April 2013

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.

And for me (and my perception!), they potentially are a very (too harsh?) over looked part of hockey goalkeeping, if you think about it. In the sense that they are not a part of training programme and goalkeepers generally may not be aware of them. So, in the case of reverting this and bringing them into educational and practical use, it would be good to see more , although I guess it’s a little harder (maybe, no excuses!) to jump up and down in full hockey kit, in comparison to football goalkeepers not being as hindered. I guess football has a more grounded coaching system (to some degree), but jumping is perhaps of more importance for catching crosses, which are important parts of the game for explosive based save making and athleticism, but still, it is something that can be used and adapted when we look at upgrading and developing our own game.

Generating force and height

The whole idea of plyometrics is to improve your explosiveness and power for those leaping motions. As well as the height or distance you can achieve (say if using the jumps to help with pushes and pushing out explosively for a full stretch, extension diving save)! It’s not really a repetitive drill in regards to learning things via muscle memory for a specific movement or saving motion, but a move that’s looking to push your ability to ‘explode’ in a movement upwards from your stance with good effort. It’s more about a continued effort to get higher each time and with greater speed.

And then there is the added psychological factor of intensity within your game, wherein you push yourself to play and attack the ball with more desire and explosive power; with this approach to “explosivity” (it’s not a word apparently, so I’ll just instigate the Dickensian neologism clause i.e. make up new words!), helping translate into an agile and athletic performance in games as you leap for ball you might not otherwise reach. When you jump up, you’re trying to push yourself to get higher, faster; to get , so that you can replicate this in a game where you may have to make an outstanding extension save, reaching out, before getting back up for another spectacular stop!

Exercises

Whilst I do have a rough understanding of plyometrics, this article isn’t really focused on specifics and guidelines (couldn’t you tell!)! More of an intro into this form of training; you can find a lot more about them via online searches for “goalkeeper ploymetrics” and such, or in goalkeeping books written for football. But regardless, it’s important to have an awareness about them, especially now that it’s the off-season in Europe and a great time to start doing fitness and off-pitch training in advance of pre-season.

There are some exercises, which you can do by yourself and won’t need a coach or equipment to work on. This also means you obviously don’t need any extra kit or equipment to do so (although you can find somewhere with steps or something I guess, to make use of that to jump on/to!). In terms of working by yourself, there are some basic drills you can do in your own time. You can do static jumps to see how high up you can get and push yourself to get higher each time, or do so more quickly. Skipping is also said to be useful, with the jumping itself on the scale of plyometric exercise.

http://keeper-skool.com/plyometrics-depth-jumps-pure-goalkeeping-power

You can start off with a basic squat jump to begin lightly, and then build up to :

If you have a suitable box to jump onto, then box jumps can also be useful:

Or if you have cones (easy to buy, you can even get them in Tesco’s these days, as far as I remember!), then you can do things like the following to feel “light on your feet” and comfortable hopping around (i.e. for explosive drive off lead foot for a high/low dive).

Practising

Age is going to be a factor according to the intensity; so the older you are (especially if you’re at a high level and about 20/in your 20’s), the more you can do for set reps, and a teenager should be doing a bit, yet not overdoing it! It’s just a case of being sensible but the workload of a mature goalkeeper isn’t the same as a young nine year old, obviously! In football they incorporate plyometrics into a drill that involves shot stopping, so they can work on footwork and plyometrics as a routine (to incorporate them into how they play as a goalkeeper), before making the expected save. When you do the exercises, it’s important to keep to the fundamentals and not go too fast to the point you’re not taking it on or getting the technique right and falling off balance and so on. Start small and build up, working your way up with intensity level and level of advanced technique, as you develop your explosive power and jumping abilities.

Standard jumping can be done anywhere so there’s no excuse! Jumping straight up and having your hands at your sides to balance and as a guidance as to how high you want to bring your knees and foot up is a good place to start. Box or obstacles and hurdles/posts to jump over, can then be utilised for more advanced technique.

