Original Source: Doyle Hockey Development

Posted on: Feb 25, 2013

I have been a goalie coach for many years, and regardless of the level of the goaltender, I often find that there are common mistakes that goalies make which I feel should be discussed. I have tried to pinpoint 5 major errors and have developed a plan for goalie coaches to identify and to help minimize these mistakes.  I look forward to your comments and additional mistakes that I have maybe overlooked.

1. Stop Following The Puck
2. Not using the stick to save shots along the ice
3. Slow recovery after a save
4. Giving up on pucks in practice
5. Never working on stickhandling and playing the puck in practice

Stop Following the Puck

When goaltenders come to me and say “I don’t know what’s wrong, everything just seems to be going in the net”, the first thing I tell them is to focus on following the puck all the way to their body.  Often goaltenders get into the habit of ‘relying on their hand eye coordination’ to make the save and although this does often work, there are times when a deflection can cause a change in direction and a goal against is the result.  Following the puck is therefore a habit that I believe all goalies should have regardless if they play novice A or Major Junior!  It is essential to always follow the puck and when a goalie finds that more goals are going in then usual, they should focus in practice following the puck to their bodies. They should be able to answer the question “Where did that puck it you” and be able to point directly to the puck mark on their equipment or jersey!  Reinforce follow over and over to make sure the goalies are back in the habit of following every puck even if it is an easy save.  You can use tennis balls or raquetballs to work on these skills before a practice or game by yourself in front of a wall.  Make sure to follow every ball in either hand.  Increase the speed as needed.

Not Using the Stick to Save Shots along the Ice

It drives me crazy when I see a goalie consistently using their pad to make saves when the shots are along the ice.  When the save is made with the pad, it is often hard to control the rebound, which creates second and third shot opportunities for the opponents.  Stick saves seem to have become a lost art! As goalies progress to elite levels, the objective changes from simply saving the shot, to saving the shot, controlling the rebound and recovering quickly to be ready for the next shot.  Utilizing your stick to make the save is essential for optimal rebound control.  Using the stick, goalies should be able to easily elevate pucks to the corner giving them adequate time to recover and be ready for the next attack.  Goalie coaches should work each week on stick saves.  Reinforce to goalies to lead with their hands, this will force them to get their stick out in front to make the saves when possible with the stick. Stick placement is a major factor on how an effective a goalie can be with his or her stick.  For example, by having a good gap between the pads and the stick, the easier it will be for the goalie to react to the shot and move the stick in time to make the save.

Drills should include both away from body forcing the goalies to reach with the stick as well as shooting directly at the middle of their stance.  My rule is that 99% of all shots directed along the ice should be saved with a stick with the rebound elevated into the corners.  At the younger level, the goalie stick can be quite heavy.  It is important that the parents and/or coaches provide young goalies with the appropriate sized stick to be able to be effectiv

Slow Recovery After a Save

This is often a mistake in practices as opposed to games, but I am an advocate for the saying ‘you play like you practice’ and therefore I believe that the habits you form in practice are what are utilized in games. Slow recovery after a save is what I consider to be a bad habit. It’s a lazy play, and I never want to coach lazy goalies!  Goalies that want to improve must work hard in practice to recover as fast as possible after every single shot regardless if there is a playable rebound or not. It’s easy to make a save, stay in the butterfly position to admire your rebound in the corner and then slowly get back to you feet and prepared for the next shot.  However, in a game if you take just half a second to ‘admire’ your save or your rebound, the next thing you know is the puck is in the net.  Goalie coaches should be on their goalies reminding them to get up quick in every situation. For young goalies, this is easy to always reinforce because most beginner drills only require one shot and one save.  It is essential for the habit to get back to the basic stance after every save become habits with the young goalies.  With my goalies at the elite level I like to do those same one puck, one shot drills to reinforce quick recovery. Sometimes I find that goalie coaches are quick to create drills that are intense 4 or 5 shots in a row (which I do feel are beneficial but not always needed).  I often will add a few movement drills before they get square to the puck, then get the shot, make the save and get back to your basic stance as soon as possible. Going back to using one puck and having one shot, reminding the goalie to get up quick and recover to follow the rebound is a great way for elite goalies to focus on the basics. Goalie Coaches can also reinforce a quick recovery and using a proper positioning at the post if the puck ends up behind the goal line.  Have the goalie take a quick look in front to make it more of a game like situation. You really want to reinforce the recovery after the shot to improve the reaction time a goalie can have.  It needs to become automatic.  In a game there is often no time to think about recovering with the proper leg or anything else for that matter.  A save is made, REACT and re-position yourself to be square for the next shot.

