Working with goalkeeping guru Martijn Drijver ahead of Olympic Qualification provides a big boost to our preparations, says ace goalie Savita

Bengaluru, 10 July 2019: In Bengaluru since Sunday, Martijn Drijver of the famed Drijver Goalie Academy in the Netherlands has been working with three women’s national team goal keepers as well as six junior custodians at the on-going Special Goalkeeper’s Camp at SAI, Bengaluru. The list of goalies attending the camp includes Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Swati, Sonal Minz, Bichu Devi Kharibam, Chanchal, Kushboo, Rashanpreet Kaur and F Ramengmawii who have been given this opportunity to work with Drijver.

“It is great that Hockey India has provided us an opportunity to work with the legendary goalkeeping Coach Martijn Drijver. I believe this opportunity will benefit us especially in our preparations for Olympic Qualification. The detailing with which Martijn conducts each session is amazing and it has opened our minds on the minor aspects that were being overlooked by us. The fine details that we are learning from him now will help us raise the bar in our future tournaments. Also the fact that young goalies have been given this opportunity will surely add depth to our pool of goalies,” expressed ace Indian custodian Savita.

Speaking about the talent pool available in India, Drijver said, “I am quite impressed to see how gifted these goalkeepers are. It’s amazing to see how keen they are to learn and raise their level.”

How goalkeepers can use their eyes and improve their reaction time is one of the key features of Drijver’s seven-day camp. They have also been working on better ball contact, stopping important shots to keep their team in the game and also penalty corners. He said, “We have been training twice everyday for 90 minutes. First we work on coordination with special focus on how best we can use our eyes as goalkeepers. We follow this up with fundamentals to achieve highest results. We have completed three good days of training and I am looking forward to the next few days here.”