PC troubles: decision making

As expected of this level of play, the main scoring chances at the Commonwealth Games have come from penalty corners. A high conversion rate at corners is what the sides should be achieving in any case, but the goalkeepers playing seem to have struggled slightly adding to this.

Here are some quick thoughts, from which I hope to follow up with in more detail:

• Pinner has gone the wrong way a few times, committing to the other side of goal and then taking himself out of the play, unable to make the save. His style is based around staying at his goal line and waiting as late as possible to react, but this is counter-productive if he is not making the 'read' properly as it means he can do little to make the save, if already going to the wrong side. Against SA he also failed to reach a high ball to his right, which isn't like him normally, and in the semi-final playoff, struggling to reach out low to his right - just above the pitch - which is a bit of a PITA for goalies in the first place.
• Cachia went down a little early against Australia leaving him out of the play on the follow-up. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/commonwealth-games/28583104 From the outset it looks like he reacted wrongly totally, but is actually a great save getting across having shifted his body weight right (again, going the way wrong being the cause). The flicks against India he could do little about though, as they were pinpoint accuracy and out of reach. A lot like when Taekema was playing for Holland and on form, 
• Gibson seemed to really struggle against India especially; partly from decision making and partly on reading the flick itself.
• Carter has been pretty strong against corners, using his athleticism to his advantage. A few have got past him, but can be difficult to turn the glove during the dive for the save.
• Kettle was a rock for Wales, and generally excelled against corners. He seemed to have a problem reaching out mid/high to his rhp diving out in extension, but this could have been countered with the tactical decision to get a postman to his right post to cover the space visually from the drag flicker, and with great pace can be really difficult to get behind when reaching out.

Rocke: Trinidad's rock (thoughts on the big man himself)

Against England, Rocke faced about 39 shots (approximately as a guestimate), allowing only six. Quite something really if you think about it! Making him one of, if not, the busiest goalkeeper at the competition. If that wasn't a Commonwealth Games best, then it was surely a personal best for Rocke. Goals allowed, as used in ice hockey, is a pretty good stat count for analysing goalkeeping performances and would go a long way in showing how much Rocke is an asset to his team mates.

For the men's tournament, Kettle and Hafiz were in the same grouping for shots faced, given the defensive lineups they were playing behind. That says a lot about them as goalkeepers: that they have the capacity to carry their team in this way, and they can be trusted to come up with the goods. So many goalkeepers look great technically, but when it comes to playing on a team that can sometimes be outmatched (especially when facing the world number one like Oz - no shame in that!), the goalkeeper can crack under the mental pressure or just pack their bags and go home mentally; abandoning the effort to do all they can to help their team.

Whilst T&T managed only a single win against Malaysia, Rocke made sure they were in a position to compete with their opponents for every single game in the competition. Putting in man of the match performances game in game out, his consistency was in the .

A goalkeeper who looks self taught ; a raw talent like Tim Howard was in his breakout years before his switch overseas to Manchester United, with a similar level of acrobatics, athleticism and instinctive reactiveness. Given his size this is quite something, as pretty important for a goalkeeper; playing a lot like Simon Mason with a quicksilver approach besides his giantic frame.

What really stands out about him though, is how much of a battler Rocke is: he just simply doesn't give up on the play. Making triple sequence saves in various matches, he showed how much he wants to defend his goal and not to give up goals. This is something any goalkeeper at any age or level can learn so much from. The mental strength and battling instincts help you rise above the competition when it comes to impressing new coaches at trials, or in competitions where things really count.

Technical critique:

• Strong mentally and in awareness around his D
• Needs to work on elite rebound control: against Wales made the save, the save was made but he put the ball straight back to the shooter; without defenders to help him out, that would surely have been a follow-up goal for this level
• Strong angle work and baseline decision making for diving interception against passing option
• Alert and quick on secondary shots to chase down when alone
• Could do with working on his standing glove saves after getting beat high to the left against Wales
• Doesn't give up - fights for his team all game long - as shown against England, Malaysia and Canada

With some tweaks here and there, and perhaps some regular analysis throughout his domestic season with a video analyst specialising in goalkeeper, as well as meeting project targets, he would see vast improvements. Just as Sreejesh is upping his class in the world goalkeeping elite with the help of Martin Drijver, I'm sure Rocke could get even better with refinements and regular coaching by an elite GK coach (no bad thing either as he is pretty good already!!).

