Performance analysis in field hockey goalkeeping during penalty corners: a case study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the kinematics of field hockey goalkeeping during penalty corners, in order to provide the first model of performance from a physical standpoint during this particular and important phase of goalkeeping that goes from the injection of the ball (the push‑in) up to the shot on goal during a penalty corner. In particular, the focus was on the preparation phase before the actual saves.

Four goalkeepers playing at the international level (age: 22±2.45 years; height: 1.85±0.09 m; body weight: 79.25±8.42 kg; BMI: 23.06±0.69 kg/m2; role experience 11.5±1.91 years; international caps: 30.00±15.25) participated in the study. A complete video footage was recorded using two high‑speed video cameras, using 210 fps sampling rates.

The goalkeepers covered 1.48±0.32 m, using 3.23±0.43 steps, from the goal line in about 1.33±0.21 s. The estimated mean acceleration was 0.93±0.54 m/s2. Differences in these parameters were found among the goalkeepers (one‑way ANOVA; P<0.05, ES as partial η2>0.14), also demonstrating a different technical efficiency in relation to the task to be performed.

The results of this case study confirm that the principal aim of the goalkeepers during the preparation phase of defending penalty corners is to arrive in the best position of readiness within the available time frame of about 1.5 s. They ran out from the goal line about 1.5 m, not reaching an ideal better distance (≈4 m), for tactical reasons, concerning the possible interventions of other attackers arriving close to the posts, to enlarge the goalmouth.