An Easy (and Fun) Way For Goalies To Improve Hand Eye Coordination
Posted on Saturday, July 5, 2008
When I was younger and was obsessed with making it to the next level, I read something out of a book that said that the great Russian hockey goalie Tretiak would constantly be bouncing a racquetball whenever he was walking outside in order to keep his reflexes and his hand eye coordination sharp. I thought this was a great idea and decided to do the same. For a while I carried a racquetball around in my pocket, but it was a little big, so eventually I bought one of those cheap little bouncy balls. It was perfect because it fit into my pocket and it was also very small so you had to focus more on catching it. It might sound like a stupid little tip, but I really think it helped…give it a shot and you might notice improvements in your own hand eye coordination.
Goalies Should NEVER Talk Trash!
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008
I’m sure most of us have gotten caught up in a heated moment and said something to an opposing player in hopes of getting under their skin. There is also the hockey goalie out there who just talks trash just for the sake of talking trash. In my opinion I think every hockey goalie should keep the trash talk to a minimum, and here is why…
Our position takes so much mental focus if you want to be successful at an elite level. In the few times in my playing days where I let my temper get the best of me (and made a ’smart’ remark to the opposition), it always came back to bite me in the butt. The reason why it backfired on me is because once I made that remark, my focus shifted from helping the team to win, to focusing strictly on making sure that the player I was mixed up with would not score. Once you start saying “I can’t let this player score” it does two things, A. It makes you focus too much on that one player leaving you vulnerable to the other players on the ice, and B. You psyche yourself out and try to hard (yes there is such a thing as trying too hard as a goaltender…I’ll get into that at a later date though). There is the hockey goalie that can actually thrive on this type of behavior, one that comes to mind for me is Patrick Roy, but he was such a head strong, and for lack of a better word “cocky” hockey goalie, that it actually helped him and he would rise to the occasion.
My advice to you is that unless you fancy yourself a truly head strong and cocky goalie, you might want to steer clear of the trash talk because more often than not it will backfire.
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.
Key Points
- Hockey Goalie is to start and finish X with heel inside post.
- Stride out, shuffle across, pivot & stride back.
- Stay low without moving upper body.
- Weight on balls of feet.
- Stick on the ice at all times.
- Head up.
- Don’t look for post, feel for it with glove
Clark, The Canadian Hockey Goalie
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008
Well, since its the off season I figured this video would be appropriate. I’m sure plenty of you have already seen this video. But whether you’ve seen it or not, I think most of us can relate to Clark, The Canadian Hockey Goalie. Check it out…its pretty funny.
Goalies Must Not Overlook the Importance of Sharp Skates
Posted on Wednesday, July 2, 2008
As skating is so important to the success of the hockey goalie, it should be a given that sharp skates cannot be overlooked. I have heard some younger goalies that I have coached tell me that they like dull skates because they can shuffle side to side easier, however, the problem with dull skates is that you can’t get as much power on your push with dull skates which actually makes you shuffle across slower. My advice to any hockey goalie is to make sure you get your skates sharpened at either 1/2″ or 3/4″ hollow (You don’t really need to know what that means, just tell the person sharpening your skates and they should know).
Footwork and Skating Are Essential to the Success of Goalies
Posted on Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Gone are the days of putting the worst skater in net and telling he or she that they can just stand there and stop the puck. Too many times in my life, I have heard somebody say that “Goalies just stand there”. This is a complete myth! The hockey goalie needs to be just as good if not a better skater than anyone else on the ice. Any successful hockey goalie will tell you that you need to constantly improve your skating if you want to make the step to the next level whatever that may be.
It is very important to make sure that you motivate yourself to improve your footwork when you are not taking shots. Ice time is very expensive and if you are serious about becoming a better hockey goalie, you need to make the most out of your limited time on the ice and whenever you get a chance work on your shuffling, forward skating in your stance, backward skating in your stance, and pivoting. In the near future, I will be posting a few different drills that can really help you to improve your skating…so stay tuned!