Starting in Goal as an Adult

[beedee 224]

Thanks so much psulion22 for all of that information, I will be sure to implement it next game, as I have heard the team we will be playing is better than this last team, I will need every ounce of energy I can get!

Here are a few pix from Sunday's game.

Opening faceoff

Just pulled a rebound back in and covered it, where is the defense?!?!

I believe this was after the first period, chatting with my buddy whom was the opposing goalie.

Edited May 19, 2015 by beedee

[badger_14 601]

Your rink's league provides some classy jerseys, man. No screen-printed one-color single mesh here, I see.

Looks good!

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Bought my GoPro today. Money well spent!

Here's the video from tonights pickup session (make sure to select 720p HD!):

Video Highlights:

3:29 - Breakaway save

6:35 - Oops. Brutal.

6:56 - Dat leg save!

7:13 - Wow, what a tip-in!

8:17 - Huge glove save

8:33 - Teammate screwing around with me :)

10:05 - #9 in white is 80 years old! He's very slow, but amazing hands.

10:28 - Goal or no goal? You be the judge! (I think it was on the line.)

Edited May 20, 2015 by OptimusReim

[beedee 224]

Very cool OR! Looked like a fun skate for sure, and wow, 80 years old?!?! We have a guy on our rookie team that is 58, I hope I'm still playing at that age..I think! I brought my GoPro to my StickTime on Monday but didn't bring it out on the ice with me. I only have the 3-in-1 tripod for it, one of these days I will bust it out!

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Very cool OR! Looked like a fun skate for sure, and wow, 80 years old?!?! We have a guy on our rookie team that is 58, I hope I'm still playing at that age..I think! I brought my GoPro to my StickTime on Monday but didn't bring it out on the ice with me. I only have the 3-in-1 tripod for it, one of these days I will bust it out!

Gotta get the suction mount! It works great.

And yea, he's 80. Insane. He's slow as hell but he has really good hands, has excellent hockey sense and his passes are tape to tape. He's also one of the most friendly people I've ever met. He comes into the room after every pickup with "WAS THAT FUN OR WHAT?!!!?!" and gets a loud cheer every time.

I just think it's funny how I play pretty well during these pickups, but in my rookie league games I stink. The shots there are so slow and bounce off a bunch of legs and skates all the time. It's so unpredictable.

[beedee 224]

I now know what you mean about the lack of flow in Rookie League, it is almost unnatural to have to move soooo slow in that league that it does mess up timing for us. From that video, that looked like a fun level of pick up, didn't look like there were too many ringers that were trying to deke you every other shot.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I now know what you mean about the lack of flow in Rookie League, it is almost unnatural to have to move soooo slow in that league that it does mess up timing for us. From that video, that looked like a fun level of pick up, didn't look like there were too many ringers that were trying to deke you every other shot.

Yea, I definitely prefer playing with higher skilled guys. So many bad goals go in in rookie league.

And yea, definitely never get anything like ringers at this pickup. This same group of guys has been playing this Tuesday night thing together for literally decades for some of them. The first line is advanced (probably D3/D4-level) and the second line is novice (D4/D5-level). When one line changes, the other does too, so you never get a first line paired up against a second line.

You may have heard the siren in the video - it goes every 2 minutes with a short burst signaling 15 seconds left in a shift.

It's pretty rare you get somebody going end to end or anything like that. They really do a lot of passing and setting up good shots or cross-crease setups for tap-ins. That's one of the reasons I'm often so deep in the crease, because these guys tend to be pass-first about 90% of the time.

[psulion22 402]

Bought my GoPro today. Money well spent!

Here's the video from tonights pickup session (make sure to select 720p HD!):

What are your skates cut at? If you watch your feet as you are getting ready to make a save, often they are sliding outwards and backwards.from under you. So as you get deeper in your crouch, they want to be wider apart. Get your feet wider, I know you don't think you can, but you can. They are trying to do it on their own. When you do that, you'll be able to engage your edges better. You'll stop slipping so much, and you'll find that your movements are a lot more powerful as a result. Get your skates cut to 1/2 or 100/50 FBV at the very least (I skate on 100/75), you need to make them as sharp as possible. Shuffling will be more difficult, but you can learn how to do it. You can't learn how to make your edges sharper if you are slipping.

