Not Getting Into Your Stance In Time

Getting into the stance, when the action is not specifically close, is something that troubles a whole range of keepers with saving and decision making ability, which can cost them in the game. It is so important to get into your ready stance before the stance – the better prepared you are, the more chance you have of stopping the shot.

You can never not bother with getting into your stance before a shot. Even when the ball is under one of your player’s control, you don’t know if they are going to have it taken from them and go onto have a scoring chance. I’ve recently been watching a number of keepers who are incredibly lazy in their efforts.

Other than not being ready for action and not making the save, you are not mentally prepared for game action. If you are not capable of being alert and watchful all game long (along with the need to pull off big saves when called upon in the last few minutes of the game), then you shouldn’t be getting selected to play.

Getting beaten

By not being in your ready stance and being ‘behind the play’ (i.e. not watching it properly and keeping a back seat), you leave yourself vulnerable. If you are unbalanced in your stance, then you will not be capable of making the save; tilting too far backwards, unable to reach the ball. A great example of this was Des Abbott’s goal that Vogels allowed in the bronze medal match at the Olympics; allowing a goal through the legs as he wasn’t set, falling back and letting it through him. If he had however been ready, he could have closed the gaps by bringing his legs in.

There are a few British national league keepers who still regularly fail to get set in time; a goal on a broken play within the D at a national conference league game I watched over the weekend is such an example. Expecting the umpire to call the other way (as the team had got most of their decisions their way), the goalkeeper was standing at the post, not in a suitable stance, the ball got loose and was then smashed in. By not being set for the shot, he was easily beaten, unaware of the impending danger.

In contrast, by being in your ready stance when the play is around you (and your defence; getting sucked into the idea of your role as shot stopper, is not the right idea), you are ready and raring for the save; your gloves up for the incoming shot.

It is no good just getting into your stance when the play gets in close; if you are caught off guard when a change occurs, like a deflection, then you are responsible for your lack of attention that led to that goal, by simply not being ready to make a save. By getting set before a play develops, you also help reduce the mental stress of waiting to see a shot in a tight game, since you are ‘switched on’.

Rule of thumb

The best way to judge the play is to watch and stay with it the entire game. As the ball gets closer, you need to ‘switch on’ and get to where it is on the pitch; moving with the ball as it moves and staying in your stance, ready for anything to happen.

By point of rule, if the play is in your half, you should be within your ready stance, ready for shots outside the D: you never know what’s going to happen next and should therefore always be alert and ready for anything (i.e. a pro technique is to put in a ball for a runner to get on the end of for a deflection, or a two on one that develops after a defensive mishap).

By getting ready in your stance, with your hands up and body forward, before a play is even made, you WILL be ready for an unprepared save, compared to other keepers who will get caught short by their inactive laziness.

Just watch the pros and see how they do it, like recent games in the Olympics (Vogels is a great example, except vs Australia) and you’ll understand. As the play gets closer you are nearer and nearer to, you are ever more likely to face a shot.

Key points:

  • When the ball is past the half way line, you should be in your ready stance
  • Always move with the play; adjusting your angles to suit where the ball is
  • Be active not a ‘ball watcher’ – be ready to take control of the situation, instead of just being an observer to what’s going on in front of you

Watch and learn

This is not just a problem that plagues our sport: if you watch (on Match of the Day [British TV] or anything similar), you’ll notice how the keepers that don’t bother to get set lag behind the play and allow goals out of failed ability to prepare for the shot.

In national league games I’ve watched keepers stand there stock still not even bothering to get into a ready stance, on free hits and plays around the D, when they should honestly be set in their stance, ready for a shot. Just because a team is weaker than you are and you are winning, it doesn’t mean there is any reason for you to switch off and sit back; for all you know the next play may go against you and you are beaten, when you aren’t mentally or bodily (position) set.

Self awareness

You have to be aware of your own attitude to the game to really succeed. If you don’t look ready, then shooters will pick up on this; rather than taking a ‘back seat’ during games, concentrate on being there all the time to deal with whatever comes your way.

