author=kayko2000:
Wow, great info.

One observation as I was playing the goalie position last night:
It was difficult to stay covering a middle lane with my partner's 5-bar moving so much.  To coordinate this effort, does the 5-bar need to slow down and just do smoother lateral shifts?  Or almost not move at all?

That is both the difficulty & challenge of a team zone.  Most good team goalkeepers will note that their forward who does a 5bar shake or other motion, like sitting on one or the other wall depending on the opposing goalkeeper's initial or favorite release point, or just a standard backNforth motion, will almost always snap to a certain position as the opposing goalkeeper shoots or releases the ball.  THIS is what a good alert goalkeeper playing Central ZoneD looks out for, and the more you play with that forward, the better you  both defend the center lanes and the better you lock.  I never recommend that the forward do any kind of really quick shaking to defend, just a smooth and unpredictable backNforth motion.

If your forward favors a set location for the 5bar (probably adjusts according to whether the opposing goalkeeper is most probably going to release: a pull or push from near wall, or from either edge of the outside goal area box, or right from the center area in front of the goal), then that's easy.. Your central lanes are consistent and you can cover those.  If your forward has a 5bar motion, then you better figure out quickly where the central lanes are generally and how your forward moves as the opponent shoots.  If your forward stops the motion, you must block those lanes as the opponent shoots.  If your forward's 5bar keeps moving, you stay in the center, with either your 2bar or your goal figure at or near your own big dot.

Note that a lot of good forwards will try to bait the opposing goalkeeper by moving the 5bar, and getting ready for the release by stopping the 5bar as the shot releases, and knowing where the holes are, and assuming the opposing goalkeeper has decided on a hole, jumps to block with the 3bar.  This is a baiting forward D.  Moving then suddenly stopping the 5bar at a predetermined location (near wall, middle or far wall) and KNOWING where the opposing goalkeeper has been BAITED to shoot through.  The defending forward has initiative, knowing where the opponent must shoot through to get past the 5bar.

So you as the defending goalkeeper, must stay pretty much in the center, as long as your forward understands that the near and far areas on either side of your Center D are your forward's responsibility.  If your forward does the baiting strategy formulated above, then you must identify where the central lanes are and jump to either of those lanes to cover when the ball is released.  The motions are less than 1.0 inches or 25mm for the goalkeeper and aren't that hard to keep in mind.  I have more of a problem with a beginner or rookie goalkeeper moving or jumping WAYYYYY too far and leaving the central lanes wide open.  A taser, or perhaps a baseball bat for the goalkeeper's head is highly recommended. 

author=kayko2000:
"If the opposing two-bar has the ball at the near side ready for a push, do I stay with him with my far man only until the big box and switch to my middle man after that?"
Actually, it seems like I need to stay with him until almost the inner post before shifting to the middle 3-bar man.  I don't think the middle 3-bar can reach the outer post.

Most opponent shots from a beginner or rookie aren't that long, and a good defending forward actually has to be careful that the 3bar doesn't overrun the ball, and there is no problem staying with the usually slower and more deliberate shot from a less experienced shooter.  Against a more experienced shooting goalkeeper, the defending forward must absolutely cover any spray or quick release up to the big box' edge, because the defending goalkeeper is guarding the central lane.  Keeping the discipline to switch the D to a block by the middle 3bar is the best D I have observed against a good shooting goalkeeper.  Use the outer 3bar to race and shut down any release less than 3 inches, and against the long push or pull (greater than 3 inches or 75mm) switch the D to the middle 3bar, with the extra knowledge that the goalkeeper must shoot through either central lane to be successful.  So jumping with the middle 3bar figure is a lot easier - You know where you have to jump with a switch to your middle 3bar figure on a well-shot long push or pull.

As to reaching the outer post, the defending forward can easily close that off with the 52 or the 54 player.  In fact, placing the 5bar there or snapping to there as the opposing goalkeeper shoots is part of the baiting D.  Any ball shot on those outside edges of the 2 central lanes are blocked back to the defending forwards 3bar or can be turned into a stuffblock.  That is in fact a guide for the defending forward: line up the 54 (against a push) or the 52 (against a pull) so that a good accurate opposing goalkeeper has to go past the outer edges of your goal to score - and that's where your goalkeeper is waiting for a loss of possession: in the Center!

author=kayko2000:
"In singles, ... You have to leave the goal & 2bar rods alone to shut down the nearest central lane, and you have to adjust your 3bar to cover past the first central lane"
So my goal and 2bar stay pretty much stationary here, and I assume I should just stick with that configuration even if the opposing goaltender crosses the ball over to the other side.

Yes, which is why you see superb players learn to handle the goal & 2bar rods with the left hand to switch to either central lane, while using the right hand on the 3bar to do the same thing described above.  Stay with the outer 3bar figure up to the edge of the "post" and switch to the middle 3bar figure for longs.  There is extra work of course, if the player cannot comfortably control the goal & 2bar in the back.  With only one center lane shut down, the defending forward HAS to switch earlier to the middle 3bar to defend past that narrower defended area.  A good opposing goalkeeper will see that, and the defending forward has to do the "jump" past the nearest (and covered by the goal & 2bar) central lane.  But the defending forward has the advantage: knowing where the uncovered central lane begins (past the defending middle 53 figure) plus ANY super long push or pull, or a pushkick or pullkick, gives the defending forward time - the shooter has to concentrate and execute better on a superlong shot or any 2 figure shot, (pushkick or pullkick).
Advantages:
1. You force the opposing goalkeeper to shoot a harder shot to pass the near and central areas.
2. You know where the vulnerable area is: you can train your 3bar middle to jump there.
3. Against a very good shooter who can switch to the other side to shoot a pull or pushkick you can also train your other outer 3bar figure to jump there and close off the shot.  Note that transposing to the other side on a pullkick or pushkick is hard enough: usually the shot will release from the same point and you HAVE to recognize where this is.  If the opposing goalkeeper can transpose and shoot a spray pushkick/pullkick or pull/push from the other side AND at the same time varying  the release point .... you are defending a high expert, pro or a pro-master goalkeeper, and you have to rely on your scouting of earlier games to see the 2-4 different releases.
* Against a high expert, pro or pro-master goalkeeper - if you do the Central D, the new challenge is recognizing and forcing your two other 3bar figures to transpose.  But then it's become a game, where you force the opponent to rely on hard and more difficult practiced crossover shots, no easy spray or short quicksets and set shots.

author=kayko2000:
Thanks for the helpful hits and hope I'm not taking up too much of your time.  We've got a tournament coming up this weekend, so I'm hoping to get these concepts down in the next few days (to some degree).

Not to worry, if you can't find a goalkeeper who can stay in a lane, jump less than inch, consistently, then you better get another goalkeeper. You have to watch and keep reminding the goalkeeper to stay in the Zone, until they get used to it.  Another thing I do as forward when playing with a very inexperienced goalkeeper is to not move my 5bar too much on a Bait D, or make sure the goalkeeper knows where I will stop the 5bar as the opposing goalkeeper shoots or releases.  You have to communicate in doubles.  Do this and you'll have a solid D with all cheap, easy goal shots or quicksets turned into losses of possession.  Note that you should also RECOGNIZE when the other side is not doing any zone, especially if they're moving independently of each other... that's when you recognize which lanes are WIDE OPEN... quickset or do easy sprays through those to punish them severely.  This is really emphasized in singles play when the ball is banging around end-to-end... Identify the open lanes and quickset if the opponent hasn't set up in time.

Helpful Hints? No problem, just pay for the most recent US Government bank bailouts (800 Billion), and we'll be all even.