Hockey and soccer goalkeeping

I played in a charity soccer match on Wednesday night. It was my first competitive team game of any kind for several years and I pulled up understandably sore.

However, I enjoyed the game very much and didn’t disgrace myself as a goalkeeper, if i do say so myself.

My son, who is a talented soccer player, was a harsh critic, but overall even he thought I did okay.

This post is to describe in some detail the differences, as I saw them, between goalkeeping in soccer and hockey.

Firstly, the similarities. You need to work the angles in both sports and know when to stay on the line or come out.

In both sports it’s better to avoid the need for a spectacular save by moving around the square or circle to pre-empt attacking moves through an intercept, or by making the attackers indecisive.

In a one-on-one situation (one attacker streaming toward goal) and even two on one, my response was similar, ie reduce the angle, time any potential intercept and anticipate a strike.

The differences are significant, but not insurmountable.

The size of the goal is obviously one of them. A hockey goal is about the width of a body plus stick, so you can just about physically cover it lying down (not that doing so is effective).

A soccer goal is much wider. I found that confusing on penalty corners and in crowded situations. I had to watch for more possibilities.

I messed up the first corner by staying on the post, but fortunately a goal didn’t result. In hockey that’s fine (on a long corner), because it will normally take at least two hits before the ball can be on your other side.

In soccer, it’s just one kick and the wide goal creates extra scoring possibilities.

Another difference is the height of the goal. In hockey, goals are rarely scored over the goalie’s head, so it’s safe to come out from the line.

I did that in the soccer game and an opponent saw an opportunity to go over my head. Fortunately, he hit the crossbar.

In hockey the ball rarely comes at you with height, whereas in soccer it’s quite common.

The defensive principles are the same, likewise the instinct for attacking defence.

I believe the skills are transferable with fine tuning and training.