The following articles give a developed explanation for the reason you need to do them and the intensity level required:

https://www.keeperstop.com/articles.php?artid=31

http://jinked.net/2012/08/28/improve-goalkeeper-agility-with-plyometrics-training/

Translating into game play

Working on plyometrics should help you become a more explosive and agile goalkeeper in your shot stopping and athleticism and agility as you play with intensity, rather than a passive approach. And there is an argument for the need for this kind of development to help you play to a suitably intense and competitive level in goal. Leaving your feet to make a high ‘diving’ save or jumping to stop drag flicks at a short corner, you need that level of explosive power and athleticism to get to the ball. In open play, diving’ high, or getting off the ground to challenge an aerial pass into the D (as is becoming more popular at the higher levels), you need to be able to get high up to cover. These are two key examples of where plyometrics would help you and your goalkeeping.

Add them to your training schedule!

Ultimately, it is a good idea to consider plyometric training and adding it to your schedule; you can only gain from it! You should also find that you are getting more explosive after such exercises, being more athletic with diving across or low because of the power you can achieve when you jump up or out, this explosive nature translating to your game as you compete more intensely and athletically. And you may want to be pushing yourself to get as high as possible, so you can end up being able to jump like this!

I will try and write (potentially doing a separate guide for off-pitch training and exercises, as I’ve started work on guides for different areas of goalkeeping and set plays and the ‘mental game’, which will eventually be available as downloads in PDF form) more in-depth guidance on variations and more technical and advanced drills, at some point, but for now, I hope this has been of some use!

Bianca Russell’s choice of kit

Each and every keeper has different reasons for why they use certain pieces of OBO kit. We thought it would be nice for you guys to see and discuss what New Zealand goalkeeper Bianca Russell uses and why she chooses it.

Q: List of Gear you use and why?

Everything on top is OBO, everything underneath is Mizuno – why? Because it’s the best. Oh, and believe it or not, I wear a possum fur belt in cooler weather by Nature Support to keep my back toasty and warm, otherwise I’ll get stiff and sore!

Carbon helmet – worth the extra weight for the supreme protection.

Robo armour – light, good fit, non-restrictive.

Robo shorts and overshorts – tried and true you won’t get more mobility than this and they are more slimming than clown pants!

Robo custom logo pads and kickers – I go for hi control kickers for best control, protection and durability. They sit nicely over Mizuno Wave Ascend shoe – I’m often asked what shoe I use and why. This one is actually an off-road runner. It has a low centre of gravity and multidirectional grip allowing me to take off quickly – no slipping.

Stick, I’ve tried a few but gone back to the OBO fat boy, mainly because with the lighter sticks I started ‘waving’ at the ball and on occasion leaked goals against the men strikers purely because they hit the ball so hard, lighter sticks rely on wrist strength to stop the shot whereas heavier sticks all you have to do is get in the path of the ball with the right angle to control the ball nicely over the baseline. The depth of the fat boy also allows for sweep clearances without snagging the turf grain.

Under all the OBO kit I’m outfitted by Mizuno and typically use mid-thigh bike shorts, any shirt so long as it’s light and quick-dry fabric but often compression gear in winter or when I’m needing the muscle recovery.

What do you use and why?

Always Helping

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.

Facing with the glove

Everyone plays differently (we’re all unique!) and how goalkeepers are taught varies according to coach and country (such as European and the styles within that, versus East Asian and so on), but one thing remains the same in the elite goalkeepers’ stances: they gloves are up and ready. Having the gloves forward is pretty universal at the elite levels, with the gloves out in front (although obviously held low can help with corners when diving, balance in kicking etc.). In Australia they seem to be more pro-active with an attacking, extended out ready stance, without making an overt generalisation! The ‘X stance’ has the gloves up and facing (with the legs also spread out to help react against wide shots and also able to close legs quickly for shots in that gap!). Regardless, it is recognised that raised hands are useful; especially important against quick released fast shots at glove height (where you don’t have much time to react, especially against internationals)!