As always, practise is key to success: train yourself to ALWAYS be in your stance and on the angle of where the ball is, to be set. At training, focus on getting yourself in your stance immediately and in line for the shot, allowing you to maximise your chances.

OBO Face Off

Check out these limited edition custom Face Off paint jobs produced exclusively for Verbunt Hockey, Netherlands.

obo-transparant

The range of graphics are sure to give you attackers a scare on shortcorner plays. To get one of the exclusive Face Off designs click here to go to the Verbunt pages.

About the Face Off
The OBO FaceOff has been developed specifically for the short corner phase of Field Hockey and is not intended for full game usage. It is designed to reduce cuts, abrasions and bruising of defenders.

Wide and comfortable elastic strapping…easy to pop on and off. Rigid yet light polyethylene shell…unbreakable. Total shell weight is 150 grams. Anatomically shaped eye sockets designed to maximise vision while still providing excellent protection. Medium density polyethylene foam inner provides comfortand aids protection of key areas…forehead, check bones, temples and chin. High density polyethylene foam goggles reduce frontal and side impacts over key areas…the bridge of the nose, eye sockets and cheek bones.

Retro Helmets

Check out these limited edition “Retro” helmet produced exclusively for Barrington Sports, UK.

retro-helmets

Clean crisp classic looking helmets with no fuss.  The OBO CK helmet offers unrivaled protection at the highest level of the game. Replacing the coveted Union Jack helmet these retro helmets will help you keep your head!

Link to page on Barrington’s website

Info on the CK
Made from Carbon, Kevlar and specially formulated flexible resins; with a gel coat for maximum protection and durability. There are many features that make this helmet a popular choice for goal keepers. The angular shaping provides strength and ball deflection while closed cell polyethylene foam lines the helmet for a soft comfortable fit. It comes with a high carbon steel wire cage which enhances visibility using large eye holes, a fully adjustable five point back plate, and it’s very own carry bag. Available in two sizes – the perfect size can be determined by two measurements (Temple to temple / Top of the head to the chin):

Medium
Width between 135mm and 150mm
Length between 225mm and 235mm

Large
Width larger than 150mm
Length greater than 240mm

Got this helmet? Give us a picture of you in your gear and we will  upload it to this article.

Testing Times

What use would Kiwi sports equipment manufacturer OBO have for high-speed cameras, capable of capturing 2,000 frames per second? The answer to that question isn’t that obvious, but damn cool. Read more about OBO and Nightside Test Design’s clever use of high-tech gear for designing their products.

When you’re in the business of creating safety equipment but have no safe way to test it, what do you do? If you’re Kiwi sports equipment manufacturer OBO, you team up with test engineers Nightside Test Design to create an award-winning specialist electronics and software system.

“Before now, we really had to test the equipment using an ‘Ouch!’ factor,” says OBO test engineer Reuben Parr.

The two New Zealand companies worked together to develop a cannon that can replicate a hockey puck flying at full speed, and combined it with motion sensors, a camera and a data-capture system.

“Essentially what we’ve done is recreated an airbag test for a car in a laboratory environment for less money,” says Nightside managing director Peter Brown (above). “What that’s done is lowered the cost of access for video analysis for smaller companies like OBO.”

The system allows OBO to test and analyse its own products, as well as test competitors’ products and analyse their strengths and weaknesses.

“The unique thing is you can get high-speed video data from the sensors and then see what is happening through 2,000 frames per second,” says Parr. He is just one of the designers now toiling away on the prototype of a new field hockey short-corner helmet, utilising the test results. “You can see the shock waves acting on the design of the helmet.”

Below: The OBO/Nightside high-speed image and data-capture facility allows product designers at OBO to analyse forces acting on protective hockey gear and design according to what they can see is happening, rather than the results after impact

He’s staying mum on the finer details of the helmet, which will be released early in 2009, but it will be lighter and stronger with good visibility and ventilation. “This knowledge has really allowed us to hit a sweet spot with our design, and know what the outcomes will be,” says Parr.