Gibson looking more steady

Will be adding more analysis, but for Scotland, Amy Gibson looked a lot more composed than during her debut at the Eurochampionships where she made a feel unsettling gaffes. Young and with talent and a clear chance to develop well over the years to peak perfectly at the golden age for goalkeepers, she is starting to shed the nerves and show more composure.

Nerves can be a great spark plug and catalyst for strong performances by any form of athlete, but for goalkeepers there is a need to show the body language of being in control, as well as dominating their area and looking hard to beat for the players opposing them. Against Malaysia she had very little to do, but did it well, which is incredibly important in this situation. The mental alertness to come out on top with the save, as well as the personal pressure gauge to keep feeling in control are key and something to pick up on here.

Watching the clip linked here, you can see how instead of losing her head or , she sticks to her strong technical grounding; tracking back with the play, getting her angles right and getting behind the shot, before attacking it with a strong attacking angle. And then with the save, she takes the sting out of the shot, as well as getting strong control over it. This scenario is actually pretty tricky, as with a D getting packed, she would have little room to kick the ball out to, and to pick for the save, given the time differential, ultimately doing well to effectively save-pass and to get the ball to her defender, who can then in turn get strong and start a counter-attack up the pitch.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/commonwealth-games/28491604

Sometimes the easy is more difficult

One thing on the technical side that has stood out from a goalkeeping perspective throughout the round-robin knockout table stages, are the basic mistakes. The kind that you don't think or expect goalkeepers at this standard to end up making. But . Both David Carter and Jamie Cachia were unfortunate enough to allow goals they would definitely want back: Cachia being scored on through the legs on a PC against India, whilst Carter allowed an easy one against Malaysia, which came off his right kicker unexpectedly. Whilst Rocke was nutmegged stepping off his line against England and being already committed and therefore unable to really respond positively.

Not to sound condescending or overly harsh as you read this: because there is a flip side to this side of things. At this level, it is easy to get caught in the trap of over complicating things when 'reading' what is going on in front of you and expecting the difficult. And as the goalkeeper expects to be forced into making a wonder save or something more, they can over egg themselves mentally, causing them to doubt themselves and therefore struggling with the basics. By going back to the basics and forcing that as the first priority in game time, this can be dealt with positively. In fact, those wonder stops come from strong basics: positioning, angles, depth and attacking the shot, so it is important to remember that!

Commonwealth goalkeepers: women's

With a rundown of the men's finally up, it would seem worth doing the same for the females of the species who are also competing in Glasgow at the moment. There are quite a few unheralded goalkeepers who are sure to make the most of this experience in making a name for themselves and providing further reason to select them for future competitions, whilst others will use it more like a training camp to gain caps. So here are the goalkeepers on show right now:

- Bianca Russell (New Zealand)
Bianca is probably the most experienced goalkeeper of all those competing in the women's division. The 'wise old owl of the group' with Olympic experience (Hinch has that too obviously!), but also in age, maturity and decision making. This will surely aid in New Zealand's ambitions of coming home with silverware (or gold for that matter!) and will provide dressing room presence too.

- Maddie Hinch (England)
Beth Storry was the goalkeeper in goal for England in the London Olympics, helping them to a Bronze medal, and when Hinch finally got the chance to step up, she started off a little shaky, but managed to grow in confidence and ability, most notably in her shootout heroics at the World Cup. However, just like Pinner (who is replicating the same transfer move), dropped down a level to play as a pro player (effectively) at Holcombe. This change in pace and ability is surely not enough , and whereas Storry went to Holland to grow as a player and person, Hinch is affecting her development; in the long run I can't see this being a good idea...

