Goalies Tips & Advice

After Tryouts

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Try-outs are an experience that can be quite nervracking for not just the kids but the parents as well. Its human nature for parents to want their child to do as well and hope they land on the team of their choice. However as parents, Aaron and I want parents to do their best in getting the point across to their player that it is not as important as where you start the season, but how well you play throughout, and have a good finish.

With that said, let's get the season off on the right foot, goalies and be the hardest working players on your team. Its a natural progression for people once tryouts are completed that they can take a big sigh of relief and perhaps coast a bit. Let's not let that happen!! If you got picked for a team you wanted, GREAT! Show those coaches that they made the right decision and do not take a shot off in practice. If you did not get the team you wanted, prove it. There is no better feeling as an athlete than proving people wrong. That is one of my favorite aspects about the goaltender position: You are part of a team, but you, more than anybody else can stand out as the reason your team is having success. Goalies, be good teammates, but remember the possibilities that can come to your team if you work hard EVERY shot, and continue to get better every practice.

Butterfly Slide

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One of my most recognizable rants always involves goalies being the hardest working players on their teams. I still do believe that, but I'm not going down that road today. If there is one thing (besides work ethic) I want our goalies to work at until they can't stand it, is the butterfly slide.

Goalies that can do this well stand out from all the others. The reason for that is net coverage and staying in the play. If I make a great save on the first shot and there is a rebound, it is all for not if I have no control on how to make that second save. If I dive head first, I may make the save (its a low percentage), however if I can find the leg strength to butterfly slide over, I not only take up more net, but I stay relevant if there happens to be a third shot and hopefully can cover the puck.

Goalies, take pride in being able to stop that second shot and be ready because often times there may even be a third shot.

Equipment

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Is goalie equipment expensive? Yes. Very. I understand that very well and I think my parents understand it better than me. Comfort level in your equipment is very important to the way a goalie performs. When I was playing and a piece of equipment did not feel comfortable, it is all I could think about all practice or all game. If you end a practice with a broken strap on a pad or glove, fix it as soon as you get home so you do not go to another practice with a piece of equipment that is not up to par.

Another question often asked is when do I need a new glove and blocker? There are two factors that I would consider as a parent on whether or not your kid needs a new glove or blocker. One being the obvious, that it does not fit anymore. The second is whether or not the puck hurts when you catch it or when you go to make a blocker save, it hurts the back of your hand. If your blocker hand hurts when you make a save, it could be just that the padding is cracked beneath and you can save yourself some money and take it in to be fixed. NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE BOUGHT BRAND NEW! The same thing can be said about your glove. Check first to see if it is something that can be fixed (more padding). Once you have exhausted that option and it is not working, then I would say go ahead and get the new equipment.

I have heard the analogy that a carpenter cannot fix much if he does not have the proper tools. I guess the same could be said for a goalie, and that you can't expect him to play effectively if he does not have the proper equipment.

Football Analogies

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Hockey is the greatest sport in the world. Some would say debatable. No other sport in my opinion is there a finer line for winning a game and losing a game. What about football? Well a quarterback can make a bonehead play and throw a ridiculous interception but there is no guarantee that the other team will score any points out of it. A hockey goalie cannot afford to throw any interceptions – a bad goal. If he does, his team may still win, but they are behind the 8-ball a heck of a lot more than a football team would be if a quarterback threw an interception. My point in all of this is that the margin for error in hockey is smaller than any other sport and nobody finds this truer than the goaltender. Goalies, accept this, embrace this, and be the difference in your team's season.

A good goalie is a lot like Brett Favre. Favre has amnesia when it comes to being a quarterback. He will throw an interception one play and the next series he will lead a touchdown drive with mad skills. A successful goalie must shrug off a bad goal and focus on the next play in an instant. The goalies that are able to do that are the ones that keep their team in the game. Goalies, let’s not forget to work on our mental toughness as well as our physical abilities.

