Central Zone D - Survival against crafty goalkeepers. Chapter 1
What is the alternative to the 'near/fall wall' goalie crap of the 80's and nineties?
By "near/far" I meant the old arrangement between partners when the opposing goalkeeper has the ball:
"I got the short, you got the long," or vice-versa.
Most beginners cannot figure out why balls keep coming through from the opposing goalkeeper.
Most rookies can "zone" either a square-shooting goalkeeper or a spray-shooter, not both.
Both are highly prone to any slop shot "backdooring" in off their goal player.
They get overrun.
TYPICAL OLD SCHOOL ZONE:
Goalkeeper guards the short hole, forward responsible for any shot past the big white box.
In other words, macho forward plays hero, taking all middle shots & long shots, while the goalkeeper guards the back door
. OR
Goalkeeper guards the middle and long holes, with forward guarding the straight-in spray shot from the opposing goalkeeper.
TYPICAL ZONE-BREAKER Series:
1. Opposing goalkeeper tick-tacks, slowrolls, or mixes both techniques to see who jumps.
a. Especially with rookies/beginners, if both are jumping w/the motion. shoot short.
b. If goalkeeper jumps, forward doesn't, shoot between big box and small box to force the forward to commit with middle or near 3bar.
c. If both jump with the fake very well, the brushdown or the lane pass are wide open.
2. Opposing goalkeeper has a big-dot or better long or pull/push kick to other side.
a. Wait until the motion slows down from either opposing player, shoot from other side.
b. Keep tick-tack and/or slowroll going until either side opens up for bump-kick.
3. Opposing goalkeeper has a good bank shot, shooting whichever wall's away from the short.
OBSERVATIONS: Ball is with opposing goalkeeper.
1. Adjusting against a goalkeeper tick-tacking or slowrolling between either side outside the big box means maximum switching (End-to-End) between either short for both defenders. Any mistake, due to a fake or timing change by the offensive goalkeeper makes for a wide open hole on either side. If the offensive goalkeeper can quickset or shoot well quickly enough, they can catch a tired or sleeping defense with a big big hole.
2. 70+% of direct (non-banking) offensive goalkeeper shots go between the 54-53 or 52-53 5bar holes, whichever is closer. (Try a hundred shots with just the 5bar defending - see how difficult it is to go behind or past those middle lanes)
3. The other direct 20+% goes through the farther middle lane, especially with goalkeepers that shoot good pull/push or bump kicks. The better the goalkeeper, the more often the further of the two lanes is used for shooting the long pull/push, or a crossover pull/push/bump kick.
4. 67+% of goalkeeper offensive banks are shot at or near the center point of the side walls (formerly near the fooshole on a lot of tables), which makes a well-hit ball go through the AREA behind opposing goal's big dot, in the CENTER.
5. The 25+% well-executed nearside "shallow" banks almost always head near the nearest corner of the opposing goal, often scoring on a jumping defender goalkeeper or "backdooring" in of the goal player. Poorly executed nearside shallow banks can easily get stuffed or captured by the opposing forward. Well executed double-wall or "Z" banks are much rarer, because they have a tendency to fly off the table with much lower-to-the-surface men like those on Tornados or comparable lowriding players.
6. Past decade has seen the rise and dominance of rollovers among US/Canadian players, especially with the instruction vids now readily available for sale, for share, or online. Front pin Euros still dominate European & South American play, and can dominate here, with the longer-footed Tornado players (and Warriors, too!) providing the same killshot at the absolute closest range to the goal, and making backpin AND behind-the-dots pull/pushthrough shots even harder with the longer distance to the goal line.
ANALYSES: Thinking goalkeepers can easily break the old zone.
1. Most rookie/beginner teams can handle a standard game where opposing team "waits" on them. Most rookie/beginner teams CANNOT handle a good quickshooting goalkeeper with good accuracy with either a square, spray or near-bank clear. Most rookie/beginner teams, even well-disciplined ones, CANNOT handle a good passing opposing goalkeeper.
