bornadog
29-08-2012, 09:26 AM
Link (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-hopefuls-to-be-tested-in-goalkicking-20120828-24yso.html)
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/mmsalih/art-353-svBJOHNSON-300x0.jpg Target man: Brad Johnson booted 558 goals for the Bulldogs. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
IN NEWS to hearten fans who can't fathom why everything in the game has improved except the finishing touch that matters most, potential draftees are set to be subjected for the first time to a goalkicking test at November's AFL draft combine.
Taking the lead from the Nathan Buckley-inspired kicking test used at the camp since 2009, and Matthew Lloyd's ''clean hands'' exercise from the past two combines, a goalkicking exam bearing the stamp of former Western Bulldog Brad Johnson will increase the onus on potential recruits to be adept at a skill that has declined at AFL level over the past decade.
''We see it as one of the essential skills of the game that we haven't got better at,'' national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said. ''So let's send a message to kids out there - get good at it, because we'll test you on it.''
Johnson, who is finalising the testing format with fellow AIS-AFL assistant coach Mick Ablett, said the test would meet the desire of club recruiters to see how elite teenagers handle themselves in all aspects of goalkicking, including set shots, on the run and snaps.
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''When they get to an AFL club there will be some data and vision of them having those shots outside a game environment,'' Johnson said. ''There will be pressure involved too, being at the combine and with kids wanting to achieve the best result possible with recruiters looking on.''
Johnson, who kicked 558 goals from 364 games in red, white and blue, has noted improvement in individuals this season. However the overall competition average for set shots sits at 61.5 per cent, down on the 62.7 per cent of 10 seasons ago. The overall goalkicking mark is 58.3 per cent, down from 59 per cent in 2003.
''Hopefully a test like this highlights the importance of it, and then more time will be spent during training for players coming through, time to focus on routine, repetition … on building confidence that no matter where you are on the ground, you've done the work and it becomes instinctive kicking that goal.''
Lloyd, who in his mentoring role with the academy established a ''quick hands'' test to improve ball-handling and decision-making, recalls attending a primitive version of the draft combine at Waverley in 1994 that featured goalkicking drills. Testing became more athlete-focused as recruiting shifted in that direction, while an increase of sports science in club programs is thought to have impacted time spent on goalkicking at training.
''It's only the last four or five years that kicking and the skills side of things has come into the AFL draft combine, so now it's taking the next step,'' Lloyd said of the goalkicking test.
The 926-goal former Bomber says he wasn't as surprised as he probably should have been to learn while interviewing Tom Hawkins for The Sunday Age last week that the Geelong forward only settled on a routine in the last off-season, five years into his AFL career. ''That's staggering, but it's actually common among AFL footballers,'' Lloyd said.
He is equally wedded to the benefits of repetition. ''I was never told by a sports scientist how many kicks I could have, I just knew the amount I needed to feel good on a weekend.
''We need to get back to the old-fashioned approach where you can go out and have 30 to 50 or 60 shots. Guys are being limited in what they are told they can do.''
The format of the test is expected to be signed off by headquarters in the next fortnight, and given a trial by the AIS academy group in Melbourne in grand final week.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/mmsalih/art-353-svBJOHNSON-300x0.jpg Target man: Brad Johnson booted 558 goals for the Bulldogs. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
IN NEWS to hearten fans who can't fathom why everything in the game has improved except the finishing touch that matters most, potential draftees are set to be subjected for the first time to a goalkicking test at November's AFL draft combine.
Taking the lead from the Nathan Buckley-inspired kicking test used at the camp since 2009, and Matthew Lloyd's ''clean hands'' exercise from the past two combines, a goalkicking exam bearing the stamp of former Western Bulldog Brad Johnson will increase the onus on potential recruits to be adept at a skill that has declined at AFL level over the past decade.
''We see it as one of the essential skills of the game that we haven't got better at,'' national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said. ''So let's send a message to kids out there - get good at it, because we'll test you on it.''
Johnson, who is finalising the testing format with fellow AIS-AFL assistant coach Mick Ablett, said the test would meet the desire of club recruiters to see how elite teenagers handle themselves in all aspects of goalkicking, including set shots, on the run and snaps.
Advertisement
''When they get to an AFL club there will be some data and vision of them having those shots outside a game environment,'' Johnson said. ''There will be pressure involved too, being at the combine and with kids wanting to achieve the best result possible with recruiters looking on.''
Johnson, who kicked 558 goals from 364 games in red, white and blue, has noted improvement in individuals this season. However the overall competition average for set shots sits at 61.5 per cent, down on the 62.7 per cent of 10 seasons ago. The overall goalkicking mark is 58.3 per cent, down from 59 per cent in 2003.
''Hopefully a test like this highlights the importance of it, and then more time will be spent during training for players coming through, time to focus on routine, repetition … on building confidence that no matter where you are on the ground, you've done the work and it becomes instinctive kicking that goal.''
Lloyd, who in his mentoring role with the academy established a ''quick hands'' test to improve ball-handling and decision-making, recalls attending a primitive version of the draft combine at Waverley in 1994 that featured goalkicking drills. Testing became more athlete-focused as recruiting shifted in that direction, while an increase of sports science in club programs is thought to have impacted time spent on goalkicking at training.
''It's only the last four or five years that kicking and the skills side of things has come into the AFL draft combine, so now it's taking the next step,'' Lloyd said of the goalkicking test.
The 926-goal former Bomber says he wasn't as surprised as he probably should have been to learn while interviewing Tom Hawkins for The Sunday Age last week that the Geelong forward only settled on a routine in the last off-season, five years into his AFL career. ''That's staggering, but it's actually common among AFL footballers,'' Lloyd said.
He is equally wedded to the benefits of repetition. ''I was never told by a sports scientist how many kicks I could have, I just knew the amount I needed to feel good on a weekend.
''We need to get back to the old-fashioned approach where you can go out and have 30 to 50 or 60 shots. Guys are being limited in what they are told they can do.''
The format of the test is expected to be signed off by headquarters in the next fortnight, and given a trial by the AIS academy group in Melbourne in grand final week.