The life of a goalie. Goalies get the honor of having the most unstable job in sports. Being a goalie in my opinion is the least stable job in sports. No other sport can you go from being a prominent Number 1 goalie to a back-up in the same month. I look at Marc-Andre Fleury who has been to the finals 2 of the last 3 years (once winning the cup) and now because of some early season struggles, he has been pushed to possibly back-up duty since Brent Johnson has played well as of late. Compare this with Brett Favre. I know what you’re thinking, not Favre again. But if he were a goalie, do you not think the coach would have said, "Let’s see what this other kid can do." Hockey is a fickle sport where there is always somebody nipping at your heels to take your job. It’s also the beauty of the game where you are only as good as your last game.

Game Emotions

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One thing sports do is bring out emotions in you that you cannot control. Two of these emotions are blissful joy and the other being utter disappointment.

A phrase I heard a lot of growing up is "Sports doesn't build character, it reveals it." I have always been fascinated with that quote and took it very seriously. People always say it’s easy to be a good teammate when everything is going well. Lots of laughs, high fives, and jokes in the locker room when this is going on. But what happens when your goalie is letting in soft goals, defenseman can't get the puck out, and goal scorers are snake bit? How do teams get through it? By STICKING TOGETHER! My biggest pet peeve of goaltenders is when somebody makes a mistake in front of them and they get scored on. The goaltenders then throw their arms up in the air as if to say "not my fault, blame somebody else." Goaltenders must remember how bad it feels to let a bad goal in. And then to top it off, imagine your team all throwing their arms in the air at you. That would hurt.

I will never forget Martin Brodeur getting scored on in a game and the first thing he did was give his defenseman a tap on the pads as if to say, "no worries bud, we will get it back." Goaltenders, you do have the most important position on the ice and with that you must try to be the best teammate you can be.

Getting in the Zone

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In playing the position of goalie, you can face so many shots in a game you get into a zone that is unexplainable. The puck looks huge, and your confidence builds with every shot. A goalie who faces 18-20 shots in a night might look like he has the clear advantage but that cannot be further from the truth. It is more impressive for a goalie to stop quality opportunities in a game and face far less shots because that shows you how mentally tough you can be. If you can stay focused during a 5-7 minute gap between shots you have an edge on the opposition. This is not a God given skill either – it is something that comes to you through hard work, practice and determination. Challenge yourself to only think about what is occurring on the ice for the period of time that you are there. Ultimately it will help you become a better goalie, thus helping your team to improve.

Playoffs Mentality

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Well its finally here...playoffs!! The best time of the year, in terms of a hockey season anyway. Playoffs are an exciting time to be playing hockey. Coach Aaron Grosul always talks about how it’s not how you start a season but how you finish it. How true. The playoffs are a different season and all that is really important is that you are playing in them. If you are the last seeded team in your division and you are in the playoffs...so what! Same thing goes if you are the first seed in the playoffs – does not matter. Obviously you want to finish as high as you can in the standings, but in the playoffs everybody has got to raise their game in order for their team to have success. In a tournament style playoff format, a hot goalie is very scary for opposing teams.

I want to take you all back to the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs where the #8 seed Edmonton Oilers just snuck into the playoffs but had a hot goalie in Dwayne Roloson. The Oilers rode him all the way to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and had many top seed teams shaking their heads as to how this happened. If Roloson does not get injured I think the Oilers win the cup that year.

I challenge all our goalies to get in that frame of mind where you raise your game and bring your best hockey to the post season. Hockey is the most fun when the stakes are at their peak, and win or lose it is a fun atmosphere to be a part of.

Positioning

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As a coach in youth hockey I feel like I am still learning things everyday about being a better coach. I like to watch other teams play, how they do certain things, and whether or not I might be able to implement something I see into our teams’ systems. However being a washed up goalie like I am, I always end up closely studying the goalies.

This year one of the teams I am coaching is a squirt team, so I get to see a lot of young goalies starting out and get to enjoy watching them learn the position. At this age there are obviously a lot of mistakes and breakdowns which result for multiple breakaways usually for both teams. The one constant thing I see almost every game is that goalies tend to stay deep in their net which allows the shooter to see lots of open net. Or they stand on the top of the crease and hope that the player shoots because if he does not, the goalie will just dive head first back to his post to try and make the save. This is not just squirts that I have seen this at, as it happens at higher levels also.

