By Patrick Morrison

THUS far the new 40-metre kick-out rule has sent teams back to the drawing board to rethink their restart strategies.

Most teams have settled upon popping the ball to the corner-backs or pumping it long for the midfield battle. Indeed, every week of the league rounds we are regularly seeing teams smashing into one another fighting for second phase possession.

The new rules were brought in to increase contests and there is no arguing that this is what has happened. But in paradox to this the recently released data shows that high fielding, the skill only a short time ago they wanted to save with the mark, has lessened.

Nowadays the area of a goalkeeper’s repertoire that is in place under the microscope the most is their restarts. All goalkeepers are scrutinised in this area, and none escape feedback from the analytical personnel both pre- and post-game. For a goalkeeper, in today’s game there is absolutely no hiding place in terms of video evidence and statistical analysis on how well a team’s restarts were performed or whether the agreed targets had been achieved.

The goalkeeper does have one major saving grace. Restarts are a team thing and do not solely depend upon the actions of the goalkeeper alone. I have explained in previous articles and coached to any team that I have taken restart clinics with that the restart has three components and they are the 3 Rs (routines, receivers, restarter).

In previous articles I have focused on both the routines and the restarter in depth and this week is the turn of the receivers, those players who are receiving the ball.

By changing the name from kick-out to restart we change the understanding of what we are trying to achieve.

Restart implies that we have possession of the football more than the word kick-out as well as focusing the mindset of the receiving players that they have a role to play whereby kick-out suggests that the ball will just be ‘kicked out’ back into play for teams to fight for possession. It is because of this change in jargon that we understand that the receivers are the ones who initiate the restart with their movement and not the goalkeeper (restarter).

If the receivers do not move or the quality/quantity of their movement is not of the required standard, the restart then runs the risk of fast becoming a ‘kick-out’ again whereby the testarter (GK) will look for the numerical advantage for their team and place the ball accordingly.

This is not to say that kick-outs cannot be contested successfully but by creating a restart it significantly increases the success rate in terms of regaining possession of the football, which in today’s possession-based game has become vitally important.

With the movement of the receivers being paramount to the restart and the restart being initiated by this movement, it is important for those outfield players wanting to receive the ball to learn how to create better quality of movement for the goalkeeper. This will need to be practiced religiously by teams especially when devoted all or portions of a session to working on improving restarts. But the most important point to remember is:

“If you’re not making space, you’re taking space.”

Simply put, if a receiver is moving or actively looking for the ball on a restart they are ‘making space’ both for themselves and the other receivers around them.

By constantly moving it allows the receiver to move into space in different areas and different directions of the pitch while also creating space for other receivers by leaving space each time they move from one area to another. If, on the other hand, a receiver does not move or only moves from one area to another and then stops, this means they are ‘taking space’ both from themselves and the other receivers.

By not actively looking for the ball or restricting the quantity of movements the receiver is taking away the space for themselves to receive the ball. As well as this, if they do not move from area to area then it reduces the number of space/areas that the other receivers can operate within. This also allows the opposition to close off the remaining spaces more easily turning the restart back into a kick-out.

It is important for the goalkeeper to both praise and challenge those receivers who are either making space or taking space respectively. If the receiver’s movement is not good, it places more pressure on the goalkeeper’s kicking ability and also decreases the margins for error, making mistakes more likely. By not addressing these issues the goalkeeper is placing much more unnecessary pressure on themselves than is already present in a restart situation.

Although the 40-metre arc reduces the space for kick-outs, it does not completely eliminate the space either. This is because space cannot be marked, it can only be moved. It is the goal of the kick-out team to create, find and/or manipulate the spaces that are available in order to gain possession from their kick-out. The opportunities for short and medium length kick-outs are still there and these opportunities can be abundant if/when the space is manipulated effectively.

For this to happen, receivers need to practice their movements for restarts, especially those first initial movements that are designed to create separation between them and their opponents.

Working on their speed, agility and quickness by incorporating various SAQ training into their personal routines can help. They may also look to other sports where gaining separation form opposition players is vital – e.g. rugby, American football, soccer etc. all use various evasion techniques that are transferable to Gaelic football.

For the goalkeeper, they must remember that there are two types of kick for them in any restart scenario.

The first is kicking the ball from ‘face to space’ and this is where the goalkeeper places the ball into an open area of space where the receiver can go and collect the ball usually within one bounce or less. The second type of kick is the ‘face to face’ kick whereby the receiver has less time and space to work with meaning the goalkeeper aims to place the ball straight to the receiver without it bouncing at all, a much more difficult kick to master but can be mastered, nonetheless.

Routines, receivers, restarter. Three components of the restart and all of which have different subsections in regard to the roles that they play. Routines are the most important aspect and need rehearsed religiously during a season. Restarter is the final part of the Restart and is responsible only for the kick (face to face or face to space). And Receivers, begin the restart with their movement and the important point for them to remember is “if you’re not making space, you’re taking space.”

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