Thinking of Trying to be a Goalie

[w0ahitsm3 0]

Hey. Just wondering how everyone here decided to become a goalie. Im starting to kind of want to try the position a couple times at the open skates, but Im not on a team so Im not really sure how I should go about doing so. I know the gear is pretty costly so whats another good way to find out whether or not I should try it out? I would ask about trying it with another guys gear, but not too many goalies come out for practice and since Im not on a team, I cant exactly just borrow em from a friend.

[fatwabbit 93]

I was pretty lucky in the sense that we had a spare set of goalie gear. One tourny, the goalie was injured and we had two more games to go. I was already playing as our center, and since no one else wanted to do it I said I would play. Only thing I didnt have was the goalie pants. I've got some baseball background as well, which was why I had the fast glove. The other team found the weak spot though (low right side), as I wasnt used to using the paddle.

You could ask around, and maybe talk to some of the goalies that turn up. They may have a spare set or and old set that you could get for cheap to try out. You never know you could really enjoy it.

[DasGoalie 0]

I caught for my high school baseball team and had actually always wanted to try ice hockey goalie. before my senior year, the hockey coach called me and said that their keeper was graduating next year and the next goalie coming up was going to be an 8th grader. he had heard i had some interest and we worked out that if the school bought equipment, id give it a shot. ive been playing twice a week since then.(about 6 years)

[Law Goalie 147]

First year I played (minor novice), the coach's son had been thrown into net game after game, until he began having puck-related nightmares and refused to play any more. So, I stepped into the pads, played the rest of the season, and rather enjoyed it. I only really played out one more time: the following fall, when I made an A team as a skater, played a few games, then decided to replace the team's current goalie because he was terrible.

My advice to the original poster is to get friendly with goalies at your local rink. In particular, find a guy whose skates will fit you. Then, propose the switch. Most goalies like to skate out every now and then (I still do, on occasion), and they'll almost certainly be up for a little shinny.

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

I only started playing goalie within the last year...I've always coached goalies with my brother, so I had the brains aspect of it, but now I get to execute what I know. Never hurts when your brother has the same size gear and skates :D it's a lot of fun. Can't wait for my new pads and gloves to come.

[Jat 0]

where can i get cheap goalie equipment?

[cougarscaptain87 11]

play it again sports or ebay would prob be your best bet if your just looking for a set of useable pads to try out the position and then you can upgrade if you wish.

[Jat 0]

Is that your suggestion? Just buy everything cheap to see if i like, and if i do, get better stuff...?

Or perhaps I should get pretty decent stuff and then sell if it i do not like the position? :P

[hockeydoc 0]

I got into it because I did some work for a freind who owned a shop and the way he preffered to pay was giving me some gear. He owed quite a bit and I thought I would never be willing to buy the goalie stuff, so he gave me a full set up.

I only fill in as a back up. I always tease that I am not a goalie, but merely a defender with goalie gear. I have a lot of fun filling in periodically.

Due to filling in more and more (as golies are always in short supply) I found a need to get new gear that worked better for me. I.e. I was only filling in for inline at first but then move to Ice, and the chest protector didn't work well around my neck leaving me very vulnerable. What would result in a severe bruise on inline would likely break my collar bone on ice. Also I was useing leg pads that didn't move well for the butterfly, and were also too short leaving me and the 5 whole vulnerable. I too found that as a scoreing defensemen I like to handle the puck a lot in net, and the glove I had made it very difficult to work the stick...and so on...

I would get close out stuff from like Hockey Giant or something, but only if I knew exactly what sizes and fits would work. As well you need to know what style gear will be most suitable for you. As a beginner you may get discouraged by pads and gloves that don't conform well to how you move.

But if you can try some cheap or borrowed stuff to experiment with, you can quickly learn what might work best for you. Also ask goalies you play with what types of things they like and why. They might be very different from you, but you can learn what type of gear you might want to start looking at based on advantages and disadvantages different gear has from experienced perspectives.

[Phantom 19]

I've wanted to play since I was 10 years old. Of course I ended up waiting another 10 before I could actually buy my own gear and get out on the ice for real, but it's just something I've always really wanted to do. So I enjoy every second out there. :)

Regarding trying the position, talk to the hockey director/coordinator at your local rink. Explain that you are interested in trying goal, and ask if they can help. Since everyone loves a goalie (more or less), I'd imagine they'd be happy to at the very least put you in touch with a few local goalies that might be willing to come out and lend you some gear for a skate and shoot session or whatnot. Some rinks have loaner gear, so if you get lucky you'd probably be able to use that.

