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Changing equipment colour

Its Paul Williams from England here and I was wondering if you can help me as I was wondering whether there is anything I can do to make my orange robo legguards and kickers black without losing any of their rebound properties. Thanks

qna Question:

Answer:

You can paint pads (see Previous Q&A for more info). The big problem is you’re only painting the surface and with wear, paint will come off. Paint for plastics won’t significantly effect the rebounding qualities of foam, but make sure the paint isn’t corrosive before applying it, i.e. read the back of the can.

Tips for shorter keepers

I am a 16 year old goalkeeper in England and want to progress to playing National League hockey with my club. My problem is that I am only 1.73 metres tall and am probably not going to grow a huge amount more. I have done a lot of work on my speed and agility using the SAQ training method. I was wondering if you had any views or general tips for shorter keepers, particularly anything to do with increasing flexibility, in order to reach those shots struck in to the corners. Any feedback would be great.

qna Question:

Answer:

Nigel, while I don’t have any tips specifically for shorter goalkeepers, I’ve addressed some of the adjustments shorter keepers might need to make to be more effective. Please look at the Basic Positioning: Angles tip as that applies most directly. The word of caution on angles is not getting caught too far off your line as to get lobbed. Flexibility is addressed in the Previous Q&A section. Speed isn’t limited to sprints off the line. It’s equally applicable in speed of decision and execution of skills. It applies to reactions. As you’ve noted, you can’t do much about your height, but you can do something about your speed and flexibility. Smaller keepers can play big and big keepers can play small. Size is only one part of the equation for playing with presence. If you can communicate, anticipate, organize and execute, size doesn’t have to be a factor. Most coaches pick a keeper based on his ability to keep the ball out of the net, not on height. Good luck!

Save and clear technique

My last set of kit I put together myself, TK pads and Mercian kickers. With this combination I found the save and clear technique when lying down very easy. Now I have my new Robo kit I find that the same technique is not so effective. I have been using the lower leg to sweep with what technique would you recommend?

qna Question:

Answer:

The technique you’re talking about is very effective when slide tackling with your legs as it takes the ball to a space as you save/block. You probably had an easier time clearing with the TK pads because the edge of the pad will bend back when dragged along the turf. That’s a good thing when you’re using this technique, but not great if you’ve ever had a shot deflect in because of the pad’s flexibility. You can kick/sweep with your lower legguard in a leg slide with the Robos, you just need to make some adjustments to the technique. If you’re looking to kick with the lower legguard, start with your leg bent with your knee forward and foot back. The save/clear you speak of in the slide is generated by your foot coming forward. The Robo is a stiffer legguard and there’s more resistance when you drag it forward because the pad doesn’t flex/bend. On the other hand, because the outer edge is curved, there’s less surface edge to drag. Pay attention to the speed you’re generating when you’re trying this skill and the angle of your leg and you should be fine.

Training tips

The last time I visited this site it was green and you had some tips on training regimes and in particular suggestions for solo training. Where can I find this info?

qna Question:

The last time I visited this site it was green and you had some tips on training regimes and in particular suggestions for solo training. Where can I find this info?

Answer:

If you look to the left you’ll see a ‘Pages’ section. Click on ‘Playing Tips’ and then you’ll see a link to all of Jon’s tips.

Field hockey in the US

Hi; I saw your pages on the Obo site and being a fellow Yank and in the midwest near St. Louis, I had to inquire about field hockey. All the knowledge I have with it is that it’s more a womens game. Where do you play and where would I be able to find mens matches to watch? Is there any video that you might be able to give me that shows you in action? I’m real curious as your site pictures (if that’s you keeping goal) made me want to see more. Do you use the gear made for field or do you wear hockey gear? As I said, I’m curious and any insights would be most appreciated.

qna Question:

Answer:

Bill, for more information about field hockey in St. Louis I’d recommend contacting the US Field Hockey Association. I don’t know of much men’s field hockey in the area, but I know the sport is popular at the high school level and St. Louis University has a women’s team. The US Field Hockey Association also has videos of men’s games available. OBO goalkeeping equipment is designed specifically for field hockey, but some keepers do wear ice hockey body armour and face masks. There are a number of goalkeepers used for illustrating techniques throughout the website. Thanks for your interest.

Training on your own

We receive a lot of questions about training on your own and training programs. I will always refer people to check the other information on this web site. Rachel and I both have covered a variety of issues on the topic. In addition, the subject is also covered in the previous Q&A section of the website. Having said all that, let’s talk about it some more.

Having a training program means you’re training for something. What that something is, is completely up to you. It can be to get better, to make a team, to kick better with your left foot, to win a tournament, a championship, the World Cup, whatever you want. It’s a goal that means something to you.

