Helping young goalies

[badger_14 601]

I couldn't find quite the information I was looking for by search, so.

I'm an assistant coach for an in-house/developmental squirt team. The association provides goalie equipment, and we offer anyone who wants to a chance to play/practice in it.

The trouble is, none of us (me, the other assistant, or the two head coaches) have ever played goal before. So, I'm looking for some input on the best way to give at least a few fundamentals to the kids who decide to brave the crease. At this point, I think even a tutorial on putting the pads on would be helpful. (the equipment provided is blocker, catcher, leg pads, and arm/chest protector - kids use their regular helmet, skates, pants, etc). Things we can do at practice, or even in games (right now the kids play relatively informal cross-ice games most of the time with one coach from each team on the ice; we also run some full-ice scrimmages at practice, and are looking at full-ice games later in the season) to help the kids feel more comfortable in the position, maybe even want to play full-time as they move up in the association.

Any help?

[Jason Harris 31]

I'd always step into the crease and ask them where they'd shoot. Then I'd skate toward them and keep asking where they'd shoot. They'd generally understand the point that they're trying to take away the vision of the shooter. So I'd tell them to come out at the shooter, but tell them they had to be prepared to skate back to the goal to prevent anyone putting moves on them.

The first person who taught me explained it almost like hours on the clock; basically it was, "Here. Here. Here. Here..." with each position sort of corresponding with each hour, and the purpose being to put the goalie into such a position that the shooter has no choice but to shoot at the goalie. In other words, the better the goalie's position, the less fantastic saves he'd be making.

Finally, I'd wait until you find a kid who wants to play a lot before getting too esoteric with the butterfly, because they might not understand it initially.

[badger_14 601]

Thanks a lot. :) That sounds like something we (coaches) can manage pretty easily.

And no, I definitely don't think we're looking for anything too complex/esoteric. More of a basic sense of the position, so the kid doesn't feel like a lump of foam under siege, or something.

[Phantom 19]

Some good thoughts on the GSBB about mite-level training:

http://www.goaliestore.com/board/doctor-ice/103971-some-basic-drills-mite-squirt-level-suggestions.html

You can download the free online goaltending guide to help you understand some of the fundamentals and terms (scroll down, it's on the right):

http://www.futurepro.com/

[badger_14 601]

Some good thoughts on the GSBB about mite-level training:

http://www.goaliestore.com/board/doctor-ice/103971-some-basic-drills-mite-squirt-level-suggestions.html

You can download the free online goaltending guide to help you understand some of the fundamentals and terms (scroll down, it's on the right):

http://www.futurepro.com/

The letter drills sound good, I think we could do those pretty easily. Skating generally is a big part of our practices for everyone anyway (a lot of the kids just started playing last season, and they're older kids, so while strategy comes pretty naturally, fundamentals do not as much).

Practices usually start with full-ice skating drills. Do you guys think it's beneficial for the goalies to do all the same drills as the skaters during that warm-up, or would it be to their benefit to take them out for a couple of rounds and have them do something different, like t-pushes, or shuffles, if we have the space on the ice? (forgive me if it's kind of a dumb question, I'm pretty new to coaching generally)

[Phantom 19]

Personally I think the goalie-specific drills (t-push, shuffles, etc) are more appropriate, so it'd be good to get a couple rounds of those in when possible. But, as others in that thread suggested, it's probably not worth drilling that stuff a lot for kids who might only play goal once and never again. However, helping them get comfortable with something like the t-push goes a long way when it comes to getting across the crease to make a save. I think you have to know your kids here to see what might work best for them.

Unfortunately (and this is why I asked the question for my Mite goalie coach friend on that thread), you can't get super in-depth or technical because of their age and because they usually swap out frequently. Very basic fundamentals and helping them understand where to be in the crease for shots are about as far as you can get, until you get more regular goaltenders. I like the idea of the puck cover game.

[Jason Harris 31]

Maybe you could pull the goalies out for a couple of drills, but I don't think anyone could have too many lessons in proper skating.

[Apes44 7]

The proper angles/being square to the shooter is key. A big thing that helped a young goalie I worked with (although a little advanced) is focusing on getting up with the proper leg, which can help them get in a better position for the next shot.

[badger_14 601]

Maybe you could pull the goalies out for a couple of drills, but I don't think anyone could have too many lessons in proper skating.

Good point, you're right.

This is all great stuff, and I'll see what we can do if we have anybody in goalie equipment at practice this week.