Starting in Goal as an Adult

[bunnyman666 445]

Drop-in hockey today: Three goalies showed up YET AGAIN, though probably next week is when the goalie count will go back down to two or one goalie.

Donnie McDangles scored a hat trick on me today, but then got nothing else behind me today. In all, I think I even had fingers left counting goals against; of course if I would have played the whole hour and a half, my goal count would have gone UP UP UP!!!!

None the less, I tried to smother moving pucks with my glove and it didn't happen. At least they didn't result in goals :) Glove is still a bit stiff, though I did make a few juicy glove saves.

In the end, I saw slight improvement in my play today. By no means I am in any danger of taking any NHL goaler's job away from them.

Edited January 14, 2016 by bunnyman666

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Last Sunday's game. Ended up winning 6-3.

Let in a goal only 30 seconds into the game. There was no excuse, I wasn't screened. Just went 5-hole because of my crap butterfly. Second goal I didn't spot the guy in front of the net. I actually almost gloved the shot! Last goal was a fluke. Stopped it, it went straight up and over my shoulder. Obviously my rebound control should have been better.

Otherwise, pretty happy with the result and my play.

I also created a new title animation. I really like it :)

[bunnyman666 445]

Good job, Opti!

[badger_14 601]

Looking good. I see you taking a brief doze there around 3:45. ;) It is true your butterfly looks a little tight (call it ... the pupal phase of butterfly) but I don't know if I can critique because mine probably doesn't look much better. But you generally look to be pretty square to the puck and following it well.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Looking good. I see you taking a brief doze there around 3:45. ;) It is true your butterfly looks a little tight (call it ... the pupal phase of butterfly) but I don't know if I can critique because mine probably doesn't look much better. But you generally look to be pretty square to the puck and following it well.

Hah well the guy blocked a pretty hard shot and flung it down the ice, so I knew it was going to be icing. Wouldn't normally sit there like that :)

The butterfly will get better over time, I just have to make sure I keep my stick down in the mean time.

I also want to mention this time I exported it as H.264. Previously I had been exporting as "ProRes". I basically dropped the file size by 90% with H.264 with no decline in quality. Instead of 10GB, the file was like 850MB. My pickup videos (that are usually about 10 minutes) were well over 20GB each.

[Flop_N_Pray 38]

Pictures!

I will try to get some pics up but I don't want to bang around the house and wake up the wife tonight. I did get out to a local rink that will let me wear my pads at open skate (it's usually pretty slow) and it's $5 for four hours, which is awesome. The new Rituals are amazing. I can actually do the butterfly movements now (although the pendulum slide is pretty rough). I knew I had the flexibility to have a good butterfly but the old pads didn't give me the stability to use it. These just rotate every time, making it much easier to think about other things like stick and glove position. After practicing Wogtech drills for about an hour and a half, they opened up the other rink for a high school kid to shoot around. I went over and took about 100 shots in sets of 20 from the circles, high slot, low / bad angle on blocker side, and clappers from the blue line. I let in about four or five total, all through the 5-hole while still standing - I keep forgetting the new pads will actually butterfly. Full disclosure requires admitting about 75% of his slap shots missed the net. Facing straight shots gave me a great chance to work on activating my hands and directing rebounds into the corner. I also got some quality practice time using my goal stick to pass / clear and can finally do those things with reasonable proficiency (if I have time and space).

Headed to drop in tomorrow night to see if all the practice helped. Guessing I'll be even worse than usual due to fatigue.

[Flop_N_Pray 38]

Let in a goal only 30 seconds into the game. There was no excuse, I wasn't screened. Just went 5-hole because of my crap butterfly. Second goal I didn't spot the guy in front of the net. I actually almost gloved the shot! Last goal was a fluke. Stopped it, it went straight up and over my shoulder. Obviously my rebound control should have been better.

I have watched all of your videos and have been really impressed by your improvement. Bearing in mind that I'm brand new / not a coach / definitely not any better than you, I hope you don't mind if I have a comment and question.

We seem to have a lot of close calls / goals from the same issue - being committed to reverse VH on the blocker side. It appears you default into sliding into reverse VH anytime the puck is going to your blocker side, even if it is wide - or even sometimes when it is still above the circle on that side. I think the other teams are picking up on that, because they rarely try to jam you; instead, they swing wide, turn and hit an open man in the slot, or cycle it back leaving you stuck just a bit off angle. Examples at 3:17 and 3:49 in your most recent video.

I don't use reverse VH unless I'm 99% sure they're going to try and jam me, but it's still a problem for me because I have a harder time sliding back to my left, and open up exactly the same types of chances that you did at 3:17.

