'Old School' Goalie save

During the summer at our Goaltending Schools, we quickly touch on 2 pad stack saves. This is pretty much an old school move, but we now teach it as a desperation save from the initial butterfly position when the goaltender runs out of options. You'll see many pro's use it, but it is one of those "wow, where did that come from' plays, that you don't see often.

One of the things we teach at our goaltending schools and goalie clinics is that a goaltender needs to have all the possible options (save techniques) available to him/her. Much like a carpenter doesn't go to a job with just a hammer, a goalie must not rely on one or 2 saves. A complete goaltender will have many options and 'pull them out of the toolkit' when needed.

This past summer, one of our most promising students (15 year old AA great talent but a bit hard headed) refused to practice this save, saying it was 'old school' and he'd NEVER use it. (This kid has a great butterfly and utilizes it very well.)

Well, we had a long disagreement and he was given the whole explanation as to why we teach it, after some intervention from dad, he reluctantly agreed to work on it, but in his mind it was a huge waste of time.

Funny thing happened this past week, same student tells me about the awesome save he made in a AAA tournament...yep, you guessed it, a TWO PAD STACK. We had a good laugh and he now has a much better understanding of why it is so important to learn EVERYTHING and not just what you think you will use.

Oddly enough I was playing this past weekend and used the 'old school' move twice in one game, making saves on both shots and drawing lots of praise from my team and some choice words from the opponents - it looks cool when it works - otherwise you can look like a beached whale.

Its all about waiting until the last second and throwing the pads out just when the puck is being released, the mid body should be at the blade of the stick (if possible) to gain maximum coverage, but sometimes you just throw the legs out and prey. The hardest part of the 2 pad stack is keeping your balance and not winding up on your butt looking at the roof. The only way to 'get it' is to practice a few.

Remember, it is there if, and when you need it, but don't get into a habit of using this save regularly, its still a desperation play and no matter how good it is, you are in an awful position if there is any kind of rebound.