Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Proper VH Positioning 


Price showing the 'Dead Arm' or 'VH' or 'One Leg Up' position (pick a name for it). 

That this is a scripted video and not an actual practice session. This is obvious because Price does a lot of the movement at 1/2 speed and even uses a T Push for the simple movement part of the drill before the pucks are introduced. You can see he even loses his balance at 2:41 when he tries to transition from 'T' to down, this is because he is too upright and wouldn't be using a T push if this were a 'real' situation. 

When the shots start coming, he uses proper technique and does a solid shuffle into the drop - no T PUSH, when it counts, he does it right and there are no holes to shoot for. 

This is a solid move to learn, but should only be used when a player cuts very deep (below the circle) or walks out from behind the net. Far too many goalies are using this technique in the wrong situations and the result is a lot of unnecessary goals being scored. 

It is also an awkward position and requires a lot of work to learn proper balance and a quick transition into and out of - this means a lot of practice is needed to perfect this technique, Price makes it look easy, but it is not. 

It is also very important to note that Price is 6'3" and is using a low glove position, which he CAN get away with because of his height. For goalies who do not have the height to full the net over the shoulders, we recumbent the high glove position to fill this space (see pic below). It is very important to understand exactly what areas you leave open and understand how to close them. This is a stationary position, so you can't have ANY holes. 

Also worth noting, many goalies are moving away from this technique in favour of the 'Reverse VH' or 'Hip Drop' position…more on that later. 


Source: IN Goal Magazine

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