It’s important to set goals that are realistic, measurable and obtainable. It’s great to want to win an Olympic Gold Medal, but to do that you have to make an Olympic team. That’s not something everyone can do. Anyone can set a goal of clearing 80% of all shots to their left foot to safety. Set goals that you can make. There are long term goals and short term goals and it’s important to have both. Achieving goals is part of the process for measuring improvement.

Whatever the level you play at, overall improvement is always a good goal. It’s also a very broad concept. Getting better means knowing what you’re good and bad at. It requires you to review and critique your game and that involves some thought. I think better when I write things down and if you’re going to the trouble of doing a training program, you should have a training notebook.

As a player, I used my training notebook as a resource for a number of areas. It’s a place to keep notes and materials as they pertain to my team, my training, my game play, my mental game, my skills or whatever is important to my development as a keeper. Many coaches ask their teams to keep a notebook and have very specific formats as to what should go in them. If that’s the case, you should also consider keeping a notebook of your own just for goalkeeping. A notebook can be a personal thing and some things you might not want to share. I can keep whatever I want in my own notebook and have access to it all the time.

When you decide that you want to start a training program on your own make sure you check with your coach. I get a lot of keepers who tell me their teams don’t do anything for keepers and then you talk to their coaches and they tell you something different. Not every practice is going to be a goalkeeper practice. Coaches have a lot of needs when it comes down to meeting the demands of preparing for a game. Sometimes a coach doesn’t realize they’ve ignored the position and by your going to them, they realize that.

It’s also important that you let your coach know what you’re doing if you’re thinking about a training program. If you have access to a training program with your team, then obviously that takes precedent over everything else you do. Many players don’t. Either way, your coach is someone who’s there to help you get better. By keeping them informed of what you want to do, you let them help you.

We talked about general improvement as a goal earlier and how broad a concept it is. There are ways to make improvement tangible. First off, think about the skills of the position. Now is a good time to get the notebook out. Write down the skills that are involved at the level you play at. Saving is a skill, but there are
a hundred different skills that can be used to make a save. Clearing skills are just as important as save skills and there are another hundred skills available to make a save and take the ball to a space. It’s important to identify skills as they relate to the level you play. A 12 year old isn’t likely to be seeing the same kind of situations as played in Premier leagues.

Breaking skills down by saving and clearing skills is only one way to start a skills inventory. Saving skills can be broken down by parts of the body: feet, legs, hands, or body. You can break it down by speed of shot: slow, medium, or fast. Use Left side or right side (as in feet and hands) and areas of the goal (centre, within two feet reach and balls in the corners) are other ways you can break down skills. Think of ways you can clear the ball: first time with your feet, a stationary ball with your feet or stick, first time off your hands into space, etc. Deflecting is a clearing skill, especially with hand protectors and high-density foam in general. There are a hundred different ways you can kick a ball to a certain area using a particular foot. You can identify those skills and should.

Once you’ve identified skills you use, think of a way you can measure them. I like to think of skills as a test when I measure them. I like to drill where I have ten repetitions and I see how many I’m successful in. 7 out of 10 is a C, 8 out of 10 a B, 9 out of 10 an A-, and 10 is an A. Until I get an A in a skill I can stand to work on it.

When you test yourself make sure you’re doing an accurate test. If I want to test kicking medium paced balls within two feet of my left foot, I need someone or something to deliver the ball with proper speed and location. That’s something you might be able to organize with the help of your coach. If you can’t work this into your team training, see if you can get your team-mates to help out.

If you are going to train on your own, make sure you’re really training. If forwards are going to help me out with putting balls at goal, I want to help them out by letting them know exactly what I want. If I want a ball hit from a specific location, put a cone there. Make sure they know exactly where you want the ball and the pace you want it at. There’s a huge difference in how you’re going to kick a medium paced ball on the ground and one that’s twelve inches in the air. You base mastery of a skill by consistent repetitions and you can’t do that if balls are all over the place. Tests can be fun and training should be, but make sure you’re doing what you want to when you train. If things aren’t defined, it’s easy for them to break down.

We talked about using your coach as a resource. Make sure you do work with someone. It’s a good idea to have a sounding board when you set goals, plan drills or do tests. Equipment is another resource. Equipment is everything from having enough balls and cones to playing on the right surface to working with good people. The internet is another resource. Use everything you can to help you get what you’re training for. Prepare to be flexible. You may have to invest in some balls. You might have to make rebound boards. You might end up training on tennis courts. If training is going to be important, having the right equipment is essential. If you’re creative, you can turn virtually anything into a training situation.

Creativity is key. As I said, we get a ton of questions about training programs and what the best program for a certain keeper is. We don’t know the best particular program for you, but you probably do. If you’re critical you know what you’re good at and what you need to work on. Think of ways you can work on the skill and make it happen. This starts with a vision and a notebook is a great start. Use it to plan your future successes and chronicle the progress.

