Whole In One!
Romeo James Uses Golf To Sharpen Hockey Goalkeepers’ Skills
Bangalore: Golf balls, clubs and hock ey goalkeepers. As similar as chalk and cheese. But that is exactly what Romeo James has thought of, using golfing equipment and his own knowledge about the game to perfect the skills of India’s goalkeepers.
Swinging the club from the top of the circle, James directs the golf balls with admirable accuracy and effect, forcing the goalkeepers to counter them as they head towards the net in a veritable torrent. The veteran coach is careful not to allow much recovery time for his wards, leading to wildly swinging sticks and flailing arms and legs at the other end. All the same, the routine has helped him to devise a rousing preparatory exercise as India’s goalkeepers get ready for a busy schedule in 2009 and 2010.
“It’s something I had thought of when I worked with Rajinder Singh Jr in 2005,” says James, who guarded India’s cage at the 1984 Olympics. “We had used it for a while then. I didn’t have much time to measure my success but I knew golf was a good way to sharpen goalkeepers’ reflexes.”
A regular member of Bharat Petroleum’s golf team, James shows tremendous control over his shots, finding every conceivable angle for the goalkeepers to block. Of course, one wouldn’t fancy the idea of going too close to the scene of practice but overall, the chances of injury are negligible, except perhaps when the balls are directed at the goalkeeper’s face. “The visor we have doesn’t offer proper protection against the golf ball. We have placed orders for fresh visors. Once we get them, I plan to get closer, even hit the ball harder than I am doing right now.”
James uses the 3-iron from the top of the circle and the 5-iron for elevation but soon he plans to use No. 7 as he cuts the distance to the goal, explores more angles and even attempt at simulated penalty stroke sequences. “In the coming weeks, I want to try deflections too, both off penalty corners and real match situations. Using golf balls here will actually make the goalkeepers’ task more difficult as they tend to fly in all directions. We have also planned three-a-side and six-a-side matches to help goalkeepers and videography for reviews.”
The first few days of practice have left the goalkeepers impressed. Says Adrian D’Souza: “I found it difficult to stop the golf ball initially as it flew at me at tremendous speed. But now I can sense some improvement in my reflexes. I have trained with a ball machine under Dutchman Frank Leistra on two previous occasions but that was nothing like this. The golf routine is a winner because of its sheer unpredictability, particularly the shot to left top where the ball swings out. That’s a drag-flicker’s delight and perhaps the most difficult ball to stop.”
Another complementing factor that has Adrian’s vote is the tennis-ball drill from the 45-degree angle on either side of the circle. “It has improved my shuffling a lot. I take about a 100 shots a day. I go all out blocking them because there is no fear of getting hurt.”
Besides this, the goalkeepers have also spoken to the coaches about the importance of continuing with co-ordination exercises spelt out by badminton coach Ganguly Prasad, who was attached to the previous team led by Joaquim Carvalho.
“Those exercises were helpful in improving our footwork. It would be good if they are combined with the present training methods,” says Adrian.