By Barry Kurland
I’ve been a goalie dad for the last nine years. I’ve also played in goal myself for the last five years. The combination of these experiences has simultaneously provided me with an opportunity to walk a mile in my son’s shoes, and to achieve my childhood dream later in life while I’m watching my son achieve his. Below is my “top ten” list of what I’ve learned along the way.
I’ve been a goalie dad for the last nine years. I’ve also played in goal myself for the last five years. The combination of these experiences has simultaneously provided me with an opportunity to walk a mile in my son’s shoes, and to achieve my childhood dream later in life while I’m watching my son achieve his. Below is my “top ten” list of what I’ve learned along the way.
1. Be accountable to your teammates, coaches and yourself. While you may think at times that your defensemen and forwards can play better defense, there is always something you can do differently to prevent a goal from scoring. Learn from and be accountable to your teammates, coaches and yourself for every goal scored – in games and practices.
2. Practice makes perfect. Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” highlights a study by Anders Ericsson that concludes it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in a certain discipline. Daniel Coyle’s book “The Talent Code” cites brain research, behavioral research and real-life training examples to highlight that talent and greatness result from motivation, coaching and “deep practice.” It’s clear - getting better requires motivation, persistence, hard work and many hours of the right type of practice (and coaching….more on this later).
3. What you do off the ice affects how you play on the ice. The right amount of sleep and proper nutrition contribute to your ability to play to your potential at practice and in games. In addition, work you do off the ice to increase your strength, conditioning, quickness, agility and flexibility can contribute exponentially to improving your performance on the ice.
4. Things aren’t always what they appear to be. You can be in the right position to make a save but the shooter makes a great shot and scores and you’ve failed. You can be in the wrong position and the shooter hits the puck right at you and it looks like you’ve made a great save. In addition, what looks like a “soft goal” may be the result of a screen and/or deflection that can be invisible to fans, coaches and even your teammates. However, it doesn’t matter why or how a goal scores, you’re responsible and will be judged on it (see #1 above). As a result, you need to figure out how to keep any goals from scoring….and the time and effort you spend on #2 and #3 above will improve your chances of keeping the puck out of the net.
5. It doesn’t have to look pretty. Continued practice and work on your game will improve your technique. However, to be a great goalie, you need to play with a consistently high level of focus, intensity and “compete level,” and with the type of urgency and desperation that makes it clear you’ll do anything to keep a goal from scoring – throughout every game and every practice. For example, even if you’ve already made a first save and are out of position to make a second save, you need to do anything and everything possible to prevent a goal from scoring. You’ll be surprised at how many ugly, desperate saves you actually make. More importantly, your ugliest saves have the potential to change the momentum of the game given the effect they can have on the opposing team you steal a goal from, and the motivation they give your team when they see how hard you’re working to keep the puck out of the net.
6. Every goal counts. “Put the last goal behind you” is standard advice all goalies receive. Although it sounds like motherhood and apple pie, I can’t tell you how many games I’ve played and watched where it has proved to be true, even when one team has a significant lead over another. Momentum changes quickly in a hockey game and allowing that next goal to score because you lost composure, weren’t concentrating, weren’t trying, weren’t playing at your maximum intensity level, etc. could be the difference between a win and a loss or a tie.
7. Do unto others before they do unto you. Great goalies influence what shooters do in addition to consistently being in the right position to react to and stop pucks. For example, when a goalie makes a quick, aggressive move out of the net to square to a shooter in the slot he reduces the amount of net shooter sees, causes the shooter to rush his shot, takes down trajectory of shot – all of which reduce the probability the shooter will score. A goalie that “challenges and battles” around the net may be able to poke check a puck away from a shooter on a breakaway or when they have a quality shot near the net. Goalies that play with a “do unto others before they do unto you” philosophy play aggressively and confidently, and increase their chances to influence shooters into making mistakes rather than letting shooters dictate play.
8. Learn geometry and statistics and make them work for you. Goalies should always be “square to the puck” at all times – this means that your shoulders, gloves, knees, and toes should all face the puck when the shot is taken. In addition, goalies that play “up and out” (of the net) cut off the angle on the shooter, make the net appear smaller, take away the upper part of the net, and will not need to move as far to stop a puck that is shot to either corner of the net. Finally, most goals are scored 2 feet off the ice or below, and “top shelf” shots are the toughest to hit for shooters. Therefore, moving out from the goal, limiting low shots from scoring via a tight butterfly and keeping your hands low will reduce the probability of goals from scoring.
9. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Maintain your composure after a goal scores. You don’t want to signal to the other team and coaches, or your team and coaches that you’re rattled and less likely to stop the next goal from scoring. Also, have a thick skin. Ask your coaches on a regular basis for feedback on your play and what you can do to improve, and work on those areas at practice. Tell your parents to have a thick skin too.
10. There is no substitute for good coaching. You should make sure to ask your head coach what he needs from you since he knows how his goalie needs to fit into the type of system he is coaching, and the skills of the players on his team. In particular, one style of goaltending doesn’t fit all teams. For example, the team may not be deep enough in defense and the coach may need you to tie up the puck and swallow rebounds to give your defense time to take a breather during face-offs, rather than play the puck and keep it in play. In addition, since most teams don’t have goalies coaches you should of course take advantage of opportunities to get goalie-specific coaching whenever you can during clinics offered during the season, and camps during the summer. The good news for you is that summer camps like the Tim Thomas Hockey Camp will teach you all of top ten items in the list above…and a lot more!
Barry Kurland is a goaltender and plays in adult hockey leagues. His son Sam attended the Tim Thomas Hockey Camp and currently plays a goalie at Williams College.