2. The defending goalkeeper can try forever to block the opposing goalkeeper's passing through the lane, but short of massive jarring, this effort is a zero-percent result. Dohhhhhhh. Either lane or pull/push kick or brushdown passes are set pieces and can be practiced to death by more experienced teams.
3. The forward is doing TRIPLE-DUTY protecting against short/behind sprays, near-banks, and the standard shots between the edge of the big box and the big dot. Good lateral motion, even straddling with the forward's 5bar and 3bar men can easily be faked out or doubletimed with a crossover for an open shot at the goal.
CONCLUSION: Division of labor is the only way to defend against both quicksets & set shots.
A. Since only the defending forward can defend what may be a spray direct to the short or long, and only that forward can also defend a brushdown or lane pass or a near bank, then the forward must defend all shots and passes from the near wall to the edge of the big box. This applies whether the offensive goalkeeper sets or shoots/passes from between the big box line outwards to the wall.
B. Since the forward is in effect defending from the near wall to the short goal on either side, then the goalkeeper must lock down both standard 54-53 and 52-53 lanes which the defending forward must trust to be covered. This is actually very easy, similar to what is done against any direct free kick in soccer: all direct shots to the center of the goal are covered. No open spray longs are allowed, with the goalkeeper closing down either central lane(not both). The goalkeeper has to make sure of the following:
1. Two players (goal player and either 2bar player) must completely shut off 1 lane at a time.
2. Jumping is restricted to closing down either the near middle lane or the other middle lane.
3. Goalkeeper must extremely careful of hard shots, so they do not rebound and become a free pass to the opposing forward. Goalkeeper must turn all these shots into punts/loss of possession.
4. Goalkeeper must never overjump, preventing all "backdoor" shots off the goal player. The maximum jump should be less than an inch always, so one player (goal or 2bar) is behind the big dot at all times.
5. The goalkeeper must be aware of the two lanes the moment the opposing goalkeeper gets possession. Even if the partner (defending forward) has a slow, fast, or still 5bar set, the goalkeeper must be aware of where the two middle lanes are at all times, to prevent quicksets and turn them into turnovers.
C. The defending forward must cover the "edges" and clamp down on all behind shots and passes. Of course, if the offensive goalkeeper mishandles or releases a slow ball, the forward can still stuff or capture the slow ball. But the forward's main responsibility is to cut down all passes and short shots on EITHER side, basically "framing" the opposing goalkeeper. Any central shots missed (do not go into either middle lane) are ripe for stuffing or rebound to the 3bar.
CENTRAL ZONE D does the following:
1. Prevents quicksets with natural pulls or pushes from outside the big box.
2. With the forward "framing" the center, the forward can concentrate on stealing passes or sprayshots to the short.
3. With the goalkeeper always covering the middle lanes, even tick-tack & slowroll or crossover pull/push/bump kicks HAVE to shoot from outside the big box, probably 10X or more times harder than shooting through the center lanes. Especially with quicksets.
4. With the forward confident that central shots are covered, the forward now has time to react & can lie in wait for crossover shots, typically by going end to end with the 3bar, always going FROM or going TO covering the outside two smaller dots (the end dots).
**NOTES**
1. Defending forward now has time to cover either side of a set ball outside the big box.
2. Defending goalkeeper can easily jump less than an inch each crossover move to defend.
3. Majority of banks going through the forward have the goalkeeper already in the CENTER.
4. With forward defending the whole outside on both ends of the big box, passes to a forward with perhaps an 85% or better killshot (snake, pull, whatever) are minimized.
5. As the goalkeeper gets better(more aware), short shots which are normally nowhere as fast as natural ripping shots to the center lanes, can be defended with a short jump to that near hole. This is a lot easier than being caught on the far side and having to jump (probably overshoot) back to the near hole.