Good luck,

Jon

e-mail Jon

Please note that OBO together with Jon O’Haire hold copyright over any material appearing on tips pages. We welcome the printing and distribution of these tips, provided that they are not sold, or used for financial gain. This paragraph must appear on all printed or distributed copies. The photographs above must not be used in any form without express permission from Jon O’Haire.

When to Use Your Stick

There are certain situations in a game where it is both appropriate and inappropriate to use your stick. In this tips section I will be highlighting four major issues you need to consider in relation to stick use:

Why use your stick?
Why not to use your stick?
When to use your stick
How to use your stick

Firstly “Why use your Stick?” well it is simple, why not utilise every part of your equipment to maximise saving ability.

When wouldn’t you use your stick? Again this is simple, when you can save the ball with your feet, body or hands. Too often young and inexperienced keepers use a stick like a field player to stop a ball. With all the keeping gear on, this is nearly impossible, when a player smashes a ball at you. It is important to keep in mind that a stick is only about 1.5 inches wide so we should not use it as a major factor in saving the ball when we have gear that is much larger.

Players should use their sticks in a variety of situations including:

slide tackling

interceptions
making aerial saves to the right hand side of the body

When using your stick you should see it as an extension to your equipment. People hold the stick differently in separate situations. When in the ready position (on the balls of my feet, body weight forward and hands up) I hold my stick in a comfortable position about mid way down the handle nearing where the grip stops. This allows me to have good control of the stick and stops the stick hitting me in the rib cage when I move it.

When intercepting a ball or taking on attacker one on one I extend my stick to allow me to utilise the whole length of it. This is especially important when you are wanting to cover as much ground as possible during the intercept.

Keepers also use their sticks for assisting to clear the ball where kicking isn’t appropriate at all. Situations like this sometimes occur when the ball has rebounded off of your gear right in front of you and the quickest and most effective thing to do is push it out. This requires very good wrist strength if you are to do it with one hand. Please note that this skill is becoming more difficult with the introduction of foam gloves (I still wouldn’t change my foam gloves for anything in the world.)

It is important to remember that with anything you need to practice all skills. Some are easier to practice than others. Two important skills that keepers need to practice to make use of the stick easier is, firstly, getting from holding the stick in the middle to the extension position with ease and pushing the ball. You can do both of these skills at home or at hockey, all you need is a ball, your stick and gloves.

Good luck with the keeping!

Please note that OBO together with Rachel Durdin hold copyright over any material appearing on tips pages. We welcome the printing and distribution of these tips, provided that they are not sold, or used for financial gain. This paragraph must appear on all printed or distributed copies.

What Makes a Good Keeper?

There are many different goalkeepers playing all over the world. Some of them will hold at least one of these traits, if not all. The traits that I perceive to contribute to making a good goalkeeper may not be totally the same as what you would believe.

The position of Goalkeeper needs to be a person who can think and act immediately when a decision is required. Below I have outlined what I think will make a successful goalkeeper and why this is so.

Good Basic Skills
The key to your success as a goalkeeper is having good basic skills. If you do not have good basics you will find it very hard to make even the simplest of saves. Basic saves of importance include instep saves getting wide clearances, hand saves left and right and many more, please refer to previous tips pages for more details.

Reflexes
Reflex saves are vital to the performance of every keeper. If you don't have natural reflexes it is important that you work on these to make sure that you make those match winning saves. As mentioned in previous tips, a good way to improve your reflexes is to get someone to hit tennis balls at you. The balls generally come faster than most hit hockey balls, thus making you react quicker than usual. You can also do this training with hockey balls and getting some one to hit or flick them at you one after the other.

Decision Making
Decision making is something that comes naturally for most and with time it can be greatly improved upon. Decision making comes in two forms: when playing in goal, deciding where to call your players and deciding what save you make and how you are going to make it. The best way to improve this is to simulate match like situations in training.

Speed & Strength
Speed and strength are vital components for success as a goalkeeper. Both of these components are ones that you can work on if you are not naturally gifted in this area. You will need to consult your coach or a physical trainer for more specific detail that is relevant to you as an individual.

Attacking Play
With field players getting better every day it is important that the keeper keeps on top of the situation. An easy way to do this is to be an attacking keeper. By taking charge of the area around you and closing down players as soon as they receive the ball they don't get the chance to have a shot at goal. There is much more information on Attacking Play in the previous tips pages.

The Ability to Accept Responsibility for Actions
Some goalkeepers tend to blame others around them when a ball goes in the back of the net. In many situations this may be the right thing to do, however, on occasions the goalkeeper has neglected to call a player into line or just made a bad save. It is important for the goalkeeper to admit when they have made a mistake as it keeps the team cohesive, and when it is not the fault of the keeper the team will usually recognise this.

After reading this you may think of many other traits you or another goalkeeper may possess that make you a great keeper. . This is only what I think and is here to make you think a little more about your keeping.