Also, watch as you drop to make a save. Often, you pull your feet backwards so they are touching behind you. That's leaving the 5 hole very exposed, and severely limits your ability to move. Also, it leaves your knees more exposed to being hit with pucks, and puts more strain on them. I'd say you are more likely to hurt your knees that way then by dropping with your knees in. If you get your feet wider, you'll be able to engage your edges and drop by bringing your knees in. I also just noticed that when you drop, you are dropping your butt and sitting down. That's why your feet go back. You're bringing your weight backwards over your legs, which puts strain on your knees and forces your feet backwards. Focus on keeping your butt and hips straight up. You want to drop forward, keeping your weight over your knees. You'll find there's a lot less strain and pulling that way.

Your angles look good, and your reactions and battles are good too. Get your feet wider to get those edges involved and you'll really see an improvement.

Edited May 21, 2015 by psulion22

[BenderHockey 127]

Chris, aren't you afraid of the GoPro being hit by a shot, deflection, etc?

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Chris, aren't you afraid of the GoPro being hit by a shot, deflection, etc?

Nope, not at all. Everything I've read these things have been hit by shots and no issues. I'm more concerned with the mount breaking than the camera.

Also, I just got the $129 camera so it's not the end of the world if it gets broken anyway. No need for the higher end models, 720p is plenty for my needs.

[badger_14 601]

I don't know if I just didn't work as hard this week, or if I'm getting stronger, because I felt really good after pickup & practice. Sore, but not like 'oh god I have to walk two blocks to the bus stop with my gear shoot me now' sore. I'm going to go with it being the latter because it makes me feel better to think that.

Pickup game was really light - only eight guys, on our small ice, plus the goalies - and I made a lot of good stops, although 3v3 with one sub per side they get tired pretty fast.

At the clinic we did movement, movement, movement. Shuffle from one side to the other, come out, go back, all triangles. Right leg is still a bit wonky coming off the post, and left leg is still wobbly on the shuffles, but overall better. I don't have the most precise technique but it does work at least most of the time. The coach noted that I have the flexibility to do a lot of things but the strength part hasn't quite caught up yet.

Best thing for me about pickup is how the guys are always, always passing - I don't think I've ever just had one guy come in on a breakaway, they nearly always pass, so I have to work at reading the play and the puck, because unlike certain other pickups, I can't assume that the guy who just got the puck in the neutral zone is going to barrel in and fire a shot at me.

[beedee 224]

Thats a great feeling Badger about feeling good after a session! Glad to hear you are progressing well with the conditioning and position.

I did sticktime at Lakewood (my local rink) with my teammate and almost 30 other people today, it was a zoo! The good news is that they had 5 nets out there. 2 of them were reserved at the south end for a goalie lesson and the other was for a couple guys skating out. The third and fourth were positioned at center ice, facing each other, cross ice.

My buddy and I chose to focus on working on stuff at one of the side nets. I did take about 15 shots in the main net, but it was too chaotic. Back at the sidenet I had my friend help me with my lateral movement and slides. Id start at tbe top of the crease, he would tap his stick which was my cue to start my movement to the post. I would look in the direction I was going, pivot my lead foot and drop that leg as I pushed with my opposite foot, resulting in a butterfly slide. As I slid be would then shoot the puck from a relatively steep angle, simulating a one-timer. I felt really good doing these since I had worked on them on Monday. This time it felt more natural and I was able to stay up right and well balanced while squeezing my elbows to my body to seal the 7 hole. We went back and forth between waffle board and glove side.

After that I helped him out with his wristwrs from in close, and same with his back hand. Tried to simulate rebounds to top of the crease for him to backhand in...he did great. We also worked in one-timers with some other guys but that was too hectic with all that was going on. The ice got chopped up pretty quickly but I was still abke to work on my butterfly pushes and made great progress with those! We ground down some of the cowling on the inside portion of my skates and it gave me better contact with my blade on the ice.

Here is a picture of my skate, we ground down those ridges, they were interfering with my ability to push. I know my foot should be more upright when pushing from butterfly, but right now my technique still blows, so grinding them flat was a huge help!

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Those ridges would be annoying as all hell. What skates are those?

