Category: Playing Tips

Question:

Firstly I read a q&a about obstruction and having had that problem in a match where a attacker was "camping" in front of me through a whole game and after repeatedly complaining to the ump I preceded to push the attacker and when penalised with a p stroke I pointed out why I had infringed in a relaxed manner and also listened to the ump. He overturned his decision after hearing mine and my sweeper’s side and gave the offending attacker a yellow card. This is not encouragement to take matters into your own hands, especially South African keepers as we tend to play a "rough" game of hockey. My question Jon is during games I can, when called on to pull off amazing saves, do so with ease. But my problem comes with my left post, all goals I concede are around this post and generally are soft, I am pretty sure that it is my positioning that is problem but I always revert my positioning back to my old one when trying to change it. Can you suggest any drills that would help to improve my positioning or to able me to cover my left post.

Answer:

The obstruction issue is an ongoing one and I’m sure will continue to be a recurring one. I’ve had a number of keepers who I know have taken matters in to their own hands and been successful (i.e. being physical back). I will say that I’m surprised that an umpire reversed a penalty stroke decision. It takes a confident umpire to review what’s happened and reverse a decision. An umpire is supposed to make their decisions based on what they see, not what’s explained to them. I’m assuming the trail umpire was able to offer what they saw and that’s how the game should work. I’m not advocating that a goalkeeper let a forward run all over him or her. I think you need to have a number of ways to deal with the situation. Start with the umpire, next is playing in front of the camper and lastly is playing through the “camper.” If a camper is making no effort to go to a ball that’s played at goal, you have every right to go to that ball. There’s nothing in the rules that says that the goalkeeper has to be a sitting duck, but there’s a difference between playing hard and playing dirty. At the end of the day, I can live with hard, dirty has no business in hockey.

On to the ominous left post. I’m assuming you mean your left post as your facing out from the goal, which means that these goals are to your left foot. Whether it’s left foot or right foot, the mechanics of the problem are basically the same. Typically, when you’re allowing a majority of goals to one side it’s because you have a dominant/strong side. For most keepers, their right foot is the stronger foot. I’d ask where you’re allowing these goals from, as far as what the lead up to the scoring shot is. . Are the shots coming from straight shots at the top of the circle, are they from balls passed from the right to the left, or left to right? The answer will affect what you need to work on. For straight shots at the top of the circle, I’ll point you to the tip on Basic Positioning: Ready Position. I think the big problem keepers have with having a majority of goals scored to one post from the top of the circle is not being balanced in their ready position. As a result, they end up throwing a foot out to make a save, rather than pushing off their non-saving leg as well as throwing the saving foot out to make a save. If your having problems with a change of angle, i.e. a pass from one side to the other, please check the tip on Basic Positioning: Angles. I think a lot of keepers have troubles with shots on balls passed from right to left as you look out. First off, we’re concerned about covering the right far post (the place where most forwards shoot). As a result, we have a tendency to anticipate/cheat. In addition, many keepers move along the line of the pass. As a result, they’re not square to the shooter when the shot’s taken. Square is shoulder and hips perpendicular to a line between the shooter and the goal. Another problem could be not being balanced as the shot is taken. If you’re getting caught with your weight on one leg when the shot is taken, you’re going to have a hard time pushing off to get to a ball.

What you can do to fix the problem is going to depend on the type of goals you’re allowing. First focus on mechanics and situations. You should have some ideas on things to try. Next, use drills that address the situation. For change of angle, try setting up on a cone as you might with a ball on the right and set up a shooter on the left. On their call of “go” you move across as they put a ball to the left post. A couple of things about drills. Check the Training on Your Own Tip. In the beginning, drills should be to develop a weakness, but don’t cheat. Most keepers can figure out a way to make a drill work when they know where the ball is going. The game isn’t played that way. Shooters should be able to help you work on your weakness while challenging you to be honest in playing a situation and all it’s variables.

Question:

I have been involved in coaching for numerous years now, especially goalkeepers. I have had many ‘keepers pass through clinics and courses, that our institute has run, and been exposed to many differing levels of ability. Over the years I have developed methods, some probably a bit obscure, for ‘keeper coaching and training, but the one thing I have never been able to get right is developing the stick hand (right hand) of a ‘keeper. It seems some people either have it or they don’t. I hope that is not the case. The reason I am writing to you is out of frustration. I have seen many people pass through our clinics, but to this day I have not yet seen a keeper with the ability and potential as one recent keeper. She has something I have never seen before. As much as I tell her I am not sure if she believes me, so that is part of the reason I am corresponding with a proven professional as yourself. There is only one thing from holding her back. And yes you guessed it, her right hand. I have tried everything I know. I believe she could be something extraordinary with 20% improvement in stick hand. Please can you send us some extra methods and/or advise to help this kid develop into the star she can be.

