Keepers Resources
Here is a great Goalkeeping manual in PDF format produced by New Zealand Hockey.
“This booklet is designed for beginner goalkeepers as well as coaches who want help with specific training for their goalkeeper. It will also be useful for more experienced goalkeepers who want drills and games to improve their techniques.”
To download the NZ Goalkeeping Resource click here
You will need the free Adobe Reader to open the PDF. .
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 generally implies diving to the right with your stick. Diving stick side allows you to reach out to low shots that go past you on your right side, on shots that are often out of reach. Make sure you follow through with the saving motion; watching the ball into the save to ensure that you make full contact with your stick to stop the ball getting past you.
To make a successful diving stick save, you should follow this process:
Step off with your right foot in the direction of the shot
Lean out to the right and crouch slightly for the dive
Driving from the flat of your foot, make sure you get enough power in the movement
Dive out with your stick arm extended towards the incoming ball (if necessary, you can extend the stick out to get further reach)
Land onto the pitch, pushing the stick out to make contact with the ball for the save; angling the stick diagonally to push away the rebound
When landing the save, land on the hips and arms, absorbing the impact, landing the stick to make contact with the floor
Ball makes connection with the stick, which is then stopped and cleared to safety, if possible
After making the save, recover to the standing stance, ready for the next shot: be quick to react, so you don’t give the shooter extra time
Pointers
Stay low throughout the dive to cover the shot. When executing the save, slide the stick out and along the ground to control the dive. If the ball is still out of reach, you can extend your stick out to get distance on the save. You can angle the stick towards the back line to direct the ball to safety.
Avoid landing on the elbow, which will otherwise get easily damaged after continually diving onto it. Instead, try to land on your forearm (the front of the arm – elbow to wrist); pushing out with your arm to drop there.
The first picture is from Yahoo Euro Sport images; the second from Alex Master’s sports action photography www.alex-masters.com
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.
Lateral movement (side to side) is the key area of movement around the circle. Think of your movement area as a mini semi-circle of the larger D you play in; this is the space you need to cover to protect your goal. By moving sideways, you can change your angle against the opposition; moving across to deal with the new attacker as the pass is made.
Shuffles
Shuffling is the essential form of movement for a goalkeeper to move across the face of goal. If you watch soccer goalkeepers, the move is very similar; basically, it is sidestepping across to the side you wish to move to. When pushing across from the pushing foot (depending on your left or right direction), make sure your keep in your ready stance, holding your hands up ready for a shot.
The following diagram illustrates the shuffle off the right foot moving to the right (the shuffle is a sideways movement, with you moving left or right to move into the space to your side):
Closing holes
With the shuffle opening up a large space between the open legs when moving, a lot of keepers (up to the pros; Stephen Lambert is a good example, and you could find footage of him actively doing this, playing for Australia in the recent Olympics). This closing off of open space when moving makes sure you have no space showing, in case of a shot; when facing a screen or in-close action when facing goal mouth scrambles, or when facing a deflection as you move across goal – more important in higher levels when shooters like to go for this area, as it is easy to expose.
When pushing across, lead the back leg into the lead leg, in order to close gaps by pushing to lock the pads together, or be as close as possible to block. This extra coverage against shots, with the security of no gaps. However, comes at the cost of movement (since it slows you down when moving to force your legs together, which can be costly when moving with speed against the play is vital). So if you’ve got to dash across the D to get back into space, then you have to balance the importance of speed, by ignoring the need to cover gaps and sacrifice coverage for extra movement.
Question:
Hi Jon,
Hope all is going well for you.
Tom’s hockey is continuing to go well – he is now 19 and studying Actuarial Science at the University of Cape Town and playing in their 2nd side. Both 1st & 2nd sides play in the Grand Challenge league, which is probably the strongest league in South Africa so he is gaining some valuable experience.
He is need of a new stick now. He has been using what I reckon is a predecessor to the Skinny, since age thirteen and it is finally now cracking slightly.
I think he should go for the Fatboy this time. His recent ability and confidence on his stick side has dropped slightly – last year it was stronger and he is trying to work out why this could be.
I read a couple of information sections about the merits of the Fatboy and the Skinny but I wondered if you could suggest which to go for?