What are your skates cut at? If you watch your feet as you are getting ready to make a save, often they are sliding outwards and backwards.from under you. So as you get deeper in your crouch, they want to be wider apart. Get your feet wider, I know you don't think you can, but you can. They are trying to do it on their own. When you do that, you'll be able to engage your edges better. You'll stop slipping so much, and you'll find that your movements are a lot more powerful as a result. Get your skates cut to 1/2 or 100/50 FBV at the very least (I skate on 100/75), you need to make them as sharp as possible. Shuffling will be more difficult, but you can learn how to do it. You can't learn how to make your edges sharper if you are slipping.

Also, watch as you drop to make a save. Often, you pull your feet backwards so they are touching behind you. That's leaving the 5 hole very exposed, and severely limits your ability to move. Also, it leaves your knees more exposed to being hit with pucks, and puts more strain on them. I'd say you are more likely to hurt your knees that way then by dropping with your knees in. If you get your feet wider, you'll be able to engage your edges and drop by bringing your knees in. I also just noticed that when you drop, you are dropping your butt and sitting down. That's why your feet go back. You're bringing your weight backwards over your legs, which puts strain on your knees and forces your feet backwards. Focus on keeping your butt and hips straight up. You want to drop forward, keeping your weight over your knees. You'll find there's a lot less strain and pulling that way.

Your angles look good, and your reactions and battles are good too. Get your feet wider to get those edges involved and you'll really see an improvement.

Just realized I never replied.

Skates are 1/2". I know I can go wider, but I had a coach tell me to go narrower because the wide stance is screaming "shoot here!" So that's what I did. I don't really slip at all out there. I was actually going to go to 5/8 because of how much bite there is now.

I know I open up the 5-hole a lot when I go down and pull my feet inwards. I can't get my 5-hole fully closed no matter what I do, but generally if its a shot to that spot I don't kick my feet in like I often do otherwise. It's just a hip mobility thing, mostly. Well, that combined with a technique issue. Just something I have to work at.

Same for dropping the butt down instead of staying upright... just something I have to work on.

[badger_14 601]

I was under the impression that after two hours (game and practice) I should have worked hard enough to exhaust myself.

Beedee, we do a similar drill at the clinic. One coach stands in front of us, we come off the post to the top of the crease, take a shot, and go back to the opposite post. Or we start at the top, and the coach will shoot either glove side or blocker side, and the idea is to react to the puck and step toward whichever side to stop it. We can also butterfly, or slide, or whatever we want to work on. The head coach basically runs all the drills off a triangle model, having us work without a painted crease so we get muscle memory of where the goal is in relation to us, and don't need to rely on a visual aid. (watch the puck instead).

(I'm amazed that people have stick practice that does not ultimately degenerate into pickup.)

If you can wrangle another goalie, a fun one to try is putting two nets back to back, and having a bunch of skaters passing the puck around - they can shoot on either net at any time. Great for awareness and whatever movement you want to do.

[psulion22 402]

Those ridges would be annoying as all hell. What skates are those?

Just realized I never replied.

Skates are 1/2". I know I can go wider, but I had a coach tell me to go narrower because the wide stance is screaming "shoot here!" So that's what I did. I don't really slip at all out there. I was actually going to go to 5/8 because of how much bite there is now.

I know I open up the 5-hole a lot when I go down and pull my feet inwards. I can't get my 5-hole fully closed no matter what I do, but generally if its a shot to that spot I don't kick my feet in like I often do otherwise. It's just a hip mobility thing, mostly. Well, that combined with a technique issue. Just something I have to work at.

Same for dropping the butt down instead of staying upright... just something I have to work on.

I'm not your coach, or there to see it in person. But from the video alone, I can tell you that much of your problems are simply because your stance isn't wide enough. Your feet are too close together, meaning you are too upright and having to bend too much. That is affecting your technique, balance, and ability to make saves on the ice and down movements. Simply, you are too high off the ice. Get your feet wider and bend your knees more (just doing one or the other won't help). Keep your knees closer together under your body, not as wide as your feet. If you keep your knees more in a straight line, you'll be leaving your 5 hole exposed, and not be as agile, just like your coach said.

As far as the 5 hole, my pads won't cover mine fully either. You have to focus on bringing your knees together, not your feet. Even if the thigh rises don't touch, having your knees together and your stick in place will close up that space. If there is a little tightness in your hips when you go down with your knees together, bring your butt down a little, that should do help. Also, if you go to Sarah at PAW, she can make you a thicker landing block. The increased height, even 1/2", will help alleviate stress on your hips when your knees are together because it allows your ankles to drop lower than your knees. I know it's difficult to get your feet flared out. I have a narrow butterfly also. I'm not talking about widening your butterfly, it is what it is. But if you worked on dropping by bringing your knees together, even if your feet go back, you'll see improvements to your mobility and speed .