Moving to face

Moving with the face of the glove conjoins with the concept of attacking the ball. With your gloves already in front of you, it is easier to move out to attack the ball; you are already attacking the shot by being in front of it in the first place. Whether this is pushing out from a more inward , or turning and down from a raised and faced glove, you are still turning in and moving to face the shot, to get the most coverage with the surface area of the blocking glove. Or more simply, if they are in an attacking position (i.e. forward and out, already nearer to the ball and cutting the angle), like a baseball catcher would, moving and tracking with the glove, to stop, as the coach in the last clip by Australian hockey talks about and demonstrates.

A sort of premeditated, precursory set-up with your gloves, where you are in a better position to react because you don’t have to bring your gloves up before making the save. By turning with the glove, than by reacting from a lowered position, you can effectively bring them into block more quickly and more efficiently. Instead of ‘waving’ or swatting with your gloves, and trying to push up for the save, you are in a better position. Obviously this is quite a technical case in point, and I can’t speak with reasoning on the depth of technical understanding for now, but this is still acknowledged as , and explained in the clip shown at the end. Facing and turning with the glove is quite revolutionary in some ways, I guess, because we have always been taught to do things differently and react. It’s one way of thinking and not everyone will agree, but you can see the evidence for yourself to consider it. Either way, turning the glove out and open for the save sees you in a position where you have to do less work because you are letting the gloves do the work. I think on shots wide of the body, it is a more grounded argument, than for attacking actively against those shouts closer to the body.

Follow the footage of the following clip (ignore the training without arm pads if you prefer not to!) and notice how when the goalkeeper moves with the glove in a facing position, he is more successful with turning the gloves. This goalkeeper is practising this via working with a BOLA machine so everything is about repetition of shot stopping (to practise muscle memory if nothing else), he is on the same angle, in the same position, facing the same height of shot, but sometimes moves with the gloves properly, other times not. On the shots outside of the body, further away, I feel it’s because he is pushing out in an attack rather than turning out in a clockwise motion with the glove like a baseball catcher’s. This is what the Australian coach explains in a more detailed way how and why the approach works. Notice also, at the end, how he moves like this with his glove and is more successful (at about 1:18).

Some more terrible illustrations (oops!), but showing things might help with visualisation. Here you can see the way gloves move and of turning in a clockwise motion with the glove already facing out, which should help to explain things. As opposed to pushing out in an attacking way, which is obviously different and better for shots nearer your gloves and body.

As gloves move out facing in a clockwise motion, they are already in a place to block; the glove is doing more of the work as you just move round in that clockwise motion.

Attacking gloves see the glove pushed out explosively as you look to attack at shot nearer you, finding it difficult reaching out wide of the body.

Engaging with the hips

By making saves from a standing position, you need to be opening up with your body properly, in order for fluid movements for the saving motions. You can’t just expect to be rigid and upright in your stance if you need to move out with your hands to block. So you need to engage with your hips as you turn and push out. Whilst words can explain things to some extent (normally the lesser for some people; with the different styles of learning!) and we all learn in different ways, so getting things across visually will do more to explain things, as you can see it for yourself! And as this is the case, so this clip should do the explaining, with greater analysis by one of Australia’s well known GK coaches. As you watch the differences and analysis, there is a better job of explanation than I can manage right now!

So I recommend you watch this video produced by Hockey Australia which explains it much better than I could! The guys taking (facing, for some reason ‘taking shots’ is more so heard in American lexicon!) shots are Australia U21s as much as I’m aware (definitely happy to be corrected if wrong, usually am!), so at this level, the coaches will be wanting to interpret and improve their technical aspects to an intense level. Notice the in-depth analysis picking apart how the hips need to be engaged properly:

Face!

Ultimately, whether or not you want to turn with the glove all the time, it is definitely important to face with them. The more you face the ball with your gloves and the more you are active with them, obviously the better you are going to be with your shot stopping against glove high and wider shots! Rather than swiping at the ball, you are moving with the blocking face already covering to block, as you go. Think of how you show the glove to the shooter; turning it away shows less coverage and gives them more room to shoot into (visually and literally), but with your glove out and facing, this is not the case as you cover more.

