Category: Playing Tips

Question:

I was wondering if you had any drills or simply advice on how to train my keepers. They are young, freshman (college) and they have some basics. They are definitely improving but they are not very aggressive or quick…mostly not aggressive. I was a keeper myself and was a natural. They are not. How can I teach aggressiveness? Can I? Do you have any suggestions? I have tried to talk with them about the mental aspect but talk doesn’t seem to be doing it. Help!

Answer:

Aggressiveness is a problem, especially if it’s not natural. I think the best way to develop it is to put keepers in situations where they see a reward to being aggressive. We use a lot of man down situations, 2v1, 3v2, etc where we encourage the keeper to try defend passes as well as shots. There are a couple of things that encourage keepers to be aggressive, one is making sure that they’re adequately protected. A keeper isn’t going to be very aggressive if she’s afraid of getting hurt. In addition, make sure your keepers are athletic enough to play an aggressive style. The biggest thing that will draw a keeper to a more aggressive style is having success playing that way.

Question:

I have to compete in the nation club champs for premier league this weekend. I have just been informed that I can’t play in white pads. At IPT I had to paint my pads and they looked terrible and just about all the paint flaked off before the first game, so I had to repaint after every game. I was wondering if OBO had come up with any effective way of painting the Robo pads and kickers, if so could you share with me the details?

Answer:

Keepers that I know that have had to paint their pads have had most success with a spray paint designed for plastic. Check with your paint or hardware store and see if they have suggestions. OBO’s are the easiest to paint because of the material the foam is made of. If you do get a nice paint job that you want to keep, spray the pads with a clear lacquer. I know the Trinidad national keeper used automotive paint to do his pads and he had them painted like their national flag. That might be more than you want to do, but he’s also had his paint stay on for a full season.

Question:

Could you please advise as to the "recommended" way to deal with a two on one situation, i.e. two attackers versus the goalie. 1) two attackers approaching outside the circle 2) two attackers inside the circle. This situation is nearly always difficult to defend.

Answer:

I’m not clear whether you’re talking about two attackers against a defender and a keeper, or two attackers straight up against a keeper. With a defender helping, you’re basically trying to encourage the attackers to take a shot from a bad angle. You best do that by positioning your defender just below the player with the ball and in a lane between the ball carrier and his team-mate. As long as you don’t allow the ball to cross from one player to the other, you can usually slow down the attack and reduce the shooting angle.

Two attackers straight up against a keeper is a different matter. My next tip will be on slide tackling and a lot of that pertains to this situation. You need to keep a couple of things in mind when you make a decision on how to play these situations. How much time and space the two have, where your help is coming from and where the attack is coming from all impact how you can be successful in the situation. I won’t say there is a “recommended” way. You can play these situations eighty different ways and be successful with all of them, but I have a couple of things I try to do.

If the ball is outside the circle, I’ll play about ten yards off my line. I’ll try to force the ball carrier to make a decision to take the ball to a side. If I can do that, I’m going to try keeping myself in a position where I’m near the line between the ball carrier and his team-mate, while still being near the goal. If they’ve got time and space, my focus is defending the circle and trying to pick a spot where I’ve got my best chance to play the ball. For me, that’s when the ball carrier has his head down and is moving at speed with the ball off his stick, preferably, just as he enters the circle. Another good time is when his focus is on his team-mate. The biggest thing I want to avoid, is taking him on when he’s got the ball on his stick and can see me coming. I don’t want to be all the way at the top of the circle when the attack is coming in, as I won’t have any momentum if I do want to slide tackle. I’ll let them get in so I can use my whole body, and then take them within a yard of entering.

As I said, there’s no right or wrong way to play these situations as long as you keep the ball out of the net. Keep track of what you do and the result. That should give you your best “recommended” way of playing these situations.

Question:

I am a keeper at Rugby School in England. In a week’s time, I am going to South Africa for a month and I was just wondering if you could advise me on a type of acclimatisation training programme I could do before I start training properly when I get back in August from South Africa.

