Things to know as a goalie

August 30, 2020 By Sianna Gerelus, HockeyGirlz

Are you a new goalie? Overwhelmed with all the things you’re apparently supposed to know to start?

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If yes, we’ve got you covered!

In this article, HockeyGirlz member Sianna Gerelus will be showing you some things that every beginner goalie should know how to do.

Here we go!

Always warm up before you go on the Ice

Work on your shooting

It is important for goalies to work on their shooting even though it is not something they do often.

It is important because during the course of the game, they pass to their defense players and in rare occasions, shoot it down the ice.

Know Your position in the net

When the play is at the side of the net make sure to cover as much of the net as possible.

When the play or the shot is low, touch your toe to the front of the post, make sure the glove is facing out and have the stick open to deflect the puck away from the net and into your stomach.

When on the other side, the toe must be touching the front of the post and covering the bottom. Have the stick either flat on the ice and at an angle that is away from the post or on top of the pads to cover that area. Try to straighten your back up and have your head lifted to cover most of the top area.

Know your angles and crease positioning

This exercise will show you the very basics of angles and crease positioning while also doing an easy post to centre of crease movement.

This can be done on any flat surface with your stick and gloves or even skates.

First, start at either post on your butterfly facing the side (as if the shot was coming from the sharp angle.)

Then, move your eyes first to see where you're going then lift up using the back foot and thrust to the centre of the crease.

When ending the side, come out strong and bold into your stand up butterfly with your stick centred and glove up.

The same goes for the other side.

Have great balance

This activity involves a stick and gloves and something to balance with. It is excellent for goalies as balance is an important skill in skating and hockey. To go one step further, try it with one leg for a few seconds then and rotate. If not, do with both legs.

Have a top notch reaction time

This activity is great for improving your reaction time.

To do this drill, it is recommended that you be on an ice-like surface.

Secondly, close your eyes and have someone in front of you place a puck on this surface. Then, open them to retrieve the puck. When you do, bring your stick to retrieve the puck and cover with your glove.

Have great edge work

The purpose of this exercise is to make sure the edges are sharp and clean.

It helps to make sure that when the goalies start off, they are pushing with power and they are tweaking their leading ankle at the end to stop and turn the other way.

It is great repetition for classic t-pushes across the crease leading with eyes first. It’s also a great help to stop at the corners to match the stick and to practice keeping the frame square.

Get accustomed to the crease boundaries

It is important for a goalie to know and feel comfortable in the crease.

After all, it’s where they spend most of their time during the game. If you don’t have a sliding pad or not on the ice, this drill is a great way to get the feel of going around the crease using three points to serve as the boundaries of the crease.

The jumping motion will help you get accustomed to the feel of the push going from each point.

Know how to get up from your back to a butterfly the right way

This exercise is to help goalies learn at a young age how to get up from their backs and into their butterfly the right way.

As you come up using your core, pull back your leg on your blocker side and use your glove on the ground behind your back to help you push up. When your leg is complete on your blocker side, bend it to the same position to come up into your butterfly.

Constantly work on your accuracy

But have fun doing it!

This drill is fun and good for accuracy for working on your goalies glove. It’s something I started with my parents as a year round excursive for accuracy and to simply get better at my glove accuracy. It’s really fun, and it works!