Answer:

Stick saves can be an awkward issue because there are a lot of variables. Stick saves tend to be of the last resort variety, but how you play will dictate when and how they’re most effectively made.

As a frame of reference, I’ll point you to the OBO tip on Aerial Balls. Hand protectors have made a huge difference in the stopping surfaces available to the keeper on the right side. I started playing in the days of gloves and poorly timed stick saves were usually pretty disastrous, i.e. broken fingers. Mercifully those days are over.

Back to our frame of reference, the Aerials Tip, I’ve been very successful playing with holding my stick short and forward. A lot of coaches have different ideas about hand positions and where to hold the stick. You need to think about the style you want. A big part of coaching is knowing what’s successful for your keepers. If a keeper is unsuccessful making saves with their stick, why are they unsuccessful? As long as a keeper is successful, there’s no right or wrong way.

Typical problems I’ve encountered are that keepers don’t set themselves up to make a stick save. It’s looked at as a last resort save, so they just throw a stick out at the ball. As I mention in the tip, you set stick saves up with your legs. When a ball is well outside your body to your right and above your waist, you need to push off with your left leg to take your body to the ball. Going back to hand protectors, where I line the ball up to make the save will depend on how close the shot is to me. In a best case scenario, I want to take that ball on my RHP. By taking the shot on my RHP, I allow myself the biggest margin of error. By holding my stick short, I allow the stick shaft to be an extension of my forearm. In effect, I’m giving myself a four foot (130cm) forearm to make a save on my right.

I’m left handed. When I first started playing my stick side was significantly weaker. To say it was uncomfortable is just a tad understated. My coach taped my left hand to my body and hit tennis balls at me. I don’t know that you need to tie anyone’s arm to their body, but tennis balls are excellent. Set your self up with a racket and a ton of balls and as long as you’re reasonably accuracy hitting, you can effectively work the left and stick side.

Hand position will depend on where a shot is taken from. As shots come from closer distances, I don’t have the same reaction time, I have to make myself bigger so I’ll carry my hands farther outside my body. I like to look at things from other sports to see what I can learn. Going back to tennis, look at how players set up to return serve. Typically, they have both hands forward to take the ball on either their forehand or backhand. With the ball at the top of the circle, you have the most reaction time and the best opportunity to dictate how and where you want to play the ball. You can use that reaction time to set your body up to make saves and with aerial balls I do that more effectively with my hands more forward. With both hands forward, a keeper has a longer time to track the ball on to their stick or hand and equally important, has the opportunity to drop their shoulders and angle the ball to the side.

It’s great to have a keeper with talent and potential. It can also be frustrating. In our minds eye we see a finished product while the foundation is still being laid. There is no one way to develop talent or skills. As coaches we share our experiences. What’s worked for me, may not work for you, just as what works for one keeper may not work for the other. We learn from each other. The only thing that effects our ability to learn is our willingness to try new things and be open to change. Here’s to always learning.

Question:

I’m a goalie for my high school and since we don’t have goalie coaches we’re in charge of warming ourselves up on our own. I know a few drills that we’ve been doing to warm-up, but I was wandering if you could tell me any others. We do things like agilities, figure eights, and drop stepping near the net, but they get old and repetitive. . If you know any others that would be great.

Answer:

Being in charge of yourself for warm-ups can be a good thing, you get to customize your warm-up to your specific needs. Please check the OBO website for ideas, particularly my tips for Training Programs and Off-season training programs, as well as Rachel’s Tips for the same and Big Game Preparation. A big part of a good warm up is knowing exactly what it physically takes for you to be ready to play your best. Much of that will depend on your own physical abilities, athletically and skill-wise. I try to allow at least 15 minutes for my physical warm-up out of pads. Typically that includes 2 laps around the field, one a straight jog, the second a mix of different footwork, stretching and a variety of plyometrics (skips, bounding, lunges, etc.). I might do additional work depending on the time I have for my warm up. If I have the time, I’ll do some of the catching games from my Training Programs tip. If you have two keepers, that’s all you need. I also like to do some kicking out of pads using a size 3 soccer ball. You can also use a regular ball, but the size 3s are good because they have a smaller area of control. I’ll do kicking stuff once I get into pads also. To start off with, I’ll kick back and forth with the other keeper over a variety of distances, 10 yards, 15 yards, 25 yards and try to work to a specific target, i.e. their left foot, right foot, within one yard to their right, etc. Kicking should not be just kicking at something, you’re kicking to a target. Finally, I’ll take shots. Shots to the keeper should start off slow with the speed gradually building up. Too many times, warm-up shots end up being forwards blasting balls at a keeper from 10 yards out. Your warm-up should be carefully planned. Know what you want to do, know how much time you have to do it and track the results. A good warm-up should get you to play well. Your warm-up may be repetitive, but if the results are that you play consistently well, I’ll take repetitive. A final note about making your own warm-up, make sure you run it past your coach. You need to fit things in for yourself, but your coach plans warm-ups for the good of the whole team. You might have to adjust some of the things you want to do for the good of the team.