However, this is a write-up based on looking into the technique, rather than endorsing it totally (all I do agree with it!!). Purely to proffer some goalie education, to allow for thought and contemplation on technique, rather than arguing which is the most optimum way of doing things, especially if you haven’t seen the video yet!

Hockeyworld Perth

Hockeyworld Bibra Lake is now open!! WA now has its very own Hockeyworld store and I have been lucky enough to be given the job of running it. Hockey is huge in WA with both the men’s and women’s Australian team based here and a strong club competition. There are a few different hockey stores in Perth but Hockeyworld is the first to exclusively offer the brands TK, Princess, BOP and the biggest range of OBO goalie gear.

A couple of months ago an opportunity arose for me to take over the set up and management of WA’s very own Hockeyworld. The shop consisted of a concrete floor and brick walls so knowing I had a big job ahead of me I decided to fly my mum over to help me get this off the ground. We worked tirelessly for two weeks arranging tradies, setting up phone and eftpos, buying office goods, hanging signs and lifting lots of very heavy items. Now I am no tradesman myself but always happy to give things a go and we learnt very quickly that everything you do yourself saves a lot of money. When packing to move back over to Perth this year my dad decided to put in a full tool kit for me with every size screw and all the items a renovator would ever need. Not knowing that the shop opportunity would come up I hesitantly accepted the gift thinking ‘when will I ever use this stuff given I live in a rental property’. Well, how wrong I was. This simple tool box of gear saved a lot of money and many a trip to Bunnings.

The space was previously an Auto shop so the clean up process was very extensive. Mum worked hard mopping, sweeping and dusting while I was off at hockey training. Once we got the slat walls up we were ready for our stock to come in for hanging. Luckily all our gear and brands are very colourful so the decorations took care of themselves. One very important item in a hockey store is the goal. Its very difficult to buy a stick without trying it first so we got some turf in and a portable goal so people can have a hit. I had to get some conveyor belt rubber for the backboard which was kindly donated by SF Gym in Osborne Park.

Once all of the stock arrived and was up on the shelves the place really come together. We had our grand opening on March 9th and the numbers that came through were great. My team mate and OBO sponsored keeper Ash Wells came to help and is now permanently working at the store.

We sell all the usual hockey items like sticks, shoes, shin guards, bags, clothing, balls, mouth guards and masks but specialise in OBO goalie gear. Myself and Ash have both been keepers for a long time so can help you choose the right gear for your level and also fit it correctly. Obo is by far the best gear on the market and our stick brands TK and Princess are certainly controlling the market in Europe.

Hockeyworld is located at number 62 Miguel rd Bibra Lake and will mostly be servicing the Hockey clubs down south. We currently sponsor the Rockingham Redbacks who are a fantastic club not far out of Perth.
Are opening hours are:
TUE 1-5
FRI 11-5
SAT 10-2
SUN 10-1

You can order gear by contacting me directly 0422425962 or hockeyworldwa@internode.on.net and I can have it sent anywhere in Australia. Or pop in and check out our great range for yourself.
Please help me spread the word by liking our facebook page Hockeyworld Australia or following on twitter @hockeyworldwa or @rachlynch27

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.

With a more controlled rebound and an easier push in to the motion, potentially, from a wider leg stance within what is often referred to as the ‘X stance’, it gives the goalkeeper a more technical approach to splitting across to save. Stereotypically speaking (over generalising is a bad idea, in any regard!), it seems to be a trend that has developed in Australia (Stephen Mowlam seems to have been a driving force, or at least played a part in its recognition, using a wide stance that incorporated this aspect of saving with the legs, whilst still being able to ‘shut the barn doors’ quickly and efficiently!) and from there, along with others making it popular, it seems to have been absorbed into styles across the globe. Kathleen Partridge, the former Australian international, who has produced the goalkeeping guide “Goalkeeping Skills and Drills” (a recommended read), wrote about the lunge as one of the technical aspects she covered in her book.