Have you experimented at all with the overlap angle / post integration technique (which is "new" but IMHO looks like classic standup fundamentals). I tried these ideas today it helped my recoveries a lot.

http://ingoalmag.com/video/overlap-technique-option-low-poor-angle-threats/

http://ingoalmag.com/news/introducing-overlap-reverse-post-integration-technique/

Edited January 15, 2016 by Flop_N_Pray

[bunnyman666 445]

Flop-

Most of my goalie moves are more of the stand up variety, much like the stuff you had posted (but I don't execute very well). The hardest part is, of course many modern pads do not seal the 5 hole standing up terribly well, and I have been caught with a five hole open when standing.

There is so much to learn. If I get good at this goalie thing, I hope I am not falling apart by the time I am playing well for over a couple years! I started old, which is why I say that.

[Flop_N_Pray 38]

Sorry in advance about the novel:

Got my skates sharpened to 1/2" which didn't affect my shuffling but seemed to make movement crisper. Also removed the outer part of the knee cradle because i decided to use the Carey Price style strapping, which helps the ol' b-fly even more.

Drop in was scrappy but clean 3v3 rink width with some good players who play together in the local advanced beer league division. Tons of cycling, one timers, behind the net play, and screens - but with a defense for once. . We played win by two and the teams switched every three goals, so it was really goalie v. goalie. Ended up with three wins and three losses on the night. Some pretty good saves which were balanced out by some really soft goals. Best save - scramble in front, dove cross crease to jam my glove into the post to stop it right at the goal line. Worst goal - leaving my stick between between and parallel to my feet while hugging the post, with predictable results. http://www.sadtrombone.com/

Endurance is getting much better and I'm learning to conserve energy until the shot is imminent. Sharper skates seemed to help, as did switching out my water for some Powerade mixed at about half strength.

Things to work on:

(1) Breakaway discipline - I kept committing too early and got beat by the same guy several times, usually with him putting it right where mama keeps the peanut butter. I was a bit gun shy because he hit me in the dangler the second shot of warmups. When I'm intimidated by the shooter, I inexplicably turn into a human pylon.

(2) Playing the puck - skating is good but my stick handling is not. I deflect loose pucks and very soft shots into the corner instead of passing up ice. I also stay home instead of coming out to stop those pucks coming around the boards, even when I have time, due to lack of confidence in my stick.

(3) B-fly pushes - I have the flexibility to kick my leg way out and take away the whole bottom half of the net. This works great against people who can't elevate the puck but leaves my body / gloves lagging behind the play. I'm using proper technique maybe 50% of the time.

(4) Glove position - Blocking butterfly needs work. Second, I kept rotating my hand towards myself when catching like I was cradling a shot to the chest. Finally, I seem to have no idea where my blocker is and take a ton of shots off my right arm floater.

(5) Not cheating - I have a tendency to give up 1 - 2 goals a session on the short side by cheating towards the pass and did it again tonight before I made the correction.

I do have a pic of the new pads / my butterfly position but can't for the life up me figure out how to upload a photo around here. I searched the forum but found nothing. I've done it before but haven't been an active member of an online forum in years. If someone wants to PM me a link or instructions that would be awesome.

TL;DR - I'm getting better faster than expected, which is a mixed blessing for me because when that happens for any given sport or hobby I start to become way too self-critical, way too soon. Also, I'm technologically impaired and can't upload photos.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Flop_N_Pray

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I have watched all of your videos and have been really impressed by your improvement. Bearing in mind that I'm brand new / not a coach / definitely not any better than you, I hope you don't mind if I have a comment and question.

We seem to have a lot of close calls / goals from the same issue - being committed to reverse VH on the blocker side. It appears you default into sliding into reverse VH anytime the puck is going to your blocker side, even if it is wide - or even sometimes when it is still above the circle on that side. I think the other teams are picking up on that, because they rarely try to jam you; instead, they swing wide, turn and hit an open man in the slot, or cycle it back leaving you stuck just a bit off angle. Examples at 3:17 and 3:49 in your most recent video.

I don't use reverse VH unless I'm 99% sure they're going to try and jam me, but it's still a problem for me because I have a harder time sliding back to my left, and open up exactly the same types of chances that you did at 3:17.

Have you experimented at all with the overlap angle / post integration technique (which is "new" but IMHO looks like classic standup fundamentals). I tried these ideas today it helped my recoveries a lot.

http://ingoalmag.com/video/overlap-technique-option-low-poor-angle-threats/

http://ingoalmag.com/news/introducing-overlap-reverse-post-integration-technique/

I'm sorta not... my skate is against the post not my toe, and there's no post lean. But still I see what you're talking about. I agree I can get burned by it if I'm not careful. Especially on the right side (I can slide left to right with a good push, but I can't seem to push the other way).

