Tube style rhp most popular with Kookaburras keepers

With the introduction of the larger profile rhp to be able to make saves with the right hand when blocking, it seems that this would be the might be becoming more popular for use widely and in general, with style incorporated, but not the case for Australia's goalkeepers. Come to think of it, the blocking profile rhp is most popular with the Dutch international goalkeepers who all use it; Stockmann, Blaak and der Ven, with Jenniskens as fourth choice, included. But for the Kookaburras, three out of four goalkeepers included in the squad right now, use the other type, the veteran of foam, useful for ground work and stick tackles. This is in an interesting contrast to the maintsay popularity of blocking rhp's that have become the prominent throughout goalkeeping ranges.

With Charter using one (versus Burgers making the switch to the new one style rhp now produced by Mazon) and Clemons and Lovells' (who uses the tube style Mazon rhp as well) new introduction to the squad as well, it sees three out of four of the Burras' goalkeepers using the tube style rhp, with Bazeley the only goalkeeper in the preliminary and training squad that is making use of the larger, blocking profile style rhp. As is, he is using the Obo Hi rebound rhp, having recently made the switch to Obo. Ex-U21's Hayward also made the switch soon after competing in the 2009 Junior World Cup and U21 international duty and then up to Australia A and continued action in the AHL. Clemons is still using the tube style, even though Gryphon have brought the Mercian style rhp design into their new foam range (as blogged about before!), as Mazon have also introduced into their own range (http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/hong-eun-seong-of-korea-is-challenged-by-tristan-clemons-of-news-photo/168227207).

It's just interesting to consider the prevalence of the tube style rhp in the Kookaburras squad, considering the shot blocking options when in the ready stance with a blocking style rhp, whether that be with TK's design, or Obo's, or the new Mercian derivative 'cross-continental style'. A lot of international squads see a mix of goalkeepers and equipment though, all things considered. Patrick Smith uses the tuble style Mercian rhp and Bailey the TK blocking design for example.

Charter another ditching elbow pads

There are a few goalkeepers around shedding arm protection and Andrew Charter, who normally wears elbow pads when playing outdoor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbartle/8719901611/in/photostream), although he goes without in a very slimmed down set-up in a radical approach to indoor where he plays almost like a kicking back and extra defender, has also made the switch for outdoor international duty. The Mazon elbow pads which Carter normally wears are pretty popular universally, with Bazeley noticably still using them in spite of the switch to Obo and the pads being popular for female internationals for the Hockeyroos and AHL level goalkeepers.

He is effectively the first Kookaburra to go without arm padding at this level of competition, since Ross Meadows (so not that long ago!), but it is not generally speaking a common sight for the Burras goalkeepers who are typically more into using full arm pads or elbow pads, including Mowlam, Lambert and Burgers for example. But saying that, Lovell has also been playing without any arm padding, like at the winter super sixes last year and in AHL competition; although it looks like he is actually wearing elbow protection (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbartle/8719815071/in/photostream, obvious through his jersey,  http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbartle/8719820599/in/photostream/), meaning Charter is pretty much the only goalkeeper in the Burras squad right now playing without any arm protection.

I had noticed that Charter had gone without them at the Hong Kong Super Sevens Series (http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/andrew-charter-goal-keeper-of-the-earth-team-kicks-to-news-photo/164988425) and was curious as to his reasoning for making the switch to no protection at all for outdoor action. It will be interesting to see if this carries on at club level and the AHL tournament in September.

Antoni Kindler gets the bus!

Whilst watching a video put forward by the Canadian field hockey association (not sure if you can make a donation from another country), I was stunned to see Kindler making use of the bus, or riding the bus (I think that's what they say in North America, the continent, don't want to offend Canadian sensibilities, without using much maligned stereotypes!). I assume it's more than just a gimmick shot for raising awareness and the finances to help support Canadian (field) hockey, no idea why it's not popular/supported as much as other Olympian competing countries! I have heard of goalkeepers taking the bus (always worried about being able to, but I used the train a lot, quicker and those distances a bus would take forever on!). I guess it could be cheaper with the rising prices of petrol, but was always worried about encroaching on peoples' ability to use the space that you're supposed to use for bigger luggage, impeding on the disabled/mums with push chairs etc.!

