5 Characteristics We Want from Our Starting Goalie

Great Tips for Coaching Goalies

The day in a life for most goalies is as follows:

1. Show up with the team, suit up, maybe do some stretches or conditioning with the team. If the goalie is lucky, a coach or shooter normally may attempt some type of routine or ball placement warm-up. 95% of the shots come from topside, with no obstructions or feeds from behind. (We’ll get to that later.)

2. The rest of the day will be spent at the wrong end of shooting drills, 3 v 2’s with numerous shots, 4 v 3’s with numerous shots, or 6v6’s with a time and room to the body. A chorus of “are you OK keep?” or “my bad” will soon follow after. If you have two or three goalies they wait their turns for the same abuse.

3. Next we may have some ride and clears where you may learn how to run for your life and toss a “Gilman” clear. “get his elbows” is routinely the battle cry or “send it”. Of course I’m exaggerating a bit, but you get the message.

The good news is that there is a better way.

GUIDELINE ONE- WORK ETHIC

Goalies must be the first ones on the field every day. I teach kids to prepare mentally and physically before they see one shot. Teach your goalies to prep for practice, prep for games, prep for going in to a half when behind, prep for going in to a half with a lead. They also can prep for field surfaces. They will see field turf, astro turf, natural grass, mud, clay, dust, rain, snow and wind. When you don’t prepare you get blindsided.

They should also have a pre-game routine. It may involve laying out your gear, going into seclusion in the corner of the field. A pre-game playlist  is good.

I won’t get into a ton of specifics in this article, but pre-game can include some goalie specific dynamic stretches, walking the line style drills (I have about 5 variations of this classic drill I use). I like yoga, Pilates, tennis ball tosses, and many other non-shooting exercises to happen before a game or practice.

The key is we disconnect from the “real world,” and connect to “goalie world”. It sounds goofy, but it’s a good thing to have time to get school, work, stress, the girlfriend, the last game, and any other clutter out of the mind before we step between those pipes. Focus is as critical as the goalie stick itself.

Preparation leads to great focus.

GUIDELINE TWO – AGILITY

The great goalies have mind-blowing agility. Agility must be part of a goalie’s work ethic and workout routine. As the season wears on, most goalies feel that the reps in practice are enough. They could not be more wrong. There are so many great agility courses and instructors that you don’t even need me to get in details. The key is that we find a boatload of agility drills, jump rope, latter or whatever else you can do to build agility and work on them every day.

GUIDELINE THREE- INSTINCTS

In a typical lacrosse coach conversation you will hear “I’ve got a stopper this season”. In contrast you will hear “my kid couldn’t stop a beach ball”. Typically that means they found a kid that is athletic and not afraid of the ball.

t is human instinct to duck when a projectile is fired towards your head. The notion of attacking the ball is not for everyone but some kids seem to be up to the task from the start and some kids could practice all year and they still flinch when the ball comes their way.

Making a goalie great takes work. But ideally, if possible, it would be great if our starting goalie had some of those natural instincts to stand in front of ball right from the start.

In games, they see a ton of feeds from X, from the wings, and from “top side.” Great shooters hide the rock and shoot it through traffic. A ton of garbage gets thrown at you from the crease. Your own guys constantly screen you, not to mention the opponents crease guys. Goalies will see one on crease, two on crease and sometimes three on crease with stacks, etc.

All that being said, if only shoot at your keepers topside with the head of the stick in full view, that’s all they can save. Drills must include a ton of drills that force the goalie to “find the ball” and then save it.

Drills must include some chaos such as attack reaching around from GLE; making saves across crease on back door feeds, turn and saves, etc.

Drilling Game simulated shots creates stoppers.

GUIDELINE FOUR- LEADERSHIP

If we can train goalies to run the field, and do it correctly, it makes the defense work. So many kids either do not talk at all, speak way too low or simply scream too loud. Some make repetitive, inaudible moaning sounds that no one can decipher.

The goal of a goalie coach should be to teach the proper voice projection, to practice it, and to communicate it to the defense. I teach calling right in a different tone or voice inflection than the left. The “check” or “check stick” or as recommended by Coach Mike “Lift,” call if used correctly will reduce shots on net significantly. If they don’t get the shot off, they cant put it past a goalie. Defense reacting to a commanding “CHECK” call is extremely useful. Many goalies don’t use it, especially at the youth and HS level.

Goalies must practice communication constantly and perfect a style that in commanding.

They have the best view of the offense on the entire field, they need to communicate what they say and what needs to be done in the most efficient way possible.

Great communication = great defense.

GUIDELINE FIVE – BALL HANDLING

A save has no meaning if you can not clear the ball. One reason a lot of goalies get cut at the collegiate level is because they cannot clear. Conversely, many start because of their clearing and stick skills.

Throwing the ball with precision is paramount. We must use drill that incorporate throwing the ball from multiple scenarios. I like to split time doing Up-and-Overs, frozen ropes, touch passes, and re-directs. I also drill a lot of stuff around the crease, again from game situations. Clamps vs. attack, rolling out behind and clearing, and fighting for GB’s are all good situations to drill.

I also teach and drill the face dodge, walk the dog, and roll backs against pressure. If you don’t drill it they can’t execute it. One other important point, a goalie pockets must be stung to hold the ball in a channel, not strung to be a “tennis racquet” or “fish bowl”. This is important as it will allow your goalie to throw accurately and consistently while under duress.

I hope this information helps coaches at every level at least begin to think about the 5 guidelines.