Arrival in Hamburg

Now that the Kookaburras have arrived in Germany, we have two tests against the host nation before the start of the Hamburg Masters tournament, which also includes England and the Netherlands. Before any international match it is important that all members of the team have done some research on their opposition to ensure we are well prepared for the challenge ahead. For the goalkeepers, that largely involves watching as many penalty corners as possible on the computer database so we can put together some ideas on the best tactics for our defensive group. Germany have a very strong penalty corner attack so any information we can gain from watching their past matches can be very valuable. We look at corners from as far back as a year ago and then present our findings to the rest of the team in our meeting before the game.

A large part of our training routine is focussed on facing penalty corner drag flicks, and yesterday’s two sessions were no exception. In the Australian team on this tour we have three very high quality flickers, namely Luke Doerner, Chris Ciriello and Jason Wilson, so there is no shortage of practice opportunities for the goalkeepers. Of course it is one thing to save a drag flick in a training situation without distractions between you and the flicker, and quite another to stop the ball in a game with defensive runners plus deflecting and rebounding strikers crossing your line of vision at regular intervals. An efficient sequence of movement becomes very important and this is something we consistently work on with goalkeeping coach David Bell at Australian Institute of Sport training sessions back in Perth.

I’ll let you know how we go against Germany!

Ross

Game 2 vs France

Australia recorded a 4-1 victory in our second and final game against France to finish up 2-0 series winners. At the wonderful venue of Racing Club in Versailles, the Kookaburras extended their two goal half time lead in a greatly improved performance after game one. Chris Ciriello, Glenn Simpson, Luke Doerner and Simon Orchard all scored in a very even team performance.

George Bazeley played his first minutes of the tour in the net during the first 35 minutes, while I came on at half time to play out the rest of the game. I have included a picture of the two of us after the final whistle, in which I’m trying to show him the GK gear he should be wearing! Touring with a team is significantly more enjoyable as a goalie if you get along well with the other keeper. Luckily for us this is the case in the current Australian team, a particularly important fact when you consider that we are rooming together for the entire trip.

We now leave Paris for our next round of matches in Germany, including the Hamburg Masters tournament. The travel day is going to be an incredible experience, as we head to Villers Brettoneux and then Menin Gate; two very important locations in Australia’s history. We will spend the night in Eindhoven before continuing onto Hamburg.

Cheers,

Ross

Hibbert’s Take Over The Reins At Southgate

A father and son coaching team is taking over the reins at Southgate Hockey Club.

First team goalkeeper Chris Hibbert (an OBO sponsored player) and his father Brian are looking to steer the three-time European Cup-winning club back into the top flight next season.

Both boast a wealth of coaching experience while Chris, a South Africa international on the cusp of retirement, has an intimate knowledge of the club and the first-team set-up having played for the men’s 1s for the last four seasons.

He will be head coach and his father assistant coach. They take over from former GB international and club stalwart John Shaw.

They will also head a recruitment drive for new players for the team this summer.
Chris, 33, who will combine goalkeeping and coaching duties once the new season gets under way in September, said: “Getting Southgate back up into the Premier Division is going to be a real challenge, but one I’m very happy about taking on.
“Work is already under way to put together the best squad we can, and we’re improving the structure of the club to work more closely with our second team and the superb juniors that the club produces.”

As well as being the team’s assistant coach last season and its captain two seasons ago, Chris has coached at Spencer Hockey Club for the last two seasons, Brunel University in 2005-6 and Barnes Hounslow Ealing in 2004-5.

A top player, he won the Division One player of the season twice in row – in 2006-7 and 2007-8 – and represented his native South Africa at the Athens and Beijing Olympics Games.

His father has national coaching experience having been assistant national coach of Wales in 2005-7 and Wales U21 men’s team’s head coach in 2007-8.

He has coached two UK national league teams – then Premier League men’s first team Teddington in 2002-3 and then national league side Oxford Hawks in 2003-4.
He was also Barnes Hounslow Ealing ladies’ first team coach from 2005-9 – the side fini

shed fourth in the Conference East (formerly national division one) last season, one place behind Southgate’s women’s first team.

Club chairman David Lloyd-Williams said: “I’m delighted to have Chris and Brian on board.”

“Chris is a popular and respected leader in the current squad and brings enormous experience from the highest level of our sport.”

“The team of Chris and father Brian is a powerful

combination and I’m very confident we’ll be challenging to get back into the Premier Division next season.”

“I would like to pay tribute to John Shaw who has made an enormous contribution to the club in his role as men’s first team coach.”

