We have an idea to improve the ROBO left hand protector but need your help.
At present we supply the left hand protector with the wrist elastic threaded over the sides of the edge of the wrist protector … like this …
A few of you suggested the LHP is more secure on the wrist if the elastic sits closer to the wrist and is strapped like this ….
Have any of you tried this approach, and if so do you think its better ? Even if you haven’t tried it you may care to do so and give us your opinion. We listen.
After the high of winning Gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi I knew that I was going to do everything it took to replicate that feeling and achieve the same goal at the Olympics. Gold at London 2012 was my goal, my focus, my dream. I was picked in the Olympic squad late in 2011 and had the process of achieving my dream all planned out. Unfortunately, in sport, things do not always go to plan.
During an olympic year the whole squad is based in Perth and becomes full time athletes meaning we are not allowed to work or study. Our training schedule consists of about 12 or 13 sessions a week plus meetings and recovery so every day is very busy. Our squad is made up of 27 girls including three goal keepers so all year we have been subject to selection for the various tours and international games. Things did not start well for me with the first tour to Argentina being released and my name was not on the sheet. Now I have missed out on teams before. I understand that playing for your country is a privilege you must earn and not a right. I also knew that the only way to ensure it didn’t happen again was to train harder than ever before and leave no stone unturned. So, I spent the next three weeks training hard to get myself in good form and ready for the next trip. We played a series in Perth in which I got a couple of games and did ok. But so did the other keepers. The next big tour was to NZ. We had played 3 games against the USA in Queensland before this selection, one of which was my best game for some time. As a goal keeper, sometimes a single goal can be the difference between winning or losing and getting selected or not selected. Unfortunately letting in two goals in the previous game cost me so again I missed out on the tour. Now it was starting to hurt.
The final tour before the Olympics was the London Cup. On this tour the team would get the opportunity to train on the Olympic pitch and make any final adjustments in tactics and combinations before the Games. I had four weeks of training, practice games and club games to prove myself worthy of a spot on this trip. The training was tough, food was invaluable and sleep was the only way to mend my sore muscles. I gave it everything. Selection time came and Lynch did not appear on the list. I was devastated. I was told I had been training and playing better than they had ever seen but it still was not enough. So for the fifth time this year I had to turn up at training and push myself as hard as I could knowing that may dream was slowly slipping away.
Now this story does not have an ending. Well not yet anyway. This week we were given five days off in order to recover and also be in our desired location when the team was announced. I chose to head up north to Exmouth WA with my brother as it was somewhere I had always wanted to visit and he was the person I wanted to be with on the day. We had a fantastic time!
The team was announced on Sunday and much to my disappointment I was not selected in the 16 or as a reserve. I was devastated but in all honesty I have had several weeks to prepare myself so this time no tears. It is heart breaking but it does not mean an immediate end to this journey as the Olympics are not for another 37 days and up until the first day of the Olympics the team can change. Any injured player can be replaced with someone else from the squad so the group of us that weren’t selected have to keep training and make sure we are ready…just in case. And I can tell you from experience that this is one of the hardest things an athlete will ever have to do. But I vowed to have no regrets and it’s not over ’til it’s over so I will continue to give my all in each and every session until the end.
I love playing hockey and representing my country so I am not about to stop. In sport as in life there is always the chance of failure but the rewards are great so nothing is going to stop me trying.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me along the way. My family are so patient and always there for me, as are my friends. I have the best club, state and national team-mates any one could ever wish for. Thanks to The Butcher Shop Vic Park, Supa IGA Waterford, Dair, Eltham College, OBO, Atlas and Super Advice Services for sticking by me and helping me out this year. And thank you to everyone who reads my posts. I really enjoy writing them and hearing all the feedback so keep the comments and questions coming.
Fighting for your starting spot in a club or team is important for success!