Anyhoo, it's a case in point of sacrifice and doing whatever it takes to get things done, whether that be goalkeeping (scrambling, unorthodoxy, helmet saves and so on) or getting to training in the first place!

This is just a chance to blog about the lengths we can and sometimes have to go to as goalkeepers and athletes working hard to follow our dreams. I would regularly used public transport to get places for hockey. I have traveled a bit for my hockey! I have taken a full bag of goalie kit down escalators and on the tube and the usual trains. The best bit is the comments you get. Sometimes people will ask if I'm hiding a body in there (which I'm not, it's just smelly goalie kit!), to which I would smartly retort (goalies aren't stupid!) that if it/I were, I would have chopped it up into smaller bits and into a more confined space. Oops with the dodgy humour. Plus the Obo bag design that says "smelly" or "toxic" doesn't exactly help us in our endeavours as goalies!! But it does give a good example to evangelise our love of hockey (chatting to a woman on the train after she had been to the 'disabled' - I don't like that term - athletes at their Olympics, this summer past) and reach out to people who show interest!!

Besides all this random commentary, it does go to show and question how far do you want to go with your hockey and to what lengths will you go and what sacrifices will you make to make it happen? And in Kindler's example, illustrates our status as 'amateur' athletes how much more the elite have to fight against to play the sport we love.
 
Other than the technique you can learn from watching Kindler (the guy in the red TK pads and skinniest-as-possible elbow pad on his right arm) i.e. pushing away with face of the pad in a splits save etc. you can see his absolute dedication in the example of getting the bus!!

Canadian hockey fundraising

Pinner in black Monarch pads

Looks like Pinner is actually going with Monarch as blogged about previously. Although he's going for the all black look versus the red pads and kickers he was trialing with in the Hampstead game way back when. I wanted to blog about this before the Euro Easter weekend, but forgot to, so a bit of retrospective commentary. Obviously!

http://www.hockeyimages.co.uk/sm33613

To be honest, I'm not sure if I can get away stating this, even though it's obvious to 'goalie nerds' (i.e. kit obsessives) and hockey fans that he's wearing Monarch. After all, aren't journalists supposed to dig up info and research and be aware of things before they're made official?! Not that I'm any good at it. In ice hockey goalie sightings are an encouraged part of the goalie community and yet it's not something considered in hockey! Strange... But, I thought Monarch were supposed to be making an official statement about their redevelopment and releases but it's April now and nothing's been heard, so a little confused.

Having said that, they did post on their official Twitter page that Pinner was going to be playing in their kit at the weekend. And Pinner has changed his own account to update his sponsorship status. So it's kind of official, if not totally public...

In the Reading game, he was wearing black Monarch kit for the final game of the season. Interesting game as Pinner got carded and Beeston had to make use of a 'kicking back'. Here you can see Pinner in pads and what went on after/at the incident!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12608538@N03/8586117981/

Interestingly (still interested in the difference), the left glove looks much more square than the 'lipped' designs you see from Mercian, Mazon and Grays and the like, although it does retain curves, however small, at the top. And I think Monarch's new rhp design is still in the producion/design feedback stages, hence Pinner not using one of theirs. Rhp is the Mercian foam modded with the red foam to hide the company logo...

Lewis Morgan: one of the EHL goalie heros?!

Britains love to back and underdog and goalkeepers who make the national league are no different. There have been a few that have climbed the precarious ladder of competitive hockey without early inroads. Lewis Morgan at Oxted is one of them, thrown into the thick of things when Ben Shorten hung up his pads in the 2010/11 season. Using a whole mix of kit including a Gryphon tube style rhp he got a run of games until Carr came back to claim the starting spot after his days at Loughborough. This is him in action, with Obo blue and yellow combo pads:

http://lsp.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/2010-10-23-7oaks-1s-v-Oxted-1s/G0000FDD4QeTb4eA/I0000y6wxnD.8AEc/C0000gwUTjqDFv3g

Before that I think he was with Old Midwhitgiftians and even in Oxted 2s it is quite a jump to national league level.

http://www.wimbledonhockey.com/gallery/mens-1s1

But Morgan is not the only one to have made the jump. Carl Wright played at Wimbledon before graduating to Chelmsford in the latter end of their national league days (they were since demoted), after regional league experience. And Dan Cattermole got a start with Sevenoaks not so long ago, having been at Blueharts (I think!) in the East Prem regional league. In fact, there are a lot of goalkeepers that make the jump, even if it is the small jump from regional prem to national league. Say, potentially, Richmond's current goalkeeper or Sevenoak's previous full time starter (now battling for starts with Dakin). So really, there are a lot of goalkeepers who have made the break into national league from unexpected backgrounds (i.e not having gone through the junior international system), but just thought it was worth noting!

