When the U18 boys took the pitch at the 2019 Regional Tournament, you could find Daniel Goodwin calling the shots for his team from the best view on the field. As a goalkeeper, Goodwin is constantly communicating with his teammates and trying to help them see the plays that might only be visible from his perspective.
“I try to be vocal and help the guys see everything,” explained Goodwin. “As a field player, you have to be very focused on what you’re doing and I can see a lot more from my position so I try to communicate that to my team.”
Goodwin has earned a spot on the U18 BC Rams who will compete at the 2019 National Championships in Surrey, BC July 3-8, 2019. His field hockey career started with the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club when he was 10 years old, who he still plays for today. He started as a field player, but the first time he tried goalkeeping he never looked back.
“I played goalkeeper once and got hooked,” said Goodwin. “I love it because you can be the hero. Everyone needs a goalkeeper and you’re really important to the team.”
His first year with the Regional program was the first year that the program was available for the boys. He was not selected to a BC team in his first year with the Program, but he kept going out and working hard because of the people and the training environment.
“At the start, I definitely stuck with it because of my friends. There are three of us that have been playing together since our first practice with West Van,” reflected Goodwin. “Now it’s more about seeing the opportunities and where you can go with the sport. The Regional Program allows athletes to connect with players at different clubs and to get more training from different coaches.”
As a grade 12 athlete, Goodwin is in his fifth and final year with the Regional Program and will be competing at Nationals for the last time at the Junior level. This will be Goodwin’s first time as the BC Rams goalkeeper after playing for the U18 BC Lions the past two years.
The U18 Rams will be looking to improve on their bronze medal from the 2018 National Championships in Toronto, Ontario. For Goodwin, the Provincial Program is an opportunity to build as a team and play at the highest level representing British Columbia.
“The Provincial Program is more about working well as a team and that’s a really fun process because you’re given a group of guys and you have a couple of months to get together and figure out how you want to play,” explained Goodwin. “Whenever you go to Nationals and see that’s the highest level you can play for your province, that’s what you really want to push for is getting to that next stage.”
With his Junior career coming to a close, Goodwin is excited to be starting his Psychology degree at SFU next year while playing for the West Vancouver Premier team. He plans to continue on with the Field Hockey BC U23 Program, available as a summer program for 19-23 year-old athletes.
“I trained with the U23’s last year before Nationals and I really enjoyed it, there were a lot of highly skilled players there so I would definitely like to try the U23 Program,” said Goodwin.
He will also continue training with the Junior Development Squad in hopes of making the Canadian National Team and ultimately competing at the Olympics. He also aspires to take his field hockey career overseas and play in Europe or the UK. With so much to look forward to, we are excited to watch this young goalkeeper as he competes at the National Championships in July and continues to develop in the years to come!