The 'no shoulders' mod

Another chest pad modification that you can sometimes see at the elite level of hockey, is chest pads modified with the shoulder padding cut away, which allows for maximum movement at the shoulders, for full rotation at the shoulder cuff for those quick reaction glove saves and for maximum turn for rebound control when driving etc.

One wearer is retired Dutch international Guus Vogels. If you avert your eyes from the European nakedness (! is a bit of a random photo), you will notice the chest pad at Vogel's feet and how it's taped at the shoulders. This is one of the earliest Obo chest pad designs with the layered protection over the stomach area. And if you look closely, you can see how Vogels modded the chest pads to have no shoulders, taping over the sections where the cut was made to make the sure the fabric did not wear down under use.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151466411224813&set=o.366557649132&type=1&theater

Ian Scanlon uses this mod playing for HWHC in the Premier League, giving him maximum freedom of movement as mentioned, for reaction saves with his gloves, like the saves he makes early on in this clip:

Andrew Isaacs also uses this mod; known for being more of a sweeper than a keeper, as a 'sweeper keeper', this would allow him extra motion when flicking the ball up to punt all the way down the pitch with a self-pass, as shown by his goal scoring assist against Brighton two weekends ago. If you look at these action photos (courtesy of Peter Savage), it's noticable where the chest pad stops and the shoulders are missing, under a tight fitting jersey.

http://hockeyimages.co.uk/am43515

TK rhp mods

If having watched David Kettle playing for Surbiton in the Euro Hockey League, for Wales, or in the NOW Pensions (as it's called now!) English national hockey league, you might have noticed the modifications he has made to his TK rhp (right hand protector) glove. The mods are very similar to what Tommy Alexander (ex-Scotland junior and team mate with Kettle whilst at Surbiton, who's now at HWHC) was experimenting with when using Obo and brought across to his innovative approach with TK now that he uses their foam. Kettle uses a thumb strap rather than a strap across the wrist, to hold his stick/hand in place when diving or making saves with his right hand. But I wanted to talk through some of the additions I have been working on to show further options when modifying kit to get the most of it.

The TK glove itself is very popular in Europe, with Stockmann, Blaak and Jenniskens all using it for instance, before making their switch to the Obo hi rebound rhp. The majority of the Belgian internationals and domestic national league goalkeepers also use it because it offers a hybrid between strong ground work and aerial shot stopping, areas of the game which goalkeepers need to excel at in both areas, to come out on top, at the highest levels of the game. Either way, there is always room for improvement in anything, and a few tweaks here and there can ensure the greatest level of perfection, for you to get the most out of your kit. Although normally only possible if it's the kit you own rather than borrowed (in case people aren't best pleased with your application of goalie knowledge!!).

So, on with the show!

Anyway, for the first part, I cut away the wrist, which can quite limit your ability to turn at the wrist, in order to be able to get maximum movement for pushing and turning away the wrist, when making the 'punching' motion to turn away the shot up and over the bar, or away over the line. I used a sharp craft knife (best to cut away from yourself and be sensible!), getting rid of the foam that sort of wraps round the wrist. You can see below how it manages to offer more movement for these types of saves, able to push the wrist/move the glove further up at the diagonal than before, with the glove "out of the packing" as it were.

The next step was sorting out the strapping around the wrist. I removed the velcro from the back of the foam that was cut away (which is quite easy to do as it's only glued down with a thin layer of glue, so easy to peel off), so that I could use the long reach of the strap that normally attaches to the glove, to keep the hand in place when playing, since I wasn't going to set up a thumb strap etc. I then glued the velcro side to the front of the glove (as I think Antoni Kindler does), carefully using a hot glue gun (with suitable ventilation, you definitely don't want to get high off the fumes!!) to stick the back of the velcro side to the face of the glove. Once dry, you can then pull the strap out and over the glove, so it stays in place on the back of the glove, so when you play, you have something to hold and help secure, your arm, in place.

The final addition was to enable more movement when using the glove on pitch for ground work vis a vis stick clearances, diving and "barrier" saves. So I decided to cut away the circular part of foam that you also see on the new Mercian glove and Obo's gloves, that keeps the stick on place at a horizontal angle. This allows you to move the stick further, up and down the face of the glove, for extended reach with stick saves etc. Instead of relying on the foam to do the work for you, you instead work on your technique to get the stick on the angle you want it to be at necessary for the save selection you require.

 

So that's all really folks! At some point, I may write a more in-depth article/video explanation for you to repeat if you fancy trying out these mods, but they definitely work, and don't take too long to put in place!

Pinner's body armour kit mod

Not a mind blowingly original or inventive, kit modification! But one that increases the protection and coverage there for a goalkeeper and also pretty thoughtful, is Pinner's recent body armour mod (as far as I'm aware, only realised it recently, unless of course, he's been using it for a while!). The TK range has an interesting spare abdominal pad that can be removed or repositioned, which offers extra protection for your belly. And Pinner is using the old TK GX1 abdominal padding from their chest pads, both pads though different, had this extra padding (Monarch don't do their own body armour, well, at least, chest padding, so he's still using the Mercian body armour). Basically it's an option that's extremely vital against body shots creeping in between the gap between shorts and chest pad/body armour! It might seem a little OTT and unnecessary, but weirdly, not a lot of body armours out there offer this coverage and the shorts don't have higher placed padding to remedy it either, and what with getting to shots with the gloves and thus not needed to reinforce protection, but when challenging out and blocking etc. without hands in front, you are in a precarious position, precariously.

And this is a simple but effective way of having added padding hanging down to cover said gap. So, very good idea to put into practise, if you can get your hands on the TK padding or similar! I'm not sure whether he has sewn it on as that would make sense, or used velcro strapping (added/already there) to keep it in place.

You can see it here in all its glory:

http://www.hockeyimages.co.uk/sm33509

'Half dutch' set-ups

With goalkeepers 'going Dutch' and not wearing full arm padding to give , some have been experimenting with the options over covering other areas of the arm without stopping full movement at the arm wanted from not wearing arm pads in the first place! Chris Hibbert has customised such a set-up, using the Obo arm pads and cutting them above the elbow joint, to provide ample protection to the upper areas of both arms, considering the space shown above the gloves that could be hit up close etc. Something Tommy Alexander wrote about and tried out on the Obo KR site. Not sure how Hibbert attaches the arms to the chest pad though!

As seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12608538@N03/8066779825/

With the old TK body armour; separate arm pads and whichever chest pad was used, the bottom half (with stronger elbow pads) of the arm was detachable, meaning the top half bicep protection could be worn without infringing the elbow, leaving the elbow joint free for extra movement. This seems to be the most popular way of going about such a set-up as shown by the examples below.

Clydesdale's first choice in the Scottish national league first division uses it. And Clydesdale's goalkeeper can be seen via the links, where you can notice the bicep protection sticking out under his jersey:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43676429@N02/5507346712/in/set-72157626093106067

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43676429@N02/5179350093/in/set-72157625318488913

It also seems pretty popular in South Africa, with the TK set-up from their previous body armour. Jacques Le Roux as blogged before has worn this set-up. Here's Michael Smith in provincial action using the same set-up as Le Roux and the Scottish goalkeeper:

http://www.fieldhockey.com/archives/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1268:news-for-19-august-2011&catid=34:august&Itemid=40