Good luck with the keeping!

Reflex Training

One of the most important aspects of goal keeping is using your reflexes. Many great match winning saves are made simply using your reflexes. There are many different ways that you can improve on your reflexes which are included below.

Tennis Balls
Tennis balls are a great way to get quicker reflexes. If you get someone to hit a bucket of balls at you with little time in-between each ball this will make your reaction time shorter. Tennis balls serve two purposes: firstly, if hit with a tennis racquet they fly faster than most hit balls; and secondly, if you get hit they don't hurt as much. (You may like to note that you can also do this with only your upper-body protection on.)

Hockey Balls
Lining up hockey balls and having them fired rapidly at you can work just as good as anything else. If you have sets of 10-12 balls this is usually enough to get the repetition that is required for improvement. Start with the balls around the 10 yard mark (flicking them) then gradually move them closer to the player.

Turn and Save
Start with your back to the ball (hitter) when he/she says "turn", turn around and save the ball. They are to hit/push/flick/throw the ball as they say turn. Make sure that you turn different ways to get a balance of movement.

Hitting to Boards
If you can get some big wooden boards all you have to do is get someone to hit the ball to the board on an angle, making sure that the ball goes towards the net ensuring the keeper has to make a save. By doing this you are changing the angle that the ball is travelling thus once again improving your reaction time.

Golf Balls
Although I haven't done much of this you can use a golf ball by throwing it up against a wall and trying to catch it. This can be done by directly throwing the ball to the wall or doing a bounce throw. (Make sure there aren't any windows that you can break!)

On Angles
Don't forget to vary what you are doing with your reflex work. Many saves that need to be made during a game are on angles so don't forget to vary the angle that you are making the save on.

High and Low
When the balls are hit or flicked at you, remember to make sure that you are being made to save a variety of balls including high, low, wide and straight at you.

It is important to remember that you can be as creative as you like with all of your training. If you think it through and it is safe then give it a go and see if it works for you.

Aerial Saves

For many goalkeepers saves with the hand or stick seem more satisfying than any others. Whether this is because the crowd likes it more, or just the simple fact that they seem more spectacular or harder to execute…who knows? In this tips section I will endeavour to give you some simple advice and suggestions of how to make those saves being simple or tremendously difficult.

Firstly, I will address what the basic requirements of making an aerial save. Points to consider when making hand saves include:

Start in the attacking position (on balls of the feet, body weight slightly forward and hands up).
Watch the ball all the way from the stick to your own glove or stick.
It is easier to save a ball in the air if your hands are already in the air. This decreases the time needed to travel to the ball (it really gives you a head start).
When making a save with the left hand it may help to rotate the wrist slightly to get the ball moving in a direction away from the play. This movement is only minimal but it can be very effective and should only be used with balls that are coming straight towards you.

When making a stick save it is best to only move the stick in a vertical direction If you start to move the stick horizontally you then increase the chance of making mistakes.

When making saves with the stick it is a good idea to try and get your left hand across to try and cover as much territory as possible. If you start this technique at an early stage in your goalkeeping it will become second nature.

Making those Marvellous Saves
You need to practice diving. Diving is one of the hardest things to practice as you can cause serious injury to yourself if it is not done correctly with the right equipment. As many of you would know in a game when you make a brilliant save it doesn't matter how you land you simply don't feel a thing especially if you win, however during practice you feel every little thing even if it doesn't really hurt.

There are a number of ways that you can do this:

Get some training mats or a mattress.
Use a gymnastics foam pit.
Add extra protection to your equipment.
Diving into a swimming pool.
Practice with soccer goalkeepers (good ones).

All of these suggestions will help you in gaining full stretch for those really hard high and wide balls.

As with other drills it is important to remember to watch the ball from when it has left the stick all the way to your hand, stick, leg or body. This may sound easy, however it is hard and does require a lot of self discipline and constant reminding of yourself to make it happen all the time.

Belief in yourself and that you can save anything is equally important in achieving great saves. If you are having trouble making these saves or believing in yourself then you may want to mentally go over the saves in your own head and see yourself making the saves over and over. This does actually work, if you break the save up into sections and work through how you will make the save.

Making Really High Saves
To make those extra special saves you need explosive power in your legs. If you don't have any power then it is almost impossible for you to jump and make the save. You can do this through a strength program which will incorporate both strength and power. If this is not available you may want to practice jumping in the air with your gear on. Or even jumping on a box up to 10 times in a row with a reasonable break in-between for 3 sets (make sure it is not a cardboard box).

Again, even with explosive power you need to make sure that you are watching the ball and making the right decision. If the ball is going out why would you want to try and save it and risk it going in the back of the net. It is good to cover everything, however, just make sure that you are not making spectacular looking saves just for the sake of it and that it is the best option for making that particular save.

Have fun and good luck!