This past week I went out to help the goalies on my son's former team. they don't have a goalie coach and I had an early night at our Training Centre (finishing at 8:00). They had ice at 8:30, so I jumped in the car and went straight to yet another rink - my third that day (LOL)...
It turned out that only 1 of their goalies was at the practice (it's March Break), but it was Scott, whom I have coached for the past 5 years, on my son's teams. Scott is a great talent (for age 13) and is one of the most technically perfect goalies for his age, I have ever seen. Scott is not very tall, being one of, if not the smallest goalie in the league EVERY YEAR, so I have worked very hard to teach him to PLAY BIG and control his rebounds. He has always done a great job of working on this and has stolen many games with his awesome play.
I was excited to get on the ice with their team and I enjoyed the opportunity to work with Scott to ready him for the playoffs. I began - as any coach should - by simply observing for 10 minutes or so, to see what we needed to discuss and what areas needed to be addressed. Having only seen him a few times this season at our Training Centre and not in game action, as I was so accustomed to, for the past 5 years, I was shocked at the bad habits I saw.
I should NOT have been surprised, but having been his coach and working with him for so long, I guess I thought he'd simply retain the information and training we had worked on. The fact he hadn't only reinforces that goalies need specific and ongoing training. Parents and coaches should be aware that goalies need specific GOALIE COACHING and get their goalies the help they deserve. DO NOT LEAVE THIS TO UNTRAINED PEOPLE.
The areas that had declined in Scott's play were nothing out of the ordinary for a goalie who has not received proper instruction for a period of time, in fact, his new found bad habits are the most common areas to decline with goalies who are left to fend for themselves.
Parents and coaches need to be aware of these problems and pay close attention so they can help their own goalies.
First thing I saw was that he was rotating his entire upper body and catching pucks BEHIND his shoulder. Just about every save to the glove side was being made in this manner and it can cause huge problems with balance and rebound control. The worst consequence if excessive rotation is that GOALS will be scored because the shoulder or glove will rotate AWAY from the puck, allowing it to sail through, or glance off and be angled into the net. Squared up shoulders, will afford the goalie MORE BLOCKING AREA.
Second problem I saw was THE SINGLE BIGGEST MISTAKE MADE BY YOUNG GOALIES!
Scott has always had a great butterfly with awesome rebound control...but not any more. He was stretching for shots, stick flailing about and falling forward after making saves - the first major signs of this common mistake. This is also one of the hardest things to get kids to understand - MOVEMENT TOWARD THE PUCK. If the goalie learns to make very short lateral movements toward the puck, rebound control becomes much easier, recovery becomes much easier and positioning will vastly improve.
I teach goalies that they need to have their body centered with the shot - belly button lines up to the puck - for best coverage and control. Most young or untrained (or in this case, trained but forgotten) goalies, simply drop down and throw limbs out to make saves, this doesn't work very well and opens up a lot of holes in their coverage. By teaching simple 6" lateral pushes, the goalie will be covering the net much more efficiently.
The hardest part of this is getting the goalie to understand A) the reason for the lateral movement and B) understanding that they only need to move a VERY SHORT distance to make the save - too much movement will leave the net unattended as they slide out (past and/or through) of the desired blocking area. Flurey in Pittsburgh had a real problem with overplaying, when he entered the NHL and has worked hard to improve this problem, although his rebound control is still suspect.
The third problem is a direct result of not moving into the path of the puck - overstretching and stick control, resulting in a loss of balance. When a goalie chooses to 'drop and stretch', rather than using a short lateral push, the results aren't pretty.
Falling to the knees and then quickly trying to fully extend the leg toward the puck will result in bad balance and increases the risk for injury. After the save attempt, the stick usually pops off the ice and the goalie falls back onto their butt or forward onto their stomach. Teaching short lateral movement will improve rebound control, recovery, positioning and most importantly - result in more saves.
I will see Scott and his team again during playoffs and wish them all the best in the stretch run.
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