By Patrick Morrison STEVEN Pressfield’s 2004 novel ‘The Virtue of War’ follows the life of Alexander the Great and his story is told through the eyes of a Hellenic-Persian scribe who was serving under him during his campaigns into India. In the novel there is a quote from Alexander himself which states: “Always attack. Even […]
By Patrick Morrison WITH the newest ‘fly goalie’ phenomenon becoming ever present within Gaelic football, I regularly get asked for my thoughts on the evolution of the goalkeeping position. First and foremost I explain that is natural and something that should be embraced and nurtured rather than shunned because allowing it to evolve without resistance […]
By Patrick Morrison TO reach the top and become the best takes a massive amount of time and effort to perfect your goalkeeping. You will spend hours and hours refining your skills with the aim of improving your performances between the posts. Ultimately, it is important to understand that perfection is unattainable because each time you […]
By Patrick Morrison WHENEVER a goalkeeper is performing during competition and performing during training sessions, they do so with two completely different approaches. The mindset a goalkeeper will have when they are performing during competition will greatly differ to the mindset they will apply when they are training. During competition, the goalkeeper has a greater […]
By Patrick Morrison WHENEVER I was younger, Sherry’s Field in the heart of Armagh City was our playground. A very large field, it included five full tennis courts, a soccer pitch, a playground as well as some fringe areas for building tree huts and the like. No matter what the weather was like, most of […]
By Patrick Morrison OVER the past few weekends, we have seen some excellent exhibitions of goalkeeping in numerous matches. Colm Reape (Mayo), Shaun Patton (Donegal), Niall Kane (Down), Shane Ryan (Kerry), Odhrán Lynch (Derry) and probably the best and most all-round performance from Tyrone’s Niall Morgan against Armagh in Omagh. All of the goalkeeping skills […]
By Patrick Morrison WHENEVER I am coaching goalkeepers around the country, there are six main goalkeeping areas that I will coach them in. These six areas are, in my opinion, the main areas involved within the goalkeeping position and incorporate every possibility that a goalkeeper may face during competitive games. My six goalkeeping areas are […]
By Patrick Morrison IN the 1968 Olympics Games in Mexico City, the final of the men’s high jump event took place on Sunday 20th October. As the athletes competed and vied for their ultimate Olympic goal by the end of the event only three competitors remained. Valertin Gavrilov of the Soviet Union, Ed Caruthers from […]
By Patrick Morrison WITH the shortened seasons now in full effect, the GAA have implemented rules to ensure that championship games finish on the same day (except finals). They have instructed teams that if they are level after full time, then extra time will be played to find a winner. This is no new concept in […]
By Patrick Morrison A GOALKEEPER, like any other player in Gaelic sports, has three main areas that contribute to their on-field performance. These three areas are all interlinked and have a constant bearing on how the other areas function at all times. It is also important to understand that these three areas are all influenced […]
