Need help. I'm not a goalie coach!!!

[hodgehockey]

I have been coaching for 3 years now and I have been having a blast doing it. We have won the championships 2 out of the 3 years and placing 2nd the other year. We have a great team. My question is how can I help my goalie further. I am not a goalie coach. He is a great player as well as a leader, its just that I want to be able to give him more during practice. Does anyone have any drills that have helped them. Anything will help.

Justin Hodge
Army and Navy Academy Hockey Director

[hbgragintic68]

is this for ice or roller

[hodgehockey]

Totally spaced. Its for Roller. Thanks.

[kevinsmithAZ]

is This For Ice Or Roller

inlinehockeycentral

[Puckdropper1]

Justin - I just sent you an email with some information. Let me know if you
need any additional information.

[Leaferguy]

I'm not sure people would want me to be teaching anyone goaltending, but a rundown of a typical practice would help a lot.

[Vengeance]

Granted the background of your team, I take it your goaltending must be doing okay. One of the biggest issues I see with inline goaltenders is puckhandling abilities (an area often not paid attention to because most adult inline goalies do not have career mindsets in hockey) - try to involve your goalie in as many drills as possible without interfering with the overall impact for your players. The most optimal time to involve a goaltender is at the beginning or end of a run, and it can be something as simple as working the puck around the boards for a breakout. If your goaltender does hone some capability with his stick, set a new challenge by demanding height or speed on the puck, otherwise the drill starts over (emphasizing team synergy).

A solid wall in the net is one thing, but having a goaltender that can START breakouts, assist in regroups, and modify plays is special. Know-how with game situations is a lot different from ice because of the speed and having 4 skaters.

I could give you a ton of ideas but puckhandling is just one that always stands out for me.

For resources try vaughnhockey or donsimmons (the message board) (it won't let me put website links up because I'm still new) for some imagination, or contact me sometime.

[Leaferguy]

Try www.goaliestore.com/board and www.goalielife.com, as well. GoalieLife has a guy by the name of Steve McKichan who knows his stuff.

[showtime89]

While I can't speak for the technical aspects of a goalie, as a shooter I would always rather face a positionally sound goalie than a reactionary goalie. I guess what I am saying, is that I find it easier to find and exploit holes in a goalie that knows the game than it is to find holes and exploit them in a athletically superior goalie. While you can't teach athleticism, you can build ability with strength and conditioning, even if you don't know a thing about being between the pipes.
Case in point: Dominik Hasek. While he knew the game, much of his success came from recovering/reacting to spots he shouldn't be in. Being athletic gave him that advantage over a technically superior goalie.
Just a thought from the other side.

[Leaferguy]

Case in point: Dominik Hasek. While he knew the game, much of his success came from recovering/reacting to spots he shouldn't be in. Being athletic gave him that advantage over a technically superior goalie.
Just a thought from the other side.
You think he was reacting to that stuff? He was giving and taking away. It's what made it work. You can't physically react to some of the stuff he did the way he did. If you know what the puck sees (angle of elevation) and the holes you're giving up, you make the the incredibly difficult look impossibly possible.

Yeah, his flexibility and reaction time were very good, but most NHL goalies have that same advantage. What separated him actually was his knowledge of positioning. He was by no means physically superior in terms of pure athleticism.

[whalercane]

You think he was reacting to that stuff? He was giving and taking away. It's what made it work. You can't physically react to some of the stuff he did the way he did. If you know what the puck sees (angle of elevation) and the holes you're giving up, you make the the incredibly difficult look impossibly possible.

Yeah, his flexibility and reaction time were very good, but most NHL goalies have that same advantage. What separated him actually was his knowledge of positioning. He was by no means physically superior in terms of pure athleticism.

The only thing to ad to this post is that Hasek also had phenomenal skating ability/stability which allowed him to immediately atone for a lot of technical mistakes and shortcomings.

However, as Leafer says, by no means was it Hasek's athleticism that made him the goalie he was.


-Ryan