Starting in Goal as an Adult

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Congrats on the invite man! I totally feel you on the rookie league frustrations, from the knuckle-puck that gets redirected 4 times on the way in, to the lack of flow and tempo it is tough.

I plan on doing the draft skate in a couple weeks in hopes of getting on a higher level team for this next season at my local rink. My buddy did ask me to play on his Bronze team at Anaheim Ice (which is about 20 miles further than my local rink) so there is that. Its just a matter of do I want to make that drive on a Sunday night.

I'm lucky in that I had my regular sunday team I could fall back on if I couldn't find a goalie spot. Sucked telling them I'm not coming back, though.

[beedee 224]

Here is a write up i did for an Adult Clinic last night....

Wow what a huge turnout at Lakewood last night, probably at least 30+ skaters, and two goalies, including myself.

Got on the ice and did a couple laps and then stopped at my usual spot along the half boards to do my stretching. At that point pucks were on the ice and people were skating around, shooting, stick-handling and what not. I noticed the other goalie (he was newer than me) got in the net at the far end and was taking shots....no way in hell I would do that...it was semi-controlled chaos with pucks coming from every angle. Once I stretched I did another lap then the whistle blew and I asked one of the instructors to put the pegs in my goal...not sure why they don't do that at the beginning? At that point they had everyone line up on the goal line and I was greeted by the goalie (as an instructor) from Long Beach State. He asked what I wanted to get out of the clinic, so I told him a few things. First we went over some basic crease movement and puck tracking drills and angle alignment. From thre we went into some butterfly positioning and active hands. This was great because I always struggled in my head of when I should have my glove hand in the 10'o'clock position vs the 3'o'clock position. He gave me great tips on when and where to use each one, again stressing active hands with elbows snug to the trunk of my body. I really wanted to work on absorbing shots to my chest and smothering those. I have noticed that I would use my blocker in those scenarios when shots were coming at my chest. This isn't a good habit because it created unnecessary rebounds when I could have easily just smothered it. Fortunately it never cost me a goal, but there have been a few close calls. After we worked on those (he shot like 10-15 pucks at me when down in b-fly) we then worked on some post work. I asked him questions regarding VH and RVH and what he preferred, we both agreed that RVH was a better method (but it is all preference). He showed me some good pointers regarding foot/pad position along the post and how to seal it up. We worked on both glove side and stick side positioning, and transitioning from one post to the next, it was awesome! After that we just talked about rebound control and reading the opponents eyes after blocking a shot. Often times you think you have the puck covered but you don't, he was telling me a great way to tell if you don't have it covered was by looking at the opponents eyes and if they start to get big or they make a move towards you, obviously it isn't covered. That wrapped it up for my goalie instruction.

At that point the skaters looked like they were done with their drills that didn't involve the goalies and were ready to get us involved. The ol' 2 on 0 was up next...the death of the goalie!!! This drill while seemingly harmless is pretty taxing on us, as it requires a lot of movement, first out to the puck carrier while keeping an eye on the off-winger, then laterally tracking a pass to him, then another pass and so on. The skaters were coming down from the far end of the ice. It basically came down to track/shuffle/lateral butterfly push and hopefully a save. This got VERY tiring as it was non-stop for what seemed like 10 minutes. After that they did a 2 on 1 from within the own zone, this wasn't quite as tiring but I would say maybe one shot got through for every 5 groups that went. That went on for about 10 minutes as well it seemed and I was beat at that point, I stopped dropping and was basically just a human cone that would rotate to cut off the angles at that point, exhausted!!! Time was running out after that and they did a scrimmage in which I didn't see any shots and lasted maybe 4-5 minutes?

All in all it was rad to see so many people out including a couple of my teammates. I also noticed a few others from our league and the league above us...for whom I subbed a couple games for last season.

Gear update:

My skates felt much better this time around, I put my wax laces back in and they felt snug. At one point I did have a little discomfort, I could feel the forward lean of the Bauer cowlings putting pressure on my arches, that eventually went away though. This was also my second time using the Brians Smart Toe Straps, I'm kind of on the fence to be honest. Maybe it will take more usage but they honestly don't save me much time in the getting ready department, as I use a piece of sock tape around the fastening area to insure they don't come apart, I swear that velcro connection just doesn't look trustworthy. (i know people say they haven't had it come undone, but many have...so i play it safe with the tape). They do help keep the pads centered, however since I'm not used to that it feels like my pads are always kind of pointed inward at the top of the thigh rise area, and it bugs me. I might go back to traditional toe ties with 2.5" of slack...

