Keeper maintains the faith

GOALIES took advantage of empty fields at the Clarence Valley Hockey Complex on the weekend.

Hockey goalie Nathan Burgers during a clinic with Grafton players on Saturday (from left) Lex Bagster, Zack Cahill, Klara Clark, Kashaan Winters, Cody Hinterholzl and Siobhan Hoy. Photo Debrah Novak / The Daily Examiner. Picture: Debrah Novak

GOALIES took advantage of empty fields at the Clarence Valley Hockey Complex on the weekend.

Regular club fixtures had a general bye for the long weekend, allowing local shot stoppers to attend goalkeeping clinics run by London Olympic bronze medallist and former Australian Kookaburra 'keeper Nathan Burgers.

After Burgers hosted sold-out senior and junior group sessions both yesterday and Saturday, it is likely that goal scoring will be a whole lot harder and local teams will face some low-scoring affairs when play resumes this weekend.

"There are some very good goalkeepers here," Burgers told The Daily Examiner.

"The interest has been quite high and certainly there is some potential there.

"I'm just trying to part with some of my knowledge that can hopefully help these goalkeepers to achieve some of their dreams."

Burgers, 35, won gold medals with the national team at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and Champions Trophy in Germany, both in 2010.

Until his retirement after the 2012 Olympics, he was Barbarians goalie Toby Power's favourite player.

The 13-year-old has been a goalie since 2008 when he broke his arm but was able to play out the remainder of the season in goals.

He hasn't looked back and was eager to learn from a player who has already provided him with plenty of inspiration.

"I learnt a whole heap of stuff about movement, positioning and closing down angles," Toby said.

"Nathan was my favourite player. I like the position because you don't have to sub off and sometimes you get to smash people.

"It's an important job because you have to talk to the people on the field."

Goalie is not a position for the faint-hearted. A little bit of fire in the belly goes a long way but according to Burgers the most important factor is technique.

"Important attributes are speed, agility and flexibility and you've also got to be brave," Burgers said.

"If you've got those things you're going to do pretty well at it.

"But I think the biggest thing for goalkeeping is just to understand the basic movement."

"If you look at the World Cup that's on right now, the goalkeepers that are the most effective are very efficient in their movement and actually look like they're doing it very easy and in control

"We try to teach these guys to get into the best position to make a save. I've got a number of drills that help out with that and we focus on hand-eye co-ordination.

"The idea with my clinics is that the goalkeepers who attend can take these drills and skills home with them and don't necessarily need people to hit balls at them to develop."

Apart from seven years as a full-time hockey player based in Perth, Burgers has lived most of his life in Townsville and is passionate about giving back to the sport in regional areas.

"Since I retired from the London Olympics I started this small coaching business to pass on my knowledge," he said.

"It's a passion of mine to try to get to regional areas."

Burgers said he fell into the position of goalkeeper when he turned up to a trial aged 11.

"The team needed a goalkeeper. The following year I was in the State team," he said.

"It can be a bit crazy but it's a position I've always enjoyed."

Originally published as Keeper maintains the faith