Tom is physically quite strong and is about 6 feet 1 tall. I see there are two sizes 36.5 and 37.5 available – I presume that 37.5 would be best for him?
Any suggestions or advise would be much appreciated.
Regards,
Charlie
Answer:
Hi Charley,
Stick choice is really dependent on a lot of things, especially the style of goalkeeping Tom plays with his hands. Personally, I use the Skinny Thing Stick (37.5). I tend to play with my hands forward and about waist level so I take my stick back to make saves to my high right. This allows me to track the ball a little longer and since I’m taking the stick back most deflections off it are to the side. I like a light stick and I really like the weight and feel of the Skinny Thing. Some keepers prefer a little more weight and substance to their stick and the Fat Boy is for them. At 6’1″ Tom is best suited to a 37.5 stick, but Fat Boy or Skinny Thing is really up to him and his style. Hope that helps,
Jon
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 sideways, backwards or forwards – how else are you going to charge down the shot, or rush back to fill up space?
Moving with the play
To be able to react to the play’s development and be ready to make an immediate save when called upon, you have to constantly be moving with the play itself. With the change in pace and direction, you have to be adapting your position to match. If you are not and caught unawares, you make the opposition’s life all too easy; not being set on the angle and leaving a wide open net to shoot at.
Moving constantly to re-position in the arc (that has been talked about in previous articles; http://blog.obo.co.nz/2009/05/18/the-arc-around-goal/) will dramatically improve your shot stopping and ability to play the angles to your advantage, instead of being forced into a difficult save as the ball moves into the open space you were not ready for.
Focus on the ball
You can arrange your movements by where you are in relation to where the ball is; moving with the ball to keep up with the scoring chances and angles for incoming shots. Your head should be on a swivel, constantly checking to see where the ball is, in case a long pass or run has been made, and then moving your body to adapt to the change in play; kind of like a turkey in a farmyard!
When the ball gets past your half way line you can relax, but once it’s over the line and an attack can easily appear out of nowhere you need to be ‘switched on’ and alert; ready to spring into action.
Question:
My son is a hockey goalkeeper and owns a Robo hockey helmet. We purchased this fantastic helmet about a year ago. The only, ongoing problem we have is that everytime he removes the sweatband from inside the helmet, the piece of velcro which holds the sweatband in the helmet comes loose.
We have tried so many different glues on the South African market and nobody can give us advise as to which glue to try. After every practise and every match (probably about 4x per week) we have to re-glue the velcro to the helmet.
We are afraid of trying acid based glues incase the eat the padding in the helmet.
I would be extremely grateful if you could advise me as to which glue I could use or any solution to the problem.
Thank you!
Cheryl
Answer:
Hi Cheryl,
I’ve had a lot of success with that very problem using a product available in the US called Gorilla Glue. Below is a link to their website which has a “Where to Buy” section.
Hope that helps,
Jon
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.
To help you gage where you are when you cialis 5mg move on or off the post, you can use your hands effectively to help you out: the further you are away from the post, the further you have to reach back to find out where you are in relation to the goal and your angles. Once you’ve found the goal post, you should be able to step backwards successfully onto the post, ready to cut off a possible shot. This allows you to reset your angles and set your positioning for a potential save or block: aware of where you are in relation to the amount of net space you cover (by standing over or away from the post) according to the expected shot; ready to move off, into a save off and outside the post, if the shooter decides to target that area instead.
Knowing your angles is essential to finding your whereabouts in order to move around the posts in order to make saves. If you happen to watch GB’s current no. 1, Alistair MacGregor of Loughborough Students, you’ll notice this is a technique he has perfected down to a tee.
‘Tapping’ the posts
When moving off your glove side goal post to step out into the play, you can reach back and out with your glove arm; tapping the post with your glove to check your positioning in relation to the goal. Just like soccer goalkeepers that ‘punch’ the post with the side of their bunched up fist, or tapping with their fingers, you can tap the inside post with top of your glove, or push against it with your palm. You can basically ‘feel’ your way around to work out where you should be standing. This way, you are able to find where you are in relation to the post (and goal in general) and then reset your angles accordingly to deal with the action around you.