[m3thods 13]

Have you thought to give ToeHooks a try? I personally love them as they keep the pads snug to my toes but allow for my feet to rotate more than if I had just used traditional toe-ties. I don't even notice them at all. The best part is how the pads return to center when you get up into your stance with no effort.

Gear update:

My skates felt much better this time around, I put my wax laces back in and they felt snug. At one point I did have a little discomfort, I could feel the forward lean of the Bauer cowlings putting pressure on my arches, that eventually went away though. This was also my second time using the Brians Smart Toe Straps, I'm kind of on the fence to be honest. Maybe it will take more usage but they honestly don't save me much time in the getting ready department, as I use a piece of sock tape around the fastening area to insure they don't come apart, I swear that velcro connection just doesn't look trustworthy. (i know people say they haven't had it come undone, but many have...so i play it safe with the tape). They do help keep the pads centered, however since I'm not used to that it feels like my pads are always kind of pointed inward at the top of the thigh rise area, and it bugs me. I might go back to traditional toe ties with 2.5" of slack...

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Exactly the reasons the Brian's straps are so great!

[m3thods 13]

I should've mentioned- putting them on takes all but 0.1 seconds. I'm also still on my first set of hardware after 2 years. The only thing that seems to break is the ziptie, but I can't seem to find the same size locally in Vancouver.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

First shutout ever last night! Put our team into first place, too.

http://icetowncarlsbad.hockeyshift.com/stats/game/42/124/league//26289(they need to fix the goalie of record, I'm #29 not #00)

Had some huge saves, a couple of which were big with the glove. Positioning felt great, mobility is getting better!

I also now lead our league in GAA, SV%, and wins. Tied in shutouts (apparently in one of the later games last night another goalie had one as well).

Edited August 28, 2015 by OptimusReim

[beedee 224]

well our season came to an end last night. it couldn't have been a better game to end it on, tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, then went to an 8 round shootout. our team couldn't manage to score once during the shootout, talk about aggravating! i stopped 7 of 8 shooters, the last guy beat me blocker side in between my arm and chest...i was kind of fatigued at that point and got lazy and didn't seal that area up.

I'm proud of my team, they really did improve and worked hard all season long. Some people "got it" while others I really feel like they just "don't get it". Others are more naturally talented and coordinated while some people aren't. This completed my first season as a goalie and I feel like I learned a lot about the position and improved as the season progressed. I will reiterate once again how playing goalie really opened my eyes to the game from a different perspective. You see EVERYTHING, the good, the bad, and the flat out ugly of positional play. I learned that you really can carry your team and keep the game close when it shouldn't be nearly as close as it really is...I also learned that you can royally blow the game and have it be out of reach when it should be in reach.

I did sign up again for Rookie at Lakewood but do plan on actively subbing higher levels. This time around I am just going to focus on my position and my position only. If people want help, I will gladly help them out. At the beginning of our season I was the only one with experience on the ice, so I gravitated to trying to coach from the crease and I was expending way too much energy on that, as well as trying to play and learn my new position...it was exhausting. We did eventually get a coach about 3 or 4 games into the season and that was a huge load off my mind as he handled everything from there on out. In between periods I would offer up what I saw from the crease, but that was it.

It was a great experience overall and I'm glad I met some new friends.

**Equipment Question**

​How do you know if a pad "isn't right for you"? My P4's are the second pad I have used, with Vaughn V3's being my very first pads. My P4's are a double internal break with no outer break and are 33+2, my V3's were 33+1 (probably shrunk to be smaller) and a double external break. Being new in net I'd like to hear feedback on what makes a pad work or not work for someone. I know P4's are primarily a "butterfly" style of pad, but is there anything else to what makes a pad work or not work?