You can't keep your butt up if you bring your feet backwards. You'd fall forward onto your face. They are linked with each other.

I have an older goalie that I coach sometimes. He is used to playing the old stand up way, and had a very difficult time learning the new techniques. His stance was too upright, and his feet too close together. When he dropped, it was like you, his knees went forward and his feet back, and he would get stuck like that and become unable to make second saves or move around the ice. He also had hip mobility issues like you. We were able to get around them by loosening up his pads a lot, especially his toe ties and boot straps. And getting him to widen his stance so he can bring his knees together, but while still being able to drop his but lower to take the stress off his hips. Now he can drop into a regular butterfly, and move around the ice better. He needs to work on his weight transfers and such to really be able to slide around. But he's become pretty solid. His hands, stick, and angles were pretty good before. Now that he is getting wider and lower, he's become pretty solid because his pads are much quicker, combined with the rest of his game. I think you'd see these kinds of improvements also.

Edited May 26, 2015 by psulion22

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I'm not your coach, or there to see it in person. But from the video alone, I can tell you that much of your problems are simply because your stance isn't wide enough. Your feet are too close together, meaning you are too upright and having to bend too much. That is affecting your technique, balance, and ability to make saves on the ice and down movements. Simply, you are too high off the ice. Get your feet wider and bend your knees more (just doing one or the other won't help). Keep your knees closer together under your body, not as wide as your feet. If you keep your knees more in a straight line, you'll be leaving your 5 hole exposed, and not be as agile, just like your coach said.

As far as the 5 hole, my pads won't cover mine fully either. You have to focus on bringing your knees together, not your feet. Even if the thigh rises don't touch, having your knees together and your stick in place will close up that space. If there is a little tightness in your hips when you go down with your knees together, bring your butt down a little, that should do help. Also, if you go to Sarah at PAW, she can make you a thicker landing block. The increased height, even 1/2", will help alleviate stress on your hips when your knees are together because it allows your ankles to drop lower than your knees. I know it's difficult to get your feet flared out. I have a narrow butterfly also. I'm not talking about widening your butterfly, it is what it is. But if you worked on dropping by bringing your knees together, even if your feet go back, you'll see improvements to your mobility and speed .

You can't keep your butt up if you bring your feet backwards. You'd fall forward onto your face. They are linked with each other.

I have an older goalie that I coach sometimes. He is used to playing the old stand up way, and had a very difficult time learning the new techniques. His stance was too upright, and his feet too close together. When he dropped, it was like you, his knees went forward and his feet back, and he would get stuck like that and become unable to make second saves or move around the ice. He also had hip mobility issues like you. We were able to get around them by loosening up his pads a lot, especially his toe ties and boot straps. And getting him to widen his stance so he can bring his knees together, but while still being able to drop his but lower to take the stress off his hips. Now he can drop into a regular butterfly, and move around the ice better. He needs to work on his weight transfers and such to really be able to slide around. But he's become pretty solid. His hands, stick, and angles were pretty good before. Now that he is getting wider and lower, he's become pretty solid because his pads are much quicker, combined with the rest of his game. I think you'd see these kinds of improvements also.

I've actually already contacted Sara about new knee blocks. I'm not a fan of how pillow-like mine are, I'd prefer a solid block more like whats on Warrior pads. Luckily mine are all just velcro'd in, with no straps through them so its a super easy design.

Anyway, I'll take away two things from this conversation:

- Keep the butt up and drive the knees down

- Wider feet, get lower, but keep knees fairly close together

Is that pretty much the gist of it, for now at least? I have a pickup session tonight and will try to focus on both of those items.

[psulion22 402]

I've actually already contacted Sara about new knee blocks. I'm not a fan of how pillow-like mine are, I'd prefer a solid block more like whats on Warrior pads. Luckily mine are all just velcro'd in, with no straps through them so its a super easy design.

Anyway, I'll take away two things from this conversation:

- Keep the butt up and drive the knees down

- Wider feet, get lower, but keep knees fairly close together

Is that pretty much the gist of it, for now at least? I have a pickup session tonight and will try to focus on both of those items.

Get the stacks as thick as she can make them. It will really help with stress on your hips.