For movement onto and off your right post, you can use a similar technique to find the goal post with your stick; swinging it round to tap against the post to check the line of angle. Like ice hockey goalies who regularly tap their posts to check their bearings, you can use your stick actively; pushing out to tap the post. Check the noise made; the louder, the better. Theoretically, the louder the sound is, the closer the post is (helpful if you are too busy focusing on the play to look at the post itself), whereas the quieter it is, the further away the post is. The distance you have to reach out with the stick will also tell you how far you are from the post – if you have to extend the stick to reach it, then you are too far away from it.
First picture comes from England Hockey; the second is supplied by Alex Master’s action photos – www.alex-masters.com
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 far that they miss because there is nothing of the net to shoot at.
Covering the angle
When playing the angles, it is necessary to understand how your depth in goal affects your ability to make the save. Staying on your line means that shots to the sides will be much further away, forcing you to extend and across in order to make the save, whereas coming off your line closes down the angle, making an easier save. Draw a mental line between the striker and centre of goal and positioning correctly, you can reduce the amount of space the striker can shoot at.
If you have the chance to challenge the angle, use positioning to your advantage to allow you to cover more of the shot, rather than making the save difficult for yourself.
Gap control
Gap control is basically the space between you and the shooter. With a small gap between you and the attacker, they will have less space to shoot at, and will have to shoot at you, or look for the space in the corners, whereas not challenging and hanging back against the shot, will give the shooter more options. By playing the gaps actively, you are able to limit the shooting space the shooter can see, reducing their options of scoring; actively challenging to pick their spot wisely from a number of options that have been cut down by you limiting the angle they can see.
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 a one on one or set play scenario (like a close-in shot developing from a pass within the packed D from a free hit or long corner), where you can actively reduce scoring chances by stepping out to meet the shot. This way you have the means at your disposal to give you the upper hand in reducing the chances of a goal; it is up to you to use them.
Narrowing the angle
The most important skill of angle play by the goalkeeper is narrowing the player’s shooting angle to make it harder for them to score; bringing the goalkeeper closer to the shot, to make the save easier, whilst taking away valuable shooting space at the same time. As the attacker comes in to for the shot the goalkeeper steps out onto the angle, getting in position to cover the shooting space, thus reducing the shooter’s options.
By challenging the shooter, you make it harder for them; having to take time to choose the shot, by which time you are ready and waiting.
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 you move around the D.
Of course different stances generally to apply for different situations; if you’re charging down a shot you’re not going to have your legs wide apart, and if you’re stopping a low shot to the side you don’t want your feet together, but the stance mentioned here is more movement based.
Which stance should I use?
Which stance you use depends on your personal abilities (in terms of reflexes, reaching out for shots from a glove stance, or strength, in being able to stand with a widened leg stance and being able to move further in a shorter time span, due to the strength of your leg muscles). There is no ‘set method’ for a ready stance, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is up to deciding which is better for you and plays to your strengths, that will determine the ready stance you use.
Experiment to find what works for you, and then stick to it. As you start off in ‘between the sticks’ as a younger keeper, it’s best to iron out the basics, so you will find a lot of goalkeepers using a simple ‘y’ stance. As you get older, you will want to develop your style and skills to counter the development of the opposition players, which includes working on a better ready stance. However, change will not come naturally (along with the dangers of bad habits recurring) and you will have to work and train hard to adapt. You will find that positioning yourself wider apart with your hands held raised is uncomfortable and weird at first, so it will need work and practice to programme your brain for it, but the benefits will pay off if you want to use this stance.
A lot of pro keepers use a ‘flexible stance’; that is, they adapt it to the situation and its needs, despite having a predominant stance they use for most of the time. When action gets tighter in and the D gets filled up, they will lower their gloves ready to block off a lower shot (playing the percentages to cover shooting space and the most obvious shot able), whereas when in open and set plays, they will go back to readying for a potential raised shot, given the shooter’s time and space to release a high ball. Learning to read the play and make judgements like this will help you with your overall game and shot stopping abilities.
Ultimately, go with what works best for you: you are the central role in this situation and you have to be the one stopping all those shots! Don’t be put off by what other people are doing; what others say (unless your coach does have a point in fixing an issue!) or the goalkeepers you idolise do (unless they play a similar style and you think you can fit that into yours). Stick with what works for you – only you know what’s best can decide and can make the decision with that information.