[m3thods 13]

**Equipment Question**

​How do you know if a pad "isn't right for you"? My P4's are the second pad I have used, with Vaughn V3's being my very first pads. My P4's are a double internal break with no outer break and are 33+2, my V3's were 33+1 (probably shrunk to be smaller) and a double external break. Being new in net I'd like to hear feedback on what makes a pad work or not work for someone. I know P4's are primarily a "butterfly" style of pad, but is there anything else to what makes a pad work or not work?

It's all personal preference. I'm on my second pair (CCM EFlex Pros from Vaughn V2s). I knew I didn't want a very stiff pad (Reebok/CCM Premier, Warrior G2). Trying on the pads I did in store, I found the CCMs to be the most comfortable when in butterfly, and were lighter than the Vaughns, Brians and Bauers I tried (at least they felt lighter). On top of that, the CCMs sealed the ground better than any pad I had tried.

After reading a few in-depth reviews and thinking about my perceived "style", I settled on what I have today. They're not perfect (I wish I opted for a smaller thigh rise and single external break), but unless I can get a one-to-one swap with no money out of my pocket, I'll be using my pads for the foreseeable future.

I think if you have complaints about your pads, you see if you can remedy it by going to another brand, or another size. Other than that, there's no real way to "know" if the pad you're wearing is right for you.

Edited August 31, 2015 by m3thods

[beedee 224]

It's all personal preference. I'm on my second pair (CCM EFlex Pros from Vaughn V2s). I knew I didn't want a very stiff pad (Reebok/CCM Premier, Warrior G2). Trying on the pads I did in store, I found the CCMs to be the most comfortable when in butterfly, and were lighter than the Vaughns, Brians and Bauers I tried (at least they felt lighter). On top of that, the CCMs sealed the ground better than any pad I had tried.

After reading a few in-depth reviews and thinking about my perceived "style", I settled on what I have today. They're not perfect (I wish I opted for a smaller thigh rise and single external break), but unless I can get a one-to-one swap with no money out of my pocket, I'll be using my pads for the foreseeable future.

I think if you have complaints about your pads, you see if you can remedy it by going to another brand, or another size. Other than that, there's no real way to "know" if the pad you're wearing is right for you.

Thank you for the reply. The bolded part resonates with me for sure. I thought the +2 thigh rise would help with the 5-hole coverage, which it does, but I feel like it does annoy and hinder movement to a degree when getting into my ready position. I also feel like a single-break (external) would benefit me to a degree as well. When I was shopping for new pads (back in June) the P4's were on sale for a great price, they also had EFlexs' as well, but the color selection wasn't anything that I liked (slim pickins as they were on clearance). I suppose I can try to borrow someones pads that is local to me to see if I notice a difference.

[magnets 98]

well our season came to an end last night. it couldn't have been a better game to end it on, tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, then went to an 8 round shootout. our team couldn't manage to score once during the shootout, talk about aggravating! i stopped 7 of 8 shooters, the last guy beat me blocker side in between my arm and chest...i was kind of fatigued at that point and got lazy and didn't seal that area up.

I'm proud of my team, they really did improve and worked hard all season long. Some people "got it" while others I really feel like they just "don't get it". Others are more naturally talented and coordinated while some people aren't. This completed my first season as a goalie and I feel like I learned a lot about the position and improved as the season progressed. I will reiterate once again how playing goalie really opened my eyes to the game from a different perspective. You see EVERYTHING, the good, the bad, and the flat out ugly of positional play. I learned that you really can carry your team and keep the game close when it shouldn't be nearly as close as it really is...I also learned that you can royally blow the game and have it be out of reach when it should be in reach.

I did sign up again for Rookie at Lakewood but do plan on actively subbing higher levels. This time around I am just going to focus on my position and my position only. If people want help, I will gladly help them out. At the beginning of our season I was the only one with experience on the ice, so I gravitated to trying to coach from the crease and I was expending way too much energy on that, as well as trying to play and learn my new position...it was exhausting. We did eventually get a coach about 3 or 4 games into the season and that was a huge load off my mind as he handled everything from there on out. In between periods I would offer up what I saw from the crease, but that was it.

It was a great experience overall and I'm glad I met some new friends.

Congratulations on the season :)

Where I am, the development (rookie) league is C grade, and play in Summer as the A, B and national league need the ice in the Winter (Southern Hemisphere, so opposite to most of you). Last year, it had grown so much (without the clubs at higher level expanding) that it split to C1 for more experienced players, and C2 for the less experienced. Here in My part of Australia, that means 4 teams in C1 and 9 teams in C2.