The ‘lunge’

Whilst it sounds a little unorthodox or a scrambling save, it’s not specifically a desperation save attempt. Instead, you are essentially just going a bit further than you can reach simply stopping shots with your pad or kicker from a standing position. Say you can reach so far by simply reacting from within your stance, but, with a lunge, you are going that extra distance with your push out with your leg. Obviously this requires a little bit of extra flexibility, which stretching and Yoga and that kind of thing can aid and help out with, but if you don’t have massive amounts of natural flexibility, you may prefer to stick to diving for those saves you cannot reach from your angle and positioning, with your stance, but it’s always worth giving it a go and trying out new things to see if they work for you (as mentioned in the ‘playing it your way’ article).

Like the definition of lunge suggests, it’s a saving motion that involves a position where one leg is positioned forward with the knee bent and flat foot of that driven lunged leg, with the other leg positioned behind it. And also happens to be used with regards to fitness exercise and cross-training! It’s an explosive push to attack the ball and cut the angle wide of you. Unlike a more reactive, passive save where you simply respond to shots and turn your leg/foot to make the save from your ready stance, you are more so ‘aggressively’ pushing in to stop the ball. So, combined with the ’30 degrees’ and ‘attacking the ball’ saves, gives a greater option to push out and really attack shots that you are not otherwise able to reach from that reactive approach and stance; exploding out from the stance from the save.

This is sort of what a lunge save looks like, with a better illustration from an action photo:

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/scotland-goalkeeper-abigail-walker-blocks-a-shot-while-news-photo/104789820?Language=en-GB

You can kind of see it, the lunge and its momentum in, this clip, although it’s mainly out of shot in this clip at 0:14:25

And this clip demonstrates it all quite well. So, the goalie is young and teeny and tiny, but you get the idea from the way he is reacting to the shots! Essentially, you’re not moving with footwork to get behind and save, instead, you’re ‘staying put’ and planting and pushing out with the leg to get behind the ball to cover the angle and save.

Making the save

You should still be able to turn the kicker, as you normally would, during the save to help control the redirect and turn away the rebound to a safe area (where there are no attackers to poach it back, hopefully!). Balance remains the same, with you doing what you would in any standing save to keep the rebound down and controlled (I need to write a more in-depth explanation of this at some point!). Driving through and being explosive is important to getting distance on the rebound. Both feet plant as you push into the momentum, to help with staying upright. The back leg will also mirror the front to help in this regards.

This is probably the worst sketch I could do (I’ll come back and change it when I have more time!), but you get the rough idea of things (I think, or at least, hope!). Left leg is a better illustration of technique than the right!!

Pushing out

When you lunge, you are driving out with your leg in extension in order to reach the ball with the increased surface area coverage of the kicker/pad versus rhp/stick or lhp with a dive. You are pushing out explosively to reach the ball as it comes at you (especially if facing elite level, fast paced shots for instance). It helps if you have good reflexes! You want to be explosive and forceful, driving with power and precision and speed to make the save. But, more technically, when you push, you need to drive at it, keep your head up and over and then drive through, as you would with an attacking clearance say (keeping the foot down though!).

The following clip is about the closest I’ve got to finding a useful video example. At 0:34, watch how the goalkeeper pushes out further than his stance already covers, lunging out to stop and also attacking as discussed while doing so. Of course, he is using a wider spaced ‘X stance’ with his legs, but he is still pushing out wide in extension (obviously has less space to cover and less of a push to make, given the space his legs already cover!):

Pictures may also help illustrate and display things as well. The lunge should be looking like this, as you push out:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Kelburne/Mens3rdXIReservePlateFinal2012#5739527404743362994

To this:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Kelburne/Mens3rdXIReservePlateFinal2012#5739527511966229842

Head over the ball

Whereas a split, might see you drop awkwardly (going down with your upper half as you drop into the split leg position etc.) or lose balance slightly, theoretically a lunge, if done properly, should actually aid in balance and therefore provide a more controlled rebound and save. This is the added benefit of the way the lunge works and can be used. A lunge cannot go as far as a split (because you not positioning the leg out i.e. it’s not being pushed down and flat, out; it’s the foot that’s being pushed out) in full extension, but has the beneficial edge regards balancing. In any case, you want to have your head over, for the save, to ensure balance goes down through your body positioning, for a controlled save and rebound.

