Goalie Coaching

[bigpoppababy]

I'm wondering what other associations do for Goalie coaches. At what level do you start with goalie coaches?

[LundqvistRoy]

well, around the age of 11 is a good time to start with a goaltending coach. the reason being, that is when most young goalies should be wearing goaltender specific skates, and starting to pick a specific style.

There is one way that you can tell a good goaltender coach from a bad one.

How much shooting they do.

98% of a goaltenders game is skating. 2% is taking a shot.
(numbers vary depending on shots, but skating will always have more of a percentage than getting shot on)


Working on skating drills is a must for a young goaltender. this young age (11 to 13) is the time they are most vulnerable to forming bad habits, and a bad playing style. Mostly because of under informed Coaches trying to be "goalie coaches"

I would personally prefer if the coach of the team (not having been a goalie) not give any type of tips to a goalie, because they will most likely be the wrong information that goalie needs at the time.

This age is when you are going to want to start seriously thinking about a professional goalie camp (like staubers goal crease) if no goalie coach is available for your team.
Mr. Stauber knows what he is talking about, along with his assistants.

Here are some great resources if you are looking for some more information weather gear related, positioning, or any other type of information you need
www.goaliestore.com - Mike Sherman has an account here, he works at www.goaliemonkey.com, he is the equipment manager for them, and knows a lot about sizing information, and he is a great guy! check goaliestore out!!!

www.goalieboard.com another great resource for information, like goaliestore, only smaller

Now, there is one man that i would like to finish this with, Mont Sherar.
He is a goalie coach in Denmark (i believe) and he is absolutely amazing.
he has a lot of great information to give out, and he has a couple videos on youtube, i will link you to them later.

Please, watch all of these videos, parents of goalies and goalies themselvs. great stuff!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmYogQf_5o8 role-overs and recovery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLdk1D-dKUo in depth recoveries

http://www.youtube.com/user/m354020 this is Sherar's youtube account watch all of the videos, you will be more knowledgeable after this!!

I hope this helped.

LundyRoy.

[CB00]

Stauber's done a great job with Frazee

Save your money.

[highschoolhockeyfann]

Stauber's done a great job with Frazee

Save your money.

Not true

[LundqvistRoy]

seems as tho Frazee is the one playing D1 college hockey now isnt he?

just because he isnt up to performance, doesnt mean that he "sucks" there are way more spots for a player to make it in college hockey, and a lot less for a goaltender, so it seems as tho Stauber did an EXCELLENT job with Frazee.

[CB00]

Do you think Lucia would have the same opinion?

I think Stauber is the only game in town as of now. Not that he is the best. Too expensive for outdated techniques. My opinion.

Let's see how Kangas performs once Stauber has him for a couple of years.

[Panthers]

CB00 you are right on! Goalies, as well as positional players, are athletically pre-dispositioned to be good at their chosen sport. It's not some position specific guru who puts them into a Division 1 institution. I personally know plenty of goalies who have coached pro's and D1 guys who have done more for the goaltending position than the Goalcrease. Frazee is better than most, it just might not be in the cards for him. Lack of desire? Maybe, but I'm sure he'll do just fine in life.

[newsguy35]

Stauber's done a great job with Frazee

Save your money.

Ask Eastview for a recomendation too!!! There are a few great clinics out there in the off season. I would highly recommend Steve Carrol camps as they are about 4:1 ratio and plus, the guy knows his stuff.

I know a few places have an ex goaltender(s) come in and work with their goalies in camps put on during some weekends. I still would look for a Steve Carrol camp as he is the best I have been to, sent goalies to and have heard nothing but praise from everyone about his camps.

[Tenoverpar]

I personally like the CARROLL clinics, especially for younger goaltenders.
The ratio of student:principal is very low. They use a wide variety of techniques to work on the goalies overall skills. I know my kid that went there came out of the week a much more technically sound player and he had alot of fun at the same time.

I'm sure when a kid is in high school the needs of a trainer change..fun is less relevant. I can't speak for this aspect or type of player.

Also, our association has goalie specific training every other week for a practice session, our team has a very skillled coach who spends a portion of every practice working on basics to keep technique fresh. I know I'm happy what we have.

