Monday, 22 October 2012

Harte's got heart



David Harte, the Irish goalkeeping sensation, is on the rise and has the potential to really shine. The former wonder kid star is not so new around the block. Playing as the starting goalkeeper for Ireland at the ripe age of 19 at the European championships against the likes of Taeka Taekema and Santa Frixa, he has quickly cemented his spot as the starting goalkeeper for his nation. This is great for Ireland because they now have a long term answer to their quandary of star talent. As he gets more and more experience he can only get even better, and may soon turn out to be one of the best in the world.

A good analogy for him is the soccer sensation Joe Hart. David Harte is kind of like the hockey version of Joe Hart; he has bags of talent and is considerably young and still has time to get even better before he hits his peak. Hart made an impression at Man City, earning valuable game experience where he proved himself on loan at Birmingham City, before taking the starting spot from Shay Given and running with it. Hart is on his way to becoming one of the world’s best, as I think Harte is.

The former Pembroke Wanderers star now plays in Holland with his brother, another Irish international. Having impressed in the EHL it was obvious that his talent would be recognised and a bigger club would come looking. That came true, with him going SCHC in Holland (he's now at another team, Kampong I think!), with him now plying his trade in the Hoofdklasse. Having got the experience of the Euro Hockey League at a young age, he has already been exposed to the tough atmosphere of professional hockey and be tested by the talents of names like Jamie Dwyer and Teun de Neijer. He is well on the way to being a great keeper on the international stage, having proved his worth at club and domestic national level and only time will tell how good he will become. 




You can see him in action in the following clip for SCHC:





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