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When you were little your mother gave you this timeless warning:
"Never let strangers into the house".
This golden rule can also be applied to field hockey. In this case, however, the house is the goal and the ball is the stranger. To be successful in this sport you cannot let "strangers into the house".
The goal, the actual physical, boxlike structure, is among the largest of any sport and quarded by someone in the most cumbersome of protective equipment available. This creates many logistical problems from a defensive standpoint. Consider the following statistics. The average goalkeeper is only two feet wide while the goal is twelve feet wide, that's five feet of scoring opportunities on either side of her. There's ten feet of open space when the goalkeeper is defending one side or the other. Let's use 5'6" as an average height for a goalkeeper, five and a half feet. This figure would establish that the average goalkeeper has to guard 84 square feet of goal with only 11 square feet of pads and body. That's a difference of 73 square feet which is "open" at any given time to a ball that is the size of a baseball. Talk about the princess and the pea!
One of the problems with the position of goalkeeper is that, in most cases, they do not get enough practice. Most schools can afford only one coach at each level and while they focus on the forwards and defense the goalkeepers end up with little technical instruction. This unfortunate condition shows its ugly head at game time when unfamiliar situations arise. The goalkeeper, despite her best efforts, is at a loss as to what to do. The goalkeeper position is not popular to begin with and these conditions tend to discourage even the most dedicated players.
Goalkeepers need special instruction. They need to know the various techniques to use and when to use them. There are many types of goaltending techniques to learn and master. It is also important to instruct a goalkeeper when to use a specific technique. There are times when the goalkeeper can commit to a certain technique and times when using the same techniques will be disastrous. Coaches need to make time for them every practice. Even a little special attention can be the difference between a winning or a losing season.
One thing that most coaches do to compensate for this lack of attention is that they will use a sweeper. A sweeper is a player, sometimes two, who is assigned to get into the goal behind the goalkeeper and lay their stick upon the goalline in order to block shots. Not only is this extremely poor coaching, but it is exposing the sweeper to physical danger.
The rules clearly state that a goalkeeper is to wear protective equipment. In Massachusetts, players now wear safety goggles to prevent injury. Why then, does a coach place a sweeper in the goal? Usually, it is because they have not spent time working with the goalkeeper. More often than not, it is because they have no confidence in the goalkeeper or the defense. The potential for injury is great. While it is admirable that many players will do as their coach instructed, please be advised, that this is NOT good field hockey. In fact, it is very poor coaching and very dangerous.
What makes it more annoying is that coaches will tout their goalkeeper and record their shut-outs and low goals against averages. They never seem to mention that they had extra people in the net! How good is a goalkeeper who plays under those circumstances? How can they learn and improve?
Good goalkeepers do not need sweepers and good coaches don't use them. The sweeper position, used as defined above, has no place in field hockey and makes a farce out of a respectable sport. These words will offend and maybe embarrass some coaches. No apology is offered. The apology will be required of the dimwitted coach to the player, her parents, and the school after the player is seriously injured by a shot ball. This is a sore spot for me as I have seen the potential danger. As the father of three daughters the thought of them getting their face bashed in by a shot ball, because the coach put them where they shouldn't be, is unacceptable. Period.
In the zone system the goalkeeper must be coordinated and finely tuned with her defense. If the defense does not do their job the goalkeeper cannot do hers. The keeper is responsible for the initial shot and then the second, if there is one. After that, the defense must be in place to clear the ball. Most goals and most shutouts are the result of how effective the defense is. The defense must be the ones who gather the rebound and clear it. If they don't the ball will most likely end up in the goal. Plain and simple. Earlier I stated that the defenders must not face the goal. This is true up until the shot is taken. When the ball is shot the defenders must "box out". Like the basketball player getting into position for a rebound, the defenders must do the same. They must turn toward the keeper, low, with sticks down ready to receive or redirect the ball.
There should never be three consectutive shots upon a goalkeeper at any time!
Two shots is pushing your luck as it is.
FACT: In most cases goals scored upon a goalkeeper are the result of poor defense.
The goalkeeper guards the "front door". The defenders defend the ball if it is in their zone and the "back door" when it is not. Defenders must not cross over into the other defender's zone. The goal keeper must always have someone covering and marking players at the open side of the goal. The front door is where the ball handler or shooter is. The back door is the open spaces created by the position of the goalkeeper. There is only one front door, there can be two back doors. This happens when the attack is dead center. If you leave the back door unguarded you will allow goals to be scored, and you will lose.
The photographs on this page illustrate an "open" back door. In the top picture there are two defenders playing the ball while an attacker is sneaking in behind them in into the open area in the goal. The same is true in the bottom photo, if the ball gets by the defenders it could end up in the goal. The goalkeeper must be the "general" on the field and direct the defenders to their positions and make them aware of all threats.
The keeper can help herself by coming out to meet the shooter and cutting down the angles as long as it's not too far. The keeper must be able to retreat to the house to re-establish her defensive position for subsequent shots. Personally, I like an aggressive goalkeeper. (See illustrations below) It keeps the shooters off guard and is intimidating. It also cuts down the area a shooter has to put the ball into the net. By closing down the "shooting cone" the goalkeeper stands a better chance to stop the ball. It's better than trying to cover more ground than possible.
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