We start next week, and I've been told I'm playing in one team in each division :)

[m3thods 13]

Thank you for the reply. The bolded part resonates with me for sure. I thought the +2 thigh rise would help with the 5-hole coverage, which it does, but I feel like it does annoy and hinder movement to a degree when getting into my ready position. I also feel like a single-break (external) would benefit me to a degree as well. When I was shopping for new pads (back in June) the P4's were on sale for a great price, they also had EFlexs' as well, but the color selection wasn't anything that I liked (slim pickins as they were on clearance). I suppose I can try to borrow someones pads that is local to me to see if I notice a difference.

Hah I though the exact same thing with mine! (opted for +2, in retrospect I should've just stuck with +1 or even +1.5). Now that I've worked on my hip flexibiilty the "benefit" of having a longer thigh-rise is negligible if not negative, as it definitely affects my skating. I've found myself leaning on my thigh-rises in-game to bend them more into an S-shape so they don't interfere so much.

That said, I don't even think about them when playing as they don't bother me then. The above statements were more of a "post-mortem" of my pads after the fact, and what would make them more "perfect". I'm sure if I ever get around to getting a 3rd pair of pads, I'll still find something to be unhappy about lol

[beedee 224]

When I first started back in April, my buddy hooked me up with his old Vaughn V3's in a 33+1 (double break) and they were well worn, and probably shrunk a bit. I felt like I couldn't close my 5-hole for the life of me with them. I had just started in goal in April and come June Goalie Monkey was having a huge sale, I initially was looking at the CCM EFlex 500, but they didn't have any good color options left in my size (33+2), so I looked at the Reebok P4. Being that I am still fairly new in net, the difference in the two pads didn't feel all that substantial even though the CCM I tried on had an external outer break, and knee rolls (the P4's are flat faced, with no external break, but are "pre-curved"). Also, since both pads were brand new, it was hard to gauge if one felt more stiff than the other, all I knew was that my old Vaughn V3's were very soft and I had trouble pushing in the butterfly with them so I wanted something that was more firm, with more thigh rise for more 5-hole coverage. When I tried them on, I brought my skates and my knee-guards (Bauer Supremes). My knee sat dead center in the knee-stacks in the 33's. The 34+1 was too tall, and I wasn't really interested in a 33+1 (maybe I should have been?).

All in all I have been happy with my P4's, but they are all I really know at this point. I'd love to try out a broken in Eflex soon to see if I can notice a difference between them and my P4's. Sometimes I feel like the +2 thigh rise does get in my way when I'm up and getting ready to get into my ready position. However when I'm down in the butterfly and doing lateral pushes I don't have any issues with them at all. They slide very well and seal equally as good.


Regarding my "playing style", I have no idea what it is. I feel like I do a bit of everything, my butterfly isn't the widest (as I am 40 years old) but I am able to drop and seal the 5-hole, so that is good. Rebound control, meh, it depends on how hard the shot is. Being that I am in a lower level league, the shots aren't the hardest but every once it awhile someone will get good wood on one and the rebound will go pretty far.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Finally got to go back out to a pickup tonight. Went fairly well, I suppose. Some decent saves, some goals I should have stopped. The usual.

I've started coming out a lot further when players cross into our zone, giving them nothing to shoot at. It's helped quite a bit. I'm also getting better at my crease mobility, though still a long way to go on that. I'm back on my feet a LOT quicker than I used to be, though. I still can't butterfly worth shit though!

One guy decided he was going to be an idiot tonight. Actually, he always does this, and he always gets comments about it. This time I let him have it. I didn't caption everything that got said, but I captioned a bit of it.

Oh, and the last minute or so was pretty amusing. By that time we're all tired and just messing around. These guys took it to new heights. I was laughing so hard by the end.

[badger_14 601]

New jersey arrived in the mail today! Hoping to channel some sliver of good goalie mojo.