Since working with OBO, the Nightside testing unit has been recognised at the Australasian 2008 EDN Innovation Awards, winning the top prize in the Best Application of Test or Data Acquisition Equipment category.

Magazine illustration

Via Idealog

New Science is Saving Faces

A spin-off from OBO’s new knowledge could also lead to riot police around the world wearing protective gear made in New Zealand.

A $217,000 investment from TechNZ, the business investment arm of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, is helping OBO understand exactly what happens to the body, particularly the face and head, when hard balls hit at high speed.

By understanding the science of high-speed, hard ball impacts, body tolerance, injury protection and materials, the company is now better able to create unique products.

“This is a bold step forward for OBO, which is building new knowledge and critical science capability, that will put it on a path to becoming a high growth company,” says TechNZ senior business manager Elisabeth Feary.

OBO already has a world-class reputation for producing field hockey goalie protective equipment, with about 65 per cent of the world’s goalies wearing OBO gear, which is sold into 61 countries.

The TechNZ funding has been used to build a laboratory and develop software to specifically measure ball speed impact and to investigate new materials.

In the lab, a ‘cannon’ fires balls at 200 kilometres an hour, with the motion and impact data providing information that has never been captured in this form anywhere else in the world.

The unique knowledge feeds into the design process, with the lab also used to test the validity of the resulting products. There are international safety standards governing the manufacture of helmets but no such standards exist for face protection so OBO is taking it upon itself to also develop these along the way.

OBO founder Simon Barnett says it was a frustrating exercise to search the world unsuccessfully for scientific information about ball-speed damage, but it also opened up opportunities for his company to identify a new niche market in designing and marketing face protection for a range of sports.

Face protection that allows excellent vision without compromising movement is vital for softball pitchers, wicket keepers and hockey players, who face unpredictable balls when running out to defend during penalty corners. Mr Barnett says faster ball speeds are creating demand for different types of player protection.

“Higher ball speed results in reduced reaction times, greater damage, higher medical and dentistry bills so the need for face protection is now greater than ever before,” he says.

“Having your face reliably protected in these situations means that the player can feel more confident, and play their game to a higher level.”

OBO is aware that it is not only the design and new materials to withstand the impact that are paramount for market success, the beauty factor is important.

“We’ve talked to players and identified their needs and then worked in the laboratory to develop materials and shapes with the necessary performance characteristics and then added the beauty factor.

“The gear has to be functional and the players have to like wearing it, so it has to look good but it also needs to look intimidating to the opposition,” says Mr Barnett.

The results of OBO’s scientific testing are likely to be on the market in about six months, giving the company a whole new product category.

The new face protection will have greater strength than existing face masks but will also take into account that gear needs to give players excellent visibility.

Understanding new materials and designing equipment that takes the impact of potentially bone-breaking activity is also likely to give OBO a foot into new markets, such as protection for police working in riot or dangerous situations where vision and mobility are essential.

“OBO’s new scientific knowledge will underpin future products and is also helping the company in its transition from a niche manufacturer to a global sports company with the ability to break into larger, more profitable markets,” says Dr Feary.

The new products have the potential to increase OBO’s turnover by as much as 600 per cent in five years.

Mr Barnett has never played a game of hockey in his life but he now gets plenty of feedback from his 13 year old daughter who plays in goal for her Palmerston North Girls’ High School hockey team.

Via www.voxy.co.nz

Use of Brands at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

An interesting table displaying the use of goalkeeping brands in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

An interesting table displaying the use of goalkeeping brands in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Brand Goalkeepers (45) Total %
OBO 27 60%
TK 10 22.2%
Mazon 3 6.7%
Brabo 2 4.5%
Grays 1 2.2%
Mercian 1 2.2%
Monarch 1 2.2%

OBO Goalkeeping Gear is Amazing!

