Hey Guys,

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to briefly sum up what I learned over the weekend in Nashville with all the brilliant goaltending minds I got to be around.

There was so much amazing content, I would never be able to do justice to the presentations or the presenters by trying to recap all of them here.

However, the great thing about the goalie community is that usually, most of us are on the same page.

What I can do is tell you about the most important concepts I learned and how that’s going to make me a better coach for all you guys headed into next season. (I’m really excited!)

A few of the presentations dealt with vision. Whether it was the ability to track objects with our eyes most efficiently, or the best possible way to find pucks through traffic, and even the head and body position to find and track pucks most easily (on that note: it was interesting to hear the differences in opinion on that aspect of things from country to country.)

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The main takeaway: if you can’t see it, you can’t stop it. The biggest priority as a goalie is to do everything we can to gain sight of the puck, and as much information about the shot as we can. 

Another interesting thing I gathered from listening to these coaches was that much of their time with their goalies is spent developing a game plan. As goalies, our game plan will look much different than the plan an offensive player will use. We are on the reactive side of the game. Players are looking to create chances and opportunities. We can only play in response to what they do. Knowing ahead of time how we want to handle our most commonly faced situations gives us an advantage.

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The main takeaway: if you haven’t taken the time with your coach to discuss a game plan with your coach/goalie, you’re not preparing at the highest level. 

Note for coaches: the older or more mature your goalie, the more involved they should be in this discussion. They will learn themselves and be able to tell you “in this situation I feel most comfortable doing this” or “I’m comfortable being patient on my feet to about this point but then I have to make a decision.” Work with your goalie to come up with solutions together so they feel invested in their own development process. 

The last, but most important takeaway is a philosophy that’s been part of my foundation since I started coaching; to develop the person first, then the athlete, then finally the goalie. Long term success requires more than just refining the technical side of things with a goalie. It requires a person who has the determination to execute high level habits consistently. It takes character. It’s more important for me to develop good people than good goalies.

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The habits you develop working to become a great goalie are the same habits that will make you a great student, great at your job, and great in your personal life as well.

My hope is that those are the areas you’ll take the biggest strides in this summer and into next season.

I’m very excited to implement all of this awesome knowledge with you guys getting ready for next season!

Hey Y’all!

Ok so maybe “LIVE” is a bit of a stretch. I just got home from the long drive back, and I’m fired up!

The 2018 NetWork Goaltending Symposium just wrapped up, and this year was better than ever. These 3 days of classroom and on ice presentations are something I really look forward to now, ever since my first time attending last year in Madison, Wisconsin. This year was in Nashville, Tennessee, and the change in venue really added a spark of excitement to the atmosphere. Nashville is absolutely a hockey town now, bolstered by the recent success of the Predators. We were fortunate to be there while minor hockey tryouts were happening, and it was apparent that the state of hockey at the grassroots level in Nashville is very exciting.

The presentations are always fantastic. Having the opportunity to hear from coaches working at the highest level of the game is always a treat. Beyond that, having the chance to connect with them on a human level and form meaningful personal and professional relationships is priceless.

Something new this year was the addition of on ice presentations. It provided a nice break from the classroom environment and allowed us to see some of the concepts we were being taught in action.

I’ll get into some of the individual concepts I learned in later posts so I’m able to do them justice individually.

Ultimately, this weekend always challenges me to revaluate the way I coach. It pushes me to get even better for you guys, my goalies, and make sure I’m taking every opportunity to push you guys to your full potential, and have fun in the process.

I can’t wait to hit the ice again now that I’m back home and put some of these new skills to use!

I’ll be putting my summer schedule out shortly to help you guys stay sharp over the summer months and set the foundation to have the best season of your career!

Yours in Goaltending,

It’s kind of an odd question, right? It’s not often we think of our performance as something we’ve earned. The reality is, whatever level you’re at, most of your competition is more or less as talented as you are. You might have an edge in some areas, and they might have an edge in others, but it’s not those slight differences in talent that are going to make the difference over the course of a full season. What’s going to make the difference is your ability to stay consistent in the areas that matter most.

So, what areas matter most? Wins? Your goals against average? That might be what consistency looks like to someone outside the game, but those things are very circumstantial. Winning or losing a game is ultimately not just up to us. The areas where your consistency matters most are the ones that you have complete control over. Are you practicing with good habits and challenging yourself every time you’re on the ice? Are you preparing your body consistently in the gym? Are you sleeping well enough? Are you eating the right things to fuel your body? If we act with purpose in every area we are in control of, consistency will be the result. As always, the inverse is true as well. If we’re only practicing good habits some of the time, only taking care of our body in the gym when we feel like it, or not staying disciplined with our sleep or our diet, then the results we’ll see on the ice will reflect that inconsistency as well.

So, ask yourself the question again: how well do you deserve to perform? Are the daily decisions you make lining up with your desired result?

Hey Guys,

I have a special treat for today. I’ve gotten permission from a very talented goalie that I have the pleasure of working with to share the video of one of our private sessions together on a mini rink.