Yep! That's pretty much it.

-Butt forward, as much as possible. It doesn't have to be completely perpendicular to the ice. The best way to explain would be far enough forward that your weight is still on your knees, not centered or more back over your calves/ankles/feet. Drive the knees together and down, towards each other. You're still going to go forward some, just not as much.

-Feet wider. But knees still closer to shoulder width. Knees should be closer together in relation to the angle of your feet/legs. This will help with the point above because if your feet aren't wide enough, you can't bring your knees towards each other since they are pretty much already there.

Those two things are tied together. If you work on them you'll really add to your already good foundation and really see improvement.

A good way to work on that at pickup would be to get on a line - it could be the blue line during any free time or warm up, or the goal line to the side of the net if the play is in the other end. Stand in your wide footed stance, knees closer, both feet on the line. And practice dropping so that your knees land as close to on the line as possible. Make adjustments to your stance width, and drop direction as needed. This way you can see how changing things affects the direction your knees move.

Good luck!

[beedee 224]

OR, my skates are Graf Goaler Elites.

Once again I have learned even more from you guys, this thread is the best!!!

[IPv6Freely 2082]

OR, my skates are Graf Goaler Elites.

Once again I have learned even more from you guys, this thread is the best!!!

It was moderately helpful when it was just me, but having three of us who are all noobs learning together makes it awesome :D

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Ugh. What a crap session tonight. I was very tired, didn't eat much, and very slow with poor timing.

A couple nice glove saves but other than that... ouch. One guy on their team scored 8 goals himself, apparently. I also had a guy on my own team chirp at me for being crap. That's the first time that's ever happened during one of these pickup sessions. You'll also notice that my D-men are pretty much nonexistent. I don't remember the last time there were this many 2-on-1 or 2-on-0 rushes coming down the ice.

Oh well... lots of video to watch and learn from. Still seeing the issues mentioned earlier, but tonight was just not my night. I'll get back to work next time and I'm sure it will be better.

Video here. Much better editing thanks to using iMovie to edit instead of the awful GoPro editing software.

[psulion22 402]

Lol, you're not going to believe me, but I think you look much better. Your stance is wider, which is engaging your edges. Your movements are more solid and you look more explosive. You made some good saves where you got a pad out really quickly. Faster than I had seen you in the first video. I know it doesn't feel like it because you feel like you played poorly, But I'm saying you looked much better. Watch the save at 8:40. Nice wide stance, knees in. You dropped very quickly and got the stick down and deflected the puck away. Can you see how much more fluid you are in that save? same at 2:21, 2:31, 2:45, 2:49, 2:56. Even the play at 3:09, you moved across well and just missed the puck. That was a great movement and then quick pad at 4:15. You just missed the puck again. 4:35 was great movement on a breakaway - deep knee bend, to one pad down, and a push across with the other leg.

I think you moved better and had better push there because you were deeper in your stance. If you think about it, by getting your feet wider and a deeper knee bend, you can move your leg further and generate more power. Just like bending your knees as a skater. If you stay straight-legged, your shorten your stride and limit your power.

There are other things to work on, obviously. But don't be discouraged by a bad night or the changes you made. Stay with them and build on them.

[beedee 224]

Thanks for the video OR, I agree with P22, you improved on many things! It was very obvious that you didn't have much support at all. Not only the 2 on 0 and 2 on 1, but there were so many guys wide open at the bottom of the circles and in the slot it wasn't even funny! You had a ton of great saves though man. I know how hard it is to stay motivated to make the next save when it feels like you are the only one giving a crap on your team. It feels like no one else on the team is even trying, meanwhile you are busting your butt!

I could be way off here, but it looks like you have a tendency to lean to your right when you are dropping and kicking out your left leg. I noticed that on a few throughout the video, 3:13, 3:20, 3:34, 5:58, 10:22 etc. It looks like mainly when shots are coming to your glove side you kind of scootch to your right a little extra to make it easier to get your glove on it? At 12:14 you were money, nice and squared, and upright to the shooter. Sick breakaway save at 13:38 too!

I'm doing a clinic tonight, still need to get me that suction cup mount for my GP!!!

Btw, I can't believe the other team is celebrating goals during pickup!!! Not only that, they are taking extra hacks at rebounds that are right at your glove/blocker when on the ice. I'd be pissed!