‘Planting’

When you push out and make the save, you ‘plant’ so that you get in the right position and help stay rooted and therefore balanced. This way, you can limit any issues with balancing. So, when ‘lunging’ to make a save, you also want to ‘plant’. Can’t go too far into this technically, as haven’t yet worked out the absolute specifics, but ‘planting’ is common with any leg/foot save from a standing position. You want to ‘plant’ as you explode and push out. In essence, the foot is the lead, and you are looking to stretch it out and then plant it down as you extend, to get behind the ball on the angle and make the save. But, it’s also important to ‘plant’ with the other stance to mirror weight and balance out.

A planted back foot helps to strengthen your rootedness so you don’t tilt over either side as you drive out. Turning the foot in the direction of the lead leg should help retain balance as you don’t turn your other leg away from that angle. If you do, you’re half turned in the way you want and half not! So you are leaning wrong and turning your body away from the shot. But with both feet angled on that angle, you are ensuring you don’t turn away, even in the slightest, getting all of your body in positioning behind the shot. Driving with the hips, this is(another topic I want to cover at some point!).

At 3:11 , notice how the goalkeeper slips, loses balance and falls back, thus taking them out of the ‘play’ and getting beaten. Instead, reinforcing balance with your back foot in a parallel with the angle of the driving foot, should help with balancing and ultimately making the save.

This is the kind of parallel and mirroring you theoretically should/would see within a lunge:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=458227380915163&set=pb.215515558519681.-2207520000.1364056381&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash4%2F388520_458227380915163_1438802130_n.jpg&size=716%2C960

Saving option

The ‘lunge’ as a save is another ‘tool’ in the ‘toolkit’, a way of thinking espoused by a lot of ice hockey goalie coaches. In this sense, it gives you another option for your approach to save making and chance to play to your own personal strengths. But, it furthers the abilities of balancing within a splits style save. If you prefer to stand up on your feet and play a patient, responsive, upright game, it offers the chance to do so by extending out with the kicker for the save.

Whereas a dive close to the body takes you out of the game, at least for a little while as you rush to get back up, a ‘lunge’ sort of cuts corners in getting back in the game for a consecutive save. Unlike a split, it is theoretically easier to recover from and also has the added benefit of a more controlled rebound, with your head over and rebound thus kept down and not bouncing up and away! On shots that are outside your angle and cannot be reached just by using your position, and angle, and reacting within your stance, you should be able to reach them lunging and attacking the ball in forceful extension. If you are comfortable with the eye-co-ordination with your feet and have strong footwork and flexibility, you may prefer this over diving nearer to the body, where you are still up on your foot, with an easier process of getting to the next shot, immediately ready for the next stop you face.

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.

And with that being the same case for anyone that comes after you, you’ll always have someone nipping at your heels trying to take that very same spot you had to compete for in the first place. But that should be motivation to keep onto it and beat them out from overcoming you and your spot, not to slip into lack of effort because you get down about things! Are you prepared to go the distance and go that extra mile, and always be giving all you’ve got no matter what? It’s no easy task, but someone’s got to do it; well, you’ve got to, if you want to get there! Life isn’t (always) a bed of roses, if it is, you can’t see the thorns (well, that’s not to say life isn’t enjoyable or isn’t a gift, that’s just admitting that sometimes it will be hard and hard work!). And, if you don’t have to work hard for something, especially in sport, you’re not going to be pushed to play your absolute best because you’ll always be at cruising speed (or level!). So, in a way, it’s important you have competition and really fight for your chances.

Not all goalkeepers wear the number 1 shirt, but still stake their claim on the starting position for their team or nation nonetheless.