Giving up on Pucks in Practice

A goalie should never think, “well there is nothing I can do, the puck is going to go in”!  In game situations, teams need to have confidence in their goaltenders and one way that goaltenders can build that confidence is by always playing hard and never giving up on pucks.  In practice, pucks are going to go in the net, that’s the nature of the game, but a goaltender that gives up on stopping the puck in practice is only giving up on their team in the long run.  Diving, sliding, pushing through traffic, communicating with teammates are all ways that shows that a goaltender is not giving up on a puck.  Goalie coaches can work on this skill by having a first shot from a specified area, the goalie makes the save, and then sliding a second puck (from different angles) that the goalie has almost no chance at saving toward the goal. The goalie must make the save and dive, slide push, do anything in an attempt to make the second save. Sometimes they will make the save, most times that second puck will go in the net, but it’s the effort of making that second save that we are working on. As long as there is an effort, I’m happy. When the effort disappears there is a problem!  Sometimes by just putting a glove or a stick, it can really put some pressure on the shooter and make him think that he has less time or less net to shoot at.  The more you try different things in practices, the more athletic you will become and those IMPOSSIBLE saves will become more and more easy to do. For young goalies out there – never give up on a puck! You always have a chance to make the save, try your best on each shot!

Never working on Stickhandling and Playing The Puck

A good goalie has the ability to play the puck in game situations when the pressure is on.  If you can’t play the puck well, and you’re not comfortable coming out of your net to play the puck, you MUST practice!  Every time you are on the ice, get a puck on your stick, get used to the feel of it, practice shooting into a net, shooting against the boards and passing to other players.  I think that a lot of coaches could include the goaltender playing the puck more in their practices.  If you’re starting the drill off and dumping the puck in the corners, why not shoot it at your goalie, have them stop, control and play the puck to specified areas or pass to the players coming in on the drill.  Goalies need to practice this skill on a weekly basis and I feel it is a lost art!  Goalies that can be that 3rd defenseman have an advantage, and it is critical to constantly be working on this skill. I have been lucky enough to work on the ice with Olympic Goaltenders Kim St-Pierre and Charline Labonté, and both these athletes are terrific puck handlers. They can shoot the puck hard, they can hit the forward on the long break out pass, they can take advantage of a opponent making a slow change and they can stop an attack by stopping the puck behind their net and gaining control once again.  Goalie Coaches can work on riming the puck around the boards, having the goalies come out to stop it, have them make passes to a player breaking out (you can use the other goalie for this), dump pucks toward the goalie so that they stop it, control it and play it back to the coach. Finally have pucks slowly enter the zone, so that the goalie is forced to skate to the puck control it and move it up to their teammates.  Young goalies must try to follow in Kim and Charline’s footsteps with their ability to play the puck.  It truly is a strength that many goalies lack simply because coaches are only focused on working with the goalies to stop the puck! Playing the puck should have make up 10% of the goalie development throughout a week in practice.  You can never be ‘too good’ at playing the puck! There is always room for improvement.

To summarize, these are 5 common mistakes that I feel a lot of goalies make as they progress through their development.  Even if you’re the top goalie in the league you can always continue to improve and there will always be times when you don’t understand why the puck seems to be slipping by you and crossing the goal line.  There is nothing easy about being a goaltender! The position is demanding both mentally and physically and takes a special hard working athlete to excel.  Focus on your work ethic, consider the common errors discussed above and keep stopping those pucks!

This article was written by Amey Doyle, owner of Doyle Hockey Development. To visit original article source CLICK HERE