As someone who had to buy a lot of gear on a budget, my suggestion is to buy used. First though, you should go to a pro shop and get some fitting advice. Try on different types of pads, C/A's, gloves, etc to get a feel for what you like and what will fit you. Ask lots of questions. Then go to eBay, Play It Again Sports, etc to see what's available used for lower cost. I wish I had spent more time in a shop trying on new gear and asking questions, because that probably would've saved me from going through four or five sets of (used) gear in four seasons, just getting to a point where I really felt comfortable with the stuff I had.

A fantastic resource is the classified section at the Goalie Store Bulletin Board. You can find a ton of used, quality gear there.

[hockeyplus 0]

Is that your suggestion? Just buy everything cheap to see if i like, and if i do, get better stuff...?

Or perhaps I should get pretty decent stuff and then sell if it i do not like the position? :P

You can buy some excellant gear for cheap price...

You can check on goaliestore board!!

[hamstercaster 2]

I started out like many kids on the outdoors rink. First as a goalie with no equipment. As we were pretty young, there was no need for equipment really. Just a snowsuit, gloves and a winter hat and that was it. Then I started borrowing my friend's equipment and started goaltending at the same rinks. We used to play on foot, no skates and no chest and arm protection. We used what we called a "puck molle" (soft puck) which did not hurt that much when getting dinged on the upper body. Than, my dad's cousin who was a coach gave me goalie gear for xmas. It was stuff his team was to throw away and he invited me to his team's practice. I was a pretty solid goalie on foot but when I got there with my dad's very old skates, a Artis goalie stick and the beat up gear... I got creamed lol. Even got hit on the shoulders once and hurt so much that I was sick lol.. not very good for my first time out on skates. At that time I had a two piece chest and arm protector which didn't offer much protection at all.. those old enough to have known that equipment will tell you :D. The next day at home, I took appart my shin pads that I had to play forward and took all the hard plastic pieces and sewed them to my arm and shoulder protector and that helped a lot although I went back to play on foot.. mainly. Then when I got in college and tried for a goalie position in our college league which was comprised of 6 teams and I made one team. I had just recently bought goalie skates and it was my first time playing goalie with goalie skates. I played throughout my college years and then stopped when I couldn't find much ice time. At that time, I lent my equipment to my friend and it got stolen in his car while he was out for a beer after a game. He paid me back and that was it for me as a goalie...... until recently. Last summer I purchased used equipment, actually from that guy who had my gear stolen 10 years ago and I started playing nets again and I'm really happy I did!!! Now I'm thinking of upgrading although I don't really need to lol

Now, to answer your other question, check classified, you can often find complete goalie sets for around 500-700 dollars. It's usually somewhat beat up but still has enough life in it to let you play quite a few times and decide wether or not you like playing nets. Then you upgrade piece by piece buying new or used, surfing ebay, craigs list etc.

[chshockey30 0]

I started because i always wanted to be a goalie and in squirts my goalie on my team went out of town and we had a tournament and my coach asked who else wanted to play goalie. I volunteered and ended up doing better then the goalie we had. Been goalie ever since.

[greatsave31 0]

i just liked Hextall and lindbergh so i just went into it from then...

a lot of the suggestions were good, check out the gsbb's classified section

[sonsplayhockey 0]

Try to borrow someone's gear to see if you like it. Try it w/ your regular skates if you want and don't worry about goalie skates on your first pickup if you can't find any goalie skates that fit. Maybe check out the Vaughn hockey site for some basic positioning (goaltending resources at the top). I played one year and we had 3 games w/ a goalie no show. We dumped that goalie and I acquired goalie gear here and there over a couple months from PIAS and ebay. I don't think I spent more than $250 total. My pads are not that light and I have to wear Kneepads under them cause they are not that good for butterfly. I'm only a backup for my team but I do have fun playing in net from time to time.

My kids part time as a backup goalie too so I'm always looking for half decent gear that is cheap but not crap. It's cool to coach them when I've actually got some experiance doing it.

Playing in net will give you better appreciation for the position. It helps me be I think a better shooter on offense and a better defenseman when I have to play back knowing what most goalies like and what they fear.

[Law Goalie 147]

Yep, there's a reason most good goal-tending camps are paired with a goal-scoring camp.

[Spanky 0]

My friend just bought every thing but pants, skates, and shin? pads for 150 from play it again. obviously not the best quality but weve all been able to try the position with that gear and see how we like it. and i now have a lot more respect for the goalie than before. holy shit is it hard. i sucked btw.