[newsguy35]

seems as tho Frazee is the one playing D1 college hockey now isnt he?

just because he isnt up to performance, doesnt mean that he "sucks" there are way more spots for a player to make it in college hockey, and a lot less for a goaltender, so it seems as tho Stauber did an EXCELLENT job with Frazee.

He sure did Lundqvist, he turned an above average goaltender into a potential laughing stock... Also, what has he done for the other goaltenders? I dont see too many U of M goaltenders coming out. He teaches his style, not to the style of the goaltender and that is what is hurting Frazee and the others that have come through. Each goalie has their own little style or niche. You have to be able to help finely tune that niche for the player, not teach your own style.

If you really feel like pouring money to Stauber, it may work out that your son/daughter plays the same way he did. If not, look around and ask around to other goalie parents and see what has worked for them. Chances are there are a couple that may be of use.

[bigpoppababy]

I have a goalie that will be moving to high school next year so I'm covered on that end, but I also have a daughter just starting out. Our Association is looking to improve our goalies and I was curious as to what level is best to start with a goalie coach.

I understand the concept of off-season camps, as I've sent my son to many different camps, and he came away with different techniques and ideas that improved his game from every camp.

The problem I've seen over the years, is above average goalies go into a season strong after off-season camps, but with little work throughout the season, they take 2 steps back by the end. We are trying to stop that for future goalies.

The first post is awesome, thanks for input!

BTW: Frazee and Kangas? I prefer Brent Solei. That guy has shown more heart in his years with the gophers as the 3rd string goalie then either Frazee or Kangas. Too bad they didn't give him more opportunities. Just had to throw my two cents in.

[LundqvistRoy]

Bigpop, I believe that the age around 11 is going to be a good time to start teaching your goaltender a specific style. like i have said earlier in this thread.

But i strongly recommend having your little tender have limited contact with a coach, because they really unless being a goaltender themselves, or have attended a goalie coaching school, dont know a lot about the position, and may give your child the wrong information.

Newsguy im far to young to have children, for i will be playing HS hockey next year, maybe you will see me ride the pine wearing some Koho 700's?

Goaltending camps, I went to my first goalie school the summer between my first and second year mighty mights.

you want to start your young tender as soon as possible, just the goalie clinic during summer camp for your town will be good until the age of Squirts.

Your first year of squirts to your second year is extremely vital for picking up a style of play. I picked up my B-fly style during my second year mighty mights because i was a fan of Mr. Roy, and i tried to be like him.

For a starting goalie that doesnt really know what style they want to play (stand up[roman Checkmanek. . .] hybrid [Martin Broduer] butterfly [every RBk goaltender, Jiggy, Lou, Huet, Fleury]

I recommend ITECH pads, their x-wing series is perfect, because it will work for all type's of styles, wear them loose for butterfly, bottom loose and top tight for hybrid, and all tight for stand up.

hopefully this helped.

LundyRoy.

[SuperStar]

If your kid don't have the skills to begin with - Like great skater, good juggler, great athelete, Eye hand coordination - Don't put him nets.

[Lily Braden]

If your kid don't have the skills to begin with - Like great skater, good juggler, great athelete, Eye hand coordination - Don't put him nets.

I'm not sure I agree 100% with this. I would say the first thing a kid needs to have is the DESIRE to be a goalie. There can be a lot of negativity directed at the goalie if the team loses. Your child needs to be able to handle that and not let it get into his/her head.

While all the athletic stuff is important, I think you can get away with a less athletic goalie, if he or she is smart. At least while the kids are young. A goalie who uses his head is sometimes more valuable than one who is a great athlete, but makes the same mistakes over and over again.

Finally, Steve Carroll and Stauber are both good at what they do. I think they care about development and make a point of being positive. And I do think the positive aspect is very important, because a goalie can go from being a hero to a goat a lot quicker than any other position. (see previous discussion).

[LundqvistRoy]

If your kid don't have the skills to begin with - Like great skater, good juggler, great athelete, Eye hand coordination - Don't put him nets.

you seem like the type of person to say "goaltending cant be that hard, all you do is stand in a net, you dont even skate."

98% of the tenders game is skating my friend. but thats a side note,

I dont know how to juggle, and i am just fine (i think! hahaha)

but lily makes a great point. its all about desire and mental toughness. a lot of goals get blamed on the net minder, would should have been blamed on the d-men.