For further information see; Southgate Hockey Club
From the chairman “We’re busy building next season’s squad now, so if anyone wants to join, email us at comeandjoinus@southgatehc.org.uk

Game 1 vs France

On the morning that a player makes his debut for Australia, a Kookaburra from the past officially presents the individual with his first jersey. When I was in this position in January against the Netherlands, I was lucky enough to be handed my first playing shirt by three-time Olympian goalkeeper Damon Diletti. The photo I’ve included shows Australia’s most recent debutants with three legends from the past who are also part of our touring party. From left they are: Graham Reid (Assistant Coach), Glenn Turner, Ric Charlesworth (Coach), Bob Haigh (Selector), Jason Wilson and Graeme Begbie.

We had a 5-4 win against France in the first game of our European Tour. Things were not looking good at half time when we were 2-4 down, but the boys fought back well to record the victory. Simon Orchard netted two goals for Australia, while Russ Ford, Luke Doerner and Mark Paterson also got their names on the score sheet.

There are two keepers on the tour – myself and George Bazeley – and so far in Ric’s time as coach he has always played his keepers for a half each during test matches. I understand this is still his intention, however George was sick in bed only a few days ago so I played 70 minutes today. The game didn’t start off in an ideal manner for us after they scored from a penalty corner inside the first two minutes. It was a fast drag flick directed just inside the post and slightly above the ground to my stick side. I managed to save the next one, also to my right but high this time, before they scored a field goal shortly after with a deflection close to the net.

The final two goals conceded were French breakaways that left us exposed at the back. While it was very frustrating to concede four in a half it was a valuable learning experience for a young team that is building towards World Cup Qualifiers in August and the Champions Trophy in November. It was great to win, but as a team we will study the video footage of the match before game two in Versailles and hopefully learn enough to put in a more comprehensive performance in our next outing.

Cheers for now,

Ross

Kookaburras European Tour

Tonight we are playing our opening game of the Australian team’s tour of Europe in Montrouge, the first of a two game series against France. It’s very exciting to begin the test schedule after considerable travel time and some solid training sessions. After leaving Australia we flew to London via Singapore, before travelling by bus and train to Paris from Heathrow. Three players make their debuts for the Kookaburras this evening, namely Graeme Begbie (WA), Jason Wilson (QLD) and Glenn Turner (ACT). I’ve included a picture taken by our assistant coach after training at Racing Club in Versailles, the host of our second game tomorrow. Stay tuned for a report of the opening test between Australia and France.

Ross

New Addition To OBO Sponsored Players; Ross Meadows

We welcome Ross Meadows to OBO’s particularly amazing people.

Ross plays his club hockey for Hale Hockey Club in Western Australia and captains the SmokeFree WA Thundersticks in the Australian Hockey League.

Having recently received the call up to the Kookaburras squad for the 2009 season, Ross has the ideal opportunity to impress Australian coach Ric Charlesworth ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers in August and the 2009 Champions Trophy in Melbourne during November/ December.

With 4 international caps under his belt Ross will be making an effort to send updates to keepers resources on how he is getting on from his European tour….more from Ross soon.

They’re Playing with our OBO

When you’re next watching an international field hockey match, chances are the goalies are wearing protective gear made by OBO, a Palmerston North company.

When you’re next watching an international field hockey match, chances are the goalies are wearing protective gear made by OBO, a Palmerston North company.

Dedicated to safe-keeping, OBO provides 60% of the world market for field hockey goalies. OBO is sold in 61 countries world-wide.

“About half of the national hockey teams in the world use our products,” says OBO Managing Director Simon Barnett who, for the record, doesn’t even play the sport! “We saw a niche in the market and went for it. We do nothing else but make gear for goalies. “

OBO put their market leadership down to a unique product and customer focus. The “OBO foam” used in their gear has a tighter cell structure that wears slowly and thermo-bonding technology produces three-dimensional products that are stronger and enable the wearer to move more freely. For example, leg guards are pre-moulded to fit the leg and are shaped to reflect the way the body moves.

“Our gear has performance and protective qualities no other gear can hope to have,” says Simon.

“We involve goal keepers in several countries to provide ideas and to test prototypes as we develop equipment. Because goal keepers do the development work, our products are based on real needs. We also use professional product designers to put the finishing touches on our gear, so it not only works well, it looks great too!”

OBO has recently been selected by Industry New Zealand for its Fast Forward programme which supports high growth potential businesses.

Simon Barnett says the assistance from Industry New Zealand and Technology New Zealad has been invaluable in maintaining the company’s momentum as it moves into the global cricket market.

“It has enabled us to do a really good job in developing and testing our products and to access outside expertise when required.”

[via www.nzconnection.govt.nz]