Young Goalies Unite!

I love slide-tackling. It's a very effective way of meeting someone on a break-away, and it allows you to confuse people, while covering a lot of surface area. But you have to be careful, because you could get your team a penalty, or seriously injure yourself.

The major thing about slide-tackling is that you MUST touch the ball. If you slide-tackle only to trip someone, you are going to get called, and you could be faced with the dreaded penalty-flick.

You also have to be careful that you don't land ON the ball. As covering the ball is illegal in field hockey, this could also get you a penalty flick. At tournaments, there is almost always one goalie who covers the ball: "I wasn't covering! It was right out in the open the whole time!" *quickly removes glove from the ball to show the referee*. I have no respect for these people, because it's just plain cheating. Unfortunately, some referees aren't very secure in their knowledge of goalie fouls, and they'll let the goalie get away with it. If you're a covering-goalie, leave this page NOW.

Anyway, back to slide-tackling. The goal is to stop an in-coming player from scoring or getting a chance to shoot. You can either tackle feet first, or arms first. I prefer feet-first, but it took me long time to get good at it, and arms-first is definitely easier.

Arms-First Slide-Tackling

This is also known as a dive. You want to dive towards the ball, with your arms first. Well, obviously.

These are the important factors in a good arms-first tackle:

1) Your legguards are nicely stacked so a high rebound can't get past that way. I mean, you're not going to be able to get up for another save very quickly.

2) Your weight is in your saving arm/shoulder. If you put your weight into your hips, you won't be able to dive far enough to save the ball, and you'll get stuck in the turf. Very embarrassing. Has happened to me several times.

3) If your using your stick arm, make sure the flat side of your stick is facing the ball. Sounds stupid, but sometimes either the round side will be facing the ball (which may or may not get you called, depending on the ref), or your stick will end up flat on the ground (the edge of the stick facing the ball. This provides no stopping surface what-so-ever, and the ball will just roll over it).

4) Don't jump to dive. really, DON'T DO IT. This will end up in one or more of these five things: a) you landing on the ball, b) you tripping, c) you not get far enough to stop the ball, d) you taking too long, and/or e) you getting hurt. Instead of jumping, sort of propel yourself, like you were diving into a pool, sideways.

Feet-First Slide-Tackling

This is like a dive, but the other way-around. That's why it's called "feet-first". Strange, isn't it?

These are the most important factors in a good feet-first slide-tackle:

1) Your legguards are not stacked. The leg that's on the side you are tackling (i.e.: if the ball is coming on the right, your right leg), should be further out than your other leg. Your other leg should be slightly bent, so you get a good, clean slide. If your legs are stacked, like in the arms-first tackle, you are going to get stuck.

2) Do NOT jump. I cannot emphasize this enough times. If you jump in a feet-first tackle, all you are going to do is get hurt. And believe me, it hurts. More than once, I have jumped, and landed hard on my hips. This accomplishes nothing, and it is REALLY painful.

The reason the feet-first is harder for most people than the arms-first, is because of the concept. Most people just aren't used to going at something with their feet. I mean, you don't dive into a pool with your feet, do you? It takes a lot of practice to just figure out how it's supposed to work. But do take the time to learn it, it's worth the effort.

The Last Words On Slide-Tackling

Once you've got slide-tackling down, it's really fun! You'll find yourself almost hoping it'll rain or snow, so you can get that extra slide. I didn't have to do this, because I live in Vancouver, and it rains almost every second day here.

If you want a little bit more on slide-tackling, and some drills where you can practice it, click on the link below:

The Reaper's Tips On Slide-Tackling