Answer:

The key to acclimatisation training is trying to recreate the conditions you’ll be training in. There are a lot of variables, time, temperature, humidity, etc. I don’t know that you can reproduce them all. The key is to reproduce what you can. If you know generally what the temperature is going to be like when you get back to England, try to train at a time of the day where they’re comparable. Obviously time is going to be a tough thing to replicate. With jet lag and time differences, it may not even be worthwhile. The other thing to take into consideration is how long you’ll have to acclimate when you get back, specifically when you’ll start to play games again. On particularly long trips, acclimatisation is noble thing to take on, but simply training while you’re away could well be enough.

Question:

When I make an initial save from a shot and end up on the ground, I find moving for a rebound shot very difficult. What I mean by this is that shuffling around quickly to cover another angle on the ground I find very little traction, bearing in mind that I don’t want to expose a path to goal underneath me when moving. What I would like to know is whether there is a technique for this, the best I can come up with is to push rather unsuccessfully with the edge of a kicker.

Answer:

I don’t know that there is a technique as much as a mind set in staying with the play once grounded. Depending on the side that you’ve gone down to, you can use your hands to help get yourself up slightly and scoot over to stay with the play. The problem you’ve noted is that if you get up completely once you’ve gone down to make a save, the opponent pushes the ball under you. If you are going to use a foot to slide over, you’re probably better off taking your top leg (when you’re on your side), getting it behind your down leg (so as to not lose a saving/blocking surface on the ground) and pushing off with that to shift towards the rebound. In a lot of these situations, pretty isn’t a concern, effective is and doing whatever it takes to block the rebound.

Question:

I enjoy reading your tips on the Obo website. I have questions about two specific topics: 1. Opponent dribbling up the baseline. If an opposing forward is dribbling the ball on the baseline and heading for the goal with speed, how should I defend? I’m assuming that I have one defender back and the forward has the option to pass to someone near the penalty flick spot. Should I try to tackle the ball carrier myself? If so, how long should I wait before going out to get him? Otherwise, if my defender is to tackle the ball carrier, how should I defend against the centring pass? 2. "Soft" short corner hits. The short corner striker (deliberately) hits the ball at medium pace. I lie down in anticipation of the direct hit. Usually if the ball is hit hard, it has enough power to be deflected safely out of bounds by either my stick or LHP. However, if is hit softly, then it just hits my stick or glove and sits near the goal just out of my reach (but maybe close enough for an opposing forward). In this situation, should I try to control the ball so that it stays closer to my body?

Answer:

In regards to endline balls, there are a ton of variables you need to consider. Where is your defensive help on the ball? If there is a player at the penalty spot, is he marked? How much speed, vision and control does the ball carrier have? Finally, what side of the circle is the attack from, left or right? All of these have an impact on what’s going to allow you to be successful.

First off, there are no absolutes. Sometimes staying at the post works, sometimes taking the ball works. Having said that, there are guidelines for giving yourself a better chance to be successful. If you’ve got a defender in good position on the ball, i.e. . he’s even with the ball and keeping the player pinned to the endline, let the defender take him. Communicate that. The attacker at the penalty spot is the danger player, but only if he’s not marked. If he’s marked, then everything’s under control.

I think the most important thing in endline balls is everyone having a common understanding and that comes through repetition and talking through the situation in practice so it’s automatic in games. Typically problems come when the defender on the ball isn’t in good position or has been eliminated and there’s confusion between the keeper and the other defenders who’s taking the ball. The defender who has the player at the penalty spot goes to the ball and the both of you are done as soon as the pass goes.

Depending on where the cover defender is, he may be able to take the endline ball, especially from the attacker’s left side, your right. If the defender on the ball is beaten from their right, you’re left, you’re better off taking the ball. What taking the ball means, goes back to speed, vision and control. Look at the OBO tip on slide tackling. I think the principles are there. You give yourself the best chance to succeed when taking the ball when a forward has the ball with speed, the ball off their stick and their head down. By the same token, you set yourself up for failure when you go out at a forward who has the ball on their stick, their head up and the time and space to slip the ball past you. Hopefully that gives you some ideas.

