Keeper big fan of new shootout format

It's a unique way forward and ensures a result at the end of the match, and was also a real hit with the spectators.Black Sticks' Stephen GrahamStephen Graham had thrust himself further into the frame for Olympics selection next year but it's the snow-hit Timaru turf beckoning next week, with the in-form Black Sticks shot-stopper heading south with Bethlehem College's first XI boys' team.

Graham has been coaching at Bethlehem ahead of next week's national India Shield boys' tournament in Timaru, with former Black Sticks midfielder Lincoln Churchill taking the school's girls' first XI to the Chica Gilmer tournament in Wanganui.

Fresh from a starring role with Midlands in the national hockey league in Wellington, Graham is enjoying his interaction with the improving Bethlehem boys' team. He is also providing one-on-one tuition for both teams' goalkeepers.

"I'm still based in Auckland, which is where the bulk of the Black Sticks squad is," the 26-year-old said, "but I've been spending Tuesday and Wednesday each week back in Tauranga working within Bethlehem's hockey programme."

Graham is trying to bump Kyle Pontifex from the No1 spot in the Black Sticks goal and shone in several of Midlands' games in the NHL.

He is a fan of the new shoot-out format, where five players from each team get a chance to start from the 23m line, outmanoeuvre the keeper and score within eight seconds, saying it injected extra drama into drawn matches and made games more fan-friendly.

He was undone in Midlands' first drawn match in the NHL with North Harbour but thwarted three Auckland attempts in the second game in Tauranga and kept a clean slate in the tiebreaker against Southern.

"Potentially the new shootout format is a huge development for hockey, especially if it is adopted internationally which I hope it is," Graham said.

"It's a unique way forward and ensures a result at the end of the match, and was also a real hit with the spectators."

As with most of hockey's innovations, the shootout was trialled first in the European league and could be rolled out in internationals as early next year.

Graham said it brought 'keepers into the game far more than the old shootout from the six yard spot.

"The odds are far more in the 'keeper's favour because a stroke from six yards is virtually impossible to stop unless you can first predict it and then get there.

"After that first shootout at North Harbour, Darren (Midlands coach Darren Smith) and I went back and looked at the footage and what strategies I could apply in future games, because even though I saved every one of Harbour's shots they scored off the rebounds.

"Eight seconds mightn't sound like much but most decent strikers, if their initial shot is saved, can still net a rebound in that time. For the next two shootouts (against Auckland and Southern) I tried to stay on my feet as much as possible so remained mobile. To stop three shots against Auckland with guys with the stick skills of Phil Burrows, Ryan Archibald and Simon Child is fairly satisfying."

Graham has enjoyed more game time with the Black Sticks this year than in three previous seasons with the national side, playing in the series against Belgium and Korea and half of the games at the Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Malaysia.

With the London Olympics less than 12 months away and the likelihood 15 outfielders and just one goalie will make the trip (Graham lost out to Pontifex for the Delhi Commonwealth Games spot) he's heaping on the pressure to unseat his rival.

"This season has been immense, with 11 games so far. Although Kyle's still No1 I've been able to put extra heat on him that I couldn't do if I was sitting on the bench."