Young goalies need to remember that you definitely need to challenge the shooter but also back up at a pace that will allow you to get to the post if the player decides to deke. Usually when the player reaches the hash marks and is still holding the puck, the goalie should start backing up at the appropriate speed. This will allow the goalie to still challenge the shooter and also enable him to get to the post if the shooter decides to deke. Try to work on this tactic this week goalies when you have a chance.

Prepping for the Game

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Every goalie handles game days differently and youth hockey is no different. Game days for a goalie can be stressful, but if there is one piece of advice I can share it is this. Try to not think about the game until you get to the rink. It can make for a long day if you are trying to focus yourself in the morning of an afternoon game. Relax, enjoy yourself and the day, and have a good meal. When you arrive at the rink, now it’s time to get ready.

Use It or Lose It

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I'm sure most of you have heard the saying if you don't use it, you lose it. Well that saying goes with hockey very well. Since I retired from playing hockey 2 years ago, I have only put my goalie equipment on a handful of times. During a tournament, I had the chance to play in a coaches game against Phoenix Coyote Alumni. My goal was to not pull anything and I came away successful. However, I think I forgot a little too quickly the kind of shape a goaltender has to be in to play successfully. I was breathing heavy in the warm-ups and became somewhat concerned at how I might perform. Everything turned out okay and Aaron and I had a lot of fun playing in the game but I think we both came away (more me than him) at what kind of shape you need to be in to play hockey.

A goalie is so much more versatile when he is flexible and quick. I encourage all our young goalies to stretch often so as to increase your flexibility. I know I am a little older and have not stretched in a while but I can no longer stretch to make saves like I used to. When I was younger I could do the splits, but I worked hard at it since it was not something I was born with the ability to do.

Hockey is a game of inches and if you are able to get that toe out there just a couple of inches farther it might make the difference between winning a big game or coming up just short.

What Makes Goalies Better?

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What makes a goalie good? A lot of things come to mind when this question is asked. Does he have size? Is he athletic? Does he play his angles well? All of those things factor in when analyzing whether or not a goalie is good.

But what puts goalies in that elite status? There is such a thin margin between goalies as they get older and mature, that it takes a little something extra to put them ahead of the rest. The answer is as simple as playing well in crunch time. When the game is on the line and the playoffs are right around the corner, what goalie can step up his game and put his team above the competition.

This is as much of a learning process as learning the butterfly or learning your angles. And the only way to get better is through practice and experience. A way for coaches to help their goalies get better is to put something on the line in practice. If the goalie lets in 5 goals in a drill they have to skate or do push-ups (something that goalies do not like). This is also helping forwards as well if the coach puts something on the line to help them bare down a little more. This will become a very unique situation because as a goalie you always feel like you are working hard during practice, but once the forwards get that 4th goal, you will notice something kick in and the focus and determination all of a sudden picks up and the goalie's game has just gone up another level. Of course you will not win everytime, but it is great practice to train your mind and body to elevate your game in crunch time.

Obviously at the end of the day it is just a game and you do not want to be consumed with how you played that day. So no matter what happens, always try to leave it all on the ice and not bring your frustration home with you. There is always that next game.

World Juniors 2011

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A couple things come to my mind when I think of the final game. First, when you have a team on the ropes you cannot let off of the gas pedal. I'm sure you have heard that saying before, maybe with a different analogy, but the same point. Second, if you are the goalie of a team down 3-0 you can give your team a spark with a big save and turn the game completely around. How many times have you seen a goalie make a big save on one end and then watch as his team goes down to the other end and scores on the same shift? If you haven't seen that, believe me it happens. And when it does it is a real momentum changer.

The lesson here is that every shot in a game is important as a goalie no matter what the score. You need to stay focused and do your job because you never know in this game how quickly things can change. You can't go down to the other end and score, but you can do something which is just as valuable – take a goal away from the opposition by playing lights out goaltending. Control what you can control.