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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 [...]

The ‘X’ Drill (Improve The Foot Speed Of Goalies)

Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008

With the anticipation of our new Stop Pucks Hockey Goalie Drills, we figured we would give you a little taste of one drill.

The “X” Drill is great for any hockey goalie to do during warm-ups for practice or games. This drill helps the goalie to get his or her positioning and angles down before taking shots. It is essential that the goalie starts the drill on one post with the heel of the skate inside of the post and then the hockey goalie must end the drill in the same position on the opposite post. This is meant to be done with precision and NOT speed. If the hockey goalie rushes through this drill without paying attention to detail the drill will be pointless. Its a basic drill, however, it is very effective for improving the goalie’s sense of where the net is without looking…which is essential for success! Repeat 5-10 times each way.

The X Drill

Key Points

  1. Hockey Goalie is to start and finish X with heel inside post.
  2. Stride out, shuffle across, pivot & stride back.
  3. Stay low without moving upper body.
  4. Weight on balls of feet.
  5. Stick on the ice at all times.
  6. Head up.
  7. Don’t look for post, feel for it with glove