Goalie companys [ who's the best] ?

[u12dad]

I truly believe that goaltending has become a very technical position. Therefore training is ultimately important to the success of a new goaltender. They also must have good skating skills-specifically backwards. A poor skater will have a difficult time having long-term success.

There are no clear cut training facilities that are better-just different. Your kid needs to be challenged while having fun. The mental side is also very important, the coaches need to talk with them as part of training. Being a goalie is not a good position for a kid who get too high or too low- stress equilibrium to your kid.

Associations in general do a horrible job in supporting goalies, so the onus is usually placed on the parents.

We have had a wonderful experience with Goalcrease- they would be a good place to start in my opinion.

[old goalie85]

Thank you to all. I feel like I'm opening "a big can of worms" but, I have a feeling it will be cool! Thanks.

[Blackhawkfan]

IMO Goalcrease is the best, particularly for a younger goalie.

Agree. Best when it comes to emphasis on skating and edge work in the crease as well - biggest mistake most parents make with young goalie is not focusing on skating. Also very good for high end Bantam and H.S. goalies. Expensive.

Intersting you say that. When I was growing up my coaches always said the best skaters on the ice should be goalies. I was speaking to one the the top goalie coaches in the midwest recently and asked him about that and he said that being a great skater obviously never hurts anyone BUT that the old adage about the goalie being the best skater on the ice is just that an old adage, he said with todays goalies the #1 thing is can they stop the puck form going in the net, with so many different styles and sizes of goalies that old adage just isn't as applicable as it once was, this was according to him, not me and who am I to disagree with a guy whom many NHL pro goalies seek out in the offseason to work with.... just found it interesting and seemed appropriate to this topic

WRONG,WRONG,WRONG!!!!
This goalie coach must be an old dog......skating, edges and athleticism is the key to elite goaltending.

IMO The Goalie Club is the best!!!

[F14]

My son worked with Steve Carroll for two winters he is a soft spoken teacher who makes the kids feel great.

The last 5 years he has worked with Pete Samargia who is one of the best in midwest. He caters his teaching to the style and makeup of each goalie and doesn't have a blind adherence to force feeding a philosophy down the kids development. He is at Attitude Goaltending and won a title at Eveleth and played at Augsburg and U of M.

His two for one hour lessons at Staubbers and Blaine are great as 30 full minutes is plenty of high octane drills and allows for a break and is more affordable,

Can 't go wrong either way.

Carroll was great goalie at Edina East and All-American at Mankato.

Currently coaching Gustavus women in D3 Final Four as goalie coach

[The Enlightened One]

It all goes back to shop around and do not be afraid to mix and match. You can take a look at a particular school and read their resume and it looks impressive but if they do not work for your kid then they won't work for the coaching. All of them have good resumes, all of them played at a level above high school and all of them are nice guys. Take your kid to a couple of them and see what happens. See who your kid matches with. Remember that goalies are ALL different. There is not a cookie cutter model for the perfect goalie. You will hear all of these discussions about which is better a standup goalie or a butterfly goalie. You will hear coaches say "I only like stand up goalies, not butterfly goalies" and stuff like that. The basic fact of life here is that a goalie needs to keep the puck out of the net. The smart coaches don't care how he does it as long as he does it on a consistent basis.

Look them over, start with the guys who are closest to you so that you are not having to drive across town to get the training and then stay on top of it. There are no real wrong answers in that group mentioned as far as an over all avoid him at all costs deal. All of them are good, find the one that works with your kid and go for it.

[Goalie Dad]

My youngest has become a goalie. [last year of mite] Looking at options and I see about 10 to 15. Who do I get the most bang for my $$$?

At this point with him being so young, the biggest (and cheapest) investment you can do is be on the ice with him reinforcing what is taught as a coach. Teaching goalies at this age is not complex and you'll be able to grow your knowledge over the years too.

Align his training with anyone of these listed that are well known. Pick one and stay with it to ensure the fundamentals are being taught consistently. If he is able to attend with a friend even better.

Pick one weekly clinic from a different company to get some variety once every few years.

When he gets older, align him with a single consultant that he relates with. If you continue to coach, you'll be able to reinforcing the advanced skills too.

Our association had one company run our goalie clinics and they allowed the youth coaches to be on the ice and learn the drills and understand the key teaching points. Obtaining some books with DVDs and looking at other free resources on the web will help grow your knowledge as well.

[ripping1]

Have tried many the best we have found are Dave Rogalski at Impact and Goalcrease. Goalcrease is nice on the small ice but to truly get the individual attention and work on individual skills Rogy is the guy.

[goalie'sdad]

would say that camps or private lessons are best bang for the buck

[hockeydad]

I'm a few years out of the game, but my son went to Carrol's camp while in bantams and enjoyed that, then in high school he did a summer camp with Stauber at BIG, which he said helped him a great deal... of course that was a few years ago. He seemed to make his best progress the last two years of high school when he did individualized lessons at Stauber one or twice a month.

[InThePipes]

Any recent thoughts on some of the big names in goalie training (Goalcrease, MEGA, ProHybrid, Carrol, etc.)?

[Puckstopper81]

Being here only a short time in Minnesota, my son has skated at a few of the places mentioned above. I think all of them have strong points, some more than others, but they all have certain drawbacks, as well. You just have to figure out who is on the same page as you and your kid and then run with it. It doesn't take long to figure out what doesn't work.

[InThePipes]

Being here only a short time in Minnesota, my son has skated at a few of the places mentioned above. I think all of them have strong points, some more than others, but they all have certain drawbacks, as well. You just have to figure out who is on the same page as you and your kid and then run with it. It doesn't take long to figure out what doesn't work.

Thanks, what are some of the drawbacks you've experienced?