively step forward to be nearer the action. Ready to react as the game develops, you can play aggressively to gain the advantage; already ready to move into intercept an attacker or pass into the D, to prevent a scoring chance.
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What to do after the shot
Down on the play, you are left between a 'rock and a hard place'; having limited time to recover into your ready stance in readiness for the next save. Working out what to do next and deciding on when to recover, will affect the future outcome of the situation.
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Analysing your in-game play
It is important to analyse any game you play; allowing you to evaluate key areas of weakness that can be improved, as well as working out your strengths. Whilst a bad game is best forgotten, you can look back on your performance to learn from your mistakes and not commit them in the future.
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Keep your gloves in front of your body!
Holding your gloves allows you to be get control of more raised shots by being nearer to the incoming ball, instead of having to react to every shot; pushing into the save. This is important when facing faster and harder shots, where you have less time to react to the shot, and therefore have a harder time controlling where the rebound will end up.
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Strengthen Those Wrists!
Hey guys and gals, “I see so many goalkeepers have there hands down by their sides and then cannot move them quick enough to get them to any aerial shots.” (Quoted from my coach). I do it sometimes i must admit that, but i have found something that can potentially help the lazy people out … Continue reading "Strengthen Those Wrists!"
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Beginner to Advanced Goalie
Now that you've put on the pads and learnt the basics of 'keeping, it's time to put your ambition into action. To reach your peak and play to your best, you have to work hard to ensure your technique and game style develops properly. If you want the glory at the end of the hard journey, then you'll happily work hard for it!
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Diving stick saves
Diving stick side is the most obvious example of an athletic goalkeeper, with the goalie extended out low to the stick side to stop the ball along the ground. This is the most basic dive, the one websites or team training session leaders preached to you about. It’s the simplest, and the most obvious; it … Continue reading "Diving stick saves"
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Lateral movement
Moving in shuffles is an essential part of getting around the D; staying in front of the play where you can block, rather than being side-on and turned away from goal.
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Moving around your D
Moving around your D is just as important as controlling it; if you’re not moving into position every time the ball moves, you’re not going to be into position to make the save. Shuffling is the main vehicle for moving around, for sideways movement across the D and between attackers, but don’t rule out running … Continue reading "Moving around your D"
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Finding The post
Sometimes when moving around goal and focusing on the play around you, you can forget where you are in relation to the post and lose your angles; 'tapping' the post is a simple way of getting round this.
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Advanced positioning
To make the most of angle play, and challenging the shooter’s angle of the possible shot, you must understand your positioning in relation to the goal, and the ball itself. By really challenging the angle, and ‘getting in the face’ of the shooter, you should be able to force the shot wide; coming out so … Continue reading "Advanced positioning"
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Making use of your angles
Now that you have grown used to positioning yourself in the correct angle around goal and the D, it is important to employ your angles in playing a situation to your advantage. Learning to be aggressive with your positioning to challenge the shooter really gives you an edge when faced with an open opportunity against … Continue reading "Making use of your angles"
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Deciding on your stance
The age old perspective is that positioning in a stance is up for to you to decide, according to your height, weight etc. or should follow a theoretic stance. Again, everybody is different, so not everyone’s going to be happy doing the same thing. Body posture affects both how you make the save and how … Continue reading "Deciding on your stance"
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The Ready Stance
The ready stance is your basic form of positioning – readying for the shot, and possible action. In essence, you should be in your ready stance whenever the game is in your end; you should be prepared for anything, as anything could happen. I personally change up and adapt my stance to suit different game … Continue reading "The Ready Stance"
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Understanding The Stances
With the modern stance developing with the increased need for movement, and making use of the hands to make reflexive saves at the higher area of the net, two distinctive styles haves started to stand out. The varying stances will be described and evaluated next: the Y style popular in Europe and the X stance, … Continue reading "Understanding The Stances"
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Making a blocking shape: standing barriers
A lot of goalkeepers, like the school of North American goalkeeping, prefer to have a stance where the body provides a constant blocking shape, keeping a tight stance during all of the play, with the closed legs providing a vertical barrier against possible shots, without any chance of the ball squeezing through. With the body … Continue reading "Making a blocking shape: standing barriers"
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Understanding Angles
The principal of angles dictates your whole game; playing the angles and setting up in front of a shot is all about cutting down shooting space, giving you a greater chance of making the save, rather than leaving too much open and having to make every save by throwing yourself around. Learning the different angles … Continue reading "Understanding Angles"