I use a GoPro on the glass to get the whole picture, and I also bring an iPad onto the ice in order to give immediate feedback on certain situations. The GoPro makes clips of about 20 minutes long, so I’ll explain what’s going on in each clip.

We start with a warm-up I like to use. The focus is on reinforcing technique, and just getting comfortable moving, so we go puck to puck with the main movements a goalie would use.

The next drill uses 7 pucks to represent 7 standard spots a goalie would have to push to and get positioned. Each puck has a number and as I call it out, the goalie pushes to the specified puck. There is a very specific position I expect the goalie to be in for each number, so the focus is on speed and precision with each push. I still consider this to be part of the warm-up as the goalie can use this drill to get familiarised with their angles in the crease.

Now we’re going to get into some shots. With Dylan, one of our focuses has been to ensure we’re always releasing into shots, especially as a goaltender on the smaller side. One of my favourite things about Dylan is his stance. He’s constantly loaded and balanced, which means he can move in any direction very quickly. He’s an exceptionally athletic goaltender and this is a big reason why. This drill is as simple as it looks. I’m taking shots aimed at the holes under his arms and his goal is to release the proper skate blade to butterfly into the shot and get hit in the chest.

This drill continues into the second video.

We then progressed into a simulated odd-man rush. This is a great example of a drill that was a result of a discussion with the goalie about the best way to play a certain situation he was presented with recently. We often take advantage of sessions like this to go over different situations to come up with a game plan. I think it’s important to know what we’d like to do ideally in every situation. This is the time to go through some trial and error and see what will work best.

Our next area of focus was transitioning into and out of the RVH. I wanted to make sure we covered a variety of depths to determine the best way to manage each one. On each side we started with giving the goalie time to reach full depth, simulating a pass to a position high in the zone from below the goal line. Then we moved deeper, simulating a pass to the low slot, but still challenging the goalie to keep their feet. Lastly we moved to just above the crease and simulated a one timer from a tight position.

At this point we’re ramping up the tempo to include some game like drills. We start with a 2 puck scramble drill that forces a quick reaction and change of direction. The goalie has to read the direction of the shooter, and quickly shift focus to the 2nd puck and race to get into the best position possible for the 2nd shot.

During this drill, we decided to have some fun to end the hour and work on some of the desperation saves that we don’t often get to work on.

Overall we took the time to address some of the basic skills we always look to sharpen, as well as some specific concerns that are unique to this goalie and his game. The best part about working with goalies of this calibre is that they take ownership of their own development. As goalie coaches, our job is to collaborate with the goalie to find an approach that achieves results and that the goalie is comfortable with. If the goalie doesn’t believe in the approach, they likely won’t do it instinctively in a game. Find a coach who is your partner in finding the right approach to the game, so you can work together to make this your best season yet!

Hey Guys,

It’s starting to get a bit warmer outside, and for most minor hockey teams, the season is winding down. Hopefully you all created some great memories and had lots of fun this season. I know some of my goalies had greats seasons, and I’m very proud of all their hard work this year. It won’t be long now before the focus will shift to tryouts. It’s amazing how quickly it seems to come once the season finishes. Invariably, every  year I get the same question: “what are coaches looking for when I try out?” The answer is, hopefully several things. Having been on both sides of this question, let me break down how I look at goalies during tryouts.

1. Skating – I cannot emphasise enough how important skating is to a goalie’s game. I look for the obvious things like balance and speed, but I also look for the subtle things like precision. Does the goalie hit their spot every time, square and with good depth, in their stance? Are they leading with their head, eyes, and stick blade as they move? Can they stay in a position to react throughout their movements, or does it take them some time to get set? If you focus on developing your skating, your whole game will improve.
2. Puck Control – If you’re trying out to play on a rep level team, I assume you’re already skilled enough to stop the puck. Most average goalies can get some body part in the way of a shot. What sets elite level goaltenders apart is that they control the game by controlling where the puck goes after they save it. Goalies who are putting rebounds out into scoring areas give coaches fits. Work on deflecting low shots into corners and holding onto anything in the top 2/3 of the net.
3. Stop the Puck – At the end of the day, just like any other job, results matter. You can be the best looking goalie on the ice, but if you can’t keep the puck out of the net, it’s going to be tough to make a case to keep you. Just focus on being solid. Make the saves you’re supposed to make, and don’t worry about being flashy. Nothing is more frustrating than a goalie who makes the big windmill glove save, only to let in the next easy shot along the ice.

Those are the biggest elements I look for when evaluating goalies. Obviously there are other skills such as puckhandling that are certainly nice to have, but it’s the goalies who are great at the basics who really excel.

With that in mind, make use of all the ice time you have leading up to tryouts to get better at the foundational skills of the game. Be hard on yourself in drills. Don’t let any of the details slide.

When the tryout comes around, be confident and trust your preparation. Only worry about what you can control, and trust that the coaches will see your attention to detail.

Good luck! See you at the rink.