LADIES’ HOCKEY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 July 1939, Page 8

LADIES’ HOCKEY

ADVICE TO PLAYERS WHAT RECRUITS SHOULD KNOW. LAST LINK OF DEFENCE. (BY LES. M. MURPHY). (Wellington Ladies’ Hockey Critic.) This week’s article deals with the last link in defence goalkeeping, dribbling ball among forwards, feint passing, and forwards and off-side play. The position of goalkeeper is not only a difficult one for a player to fill with success, but also a difficult one for a team to place. Too often do we see in the lower grades newcomers to the game persuaded to take on the task of goalkeeper, and here it. is that club officials a serious error, certainly not intentionally. I want to emphasise that goalkeeping is an art in itself, and requires just as much, if not more study as any other position on the field. The candidate for the position must be practically fearless, and able to keep a cool head in all circum- ; stances. She must be able to think quickly and clearly and must have the courage to face, and endeavour to stop, the hardest of hits, even from close range. This will, at first, take some ' doing, but with each game she will find her confidence increasing, and in no time will be facing up to real testing shots without even thinking about them.

In quite a number of instances the goalkeep&r will find that by using her judgment and anticipation of the run of play she can avoid being a target for the opposing forwards. It is not necessary for her to stand between the goalposts at all times, but —and here is where her judgment comes into play —she should come out into the circle and meet the attack.

The goalkeeper must always bear in mind she is the last link of defence, and as such a great deal of the confii dence of the whole team reposes in i, her. Her showing during a game can / either inspire or discourage her teamf mates; therefore, she must always be 1 ready to give of her best. Goalkeeping • pads should not be too big or too s heavy, otherwise you will be hamper--3 ed in your movements. If possible use 3 instep pads for kicking, and make sure 2 that your boots have good strong toecaps/ otherwise the kicking might injure your toes. Use as much protection as possible, providing you can still move with agility and use your stick and feet without hinderance. It will readily be understood that when a forward shoots from the centre of the circle the goalkeeper has to t be prepared to cover the whole width of the goalmouth, as the ball may be j directed to either corner of the net. I An inside forward, shooting from her . position, narrows the angle, and the I goalkeeper can cover up more easily, t while for a wing-forward having a shot I from a more acute angle, nearer the ! goal-line, the goalie has only to stand close up against the post to successfully cover her goal. DRIBBLING BALL AMONG FORWARDS. There are cases where dribbling is ; essential for forwards but I think it should be resorted to only rarely as a means for the player to open the way to free herself and to pass to another teammate. The two inner forwards, by virtue of their positions, may dribble the ball more than the rest of the forwards, but the centre should resort more to passes. To successfully dribble the ball a forward must see' that it hardly ever leaves the end of her stick —it must appear to be stuck there by glue, yet all the time she is gaining ground, and when tackled she can send a short pass to a sister forward, who, in turn, starts dribbling and gaining further ground until the shooting circle' is reached. Some forwards, when trying to dribble, do it with one hand only. This is a very bad and amateurish method of playing the game, and a good back will always beat a forward who tends I to this style of play. Always keep both hands on your stick, and your control] of the ball is assured. i No one in the defence should drib-1 ble except in very rare cases, bu. ball control is as necessary to backs as to forwards. The golden rule for free running and dribbling alike is "Never do it for the pleasure of it or to be spectacular, only as a means to break free and open up another opportunity for your team.” ART OF FEINT PASSES. Forwards, too, should practice the art of making the feint pass; that is, { running down upon an opponent with the ball travelling to her left, and as she moves over to intercept, push your stick out full length and pull the ball straight across in front of her, and tap it further downfield, where you can catch it up.

Another good method of beating a back is to pretend to pass the ball to a wing, and, as the backs shoots a leg out to intercept the ball, dribble it through the legs, run round and gather it again. Inside forwards must make the habit of tackling back, thereby giving untold assistance to the halves not overlooking the importance of getting back into position as soon as the defence is relieved. The inside lef.t should also practice the through pass to the wing, because it is verj r dangerous and particularly hard for a half to stop. The main difficulty to overcome is to give the pass at the right, pace, so that the wing can get to it before it reaches the line. BUGBEAR OF FORWARDS. One of the main bugbears of the forwards is the off-side rule, and this must be carefully watched. Observe very closely the forward who has the ball, and cultivates the habit of lying slightly behind. In doing this, you cannot become off-side. Most forwards race away ahead of the one in possession of the ball, and when a pass is taken the whistle is blown and the player taking the pass is ruled off-side because she has not got three players between her and the net when the ball was last hit. The whistle blows for off-side more than for any other offence on the field. Quite a number of people still do not realise that a player cannot be offside if she is behind the ball when it is hit. A fast wing often looks to be off-side because by the time she reaches the ball there are not three defence players between her and the goal. Only by keeping in line with the foremost forward and- noticing carefully her position when the ball is hit can an umpire be certain of offsides, and umpires should be careful to observe this position. (To be continued next Monday.)