Work ethic

How hard you apply yourself to something (whatever that may be, in life) has a big impact on things and the way people see you. Take training sessions: are you prepared to put in, even if you don’t much out of it as a goalkeeper; focusing on the basics like stance, angles and attacking shots? You get out what you put in, as they, in any aspect of life! A lot of people (maybe it’s just youngsters with the wrong attitude, or an assumption that talent means you don’t have to work that hard!), seem to think you will get by on natural talent without the need to work hard at things. Let’s just think about it for a moment. A goalkeeper with not all of the attributes of an elite goalkeeper can outdo one that does, purely based on work ethic, constantly pushing themselves to improve, and hard work. Essentially, because they are working hard, they should perform better (something I’ll try and cover more in depth later). Compare this to a naturally talented goalkeeper who is capable of really dominating, but not doing so, because they aren’t pushing themselves, in comparison to the goalkeeper edging them out because they are!

Talent doesn’t necessarily give you a one way ticket (not sure that’s the best phrase) to success. Similarly pure athleticism which hasn’t been harnessed or concreted through technical understanding (take Tim Howard in his early days) can see a goalkeeper still making the saves and getting the job done, even if it isn’t always pretty! But, coaching is helpful for refining and harnessing these attributes, so seeking out coaching help or going to summer camps should help you learn to improve and make these habits routine in the regular season. Either way, you still have to work for it! First, you need the talent, and then you need to push yourself as much as possible to keep developing and evolving up the scale of elite standard goalkeeper.

You have to work hard and you have to earn it! It doesn’t come for free! You don’t just rock up to a goalkeeper genie and say hi, I’d like to make my wish of being the world’s best hockey goalkeeper a reality. A dream come true. Humour aside, it’s a big effort and you need to graft and put in the hours to out graft and then outshine people who want that elite level starting spot just as much as you do (maybe they want it more, even!). Some people dream and some people go out and make those dreams real!! Also dieting (eating well, not slimming down!), not wasting time on things that could get in the way of sporting commitments outside of hockey, in order to be in optimum shape for games, is important. Also, staying in good athletic shape is important because you are retaining fitness levels and staying sharp.

Fighting it out

There is only one starting spot, it’s not like you’re a rolling sub for an outfield position. With one spot, you have to fight for it unlike anything else another player might have to go through in a club or team! And with the 1^stXI spot, this is even more so. Sometimes, the only way in is to force yourself into the position and beat the other goalkeeper out of theirs. They may see it as a reason to ‘up’ own game, or even unfair (as they worked hard to get way they are; especially unfair if you do take hold of the spot), but you have a challenge on your hands regardless! Your attitude is everything, especially if you want to be the first choice, of a national league level club, for example! And even if you do manage to wrestle the starting spot off a team mate, the coach still has the right/chance to yank you out of a game or switch things up and drop you (back down the pile). Take Szcesny and Fabianski (who is the one actually getting the starts right now, in spite of the doubters, whilst Maonnone deputised for a string of games) at Arsenal.

If you have been the only goalkeeper around in teams/club as a youngster developing, then you may not be used to a stringent level of competition and get used to not fighting for your place. But once you climb the ladder and get to the highest rungs, you will soon realise how much of a fight you will have for the starting spot, or spots at the top levels within your club! Once you get to the elite tiers, you really are fighting for your spot.

If you have the wrong attitude and don’t want to fight for it, then you’re not going to get anyway or develop as a goalkeeper with the right skill set and right mind set! Once in the elite level, you’ll quickly realise how much you have to want that opportunity to get where you want! Otherwise you will be outworked, outrun, outgunned (in terms of save making!) even and perhaps go back down the ladder because a situation has arisen that will change circumstances for you, such as another goalkeeper joining the club who has played at a higher level previously or has more experience than you do, thus affecting your positioning in the club tiers and chance for high level games.

