Goalie stick curve

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

I've coached kids team, and been to some goalie training clinics, and noticed that the recommended stance for a goalie has the blade of the stick sticking out in front of the goalie in such a way as to angle the stick back toward the goalie - kind of making a ramp off the ice and over the net. But with a standard goalie curve, only the middle of the blade is going to be in contact with the ice. What I'm thinking is that by using a reverse curve (ie left hand catch goalie using a righty stick) the whole blade would be touching the ice, giving better coverage, and the curvature would naturally steer the puck to the corners. Be hard to shoot with though, unless you flipped the stick a la Cujo.

Any comments, or is it just a dumb idea from a player?

[thejackal 46]

It would be pretty awful for rebound control IMO.

[merle720 0]

A reverse curve would make the middle of the blade stick up and only the toe and heel of the stick touch the ice. Now if your coaching, how else would you tell your goalie to hold the stick? If the blade of the kids stick looks wrong, then just the same as a players stick, they have the wrong lie. Or the paddle size is too long. Better yet, get a goalie coach to help you out.

[ihockeyiregoalie43 0]

bad idea in my opinion,

the goalie has to switch to backhand to control puck and shoot puck, middle of stick will rise of ice if tilted at angle as some1 else stated and less balance for goalie to return to stand up and the is not as much surfacwe area of the blade in contact with ice,this could be distracting if it slides away,and if the goalyender transfers his weight onto stick to recover. whats everyones opinion on this, im thinking of buying new sticks, the op arose that i could pick up a eagle stick havent seen yet, but ive koho gear,ive been using a koho 490 ROY stick for the pastseason,should i "stick" with the Koho 490s or move onto Koho 590s? or to make it easier buy the eagle?please let me know your opinion.

[biro0002 0]

I've tried that. I agree with thejackal, rebound control is very hard.

Anyway in most situation you don't have time to switch the stick around.

The two best thing to do I think is either have your goalie practice the left hand shot (like I did) or some how have him/her try right hand catch.(if ever possible)

[LetsGoWings13 0]

how often would a little kid play the puck i mean a 7 year old isnt gonna be going behind the net for pucks or any thing altho im not a goalie so i wouldnt no just my 2 cents

[beaucoup_fish 0]

bad idea in my opinion,

the goalie has to switch to backhand to control puck and shoot puck, middle of stick will rise of ice if tilted at angle as some1 else stated and less balance for goalie to return to stand up and the is not as much surfacwe area of the blade in contact with ice,this could be distracting if it slides away,and if the goalyender transfers his weight onto stick to recover. whats everyones opinion on this, im thinking of buying new sticks, the op arose that i could pick up a eagle stick havent seen yet, but ive koho gear,ive been using a koho 490 ROY stick for the pastseason,should i "stick" with the Koho 490s or move onto Koho 590s? or to make it easier buy the eagle?please let me know your opinion.

*whew* talk about verbal/comma diarrhea...I'm not a goalie, but he's right, the curve would stick up off the ice. Imagine going out to poke a puck, only to have it slide under the little door of the blade...

[Aussie Joe 0]

how often would a little kid play the puck i mean a 7 year old isnt gonna be going behind the net for pucks or any thing altho im not a goalie so i wouldnt no just my 2 cents

Thats true in a game sense, but from a practice and long term skill building viewpoint his or her coach should be teaching puckhandling skills as early as possible to build skill of course and confidence. I have been teaching two 12yo's and a 16yo goals for the past 18 months and the confidence they have gained joining in with the skaters in puckhandling drills is fantastic and really has bought their game up in general.

Back on topic the reverse stick is a stupid idea, that rule of angling the stick if taught properly along with stance is really the foundation of any good goalie.

[Chadd 916]

Most goalie choaches I know want the blade to be vertical, not angled. If there is too much rocker on the blade, look for one that has less and the problem is solved.

[jimmy 194]

A straight stick is best for the young goalies. All the blade is on the ice. They can gradually go to curves after they develop basic skills. Anyone can shoot a puck with a straight stick too.

[mcflee 0]

As a right-handed shooting goalie, I use the reverse curve and with some practice it works very well. You can really fire the puck with one hand on the stick and get the puck up in the air like a spatula! Also its adept at pulling-in rebounds in front of the net and sweeping pucks from in front of the net into the corner. My friend is a goaltender coach and he was very skeptical but having seen me use it a few dozen times now, he thinks it definitely has its merits. With the right lie and curve the stick blade lies on the ice just as well as a left-handed stick. You can get the same sort of rebound control with enough practice. It takes a lot of work to shoot the puck with one hand but once you get used to it, it works very well..

While it *can* work, of course, if you're working with kids, the ideal situation is to have learn to shoot and handle the puck left-handed..

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

Wow - I got a lot of mileage out of that topic - I feel kind of bad that I'm not still coaching kids teams - the goalie on the women's team I coach made the national team, so I don't think she'd want to try something like that even if you all thought it had merit.

Thanks guys!