Pinner's changes between pads

Heard/read recently that Pinner has moved between more brands than he actually has (as far as I know!). He was in Obo in his days with Ipswich and then early on with Beeston, before switching to Mercian. He is now in the progress of his move to Monarch, having tried their pads on in a game against Hampstead and then switching back, whilst he waits for changes and the gloves. So that's only 3 brands!

Here's him a few seasons back two/three years ago in Obo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12608538@N03/4553858473/in/pool-941053@N23

Goalkeepers wearing wrist watches

Random sighting (as ever!) is of goalkeepers wearing wrist watches to keep track of time. Knew Chris Hibbert has been doing so for a while, but interesting to made note of Cannock's Smith also doing so. As coach, I think Hibbert (think Shingles is captain still, not sure if Hibbert was ever the captain!) would have a vested interest in knowing the time etc. and such. Guess it would be better to have it snug under a glove to protect it and also use one of those rubber ones for tensile properties! Interesting to see Smith doing so. Left wrist seems to be the popular way of doing things, although guess it's personal preference! Intriguing at some level and interesting to consider its uses, with knowing the exact time within the half, being aware of running into extra time and so on. Never thought of this before and since there's not always a clock metre sounds ingenious!

Here's Hibbert with said watch obvious:

http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/Sport.cfm?id=10708&headline=Southgate%20Hockey%20Club%20gear%20up%20for%20crunch%20contest

 And here's Smith noticably wearing a watch on his left wrist:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12608538@N03/8566238682/in/pool-941053@N23

Goalie beards!

Just to lighten your day away from goalie news and analysis, with a post about goalie fashions! Although beards seem more fashion-esque in the football goalkeeping world, with David de Gea sporting some facial growth, there seem to be a few goalkeepers in our sport around the national league for instance, showing an interest in the idea! I know Tommy Alexander has one, as does/did Cowling and surely it must be catching on!

Here's Canterbury's Ben Cowling with a pretty good looking goalie beard:

http://sarahcanterbury.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/img_5737.jpg

Kumar: first Malaysian goalkeeper in the HIL

S. Kumar made history by being the first Malaysian goalkeeper to be involved in a professional league. I'm not sure if that also counts him being the first Malaysian goalkeeper to play abroad in another domestic national league, so would be interested to find out, with my knowledge lacking! Kumar has been a regular with the international set-up for Malaysia since 1999 and gives them a regular chance to do well in international games and tournaments thanks to his weighty level of game experience and shot stopping abilities.

 

http://www.fieldhockey.com/archives/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1772:news-for-04-january-2013&catid=51:january&Itemid=61

Award for the most fearless goalkeeper

N.B.: please note that this post/article is just a chance to acknowledge the hardiest goalkeepers, not to encourage you to go out and try it yourself in case there are any youngsters reading this (better to stay padded up to be honest!). Definitely not recommended if they shoot at you rather than around you. But I'm considering blogging about this sort of thing and different kit options, just as a means of writing rather than tips, so you can find out some of the set-ups that internationals/national league goalkeepers use. I do think outside the box and do/have done similar, but I think I know what I'm doing, or at least am silly enough to, or maybe I'm just plain stupid or an andrenaline junkie! So please read this with a pinch of salt and ignore the obvious and play the way that suits you; padded up and protected etc. hockey balls can break things, I sat in A&E to find out I'd got scar tissue from a hit once and I thought I'd broken my arm and had to have it x-rayed. So there you have it, sorry for the ramble!

