CORNER OF THE MONTH

The Flick

By Al Mattei

Founder, Top Of The Circle

Ever have one of those days when you, as an attacker, are hitting your hardest shots and the opposing goalie is still saving them? Does it frustrate you when the goalie lays down in front of the backboard and every shot you hit is deflecting off that masked marvel?

If so, the slowest shot in the normal hockey arsenal -- the flick (purple arrow) -- is the tool an attack needs to keep a goalkeeper, and her defense, honest.

Truth be told, the era of the late 1990s should be one where the flick is not the lost art it is today. The reasons are twofold: one, the goalie can lay down immediately upon the inception of a corner rather than waiting for the ball to be struck. A goalkeeper who is known for lying flat on the ground is particularly vulnerable to good flick execution.

The second is that field players cannot stop high shots with their hands anymore. Posters on corners simply had to let the ball contact their hands, allow the ball to drop straight down, then clear the ball.

However, as the goalie is now the only player allowed to use her hands to stop the ball, a keeper who commits herself to the low shot once too often is leaving the top 5 1/2 feet of the cage wide open.

And even when the goalie can use her hands, the puffy foam paddles which now serves as hand protectors can lead to a clearing problem.As these foam protectors are so responsive, the ball wants to jump forward on contact with the ball, which can lead to a penalty stroke being called.

So, the odds of making a flick against an over-anxious goalkeeper is pretty good. But, what makes a good flick or flicker? Obviously, the idea is to hit the target consistently. That target is the top few inches of the cage, which can be demarcated by the coaching staff by inverting the cage in practice so that the flicking player is trying to hit the scoring backboard, which is now facing the scoring circle.

The flicker should not be afraid to pop the ball high into the air: the flick attempt can go as high as 15 feet into the air in order to drop over the goalkeeper's head and under the bar.

But perhaps the most important part of the flick corner is what happens after the ball is sent to the goal. Why? On flick attempts, most goals are score not off the flick itself, but on rebounds and strokes.

At the inception of the corner, a number of attackers should already be rushing the cage. While the ball is already in the air, the attackers need to watch the goalkeeper's foam paddle, set their feet, and get ready to pounce on any rebound.

And, the captain (when available) should be ready to appeal to the umpire if the goalkeeper bats the ball forward.