- Rachael Lynch  (Australia)
Another goalkeeper taking over from a well established and famous goalkeeper in Toni Cronk, Rachael is more than capable stepping up to the mark. Having been involved in various training and selection camps, she will no doubt be chomping at the bit to make an impression. Just as Charter will be expected to help out Australia when needed (expected to romp home here, after all they are World no 1!), so too will Lynch be expected to take the Hockeyroos to the final, although will probably be called upon more regularly than her male counterpart.

- Amy Gibson (Scotland)
As she started in goal at the European Championships, Amy got off to a slow start in front of a home crowd. So she will be sure to be wanting to re right that impression that was made in those games. But she is young and needs this kind of experience to be able to develop properly into a strong and able goalkeeper. I expect her to have a stronger outing and to work on those annoying little mistakes that affected her team and her confidence.

- Farah Ayuni Yahya (Malaysia)
Farah will be fun to watch in this tournament, for observers, given her playing style. A shorter goalkeeper, she makes up for this more than anything with her quicksilver movements and her athletic ability. Just like Kumar has been a rock for Malaysia's men's team, Farah is far on her way to proving her worth for her team and her nation.

- Lauren Lagoush and Kaitlyn Williams (Canada)
With Azelia Liu stepping down (at least from the external perspective), the vacant spot is the future's for the taking. Both goalkeepers have been given the chance to split games and get playing time and experience, but it would seem Lauren is pipped Kaitlyn for the post for now. I expect after her experience in the North American games and recently friendly will help her build off her confidence and impress on this stage.

- Anelle van Deventer (South Africa)
The 24 year old is a recent addition to the national team and . Another young goalkeeper compeEHting at the Commonwealth Games, she may come across untested but is she to have the technical foundations to achieve at this level, otherwise she wouldn't have been selected! Not exactly a raw recruit, she joins .

-  Savita Punia (India)
Just like with the men's squad and their goalkeeper troubles, India womens have been struggling to find a constant performer 'between the sticks' for them. But it would seem, just like with Sreejeh shoring up the crucial position, for a strong team to be built around (I being one of those who really believes in the concept of building from the back), Savita is doing the same. Impressing in the build-up friendly series against Malaysia, she is growing in confidence as well as popularity in the Indian media.

- Petal Derry (Trinidad & Tobago)
Other than his Calcup heroics, I know very little about Andrey Rocke, and even less about Derry. I don't want to come across like a complete t*t when it comes to patronising other sporting nations, so I'll just say that I think she would do well to receive some solid goalkeeping coaching to help her grow, without being reliant on self teaching. But, as we saw with Ghana's goalkeeper in Rio, who pulled off absolutely crazy saves against Ronaldo more than once (think it was nearly 4 times, yes, 4!), we could see her having a 'blinder' as the saying goes. Either way, she will be incredibly busy and is sure to face the most , so she'll need to keep her confidence up in the coming games.

- Ria Male (Wales)
Playing for Swansea, and taking over as first choice during the Azerbaijan European Championships not so long ago, this is presumably Ria's first Commonwealth Games in goal for her home nation. Playing in Conference West of the Investeq hockey league, she will have good experience to help her build off for her performances. Comparatively, her male compatriot equivalent is playing to a higher level (especially with the Euro Hockey League experience) but that shouldn't be a problem; Iwan Williams competing on a similar parallel level. Regardless, it's a great chance for her to get some more elite level experience under her belt so to speak.

CWG kit sightings

Just to break up the posting to offer something a little different, thought I'd make note of any kit changes I could spot at the Commonwealth Games. I've always been a massive kit nerd, so can't see why not! If any other crop up, I'll add them...

Anyway, there aren't many, although Amy Gibson seems to have switched back to the older version of Obo's elbow pad (still only wearing it on her right arm), and obviously has new foam, including the redesigned Obo Robo Hi Rebound rhp. I'm not sure if the 'blinders' produced by Obo now are being worn (look like tape, so hard to tell!), but Andrey Rocke seems to be wearing one, and I expect Maddie Hinch will be too.

An interesting point to make note of, is that Cachia's taping of his stick goes up much further, with it beyond the mid-point of the stick shaft, for extra control presumably for using a 'shorter' stick in save making.