Looked at your links. The overlap technique looks like a decent enough idea, but I'm concerned by how far out of position you'll be if you get a pass across. Sure you'll be standing already for a big push, but for somebody like me who has crap footwork it's probably not the best way to go. I dunno, I'm sure I'll try it but I'm not sure I like it better than RVH (which again, I'm not sure I'm actually able to do correctly as it is.)

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, though!

[Flop_N_Pray 38]

Especially on the right side (I can slide left to right with a good push, but I can't seem to push the other way).

Looked at your links. The overlap technique looks like a decent enough idea, but I'm concerned by how far out of position you'll be if you get a pass across. Sure you'll be standing already for a big push, but for somebody like me who has crap footwork it's probably not the best way to go. I dunno, I'm sure I'll try it but I'm not sure I like it better than RVH (which again, I'm not sure I'm actually able to do correctly as it is.)

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, though!

I think you get that post sealed pretty well most of the time. Much better than I do, that's for sure!

I have exactly the same problem with my push being stronger to the right. I think I'm overcompensating by doing the exact opposite of you - I stay standing even when I should drop and paddle down for plays in tight, because I know I can t-push hard to my left but I can't slide too well.

Again I didn't mean to armchair quarterback (goalie?) . . . I just figured we're all in the same boat trying to figure out this self-taught old goalies gig.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Flop_N_Pray

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I do have a pic of the new pads / my butterfly position but can't for the life up me figure out how to upload a photo around here. I searched the forum but found nothing. I've done it before but haven't been an active member of an online forum in years. If someone wants to PM me a link or instructions that would be awesome.

You can't upload photos to this forum. You have to use an image sharing site like imgur.com and then enter the image URL into the box that pops up when you click the "Image" button in the posting toolbar.

[Flop_N_Pray 38]

Like this?

This is was a pretty accurate depiction of my butterfly drop (EDIT: As of when I got the pads, before taking them on the ice for 3 hours of practice yesterday). I've improved my 5-hole seal quite a bit and they sealed well on ice tonight. I know to keepy my torso more upright, but using Photo Booth gave me three seconds to sit back up.

My right pad came out of the box with a little twist, which is somewhat noticeable in the photo . . . I'm guessing it had been stored in a funny position for a few years. It has been worked out now.

That rug under the left pad is also pretty thick; that's not a defect. We have a tiny apartment and there is nowhere better to snap a pic. Hopefully I can wrangle some action shots soon.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Flop_N_Pray

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Like this?

This is a pretty accurate depiction of my butterfly drop. I've improved my 5-hole seal quite a bit and they sealed well on ice tonight. Also my torso is more upright, but I was using Photo Booth so I had three seconds to sit back up.

My right pad came out of the box with a little twist, which is somewhat noticeable in the photo . . . I'm guessing it had been stored in a funny position for a few years, but it has worked out now.

That rug under the left pad is also pretty thick lol. We have a tiny apartment and there was nowhere better to take a pic. Hopefully I can wrangle some action shots soon.

Whole hell of a lot better than my butterfly. Mine is a good 6-8" gap. Yours would be closed completely if you had more curve in your pads but Warrior tends to be pretty straight. My new pads on order are an "aggressive" curve to make up for my crap narrow butterfly. Have you looked at Maria Mountain's 14 day butterfly flare challenge? I'd bet if you did that you'd have that closed in just a couple weeks :D

[Flop_N_Pray 38]

Whole hell of a lot better than my butterfly. Mine is a good 6-8" gap. Yours would be closed completely if you had more curve in your pads but Warrior tends to be pretty straight. My new pads on order are an "aggressive" curve to make up for my crap narrow butterfly. Have you looked at Maria Mountain's 14 day butterfly flare challenge? I'd bet if you did that you'd have that closed in just a couple weeks :D

I should have said, "as of when I got the pads" - edited my post above for clarity. I stumbled onto a thread with some tips on how to drop properly - I think it was LawGoalie supplying said tips - and it helped a lot. Having my skates sharper helped me widen my stance. I had quite a bit more flare on the ice tonight, and my pads sealed perfectly on straight drops or even occasionally overlapped. Keeping my hips high was also a key factor. I was sitting down a bit before.

Here is a pic of what my comfortable flare looks like when I drop from a wider stance and execute perfectly. Pardon my lack of skates. And pants. When I focus on driving my knees together as well as down, I'm overlapping more often than not

Better to have a small gap or an overlap?

Maria Mountain is awesome. I have been using her stuff quite a bit. Much of the flexibility is already there, but the conditioning drills are kicking my butt from a cardio standpoint - and I was in pretty decent shape to begin with . . . I thought.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Flop_N_Pray

[badger_14 601]

I have still not discerned if my problem with shots to the ribs has to do with a lack of positional coverage or a lack of external coverage (i.e. padding). Now I have a fine looking bruise on my upper right ribs. Upside: that shot did not go in.