Fighting for your place

Without going back and saying exactly what I said, through rephrasing or just rewriting it (and rewriting the “fighter” article from a while ago), I want to allude to how good you are versus how good people think you are or rate you as. What you don’t want to do is end up “blowing your own trumpet” and thinking you’re the best around when you still haven’t proven that’s the case. And getting overly confident and full of yourself to the point it’s damaging to your game because you don’t bring your ‘A game’ because you don’t think you will have to work and be tested (not the same as being confident constructively and having buckets of self belief!). It’s easy to play well for a few games (versus a season), and end up “over rated” simply because you have played some ‘blinders’, but if you can’t play to this level consistently, that is the difference maker. In the sense that if you ended up hitting a bad patch and unable to bounce back, you may not be playing as you will get dropped for another goalkeeper that may be able to consistently play well versus ‘streaky’ wins and losses, because you’re not used to fighting for a win, or struggle to bounce back after a bad game.

Playing without an ego

This may sound odd considering what I’ve discussed when needing to be ‘cocky’ and confident. But it is still important to remember yourself and your role within the team as a goalkeeper. The goalkeeper carries their team, not the other way round, but that doesn’t mean they should get too ‘big for their boots’! The “egoless approach”, which is something ice hockey goalie analyst Justin Goldman has written about, is important very much so and equates to getting on with playing well and showing how good you are without needing commendations lauded on you. Actions speak louder than words! So show how good you are without saying so!! Something I might have missed in the ‘cocky’ goalkeeper article, but . A selfish attitude doesn’t get you far and will annoy team mates. Also blaming others if . Team mates prefer it if you are open and take responsibility on board (takes the blame off their shoulders!) and .

Always improving

Another important thing when it comes down pushing for the first team place, is how you need to be constantly evolving versus staying as is and getting complacent, which you can read about in the write-up I did previously. Joe Hart will always say that he’s “always looking to improve”. He is never stopping in the way he wants to push himself and reach new heights and always get better. Rather than being happy with how things are. So, he might not be at the top of his game right now (neither is Reina), but his attitude speaks for itself. He is always looking to get better. He is not sitting around and saying ‘I’m so great, look at me, blah blah blah’ or listening to people saying he’s the, or one of, the world’s best, he’s going out there and working hard to make it happen. Versus not and being complacent, lazy and expecting such comments to just be given to you! Don’t be lazy, be like Hart, have the heart to improve!!

Self analytical

Being analytical of your own game means being able to analyse your weakness and look to improve them, and even to work on refining your strengths. To step outside of yourself and critically consider how well you play. To be able to identify key areas and look to improve them. You can’t improve if you don’t think you don’t have anything to work on! You can’t reach perfection if you think you’re perfect already. When you’re not! At first you may not feel comfortable to think about yourself in this way, but you need to be assured and confident enough to do so. By looking at yourself in the mirror and considering how well you play or are playing during a season, you can improve greatly as you pinpoint things that need working on. It’s not a case of being your own worst enemy, but a cool headed analytical means. This is case of personal reflection, a desire to improve and be the best player (and goalkeeper!) you can be. A positive rather than negative attitude or viewpoint. Sometimes, the only person who can analyse your performances (other than a coach or team mate or fellow goalkeeper at your club even), is yourself, especially if you don’t have a goalkeeping coach to work with. So you need to be able to do so and improve your game and your level of analysis as you do so.

Be the number one!

Ultimately, not everyone wants to be the best in the world or the best at their club, just the best player (goalkeeper!) they can be. There’s nothing wrong with that, at all, in fact, it’s better to want to be the best at everything you can be rather than for anything else. If you are talented inherently, then pushing yourself to be the best you can is going to be make you one of the best around! Even if you don’t think you can, you can still have the same mindset of that of an elite goalkeeper. Like people say and I stated, it’s your work ethic and if you work hard, then coaches will notice it and you may also outwork other goalkeepers and rise up the ranks. Want to be the first option for team selection, want to outdo everyone else and want to make that spot yours and no-one else’s! Don’t just be happy with second best. A goalkeeper who expects to win games or train or play well, without putting in the effort is not getting to get too far! So, work hard, analyse, look to improve, and you should make the number one spot yours (eventually?!)!!