[badger_14 601]

Went to a local stick practice today and found some kids (okay, fine, 16 - 19 year olds, judging by their team gear and banter) who need to learn some manners when it comes to having an actual goalie. Like, I am not sure why you guys think that three people shooting on me at once is a good idea, or why you feel it necessary to shoot on me when I am turned to clear pucks out of the net (I have a bruise just below my armpit for that, thanks), and honestly I could've rolled with the clappers from the hash-marks if it hadn't been for the first two on top of that.

Things got better when they organized themselves into a 4 on 4 scrimmage, as opposed to three pairs all doing their own one-on-ones.

Ah well at least I got to skate.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

I didn't even want to bother editing this one. Keep in mind these videos show ALL the goals AND saves from that night. There aren't many saves in this one. Just wasn't my night. Embarrassing.

[badger_14 601]

I had a great game on Saturday. Felt like nothing could get by me. Teammates liked my new jersey. Hardly noticed that two hours went by. (okay, by the last 10 minutes I was noticing).

You would think that, with all that, I could actually manage to overcome my basic terror of asking for things and have my teammates take some pictures of me in net. Maybe even video. I even remembered to bring my camera. But did I ask? No, of course not. Maybe next time.

:facepalm:

[magnets 98]

I had my season opener last night, lost 3-1. Only one goal I'm ok with missing (d do some weird things sometimes - skated directly in front of my net and basically handed the puck to an opponent in the slot).

Backed it up filling in for the next game, with a team who had never played together losing 4-2 after 44 shots on goal to 19.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Well, another season, another championship loss. 5-2 this time.

At least I can say it wasn't a bunch of "bad" goals like last time. They earned all of them, and were the far better team.

Oh well. Moving up to D5 next season!

[badger_14 601]

Teammate took a few pictures of me at the skate this morning, until Teammate 2 complained that the camera work was interfering with his scoring. (not true: that was me interfering.) Unfortunately I am faster than I thought, because all but one is blurry and/or I am hidden behind someone else. (unfortunately? fortunately?) I had a fantastic glove save on Teammate 2 that produced a fine string of expletives. Teammate said he'll take some more tomorrow. I have to readjust the camera to "simplified for physics professor" mode.

The action has moved to the other end of the rink - I am in the process of standing.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Well, no more pickup hockey for me I guess.

Hello,

I am checking to see if you are able to play in this game?

Please let me know with a YES or NO response A.S.A.P.

Thank you,

Martin

Yes

Ok thx

Sorry chris full for goalie at 9:15 I made a mistake can you play at 9:30 [on the other sheet w/ advanced players]

Sorry chris my mistake we are full

I'm shocked after a year of being s regular I've lost my spot. Oh well.

Sorry chris you were not a regular you just played a lot I will get you back in next week

How do you go from playing almost every week for a year to being a regular then?

ok

Well that was an unnecessarily rude response.

Now that rookie league is over on Thursdays, I guess I'll be going from playing goal three nights a week down to just one. Oh well.

[magnets 98]

I wouldn't worry too much. If it's anything like it is here, they'll be begging to have you back in a week or two when they can't find anyone that actually shows up predictably.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

I wouldn't worry too much. If it's anything like it is here, they'll be begging to have you back in a week or two when they can't find anyone that actually shows up predictably.

Who knows. I was mostly confused how showing up consistently for an entire year (and giving at least a week notice when I wasn't going to be there) doesn't make me a regular. Keep in mind this pickup is super organized... they supply jerseys and socks and post lineups when you arrive so you know what team you're on and what line and position. So it's quite a bit different than most pickups.

Either way, I sent the conversation to a friend of mine who also plays in the same pickups, and my dad pipes up:

sounds a little off....martin.....id kick [his] ass if [he] did that to me....sounds like [his] friend wanted to play,,so chris was demoted....what a jerk....I ran a team for 20 years and couldn't be like this to a person....tell him you quit chris...find someone else to play for..what an asshole is right.....

Sometimes my dad can be pretty funny/awesome.

Edited September 22, 2015 by OptimusReim

[donkers 31]

that pick up has been running for 20 years if not longer and there are guys who have been there consistently for 10 years or more. they just have a different definition of regular.

btw we lose our ice time to them in the summer all the time so i'm not on their side or anything.

Edited September 22, 2015 by donkers

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Yup, I know. He could have just said that instead of being a dick. Oh well, it's not like there's nowhere else that needs goalies.