I actually don't remember most of the pickup today, because I have (yet another) respiratory infection. I played reasonably well. I may have let in fewer goals than the other goalie. No one screamed at me. Some players who haven't played with the group in a while are back and surprised at my progress, which is nice.

I am noticing that I slide backward (toward the net) when butterflying or dropping, which probably means I am canting my shoulders and torso forward instead of throwing my hips out and down, and that's something I need to work on. I'm thinking about splurging on another goalie lesson sometime this month or early next (perhaps as a "yay I got through a whole year playing goalie" present to myself). Last year, I went to a guy who works out of the rink down the street from me, and had a good experience. He usually works with kids, but that's about where I am. There is also a group goalie clinic after my Saturday pick-up, but if I do that I'm SOL on a ride home or to the T. ;)

[IPv6Freely 2082]

That was one of the most noticeable things when I upgraded my C/A: the rib coverage. My Reactor 4000 had pretty much nothing. Took some time to get used to actually having padding there. Very nice for squeezing shots though.

[Axxion89 32]

I have still not discerned if my problem with shots to the ribs has to do with a lack of positional coverage or a lack of external coverage (i.e. padding). Now I have a fine looking bruise on my upper right ribs. Upside: that shot did not go in.

I actually don't remember most of the pickup today, because I have (yet another) respiratory infection. I played reasonably well. I may have let in fewer goals than the other goalie. No one screamed at me. Some players who haven't played with the group in a while are back and surprised at my progress, which is nice.

I am noticing that I slide backward (toward the net) when butterflying or dropping, which probably means I am canting my shoulders and torso forward instead of throwing my hips out and down, and that's something I need to work on. I'm thinking about splurging on another goalie lesson sometime this month or early next (perhaps as a "yay I got through a whole year playing goalie" present to myself). Last year, I went to a guy who works out of the rink down the street from me, and had a good experience. He usually works with kids, but that's about where I am. There is also a group goalie clinic after my Saturday pick-up, but if I do that I'm SOL on a ride home or to the T. ;)

If you are taking direct shots to,the ribs, you are likely not square to the puck. if they are kind of glancing the rib area then that's normal and likely your chest is lacking some protection

[badger_14 601]

I would say most of them have been glancing - this was the first really direct hit (hence, the bruising). If I recall it was from a fairly tight angle and I didn't get over to the post properly.

[bunnyman666 445]

I added to the rib protection on my Vaughn, and it was definitely needed. My hits were never direct, but could have been bad, none the less. When I get a CA with adequate protection and no Frankensteining, it will be a very good day.

[bolt91 31]

Hey guys. I've been lurking in this forum for a little bit. I'm thinking about starting to play goal. However, I suffered a lower back injury about a year ago that I might be stuck with for life. I also have some knee issues but those are from being overweight at 5'6" and 275.

I guess I'm asking if goaltending is hard on the lower back? I know it can be on the knees. I'm also getting back into the game after a little bit of a hiatus so my skating and everything isn't up to where it should be.

Should I stick with playing out first and then maybe look at goaltending? Or go for it now? I'm not sure what to do.

Any help is appreciated!

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I say go for it!

Seriously though... I found it's not so much the knees as the hips (assuming you wear decent knee pads). Lower back was an issue for me for a little while, just because the crouch you're not used to being in, but it does get better. With your injury you might be okay, or you might want to consider a back brace. Shock Doctor makes a couple depending on how much support you actually need.

[magnets 98]

I've had four games since the end of year break, and they haven't been good. In fact, broke my personal worst game record.

First game back, let in 5 goals from 15 shots, including four of the first six shots. The ice was terrible, with puddles that would stop the puck in it's tracks. First goal came from a stop like that behind the net, and while I swapped sides expecting it to come out the other side, it didn't, and was wrapped in. That broke me mentally, I didn't trust my judgement on where the puck was going and I just went downhill. I got control of things a bit though, and got a clean sheet in the third.

Came back the next day, and let in 5 from 25 shots, but again with a clean sheet in the third.

After these two games, I've been overthinking things and not playing my natural game. Let in 3 from 25 in the third game and 2 from 19 last night.

Not helping is only having 7 skaters out though, so everyone's tired, and I'm facing way too many breakaways. One more game left before playoffs, and we've dropped from clear first to third. We have clinched a playoff spot, but now have a harder run in.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

If you only have 7 guys and are facing a ton of breakaways you should be asking your D to have one guy stay right back. Well often have a guy at our own blue line or red line unless he gets a chance to jump into the play, when we're short.

Just keep battling and try not to overthink.

[bunnyman666 445]

magnets-

How long was your hiatus? That could have a bit to do with your slump.

Sometimes when a few fluke goals happen, it works your mind game over time.

Try to shake it off and have some fun.