Stand in your goal and look out…dip your head a bit and look at the penalty spot (PS) mark. Now the area between you and the PS spot is part of the UGLEE ZONE. Now from each post mark out four paces and then you have the whole of the Uglee Zone marked out. This is where all Goalees can be as Uglee as they want when making saves and to the crowd they will be beautiful, desirable people. Trust me!

GOALKEEPING SPECIAL! This month we take a special look at how goalkeepers can improve their shot stopping abilities. Strikers look away now! Uglee Zone – The beginning

So we have this sacred zone all sorted.  But why is it so important that we give it a name? Well think back to all those open play goals you have let in over the years. Which ones can you remember the most?...yes that’s it…the ones where you got a touch on it, or you thought you had saved it and it bobbled in. Or matey playing in the defence got a deflection just in front of you and you got a thigh or forearm bruise and it went in. It’s an important place in our lives so it deserves a name.

We can actually do some work to stop this happening. We just need to venture into the Zone like St George seeking the dragon or Indiana Jones looking for the Holy Grail. So let’s be bold and hug the monsters in the Uglee Zone. If we do not hug them now, we will never grow to love them. The types of saves we make in the Zone are not reckless in any way. They are brought about by having good technique but will usually be second, third or even fourth phase saves.

So calm down and forget about diving or lunging all over the place. You will probably have been in a great position and made a first save…but the ball has bobbled and your defender hasn’t been able to clear up the mess. You have to get in that new Ready Position, but Mr Lightening is playing for the opposition and he has managed to get a stick to it. It’s still in your range so you have to get to it somehow…but, I hear you say “I am no X-Man”…well buddy you are …you are Uglee Man and you are your team’s super hero now.

You manage to be partly on your hip and one knee and with your other leg get a touch and put it outside the Uglee Zone - safely and away for a long corner in a contorted manner. Now can you remember the goals or those saves? So how can coaching and training get you making more saves in the Uglee Zone?

Well, you have to apply TASK

Trust – you have to trust in the three points below

Attitude – you must be prepared to want and need

to save everything

Skill – you have to use everything you know to keep it out

Knowledge – experience and practise will build up the knowledge banks to know which skill to use

We can look at these further at a later date.

This article will give you a snippet of what you need to do to keep the ball out of the net. Once you have grasped the fact that for the rest of your playing career you may still let goals in we can now try and do a bit more to keep them out. It is important that you work on all the basics of kicking, pad saves, glove saves and diving. You will need all of those. Coupled with that will be agility and desire. And safety should be a number one priority too.

It’s not easy to create drills that will cover specific parts of the Uglee Zone as its usually utter mayhem in there, but below are a few photographs of key positions you must take in order to “Keep it out” which will help you:

Drill 1 – Save it as you see it!

• Goalee stands in the middle of the goal
• Coach plays ball to left foot and varies speed (repeat later with right foot)
• Goalee kicks clear
• As they kick clear the coach rolls a ball towards opposite post
• Goalee has to scramble to save anyway they see fit
• The goalee must then assume a ready position

Objective is to get the goalee moving and out of position. Vary the pace of the ball.  Get a feel of how many repetitions the goalee can do. But do no more than six (3 x 2) balls  x three reps.

Coach to ensure there is a one minute break between each set of six (3x2) balls.

Then repeat drill starting with right foot.

Drill 2 (a) – I thought I just saved that one?

• Goalee stands on right post – Drill will be repeated later with left post
• Coach stands level with the right post and at about the same distance as the PF spot with (3 x 2) x 3 balls
• Coach to ensure there is a one minute break between each set of six (3x2) balls
• Goalee positions themselves as if the ball is being crossed from the right edge of circle near the goal line
• Coach calls “now” and rolls ball towards far (left) post slowly. Goalee has to save it, as they touch it coach calls “now” and feeds ball towards the right post they have just come from at a gettable pace
• Goalee makes a save any way they can
• This is Uglee goaleeing as all saves are different

Objective is to get the goalee changing direction without anticipating. Repeat again so goalee does three reps x six (3x2) balls

Repeat drill starting with left post

Drill 2 (b) –

• Repeat Drill two (a) with feeding the ball three to four inches off the ground each time
• Do this starting on right post then repeat with left post

Drill 3 – left right left or right left right?

• Goalee stands in middle of goal
• Coach stands with 3 x 3 balls a yard inside the PF spot located centrally
• Coach feeds to left foot, at saveable pace close to post (repeat later with the right foot)
• Then feeds back towards middle of goal slowly so goalee saves but six inches off the ground
• As goalee saves then feed ball at least six inches off the ground,no higher than 18 inches, towards the post they have just come from
• Repeat three times, rest a minute then repeat until you have completed three reps
• Coach to ensure there is a one minute break between reps.

Objective is to create fatigue in the goalee in a short space of time to check desire to keep the ball out of the net.

Repeat this starting with a feed to the right foot

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Spartan International are a newly formed Hockey Consultancy and will be writing articles for PUSH magazine. They are: Grahame Mansell-Grace – Coaching Director; Steve Bayer – Technical Director

Both have a vast experience as coaches and players. Spartan International are able to offer solutions to many goalkeeping problems so get in contact and talk to them: T: 01664 454087,

E: team@spartaninternational.co.uk W: www.sparatninternational.co.uk