6. Even with the defending forward's 5bar moving from side to side, the defending goalkeeper can easily make sure the near and far center lanes are covered when the opposing goalkeeper fires. As long as the goalkeeper knows or observes that the partner's 5bar freezes or snaps to a position when the opposing goalkeeper fires, or just continues to move.
I have noted for years that two teams with equivalent 5bars, roughly equivalent killshots and defenses are separated by those that can pass and get their forward those extra two or three free 3bar shots. They are also separated by those teams that easily lock down all quicksets (most of them centrally aimed) especially in a tough tense match, or when one or both teams are just jumpy.
**How to TEST** (Prove it to yourself!)
A. Create a "snapshot" of a shot from the goalkeeper.. pull side:
1. Set up opposing 3bar stopped near either wall, so both farthest & nearest dots are covered.
2. Set up the opposing 5bar at the center or either wall.
3. Use a flashlight to make sure the near center lane (54-53 or 52-53)is shut down.
4. Set the ball on the far "pull" side of the big box and fire a hundred shots, all kinds.
5. Note how useless it is to shoot through the near middle lane. Loss of possession.
6. Note how difficult it is to quickset a pullkick past the two middle lanes.
7. Note how often any quickset will hit the 52,53,54 players (stuff or steal opportunities).
8. Note how hard it is do normal midpoint banks through the centralized goalkeeper players.
9. Note how hard it is do nearbanks with the outside 3bar waiting to spike it.
B. Create the opposite "snapshot" of a shot from the push side:
1. Shoot another hundred shots...
2. Note at this point, without the opposing defense having to get tired, how it makes a quickset or spray to the goal from either side extremely difficult, and how it grinds down a fast paced game from a a more experienced team with more shots.
3. Note at this point how easy it is to teach even a beginner team to defend the goalkeeper.
You should see how a relatively new player can easily jump between the two middle lanes without getting tired, even after hours in the finals, after much alcohol. Any decent beginner forward can learn to quickly glance backwards at a centralized goal position and "straddle" them to make a wall with either the 52-53 or the 54-53 on the 5bar. Adjustments are required, OF COURSE, to compensate for an opposing goalkeeper's natural release points. Most goalkeepers from this planet will shoot from the push side at a different set point (nearer of farther from the wall) than from the pull side, or from the near center at the big box or inside even. And the release of the forward from playing too macho and guarding from either wall to the big dot, allows that forward to steal or even wait with a mallet for the proverbial beaver on the crossover side (like at the state fair?) because the center is just a wall.
I have personally tested this with dozens of beginners and rookies over the past three years.. It won't help against a dominant opposing forward's 5bar, but it certainly prevents most natural quicksets AND those extra 2 or more free passes (kinda like busted coverage in football allowing a 50 yard gain to the redzone: you know what happens) to help ease the opposing forwards' 5bar stress. When today's players, even the rookies and beginners who've learned a really good killshot snake, get those extra passes and quickset points from their goalkeeper, the less-experienced team with no Central Zone D has almost no chance to win. Central D allows survival, keeps from wasting energy, and divides labor between the forward and goalkeeper.
Warrior Notes: with an even narrower goal, meaning the spray short behind the forward is even harder to execute, this D should even be stronger. Have fun, test it out. I've gotten to the point where I can actually look at my goalkeeper to straddle his central D perfectly if the other goalkeeper insists on shooting and/or quicksetting. I move the 3bar constantly end to end to cut off the natural pull/push/bump kicks near either edge dot. And yes, it is certainly a godsend in singles play. All kinds of crap balls can go through in singles, but having tested with thousands of shots, I can confidently adjust it with 1inch or less moves of the goal and 2bar players and concentrate on stealing or stuffing with my 5bar and/or 3bar.
Coming in another Chapter: quicksetting against a standard "crap" zone that allows a spray long or that can be jumped by fakes or crossover moves.