Positioning

AndyGaut 7
ragyrascal 5
IRN BRU 5
Rutter 5
The.Rampage.Rado 5
JiMMM 5
Bulsara 4
juveniliahockey 4
shepdogg 4
abasss 3

 The Field Hockey Forum is the resource for players, coaches and umpires of Field Hockey. Join FHF now to have full access to all that we have to offer! Don't be satisfied with lurking when you can interact with thousands of other FHF’rs, take part in Competitions, win Prizes, download Coaching Papers, discover our vast Photo library and get rid of this message - Register Now!

[Splitter]

Hi all, time to pick your collective brains again.

I’ve got a keeper who shows a great deal of promise but currently her positioning is a little off. Often she finds herself either on the wrong line (i.e. not between the ball and the centre of the goal), taking steps back when players are about to shoot or just generally moving around like on hot coals (probably something to do with being out of position in the first place).

As all keepers know, positioning is 50% (if not more) of the game. Therefore I’ve got two questions.

1. Any good drills to teach positioning.

2. In an effort to make it simple I’ve tried to make some BASIC rules for positioning (see below). There incomplete and I could do with some help. I know there are a million things to consider when thinking about position but I’m just trying to focus on basics.

• When ball is in opponents half then relax but stay focused on the play.
• When ball is in you half (especially when attackers have it) then raise alertness e.g. hands raised, follow the ball) but do not assume the full “set” or “attack” position.
• When the ball is in the D then get in the set position and follow round in an arc from post to post.
• When ball is top D then you should be top or your arc, central to the goal and approximately half to two thirds the way towards P spot. (I know that how far out of your goal you are is a preference depending on many different factors).
• When ball is on the back line then you should be on the respective post. Conversely if the attacker is not on the back line then you should not be on the post.

Any comments or help is appreciated.

[philthy]

Sounds good for starters - I would suggest encouraging her to get into the "set" position and start tracking play round the arc when the ball is in the 25. Once it's in the D it's a bit too late to be thinking about getting set in case they hammer off an early shot, or whack one in early looking for a deflection.

Positioning wise, I personally think it's not so much about being on the line between the ball and the centre of the goal - it's being on the line between the ball and where the ball is going to enter the goal and have to bisect the keeper to get there. If you can see the P Spot you're not too far away from the goal!

Drills wise, either using long webbing straps, or just marking it on the pitch if it's sandy enough, draw 2 lines from a single point anywhere on edge of the D to the posts to make a triangle. Then feed in some balls from the top - allowing her to use the lines as a guide to where she needs to be to cover both posts - then move the lines around so you're going from different angles. This will allow her to see when she needs to come further off the goal line to cover the posts and when she needs to be closer in, as well as where she needs be along the line (if that makes sense?)

While you're doing this encourage her to make a mental reference of where the P Spot is at all times, so she learns where she needs to be in relation to the spot when the ball is in certain positions. Then, take the lines away and repeat the drill - and she should be using the spot and the posts to get her bearings.

It's all trigonometry!

[kristof]

Our former 1st team keeper was coaching angles last night to a couple of young womens keepers and he had an couple of interesting drills.

the first involved a brick with a length of string tied to it in the centre of the goal and about 20 balls scattered around the D. He'd then point out the ball he wanted the keeper to line up on. Once in position he used the string to plot the central line from the ball to the centre of goal, showing the keeper how off centre they were, this seemed to work quite well.

his second drill involved a attack vs defence game in half a pitch. He would stand behind the keeper and follow play as he would have whilst the keeper played her usual game, she started to copy what he was doing and after a while he stepped out and she carried on using the correct angles.

[animal]

I too use the brick and line kristof refers to. however I do use a sandbag and "shock-cord" elastic cord simular to bunji cords.

Distance from goal cutting off the angle can be demonstrated by having the keeper at the top of the circle 'using the striker's eye' to see just how far the keeper has to lunge ( the coach should demonstrate) to cover the posts when on the line in comparison with 2 meters off the line or 4 meters or even 6 meters. The disadvantages to this being 'out of the goals' is that a change in position of the ball say 10 meters from left to right in the circle requires the keeper to move very quickly into the centre line of the goals, also the closer you actually are to the shooter the less reaction time you have.

Another thing I do with junior keepers is to have them "freeze" when a goal is scored at training and look between their legs, if they cannot see the centre of the goal directly between their legs then they are out of position. The use of "mental pictures" is something I stress to slightly older keepers and is alluded to by philthy. If a keeper knows their precise location using two referance point i.e. post and p spot, or for me 25 yard line/sideline and baseline/sideline.

For more powerfull clearances/saves explain that from the centre of the goal the shortest distance to the ball is at a 90degree angle to the path of the ball and this is forward of their position thus the most energy economical save is to move forward into the save and you get the added benifit of a stronger more positive clearance.

ANIMAL

[NicfromSweden]

something which is simular to what have been said is if you tie a rope to each post and put the ends together where the ball is placed by doing this you can see how much space you give on each side of you by doing this you can also see if your standing to close or to far away from the goal

[animal]

Oops, forgot, as soon as the stick comes off the ball (backswing) in the circle STOP, PLANT, and FACE THE SHOT.

ANIMAL

[RushMan]

Positioning wise, I personally think it's not so much about being on the line between the ball and the centre of the goal - it's being on the line between the ball and where the ball is going to enter the goal and have to bisect the keeper to get there. If you can see the P Spot you're not too far away from the goal!

Goalkeeping would be an easy job if we knew where the ball was going to enter the goal !

Training hint - have your coach move with the ball across the top of the circle.  Try to stay on the line between the ball and the centre of the goals.  If your coach notices that you are "off your line".... STOP EVERYTHING.....  The Keeper should take off their gloves and place them at their feet.  Walk to the top of the circle and look back at the goals.  The line from the ball to the centre of the goals should pass through the gloves.

Another tip - When standing in your position, you should be able to see both posts out of the corner of your eye with a similar turn of the head. 

[sieve]

even when the ball is in the opponents half, following it and trying to line up the constantly changing angles is some good practice, also keeps you focused. also knowing where a crtain object (bush, trashcan,fencepost) is in relation to the goal can help to keep orientated when theres alot of fast action its much eisier than looking back at the goal.

[Kilmory]

How basic do you want. With my junior keepers I still draw lines in the sand for them to use as reference points. Think we all stared there, draw a half circle from post to post and use that as your arc. Then get a couple of players knocking the ball around the top of the D and get the keeper moving along the circle.

If you have a ball machine, set it up to fire into one corner. Have the keeper on the line in the centre of goal trying to save it. Then bring them out until the path of the ball is within easy reach. Do this from multiple points around the D. This teaches them angles, reference points and the importance of getting off their line!

[Splitter]

Thanks for the input guys. 

Thinking about It I'll probable go along the path of marking some lines on the floor with straps (or in the sand).

The other thing I'm interested in is constructing some sort of goalkeeper "leash" as ANIMAL suggested. It could probably prove useful in other exercises too. 

ANIMAL - What size of shock cord do you use? I've seen anything ranging from 2mm to 12mm diameter.

[animal]

'Bout 5mm seems to do it for me

ANIMAL

[GK-NT#1]

a thing we try to do on water based turf a training is use the dotted line outside the circle as a tool to break things up sort of thing so your not seeing it as such a big area and you can focus getting your lines right with the ball using them like you use the penalty spot to mark your centre