Hockey Goalie Resource

Many goalies have had to make a decision between being the starting goalie at a lower level or being the backup goalie at a higher level. Looking back on the choices that I have made and the experiences that I have had, I would definitely have to say that being a starting goalie at a lower level is a much better situation for a hockey goalie to be in. Game Experience is far to valuable to pass up. Though your ego might take a hit temporarily, depending on the level that you are at it could be the difference between you playing at a high level later on and not. You should always strive to start at the highest level possible, but never sacrifice playing time if you don’t think you are going to start. If you or your child is a goalie that is still playing youth hockey and has to make the choice, it is important to keep everything in perspective and know that if you aren’t getting playing time, no matter what level it is, you are making a huge mistake. There are so many goalies who have been late bloomers and haven’t been picked for the top team (where they probably would have backed up) and ended up playing a lot of games and getting that game experience, and the result turned out to be that this goalie is used to playing in games and is a “gamer” who excels under pressure. If you haven’t experienced the pressure of playing in a lot of games, how can you expect to excel under pressure at the next level.

So many goalies that I see, even goalies with a lot of experience, make the mistake of not getting their feet set before the shot is released. By setting your feet, I mean making sure your feet are planted with equal weight distribution on both feet…no movement and no gliding. This is very important for you to make sure that you give yourself a chance to react to the shot. If it is anything other than a breakaway or some type of desperation situation you should make sure that when you see that a shooter is going to shoot, that you stop moving all together. If you have too much weight on one leg, a problem that can happen is that you get handcuffed, so to speak, by the shot if it comes in the direction of that let and you have a harder time reacting to the shot. This usually ends up looking like a bad goal that the hockey goalie should not have ever let in.

• Step #1 - Don’t ever complain about not being the starting goalie to anyone - Once you start complaining to your teammates the word will get to your coach. Don’t vocalize the fact that you aren’t starting, just wait patiently for your opportunity to become the starting hockey goalie. Coaches will definitely put you in their dog house if you do start complaining. Also make sure to support the starting goalie, this is very important for the team.
• Step #2 - Make sure you are visibly the hardest worker on the ice at all times - Coaches love hard working goalies. Goalies who get to practice early and stay late will get noticed as someone who is very motivated and wants to work to improve their game. Never stop working, never stand around, and unless the coach tells you to take a knee…never sit or or take a knee on the ice.
• Step #3 - There are no goalies who are perfect, the starting goalie will get pulled eventually and its your job to be ready to go when he or she does - Make sure that you are focused and ready to go in at anytime. This is your big opportunity to show what you can do, so don’t blow it. BE READY!

This drill is to emphasize recovery and body control. There is a shooter set up at the backdoor and the goalie is set at the top of the crease square to the faceoff dot. The shooter has a pile of pucks and when the shooter slaps the stick on the ice, that is the signal for the goalie to drop down into a full butterfly, recover to his or her feet, pivot and make a sliding pad save from a shot that the shooter takes. It is important for the shooter to give just enough time for the hockey goalie to get across, but not so much time that it is easy for him or her to make the save. We really want to focus on control with this drill, it can be very easy for a goalie to start to lose control over his body and his positioning and we want to avoid that.

Key Points

1. Controlled butterfly and recovery.
2. After recovery, hockey goalie must find the puck with eyes.
3. Then goalie pivots into a sliding pad save trying to get
   all the way to the far post with his or her skate.

Check out this video that was on the Discovery Channel that shows how goalie pads are made. Pretty interesting stuff for anybody who is interested in hockey goalie stuff.

When I started playing more competitively I found a few techniques that really helped me to get my game face on and focus for the game that lie ahead. It is very important for a hockey goalie to get mentally prepared for a game…this isn’t often the case for the rest of the team. Goalies require special time to focus by themselves without any distractions.

A good way to get yourself prepared is to go some place by yourself in silence, close your eyes, and visualize yourself making every possible save that you can make. Visualize glove saves, blocker saves, pad saves, butterflies, pad stacks, desperation saves, etc. Also visualize yourself making smart plays with the puck, controlling rebounds, and most of all visualize yourself winning the game. This might sound dumb, but you have no idea how powerful your mind is and thinking positive will do wonders for your game and your confidence.