As far as medium paced hits on corners, they can be a problem. Depending on your strengths, there are a couple of different ways to handle them. If the ball is between your chest and head as you’re down and can control the shot close to you and can clear the ball yourself, that’s one option depending on the defence the team is playing. Medium paced hits play on the gaps in a defence. They’re not designed to score, they’re designed to create rebounds between defenders. If you can control and clear the ball yourself, that’s one way of eliminating the rebound.

The other way you can handle the problem is using body angle and position to take the ball to safety. For balls hit at your legs, you can either angle your leg to take the ball around the post by bringing your knee forward and feet back. You can also bring your feet forward to angle your legs to take the ball to a safe space. By the same token, you can also angle your body with your feet slightly forward and upper body slightly back. You can use the same mechanic for well hit balls. It gives you a better angle for taking the ball around the post on your stick side.

I think one of the best ways of dealing with medium paced balls hit at your upper body is with your LHP. For balls from chest to head, angle your LHP so that the palm is way forward and your fingertips back. For balls between your waist and chest, you want to bring your palm/bottom edge around to the turf so that your fingertips are to your feet. This creates a sweeping motion that allows you to angle the ball out to your right. With either skill, you’re starting with the LHP at your chest as you’re down and are adjusting as the ball is coming in.

Obviously the most important thing with medium paced balls is saving the first shot. You look pretty silly setting up to a complicated save/clear and then have the ball just deflect off you and into the goal. It may be just a matter of repositioning defenders to better help you to clear rebounds.

Question:

I’m a 17 year old keeper currently playing A reserve level in Australia. I’ve been playing at this level for 2 years and a couple of weeks ago played my first full A grade game. I think I’ve been playing reasonably well, except there is one part of my game really letting me down. I keep letting the ball go in between my legs. It used to happen a couple of times a season but this year it has happened an embarrassing amount of times. It seems to occur mostly on flicks or hard hits, and I somehow manage to get completely tangled around what used to be easy. It happened in my first A grade game from a penalty corner drag flick straight at me.

Answer:

I think we’ve all had a few go between the legs. In ice hockey terminology it’s called the five hole and it’s called a hole for a reason. There’s a hole, or gap, between your legs. To be able to extend to the sides to make saves, a keeper needs to have a base to push off from. If your legs are together, you have no base to push off so by the very nature of you’re ready or saving position you will have a gap.

Please take a look at the tip on the OBO website for the ready position. If nothing else, it will give you a frame of reference. In looking at the goals I’ve allowed between my legs, my biggest problem area has actually been between my thighs. I’ve generally been successful with shots between my legs below my knees by pushing off my plant/non-saving leg, opening up my instep and coming forward to make the save with either my kicker or the inside of my leg guard. Using this technique, I’m able to save and clear at the same time. Some keepers try to make saves on this type of shot by bringing their legs together and with fast shots, often still have the ball squeeze through their pads or leave bad rebounds.

Regardless of technique, there are factors that make it harder to make any save. Not being set is a common problem. If I get caught between steps and don’t have my weight balanced, any save is going to be hard. The problem you talk of, getting your legs tangled, often happens when I’m set up with my weight on one leg and the ball is hit at that leg. What should be my saving leg, is now my plant leg and I can’t do anything with it. . I risk getting wrong footed if my weight is back. If I can’t come forward with my weight on my save, it’s going to be difficult to put a positive skill on the ball.

As I mentioned, the ball between the thighs can be particularly troublesome. I’ve been ripped pretty well on reverse stick hits (the pace and unpredictability of the shot leave it as one of my least favourite). Going back to the placement, I’ve been reasonably successful making that save by closing the gap using my left hand. A lot of how a keeper sets up, depends on where the ball is, the shot that he’s expecting and his own particular strengths. With shots like a drag flick or a reverse stick hit, I keep my left hand about waist level and outside my body with my fingers forward. I can take the hand across my body to save shots between my thighs while still having the ability to take my hand up and back to make saves well to my left.

There’s a school of thought that says if you don’t know what shot to expect, make yourself big. Internationally, some keepers do this by extending their arms well outside their bodies, taking up a lot of space. The question becomes in making themselves big, do they take away space at the cost of save ability? The answer can be different according to the keeper’s abilities. You need to recognize your abilities and assess the balance to make a decision. The simple fact of the matter is in playing at your current grade, you’re probably seeing more shots at pace from a greater number of players. Shots come where you don’t expect them. Expect them. It may take some time to adjust, but if you consider positioning, save ability and the elements of your game, you’ll make the adjustments.