"its the goalies job to stop the first shot, there shouldnt be a second or third if you have good d-men"

Yours Truly,
LundyRoy.

[newsguy35]

If your kid don't have the skills to begin with - Like great skater, good juggler, great athelete, Eye hand coordination - Don't put him nets.

you seem like the type of person to say "goaltending cant be that hard, all you do is stand in a net, you dont even skate."

98% of the tenders game is skating my friend. but thats a side note,

I dont know how to juggle, and i am just fine (i think! hahaha)

but lily makes a great point. its all about desire and mental toughness. a lot of goals get blamed on the net minder, would should have been blamed on the d-men.

"its the goalies job to stop the first shot, there shouldnt be a second or third if you have good d-men"

Yours Truly,
LundyRoy.

My question is why would you start out as a goaltender in mighty mights if you want to be a great skater? Most of the goaltenders that I have talked to as well as myself started out skating out. I would suggest that all associations do a rotation of kids who would like to try it at the lower levels (mites and below) and if the kid wants to begin full time goaltender then let them try it for squirts. No reason to rush into being a goaltender without knowing how to skate first.

As for what kind of pads, we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. This goaltender is a squirt correct? Any set of pads should do for now. I wouldnt dare teach a goaltender how to butterfly until Peewees. I have found that the kids tend to use it as a crutch and dont move to the puck but get lazy and go down, then turn into flops before realizing that it doesnt work. I would start off with the basics of the stick save, glove and blocker saves. Have the goaltender move to the puck with his legs while still standing in the set position if it is on the ice. Getting the kid to see the puck all the way into him/her as well as moving to it is really step #1. After they get the basic mechanics of the stick save and glove and blocker, then get into the more detailed saves and rebound control. After that, I would test the waters with the B-fly. Let the kid pick his own style but make sure they know how to move and know the basic saves before attempting to get into anything real complex. At that age, most of the shots will be the basics anyways, why get ahead of the stage he/she is at?

[SuperStar]

I agree 100% with the Desire and Mental Toughness - I should have mentioned that in my previous post. I do agree that you should NOT start a kid out in the nets as a first or second year mites - Maybe Squirts (full time).

My point being is that I see too many kids in nets that don't belong. Some parents put thier kids in cause they are just Big kids - with not a lot of skill or they "like" the cool pads or something. That works for a while at a young age - but I think you have to have a kid who is one of the more Athletic kids on the team to have a successful goalie over the long haul - Big or small. Desire/Speed/Quickness/Athleticism and Mental toughness are my votes for the top attributes of a good goalie. Stauber and Carroll could help make a kid into a heck of a goalie..With all that said - please learn to skate first!

[LundqvistRoy]

I agree one hundred percent there.

but there are 2 ways to this learning how to skate way.

I find to see that it has been harder for a aspiring goaltender to learn how to skate with the transition from player to goalie. It is a special technique that you have to use in order to skate in goalie equipment. (I can attest for this)

And it does kill me when i see parents putting their kid in net just because he cant skate, and is big. thats not really where he should be, he should be a d-man, since most d-men dont know how to skate anyways, he/she should fit right in!


And with my comment on the Itech pads. They are one of the only pad mfg. that still make a hybrid/standup/b-fly style of play pad. well the new koho is a hybrid/b-fly mix, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

see, the Beeroks (RBK's) are pre-curved design, tailored specifically towards the butterfly, hence the leferbve open leg channel.
You will see most goalies who wear Beeroks to go down in the butterfly, because the pads already have it drilled into their legs. the reason i like the itechs so much for aspiring tenders is that the goalie can pick the style of play they want. if they want to stand up and learn good stick control, high side blocker and trapper saves, and high side chest saves, the pads will let them do that, because they can be worn tight!!

if that goalie has progressed from the learning the basic saves, they can loosen the straps just a little bit, and learn those lower saves, im not saying they have to use the b-fly, there are many other ways to make a save than just the b-fly! but once they learn those, they can move on to different styles and just find the one they like the best, not every goalie fits into one of the three categories, they can be a mix of them all.



and another point to do with the Itechs, They are light as heck!!! this will reduce leg fatigue and make a tender like the position more!


Again,
LundyRoy.