Question:

Well, school just got out so that would make me an upcoming sophomore. I have loved field hockey ever since we learned how to play it in gym in the sixth grade. So I signed up for try-outs the summer before my freshman year and before I knew it, I was the starting JV goalie. I loved every minute of it. Eventually the coach advised the other goalie on JV to think about playing the field, since she was not receiving much playing time, making me the only goalie left besides the senior Varsity goalie. It didn’t even dawn on me until two weeks before the season ended that I would be the Varsity goalie next fall. That thought scared me to death. The Varsity goalie this year was "elected" the Western-Mass goalie. I have no idea how I’m supposed to follow up someone like that. Plus, to make matters worse, during the last week of the season, the Varsity coach asked me to practice with them so that if they needed me in the finals I’d be there. It was then that I realised that all my friends were on JV, and not to be pessimistic, but it’s very unlikely that they will make the team next year. I feel as if I just won’t belong with the rest of them. I would never quit because I love the sport too much and I wouldn’t leave the team without an experienced goalie. Any words of wisdom?

Answer:

I hope you are still playing this fall. The thing that you talk about is loving to play and I think that’s the most important thing to remember. Goalkeeping is a different position. You talked about your friends not necessarily being able to play as you moved up and leaving them behind. Unfortunately that’s something that happens as sport becomes more competitive. As a keeper, sometimes you as an individual move up and the rest of your team-mate friends don’t. They’re still your friends. As far as the “Western Mass,” keeper, the only thing you can control is you. Don’t worry about anyone else. If you like the game and the position, enjoy it. I hope some of this is helpful.

Question:

I really enjoy your tips on the OBO website. I am coaching for the first time this year and was wondering if you might have some good goalie drills? I have some pretty basic ones down so far, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Out of three of us that are coaching, none were goalkeepers, so any help you might be able to offer would be much appreciated.

Answer:

A couple of quick things about drills for keepers, there’s nothing too simple when it comes to drills. Depending on the level of your keepers, prioritise the skills you want to develop. I think kicking is the most important skill they can have, check out the kicking drill ideas in my tips section. I think that will explain a lot.

Big thing for drills, develop a philosophy for training that anything (i.e. shots) that goes towards goal, must go out (i.e. cleared out of the circle). Give keepers the time to clear. Nothing develops bad habits faster than rapid fire shooting drills where there is no consequence to not clearing a ball. Encourage your keepers to try to clear first time wherever possible. It may be frustrating at first, but the sooner they get on to the concept, the quicker they’ll advance. Hopefully that gives you some ideas to start with.

Question:

Wondering if you have any drills for warming up goalies and training drills that involves the goalies.

Answer:

Rachel has a good tip on warming up on file with the web site. I don’t have any great drills, every keeper has different philosophies about what they want out of their warm up. I’ll do two laps of the field, and stretch out of pads. I work our keepers through some footwork drills (pattern grids) out of pads, short distance, lots of changes of direction, no one distance over 5 yards, no more than 40 yards total. If I have a couple of keepers, I rotate them through, if not, the rest is time off for time on, five sets. Then they’re in pads.

I like keepers to warm up in pairs kicking. Five minutes over 15 yards. If I have a third keeper, I’ll have them kick in a V pattern, see kicking drill coming next week, with the two keepers kicking straight on to the keeper at the base of the V, who has to change the angle of their clear. If it’s a game, I’ll then take the starting keeper and work balls to her around the circle and expand it out so that he/she is also taking balls from the sidelines, like crosses. Finally I’ll do 3/4 pace shooting from the top of the circle before we build our way up to finishing from the field players, 15 minutes before the game.

All in all, our warm up takes 70 minutes. Every keeper is different though. Your keepers might not take that long. Try different warm ups and judge your keeper’s effectiveness in a game. That’s your best warm up.

Question:

I am a high school hockey goalie and I want to impress the new coach with some drills. I would really like to improve my skill level, but I am tired of the same old jab and punching drills. If it isn’t too inconvenient, could you please send me some good ideas.