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The Arc Around The Goal
As the ball moves around the pitch, more shooting lanes open up. As you face these different angles, you have to be able to move across with the ball; moving into cover the new angle, changing angles to suit the change in play and allow you to make the save against the new shot. ‘The … Continue reading "The Arc Around The Goal"
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Kicking
Kicking is fundamental to field hockey goalkeeping; goalkeepers are separated by their ability to pass the ball with their feet. With the ‘foot’ rule for outfield players, we are the only person who is allowed to legally use their feet to our own and our team’s advantage. It is therefore essential that you have good … Continue reading "Kicking"
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Common Injuries And Treatments
The problem with injuries, other than actually having to deal with the suffering of sitting out when you feel you should be playing, and then putting up with the pain involved, is that being sporting injuries, they are more of a specialist subject that are hard to deal with, and are not very well understood. … Continue reading "Common Injuries And Treatments"
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Going ‘Dutch’
These days you will see a fair amount of goalkeepers in different leagues going without full arm protection. ‘Padding down’ with a goalkeeper removing their arm guards completely to gain extra movement (without the added weight or restriction of bulky arm padding) and speed in glove saves, is often referred to as ‘going Dutch’ because … Continue reading "Going ‘Dutch’"
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Short Corners: Getting Caught Out On The Drag Flick
When facing a drag flick from the top of the D on a short corner the biggest problem for the goalkeeper is to know how long to stand up (or remain standing) to deal with the incoming shot. If the destination is not given away, with the ability of the shooter to disguise it, you … Continue reading "Short Corners: Getting Caught Out On The Drag Flick"
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The Second Save
Consequent rebound shots after the initial save are one of the hardest jobs for a goalkeeper to deal with. Unable to clear the ball and with going straight back out into play, further shots are guaranteed, with the shooter having more and more chances to bury it. The longer the ball stays in the D, … Continue reading "The Second Save"
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Not Getting Into Your Stance In Time
Getting into the stance, when the action is not specifically close, is something that troubles a whole range of keepers with saving and decision making ability, which can cost them in the game. It is so important to get into your ready stance before the stance – the better prepared you are, the more chance … Continue reading "Not Getting Into Your Stance In Time"
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Daily Eating Plan
Get used to planning what you’re going to eat each day. Planning helps to stop eating whatever, whenever. Check the labels for the amount of fat, carbs, and protein they contain.This is an example of an eating plan for a player who has a light run in the morning followed by training or game in … Continue reading "Daily Eating Plan"
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Hydration
Drinking adequate amounts of fluid can prevent dehydration, reduce heat disorders, and provide a convenient source of energy. It can get pretty hot in all that gear and fluids help regulate your body's temperature. Ensuring you have sufficient fluids before and during training, can improve your performance. Replacing lost fluid after training helps in your body's recovery.
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How to be a Steel Ball of Muscle
Bruises, sprains, knocks and even broken bones come with the territory of a goalkeeper. Protein helps in the repair and recovery of damaged muscles and tissues, and in the recovery of energy stores. Consuming sufficient amounts of protein enables your body to recovery from training and to build strength. For young goalkeepers, protein is also … Continue reading "How to be a Steel Ball of Muscle"
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How not to be a butterball of fat
Extra weight can slow you down. Although fat helps protect the organs from damage, we prefer our gear to do that. Simply put, if you eat more than your body needs, you get fat. Obviously the moral is not to overeat. Consume enough food to provide energy for all your daily activities - training, recovery, growth etc.
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How to be a Fireball of Energy
How to be a Fireball of Energy
Think of your energy levels as a fire no fuel, the fire goes out and your energy levels decline. You need to continually feed the fire to keep your energy levels up. It's important that you have sufficient fuel before, during, and after your training to keep your fire burning. If you've ever felt tired, light headed, uncoordinated or weak, it might just be that you're low on fuel and your fire is going out. If you have high levels of fuel stored before training, you will be able to use that energy to train harder, for longer. Carbohydrate is the body's fuel that stokes up your fire.
Good sources of carbohydrates come from breads, grains, pastas, fruit and vegetables.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
Today's goalkeeper needs to be a super hero - speed, strength, courage, energy, reflexes, coordination, agility, skill, decisiveness, and determination. It's no longer the fat person who gets put in goal just because they take up the most space.
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Carbohydrate and fluid intake by Rachel Durdin
Fluids
As a goalkeeper we are wearing so much protective equipment that our body cannot effectively cool itself. I am sure you all know the feeling of coming off the playing field after a hard training or game covered in sweat. It is very important to replace the fluid we lose so that our body is adequately hydrated and can perform optimally during the next session.
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