[CoachJ]

seems as tho Frazee is the one playing D1 college hockey now isnt he?

just because he isnt up to performance, doesnt mean that he "sucks" there are way more spots for a player to make it in college hockey, and a lot less for a goaltender, so it seems as tho Stauber did an EXCELLENT job with Frazee.

He sure did Lundqvist, he turned an above average goaltender into a potential laughing stock... Also, what has he done for the other goaltenders? I dont see too many U of M goaltenders coming out. He teaches his style, not to the style of the goaltender and that is what is hurting Frazee and the others that have come through. Each goalie has their own little style or niche. You have to be able to help finely tune that niche for the player, not teach your own style.

If you really feel like pouring money to Stauber, it may work out that your son/daughter plays the same way he did. If not, look around and ask around to other goalie parents and see what has worked for them. Chances are there are a couple that may be of use.

Stauber is not to blame for shots coming from blue line and player not paying attention to what the heck is going on. Anytime you pay money for something you have the right to be unsatisfied. I think you need to be a great skater first and should spend the money on a good skating Coach. Then once you have got your kid skating to the level he/she is playing. Then they need to be building up the strength to get up quickly. Then I think you can start with the different techniques that goalie coach's teach. Money will only take you so far. So if parents want to blame Stauber for not developing their child or Lucia just be happy your Child made it that far with what little they showed upstairs. Mental game is # 1 thing a goalie needs to be successful.

[SuperStar]

You mentioned Pads. My boy really likes the Simmons. I have had him try alot of different brands, but i didn't want to pigeon hole with strickly butterfly pads. He never did try the itech pads - maybe we will look into those later or Vaughn.

As far as the comments I hear on goalie instructors - I agree that you can't blame the teacher for shots during a game. I NEVER would - and part of the reason is, I take him to different instructors/camps to learn different techniques. I think there is a ton too much emphasis on the butterfly - I see it at the youth levels quite a bit - kids constantly going down into the butterfly on every shot and while it is a great save - lets not make it the entire focus, it doesn't take a good team or a good shooter too long to figure out - "well, if this goalie likes hitting the ice - then we will go topshelf".

I don't know much about the High School/College/Juniors way of teaching the position - but my gut instinct is not to have my kid has the "king of the ButterflY" But he should learn it correctly - cause it does come in handy.

I could use some opionon on that.....

[SuperStar]

[quote="LundqvistRoy"]I agree one hundred percent there.

but there are 2 ways to this learning how to skate way.

I find to see that it has been harder for a aspiring goaltender to learn how to skate with the transition from player to goalie. It is a special technique that you have to use in order to skate in goalie equipment. (I can attest for this)

If you don't mind me asking - What age where you when you made the tranisition to the nets?

[LundqvistRoy]

I played full time my first Squirt year, but i played some of my first and second year. I learned how to properly skate during termites and first year of mighty mights, but it was easier for me to skate in my pads (hip problem, made my legs go duck footed)

hopefully that gives you some info.

Yours truly,
LundyRoy.

[LundqvistRoy]

if you cant afford to get a goalie coach, i suggest having your child do these drills. you can do them in the corner, near the boards, or in the net, just make sure you do THESE BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY SHOTS



you also want to stretch before you take any shots either, you dont want to risk the possibility of getting seriously hurt



*note: thanks Rzor-gsbb for letting me use these pics.

in reverse means to just do the drill starting where you stopped.

YT,
LundyRoy.

[chester24]

I know of 7 goalies that went to Bill Howard of Wisconsin camps and it had a great impact on their play. I think he has coached 3 or 4 NHL guys.

[dlhhockey]

You may want to look into Bill Howard, the UW goalie coach. Runs a terrific camp. www.greatgoalies.net. Teaches a more common sense approach. And obviously successful with producing all-americans and nhl goalies.

My two cents:
Goalie should be one of the best skaters on the team
Big never means better
Kids below peewee don't have the physical make up to have a "style"
Rotate kids into position until squirts
They're the most important position out on the ice, yet coached the least
The position has changed over the years. If your coach is talking about t-glides and stacking the pads, find someone else in a hurry.
If you're the goalie parent, you need to be vocal about someone paying attention to your kid during practice
Summer camps are great, because they are usually not learning the technical skills during the season (which is sad)
Most successful goalies (above peewee) don't go to a bunch of different camps and pick up a little here and a little there. Find a good camp and stick with it to learn a system.