You may also be interested in the 2004 Olympic use of goalkeeping hockey brands

Daily Eating Plan

nutrition-factsGet used to planning what you’re going to eat each day. Planning helps to stop eating whatever, whenever. Check the labels for the amount of fat, carbs, and protein they contain.This is an example of an eating plan for a player who has a light run in the morning followed by training or game in the afternoon.

Time

 Type of meal Type of foods

Pre-run snack for energy Glass of water for hydration and a glass of fruit juice for energy

7:00am

Run

8:00am

 Breakfast high in carbohydrates to replenish and build up energy stores Cereal & milk, or toast with jam/honey etc, fruit or fruit juice, water

10:00am

 Snack to maintain energy stores Scone or muffin or muesli bar, fruit, yoghurt, water

12:00pm

 Pre training meal 4 hours prior to help build energy stores Filled rolls or sandwiches, fruit, muesli bar, fruit juice, water

2:30pm

 Snack 2 hours prior to training to maintain energy stores Scone or muffin or muesli bar, fruit, yoghurt, water

Pre training to ensure well hydrated Water

4:00pm

Training/game

During training for hydration (and energy) Water (but for high intensity training or long cardio use a sports drink)

After training to replenish energy stores Sports drink, muesli bar, water, fruit. Protein (drink) for muscle growth.

7:00pm

 Dinner to build up energy stores Rice/pasta, vegetables, lean meat, water

Evening Snack (if required) Fruit or low fat ice cream or low fat biscuits

Hydration

Drinking adequate amounts of fluid can prevent dehydration, reduce heat disorders, and provide a convenient source of energy. It can get pretty hot in all that gear and fluids help regulate your body’s temperature. Ensuring you have sufficient fluids before and during training, can improve your performance. Replacing lost fluid after training helps in your body’s recovery.

Drinking adequate amounts of fluid can prevent dehydration, reduce heat disorders, and provide a convenient source of energy. It can get pretty hot in all that gear and fluids help regulate your body’s temperature. Ensuring you have sufficient fluids before and during training, can improve your performance. Replacing lost fluid after training helps in your body’s recovery.

Water - your best defence
Water - your best defence

Water

Water is the easiest and most convenient fluid to drink. You should drink at least 2 litres of water each day, but more when you train. You should drink adequate water prior to training and games to keep you hydrated. Drink regularly throughout training – about every 15 minutes. Afterwards, water should be drunk to compensate for lost fluid from sweating. It is a good idea to drink water that contains electrolytes to replace the ones you lose through sweat. If you train longer than an hour or at a high intensity you would benefit from a sports drink.

Sports Drinks

As well as keeping you hydrated, sports drinks provide a source of carbohydrates, and sodium to fuel you during intense training sessions and replace lost electrolytes.

For most goalkeepers water will be sufficient during trainings and the game. After the game consume more fluid from either water or a sports drink. If the training session is particular intense, look to have a sports drink.

Note: Don’t confuse energy drinks with sports drinks. Energy drinks can contain caffeine and although they can give you a quick hit of energy, they do more bad than good. Energy drinks should be avoided.

How to be a Steel Ball of Muscle

Bruises, sprains, knocks and even broken bones come with the territory of a goalkeeper. Protein helps in the repair and recovery of damaged muscles and tissues, and in the recovery of energy stores. Consuming sufficient amounts of protein enables your body to recovery from training and to build strength. For young goalkeepers, protein is also needed for normal daily growth of the body. Those who are wanting to “bulk up”, must also consume protein.

Most people consume enough protein for their normal daily needs but sports people need to monitor their protein intake especially when they are trying to increase muscle. You should daily consume 1 – 1.5g of protein per kilogram of your own weight so an 80kg person should consume 80-120 g of protein each day depending on the intensity of the training. Young goalkeepers still growing should daily eat 2g/Kg of body weight.

Dairy products, eggs, meat and vegetables are all good sources of protein as to are protein bars and protein shakes.