Field Hockey Strategies For Goalies

Field hockey strategies for goalies vary based on the situation in each game, but there are general things field hockey goalies should keep in mind when blocking the net. They wear the same equipment and padding as ice hockey goalies, to protect their bodies and faces from hard shots by opponents. Much of the strategies of field hockey goalies can be based around their size and their ability to best stop shots, though some strategy is based on the rules of the game of field hockey itself.

1. Make yourself as big as possible. As a player on the opposing team winds up to take a shot, try to fill the goal as much as possible, so they have a more difficult time aiming at an open area of the goal. If this means getting closer to the person taking the shot, do it.
2. Get used to falling. When a shot is taken in field hockey, the majority of the time it will be towards the lower area of the goal. So as soon as that shot is taken, goalies should be trying to keep the majority of their bodies in that area of the goal, to block the shot. However this field hockey strategy for goalies can sometimes backfire, as you are not allowed to fall on the ball itself. So be wary of that.
3. Cut off their angle. If a players is coming in to make a shot, field hockey goalies should move out of the goal slightly towards the attacking player, so that they have less of an area to shoot into. This will limit offensive player's success at hitting shots on goal during breakaway opportunities.
4. Know the rules. There are  a number of different rules in the game of field hockey that can play into the field hockey strategies for goalies throughout games. For example, another player cannot check or bump the goalie as that is interference, but a goalie can check or bump another player in order to stop a shot, or move them away from the front of the net, limiting deflections or someone blocking the goalie's vision.