Answer:

I think I’d be remiss to give you flashy drills to impress the new coach. As a coach, the biggest thing that impresses me is a keeper’s ability to do the basic well and work hard throughout a practice, especially when you’re left to work on your own.

It’s really important when you work with a new coach to find out what her expectations are for you specifically and the position in general. Give her time to see how you’ll be used in practice. If you don’t feel you have enough time to work on specific skills or fitness, ask for time to work on those things.

I think if you take that approach and work hard and well with others, you’ll impress your coach more than with any flash drill I could give you.

Question:

I have begun to teach the instep method. The biggest problem I am seeing with my goalie is that a direct shot is coming at her and she misses the ball on her instep and it ends up going between her legs. It almost looks like her leg is going too far. Do you have any advice?

Answer:

A couple of things… with any new technique, be patient. When your keeper tries to contact the ball, she should be lining the ball up on the area of her foot between her ankle and the bend of the foot back to the ankle (the centre of the instep area on most kickers). It sounds like she may currently be lining the ball up too far back on her foot, nearer to her heel. She may have to cross one foot in front of the other at shots directly at her. This is ok if she is pushing off from her non-kicking leg.

Make sure she is leading with her head when she looks to save. If she is back with her weight it will look as if she is reaching too far. To do that, she must push off with her non-kicking leg, which requires good body position to start off, along with a surprising amount of footwork for those new to the technique to set up the simple instep clear.

Stick with it! Also, check out the kicking drills tip, but remember, with any new technique, realise there will be a learning curve. Don’t expect a keeper to save/clear at game pace until she has mastered the curve. Good luck and keep me posted how things go.

Question:

Can you recommend any ways of maintaining the high level of concentration required in a game? Often a keeper can be called upon to only make one save in a game, but if you fail to save it, it can cost you dearly. Are there any training methods to improve your level of concentration, so you are ‘ in the zone’ when called upon to make that all-important stop?

Answer:

I don’t know that there’s any way to ensure being in the “zone.” When it comes to the mental part of the game, there are a lot of factors, but I think the biggest thing is confidence. For me, confidence comes from preparation and experience. Preparation is key in that when you have trained hard on your fitness and your skills, you know you can physically perform the “big play.”

Experience is a bit different. Until you’ve played in the big game and made the big save, you don’t really know that you’ll make the play. You can simulate pressure in games and training. Sometimes in training, I’ll make one situation the money ball, the ball that if I don’t make the save on, there are consequences; maybe an extra sprint, push-ups, sit-ups, something like that. Mental imagery can be very helpful for visualising success. Think about the time of the game, visualise the flow of play and think of a shot and a save. See the clear, the ball exiting the circle.

A quick note about being in the “zone.” Be careful not to put so much emphasis on being in it. There are times when your reflexes are almost in an unconscious state in that you can do no wrong. There are other times, when I feel off my game. When I do, I need to pull myself back in. As a keeper, I try to strive for consistency, physically and mentally. If I don’t make the big save this time, my confidence isn’t shot and it’s not a personal tragedy. No one tries to let a goal in. I move on to the next situation.

Enjoy being in pressure situations, it’s part of the position, but know that as a keeper, it’s only a matter of time before your next save.

Question:

I have a question about the mental aspect of being a goalie. I am a very competitive player who takes my game seriously. I get myself really psyched up, and sometimes this is a bad thing because after letting a ball in I get mad at myself and basically psych myself out. I let it affect my play too much. I must admit I have a bad mentality for a goalie – in all the other sports I play, I play offence, so this is much different for me. Anywise, I let myself be affected too much by the score. My coach has talked to me about this and I need to improve in this area, especially if I want to be the starter! This even happens in practice. I was wondering if you have any ideas on how I can improve my mentality. What do you personally do to keep yourself in focused during the game? Also, I recently read an article in Sports Illustrated for Women about game preparedness and visualisation and relaxation, that sort of thing. What do you do recommend to do before games so, instead of psyching myself out too much, I can concentrate on my play and stay focused? Thanks so much!

Answer:

First off, look at my reply to maintaining concentration below, another question that I think touches on part of your question. For your particulars, I think it is important that you be “mentally aroused” for games. I think your problem maybe from being over-aroused. It’s one thing to be psyched up for a game, it’s another to get taken out of your game because of it.

Sometimes it’s ok to be worked up, but recognise your state will affect your team. As a younger keeper, I think it’s important that you develop the ability to internalise your reactions. As an opponent, if I see a keeper react, I think I’ve got them. On the other hand, if I see a keeper, get on to the next play without reacting, my impression is that the keeper is composed and confident. That also gives your team-mates confidence. Hopefully some of this is helpful.