And wow 16 has the audacity to chirp you when he was standing behind the goal line watching the play?!?! Check out his sorry attempt at playing defense, he does a weak attempt at hooking the player, instead of putting his stick on the ice and going for at least a poke check, he does nothing. Look at all your players standing around and watching the play go by them without being on an opponent. Heck, two of your players are side by side watching the other two opponents wide open hacking away. Have you shown them this video? It would be great so they can see how bad they are doing on D.

15:38, where the hell is your team at?!?!

Dude, I know it is just pick up, but i was getting infuriated watching how hung out to dry your team leaves you.

Edited May 27, 2015 by beedee

[beedee 224]

Any of you guys ever use Pad Skinz or Pad Wrap? Did a quick photoshop of what my pads would look like if I matched out jerseys.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Lol, you're not going to believe me, but I think you look much better. Your stance is wider, which is engaging your edges. Your movements are more solid and you look more explosive. You made some good saves where you got a pad out really quickly. Faster than I had seen you in the first video. I know it doesn't feel like it because you feel like you played poorly, But I'm saying you looked much better. Watch the save at 8:40. Nice wide stance, knees in. You dropped very quickly and got the stick down and deflected the puck away. Can you see how much more fluid you are in that save? same at 2:21, 2:31, 2:45, 2:49, 2:56. Even the play at 3:09, you moved across well and just missed the puck. That was a great movement and then quick pad at 4:15. You just missed the puck again. 4:35 was great movement on a breakaway - deep knee bend, to one pad down, and a push across with the other leg.

I think you moved better and had better push there because you were deeper in your stance. If you think about it, by getting your feet wider and a deeper knee bend, you can move your leg further and generate more power. Just like bending your knees as a skater. If you stay straight-legged, your shorten your stride and limit your power.

There are other things to work on, obviously. But don't be discouraged by a bad night or the changes you made. Stay with them and build on them.

That was the one thing I managed to focus on, was keeping my feet wider BUT still getting my knees together. I would gauge it by whether I had a slight overlap in my thigh rises. It was just a bad night for timing, I'd miss a lot of pucks I'd normally be able to stop. I also hate when a really slow puck fools you because you're expecting it to come at you much faster.

My side to side movement isn't too bad generally, as far as getting across on a one-timer, etc. It's just the recovery from it that I have a hard time with.

Oh well, this was definitely a good night for learning from video. This GoPro is becoming such a good investment!

Thanks for the video OR, I agree with P22, you improved on many things! It was very obvious that you didn't have much support at all. Not only the 2 on 0 and 2 on 1, but there were so many guys wide open at the bottom of the circles and in the slot it wasn't even funny! You had a ton of great saves though man. I know how hard it is to stay motivated to make the next save when it feels like you are the only one giving a crap on your team. It feels like no one else on the team is even trying, meanwhile you are busting your butt!

I could be way off here, but it looks like you have a tendency to lean to your right when you are dropping and kicking out your left leg. I noticed that on a few throughout the video, 3:13, 3:20, 3:34, 5:58, 10:22 etc. It looks like mainly when shots are coming to your glove side you kind of scootch to your right a little extra to make it easier to get your glove on it? At 12:14 you were money, nice and squared, and upright to the shooter. Sick breakaway save at 13:38 too!

I'm doing a clinic tonight, still need to get me that suction cup mount for my GP!!!

Btw, I can't believe the other team is celebrating goals during pickup!!! Not only that, they are taking extra hacks at rebounds that are right at your glove/blocker when on the ice. I'd be pissed!

And wow 16 has the audacity to chirp you when he was standing behind the goal line watching the play?!?! Check out his sorry attempt at playing defense, he does a weak attempt at hooking the player, instead of putting his stick on the ice and going for at least a poke check, he does nothing. Look at all your players standing around and watching the play go by them without being on an opponent. Heck, two of your players are side by side watching the other two opponents wide open hacking away. Have you shown them this video? It would be great so they can see how bad they are doing on D.

15:38, where the hell is your team at?!?!

Dude, I know it is just pick up, but i was getting infuriated watching how hung out to dry your team leaves you.

Haha yeah, the D was REALLY weak. Worse than usual, really. Oh, I should also mention that #16 is a forward. So.. why he was behind the net is beyond me. Whatever, maybe he didn't know I was a beginner. These guys have mostly been super supportive.