There are many awards for players in sport (a lot in football seemingly!) and other than goalkeeper of the year award, goalkeepers sometimes get awarded them (I think Stephen Mowlam did for a bit; Lloris was awarded player of the year in Lyon but that's footie again!), but I think, within the goalies union, there should be some acknowledgement of the guys who really push the limits (or maybe the opposite, depends on personal opinion!). So I thought this would be a chance to mention them in the halls of heros and mavericks, pushing the limits on the position. Which goes to (drum roll please!), Australia's Leon Hayward.

I know Andrew Isaacs at Havant in the EHL uses a pretty radical set-up for his 'sweeper keeper' and aerial punt style distribution influence on the game, and Tommy Alexander used to use a similar set-up, but the most foolhardy and fearless style of equipment worn by a goalkeeper in hockey these days (they didn't have the luxury back in the day of cane and leather!), probably has to go to Leon Hayward. Thankfully (you do worry about these guys!), he has moved on and gone over to wearing Mazon elbow pads and padded shorts, but his set-up at the Junior World Cup in 2009 has to be the most audacious out of the goalies union in the past however many years since the days of foam and better protection. There are a few who know what he actually wore, but suffice to say it's a bit extreme, so I'd rather allude to it than make it obvious, as stated earlier!

As can be seen here, in action, in the U21's tournament:

http://worldsportpics.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Australia-v-Germany/G00000IzR283PFtc/I0000hppnFQWkk78/C0000rC91UCNbykE

http://worldsportpics.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Penalty-Shootout/G0000lc9Xd6k7J3I/I00006yW7I9U_D3Y/C0000TwshqZc2St8

Which was a little different to the set-up he was using playing previously in the AHL:

 http://www.hockeytas.org.au/gallery/4

http://www.hockeytas.org.au/gallery/7

Leon is supposed to play a more controlled, premeditated style of shot stopping based on being in the right place at the right time, so padding down in an extreme way seems a little abstract to be honest, unless of course it helps him to move around speedily to get in the right place for the right time. Although, he did pretty well as a penalty flicker, beating Germany in a game in the Cup in this way! But then again, he does play very deep in the D, around the goal line, so this is where presumably reaction speeds/reflexes and athleticism come in. And also uses the 'X stance' a little popular 'down under' for increased coverage of the goal and looking to psychologically cover more (i.e. it looks like the room to shoot into is smaller), plus makes it easier to move into shots more quickly with limbs already closer to shots.

You can see him in action here (grey shirt, black Mazon pads for the yellow shirted Australia!!):

Edit: I may remove this post, not sure yet, but if anything his playing style is great to learn from...

Storry first female British goalkeeper to play abroad?

Not that it is that uncommon for a goalkeeper in the British Isles to move to play abroad in an arguably stronger league in Europe (like Jimi Lewis playing in Germany and Nick Brothers played there too for a while after his time at Exeter), but Storry has been a notable transfer, being female (I have no idea how many female goalkeepers have made the switch like this). Playing for Amsterdam H&BC in Holland, she has made the transition from Britain's elite league to arguably a tougher domestic league. Holland is obviously one of the most renowned hockey playing nations, with it being said to be the second most popular sport in , and their Hoofdklasse elite league is known around the world for its quality. David Harte has made the switch there, but with him being Irish I don't know of any English goalkeepers to have gone over and made an impact like Storry, so recently!

Goalkeeping days of yore

Whilst liking for footage to analyse on youtube, just came across an interesting video from the 90s displaying the goalkeeping talents of Dutch goalies in those days. What with the lack of protection (no arm pads or padded shorts), you really had to be courageous and a bit nutty to put yourself in front of shots back then. In fact one of the goalkeepers takes a stinger to his arm and shrugs it off to continue playing. The style seemed more proactive, with the goalkeepers quickly coming off their line to challenge. Makes me feel a little young as the video was a couple of years after I was born!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh9nFJH1P4s

D'hooghe: the Olympic's youngest goalkeeper

I recently found out an interesting fact, which I think demonstrates the rise of the young goalkeeper and the coaching staff of high level hockey's recognition of outstanding young talent. Aisling D'Hooghe, Belgian's first choice was 18 when she played in the recent Olympics. Whilst I'd like to blog more about this at some point, I feel this is a reflection of the improved standard of technical coaching available to high level goalkeepers, whilst the confidence of youth aids the ability to play with a strong mental game. Interesting!