Question:

Can you please advise on the interpretation of the obstruction rule with respect to playing marking (standing on/in front of the goal keeper) when play is intense inside the circle. Also if a player passes behind the goalkeeper and across the goal line and the keeper "steps" back onto them what would the correct decision be. On the weekend my son was playing and the umpire allowed a player to mark the goalkeeper actually pushing the keeper out of position. At the end of the game I was told there was a new rule that allowed this. I have my Queensland junior umpiring badge and umpired at the U13 Boys Queensland championships and I was not aware of this rule. Thanks for your advise in advance.

Answer:

In the interests of tracking down an authoritative answer to your question, I checked with a friend of mine who is a badged FIH umpire. The following is his answer:

“In hockey, obstruction still exists. There is a bit of a new interpretation around to deal with this type of situation, but it actually protects the goalkeepers ability to see the ball, not the opponents “right” to obscure it. At the 1996 Olympics, the Dutch, and later other teams, used a field player on attack penalty corners to run down the line of the shot to block the goalie from seeing the ball. This became very dangerous as the Asian teams felt this was unfair, so they sent their “flyers” out with their sticks up – which led to a very bad injury to a Dutch player at a Champions Trophy in India. It was decided that the attackers WERE obstructing, and that type of run wouldn’t be allowed. Obviously, an attacker STANDING in front of the goalie, especially with the intent to shield the view of the ball, would be even more of an obstruction. For the attacker to actually interfere with the goalie is clearly outside the rules.

Unfortunately this gets into the realm of goalies having to protect themselves, and pushing players out of their way, or giving them a “gentle” kick in the butt. Remember that the retaliation is usually spotted by the umpire.”

Players have a right to position only if they’re attempting to make a legitimate play on the ball. Marking the keeper solely for the sake of obstructing his view or ability to make a play on the ball is obstruction. It is the umpire’s responsibility to prevent the game from becoming “argy bargy” when the tactic is used. As my umpiring friend notes, retaliation is usually what gets called as umpires usually only see who did what last. If a keeper is being obstructed, mention it to the umpire early and in a pleasant way. It’s not being a cry-baby and it’s a lot better than the yellow card you risk by taking matters in to your own hands.

Question:

My daughter indicates that some turf in more "sticky" than others. Are there shoes to address this problem? In general is this a problem in sliding?

Answer:

“Sticky” turfs are either water-based turfs that are played on dry or sand-filled turfs. Sliding can be a problem because of the friction created when your body hits the turf. Water lessens the resistance. There’s not a lot you can do about it other than make sure you’re generating speed when you slide. Otherwise, it’s like sliding on fly paper. The bigger issue is footwear when playing upright. Water based turf shoes have lots of little grippy knobs on the bottom, something that’s not usually necessary when playing on dry turf. Flat, rubber soled shoes (like an indoor soccer shoe) typically allow the keeper good traction, without getting stuck while extending to make a save.

Question:

I understand that I cannot redirect the ball with my hands when the ball is in the air, but I am not sure if I can use my left hand to swat the ball away on the ground. At the camp I went this summer my coach said it was okay but I don’t know if she was correct. Can you clear this topic up for me?

Answer:

Please check the Aerial Balls tip on the OBO website. The rules of hockey specifically allow a keeper to deflect, or redirect a ball in the air. You can do that by angling your hand or body to take the ball to safety, even to the extent of being allowed to deflect the ball over the endline or over the crossbar. You cannot propel your hand forward to bat the ball away, while either in the air or on the ground. Umpires usually look to see how you’re moving your arm when redirecting the ball. If you’re angling your hand or body, moving with the shot, you’re usually alright. If you’re using your forearm and pushing at the ball without moving your body, you risk being called for batting the ball. The penalty for batting the ball away is a penalty stroke. Depending on the level you play at and the standard of umpiring you might have different interpretations of deflecting/redirecting aerial balls. It never hurts for you or your coach to check with the umpires before the game to make sure what their interpretation is. Better safe than sorry.