I don't mind the celebration for the most part, it's pretty mild generally. Feel free to celebrate if you throw it top shelf on me, that's a goal that deserves celebration. Most guys don't hack at me for the most part. Not enough that it bothers me.

As far as being hung out to dry, keep in mind that every 2 minutes the alarm goes and both teams change as soon as the immediate play is over. Most of the 2-0 and 2-1 come from times when the other team gets out on the ice quicker. It's NOT usually like this. Just look at last weeks video... very few 2-0 and 2-1. Just a bad night for our team. There were definitely times our guys blew a zone exit and it ended up in the back of the net. Guys in the room were commenting afterwards that our team had difficulty clearing the zone (the two locker rooms are actually a mix of both teams, which is kind of odd, but whatever)

As far as me leaning... yep. As you may have been able to tell, my glove is by far my best asset and I kind of tend to cheat towards it. I lean to cheat a bit knowing my blocker side is weaker. I have to grow out of that, but its a confidence thing. If you beat me to the glove side, it had to be a hell of a shot, so i worry much less about it and cheat to my blocker side.

Any of you guys ever use Pad Skinz or Pad Wrap? Did a quick photoshop of what my pads would look like if I matched out jerseys.

A goalie I play with on Thursday nights has padskinz on his pads (actually, same pads I have - the Brians S-Series, but all-white) and he added some orange and blue. I'm not sure how long he's had them on for, but they look like they're still in pretty good shape. Realistically, the front of your pads should rarely be touching the ice, so in theory they should last fairly long. If I were you, I'd do it... the pads look great with the matching colors!

I'd like to do it for the odd time I play goal for my Sunday team (which I normally skate out for) by replacing the silver with orange on my pads, but the bigger concern I have is how well they come off - I'm worried about them leaving residue or whatever.

[beedee 224]

Great clinic last night at KHS, they had 4 coaches out there, including a suited up goalie coach! I believe there were about 12-15 skaters, plus 3 goalies (me, plus 2 others). It was really nice that there was a goalie coach this time around, he took us down to the other end of the ice to work with us.

We started off with some C-Cuts to stops, switching off which leg we stopped with, cut-cut-cut-stop-set! repeated that from the goal line to the blue line and back. Next up was T-Pushes, strong push-glide-strong-stop, rotated between left foot and right foot forward stops....goal line to blue line and back. Following that was the same, but after the stop, we dropped to butterfly, alternating which leg we got up with to push into the next T-Push...goal line to blue line and back. After that, we did C-Cuts around the face-off circles, did one lap cutting with our right leg, then stopped and went back the other way around the circle, cutting with our left leg. Followed that up by doing the same thing but going backwards. After that we did sideways shuffles, facing the boards from goal line towards blue line, at the halfway point, we switched sides so we were pushing with the opposite foot. Once we finished those we had a water break, then it was time for Up-Downs. Drop down to butterfly from ready position, then hop back up...talk about a leg & lung buster! We did 10 of those then shook it off by skating across the ice and then stretched it out a bit. From there we went to work on butterfly pushes and slides. I struggled a bit with my pushes because my skates have no inside edge on them at the moment, so it was very difficult to get any bite to push. Slides were great though, I am definitely stronger and more natural dropping my right knee and sliding that way than I am with my left. We started at the top of the crease, he would then yell "Go", we would track the puck to a steep angle and do our slide while he shot the puck. The focus was on keeping our elbows in and our back straight and tall, trying to keep a solid seal as we slid and squared to the puck. Again, going to the right was no problem for me and very natural, but I had to think too much when going to the left and it felt awkward. That about wrapped up our goalie only stuff, now it was time to face some shooters in drills.

The skaters did a few different drills where they would start at the blue line, skate in about 10 feet then navigate around a tire, then slide the puck under a stick or two that was set up on two pucks, then navigate another tire making them circle back in to what equated to the high slot and they would shoot from there. We did that for about 7 minutes then we switched ends and shooters. From there they did a passing drill where they faced each other on a side of a tire, they would pass it once, twice, three times and the guy closest to the blue line would come in for a shot...that lasted about 7 minutes or so. Next drill was the coach standing along the side boards, and he would soft pass a puck in a direction to the right or left, pointing at which goal he wanted the skater to shoot on, similar thing where they would shoot from high slot, or come in for a deke. This wrapped up the clinic and I felt great at the end. Everything is feeling more and more natural each time I skate!