Ask The Expert
Ask me anything or let’s have a discussion about goalkeeping:
I’ll start. Just the other day I heard that the “lunge” save is old school and the “split” save (you know, going down on your butt and sticking a leg out to make a save, is the now). What are your thoughts?
Please go to the bottom of this page to post a comment. I look forward to your question or comment.
www.mastershockeyworldcup2014.com/schedule/
6/8/14
It’s now day 5 and we’ve played two games against South Africa and Australia. Although we did lose both games the score line was very close, 2-1 to South Africa and 1-0 to Australia. The guys put in very strong performances both strategically and technically. The game against the South Africans could have easily gone our way, but my defender miss trapped a cross ball close to the goal and tipped it into our on goal. The Australian game was intense and we had some chances to score to tie it up. Defensively the guys put in a great effort to keep the Aussies to only 1 goal. Today we play Ireland who tied South Africa 3-3 and lost 6-2 to the Aussies, so if we can grab a win, we will go through to the crossovers to try and play for a medal.
6/4/14
We are in Holland now with 3 practice sessions under our belt. All have been productive and positive! Our first game is tomorrow 9 am against South Africa and will be a real test, but we’re looking for 3 points! Everyone is healthy and raring to play! I’ll let you know how it goes, stay tuned.
5/30/14
Well here I go again, thinking I’m still that 28 yr old goalie from the 96′ Olympics. This time it’s the O-40 division of the Masters World Cup! Trust me, 5 years makes a difference. It’s very exciting because most of this team is made up of guys who were on the 96′ team and/or squad.
Training for this was critical. Apparently many of the teams we’re to be competing against have the ability to beat many current national teams.
It’s not easy making one’s self train like the Olympic days. The Master’s World Cup event is definitely a motivator though, but my body and the way it feels sometimes, would much rather grab a cold beverage and day dream about the good ole days. But that’s simply not an option… the day dreaming part :).
Leaving Sunday for Holland and playing our first game against South Africa on June 5th! Wish us luck!
I’ll keep updating my progress, but please send me words of encouragement and inspiration so I can be the best I can possible be at my ripe ole age.
February 5th 2014
August 21st 2012
The US team has improved tremendously since our first game against the Aussies! We played England and held them to 3 goals in the first half with only 2 of the goals being scored in the bottom of the half. The US team did a terrific job shutting down the English in the first half. As the game progressed in the second half, the US had lost their legs with the huge effort given in the first half. Although the score line did not show progress, the US was able to pull together long periods of ball control over the second half. The final score was 0-10.
Yesterday we played Spain who beat England 4-2 and tied Australia 1-1. We are a team becoming a more cohesive unit. Having Studied Spain and felling very confident because of our sharp improvements along with Spain’s style of play, we knew we could achieve a good result. Holding Spain to zero goals in the first 25 minutes of the game and moving well offensively, put pressure on Spain to play some very special hockey in order to score 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of the first half .
The second half was more of the same. Fortunately I played one of my best games of the tournament so far. With that said, the game was played end to end for the entire half. Spain scored their third goal because of a miscommunication, but was then held scoreless to time running out. The US had a handful of offensive circle penetrations, but were not able to convert a goal. Because of a questionable call with no time on the clock, Spain was awarded and scored a corner which ended the game 0-4.
August 15th 2012
We made history yesterday by being the first US team to play in the Master’s World Cup. The US team members are all US citizens but we come from many countries, including Belgium, England, Germany, India and Pakistan. Of the 18 only 7 were born in the US. The team’s hockey background is diverse and having never played together prior to this tournament it will take us a couple of games for us to come together as a cohesive unit. This was our primary goal for our first match against Australia.
Despite the final score line of 0 – 9 our far more experienced and skillful opponents had nothing but praise for our effort! Having spent last week touring Europe and playing 4 warm up matches the Aussies were extremely well prepared and discipline for this tournament.
We will become more unified the more matches we play and have great expectations to improve our level of play as the tournament progresses. Starting the tournament playing against 3 of the world’s top Over 45 teams is both a tremendous challenge and a fantastic opportunity we have all embraced!
For my goalies at home, while the score would appear not to be good, I am pleased to report the Aussies nominated me as the USA’s MVP!
Today we play England and I am happy our 18th squad member has finally arrived and thus we have a full complement of field player!
I believe our team is ready for our next challenge! More to come later on this afternoon’s game….
Wish us luck!!!
August 13th 2012
We are here in England and ready to play Australia tomorrow afternoon to start off the Masters World Cup. Most of us arrived on or before Saturday and so far had two productive practices and a warmup game against the over 50 New Zealand team. I’ll let you know how it goes against the Aussies!
July 11th 2012
Staying on course!
It’s important to keeping pushing toward a goal even when there are bumps
in the road. When you can’t perform intended actions because of an
injury, don’t give up! Find a way to work around the injury. My hamstrings
have been on the verge of pulling for the last 2 weeks. In spite of that I
continued to run, lift weights, and figure out what dynamic exercises I
could do without pain. Although I couldn’t perform
all-out sprints over the last few weeks, I was able to work on quick feet and agility with the
performance ladder and run long distances. It’s so easy to give in to an
injury and tell yourself that you’ll pick up training again when
you’re better. I almost fell into that, but fortunately continued to train
throughout my injury and yestereday I was finally able to perform all-out
sprints! I was able to perform six 100 yard sprints (30 second rest
between sprints), six 50 yard sprints (30 second rest between sprints) and
eight 25 yards sprints (20 second rest between sprints). Monday I biked
at 80% of my max heart rate for 1 hour after a 20 minute warm-up. Because I continued to train, my workout today was productive and I didn’t feel like I started all over
again. The pain of the intense workout was still there, but I was able to
withstand it and recover more quickly as a result of maintaining my
fitness level.
How do you stay on course with your training when an obstacle presents itself?
June 11th 2012
I need a push! After my Vo2 Max work out last Monday, I didn't quite hit the same intensity for the rest of the week. I did lift weights, play ice hockey, train ten 1-On-1 clients and play pick-up field hockey (as a field player) for an hour, but I wasn't able to actually do my specific workouts. I need to be real consistent this week so I can go into the next phase of my training which will focus on strength and getting into my pads to work on goalie specific fitness drills with the ball. When you would rather not workout, how do you get through the excuses to get it done?
June 4th 2012
VO2 Max training: A necessary evil!
VO2 Max work today: These are the hardest and most painful days, but are the one’s that help make you an elite athlete! Although today didn’t compare to my Olympic training days, it still hurt as much. My goal is to come within close range of my 1996 fitness level with the limited time I have available. After a 1 mile run and 15 dynamic warm-up, which is a workout in itself, I completed a full field shuffle run (200 yds, 150 yds, 100 yds, 50 yds,) with 2 minute rest (150 yds, 100 yds, 50 yds), 1:30 second rest, (100 yds, 50 yds), 30 second rest and (50 yards). The goal of a VO2 Max workout is to train at above 80-85% of max heart rate and also to be as sport specific as possible. This increases the capacity of the cardiovascular system to use oxygen. It’s important to recognize that even though being a goalie doesn’t require a lot of running, having a high level of fitness will enable you to do more in the goal.
What workout do you hate. but that you know makes you a better athlete?
May 14th, 2012
Today I started on my road to the Master’s World Cup! Although, I’ve been playing ice hockey twice a week, today I began specific fitness training. My workout today consisted of a 20 minute dynamic warm up and movement patterns. This was done to develop my sprint technique and flexibility. And then was followed by 20 minutes of specific sprinting patterns (such as high knees and butt kick) and first step quickness. Not too bad for the first day out.