Not that I condone violence or anything (showing passion for your sport doesn’t mean you need to get in a full on brawl; that’s ice hockey you’re thinking of!), but to really put yourself to the test and evolve your game, you’ll need to show some fighting spirit. Champions are those that overcome adversity and challenges to reach their peak. It’s lonely at the top because it takes a lot of willpower to get there. As in life, things won’t always go your way; you have to step up to the mark and tough it out. Some things are worth fighting for and if you really want to go far in hockey and see how good you really are, then you’ll do whatever it takes to get there.
A metaphor for competitiveness!
Why bother?
Obviously if you are going to look to step up your competitively, you’ll begin to question why you bother. As you grow up (or you’ve already reached that stage!) you’ll realise that as much as it saddens me to say it, over things will become a priority (after all you’ll need a job to pay for equipment when you’re too old for your parents to and such like!). What would make you get up early on a weekend to go play in the cold and wet? Why would you go through a long training session after a hard day at what? So, what it boils down to essentially is: how much do you love goalkeeping? And who doesn’t? And if you don’t, then why are you in goal?! It’s the love of the game that keeps us playing and if you lose sight of that enjoyment you may end up giving up on goalkeeping altogether.
Why do you need to?
If you are young and want to attempt to get the opportunity to represent your country or at that stage where you are ready to make the step to progress to national league play, then you are going to be in with a hard task. You might think you’re working hard but even if you are, be assured that out there the ones who already compete at this level are already working hard, if not harder than you. To be in with a chance of outdoing them and taking the spot, you have to be working ten times as hard as them or something like that! To make sure you out do the competition, you really have to give it your all.
Even if you are lucky enough to be in that position of being the first choice, then you still have to keep going with your efforts. If you get too comfortable being the number one and you start slipping up, then the chances are you’ll have someone nipping at the heels (hopefully inspired by this article!) that is looking to take your spot. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of competition after all! Hockey is unfortunately an amateur sport in most countries and if you ever did get the chance to represent your country at the highest level there is (like at the upcoming Olympics), then it would take a lot of sacrifice and commit to make it happen.
How to fight
If you are going to go about making an effort with your goalkeeping, then it shouldn’t really be an issue of how to go about it. For example, I heard about a guy who would jog a lap of the pitch before kitting up and then jog a lap after the game before warming down. If you have that stamina after putting in all your effort into playing well throughout the game, then you’re on to something! That being said I followed the advice! Go the extra mile, make every second count. Work hard in training and set yourself targets of how may shots you can stop. In games take responsibility for your mistakes and let your defence know that it was your fault because it will help develop team spirit (they don’t always like taking the blame after all!). Perseverance is key to making a go of things and it’s all about sticking out the tough times. So you had a bad game? So what! Make sure you make amends in the next one. So you didn’t get a clean sheet and you feel responsible for it because the team played well? Again, acknowledge it and move on!
Have you got what it takes?
Your fighting spirit will depend on how much you want it. I used to get the train up to London from my parent’s house for a return journey that clocked in at about three years (not that I let the club know!) because I had landed the opportunity to fight for a reserve spot with a national premier league team (although I’m not sure why I’m letting the secret out now!). Of course I was working (my studies meant the opportunity filtered out in the end), but I make the extra commitment to travel that distance and landed the spot. I found an opportunity where I could be noticed and took it by the horns, having been overlooked time and again by bigger clubs and throughout county and other trials. The moral of that story (if you want to learn from it!), is that when opportunity knocks you should be ready to take it and do your best when you do.
Go out and fight for it!
Ultimately not all of us goalkeepers want to play nationally or at high domestic league level, but for those that do, you’re going to need to fight every last round for the chance to play at the top. Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of self improvement and desire to be the best you can be. So you may not be waiting by the telephone for someone to ring you up and let you know you’re in with a chance of making the reserves for the Olympic squad, but who’s to say you can’t go about working to be the best goalkeeper in your league or club? So go on, go out and make a difference!
