Advice for a goalie making the switch to forward/defense

[bigwillie]

I've been playing goalie for almost 12 years now but lately I've been trying my hand at skating as a forward, with a couple of tries at defense. I had gotten a little bit tired of playing in net, and skating out has given me a new perspective on the game and has been a lot of fun.

It has been difficult though, as although I've been playing hockey for years it is an entirely different animal than playing in net. Any advice from anyone else who has made the switch? I've been reading around the noob threads but haven't seen anything directly related to this.

Any help is appreciated!

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[JoeCool16]

I had a teammate who did, he only played goal while growing up. He said the biggest things he had to work on were stickhandling, shooting and passing. Makes sense. Passing is something that sort of comes with time, but you can find good videos on how to get better at stickhandling and shooting on youtube.

Also, if you get chances to play indoor floor hockey, that's a great place to build up your passing/stickhandling skills.

 

[OprtnShtdwn]

I do it quite often. I've actually had a few times this season where i've gone from in goal for the 10:00 game to playing Center for the 11:20 game. I always thought i'd struggle from switching skates, but I've found the biggest problem i've had is my hands.

I can understand my hands not being on the same page after playing a game because i'm tired, but i've had this problem at times as well even when I only had 1 game. Just be patient because it's a helluva lot different that certainly what your use to.

 

[ArrogantOwl]

You have to remember you can't go down in front of the shots as much as a skater.

 

[651*]

Back in squirts I filled in for like half a season. Should have stayed in net, think I would have been a much better chance at DIII or better because I always had incredible quick hands.

My thoughts are the skating is going to be the most difficult aspect about it. Of course everyone else makes valid points here as well.

 

[goalie29]

I go back and forth between goal and skating. I find that after a long stretch of being goalie only that the skates take a couple of minutes to get the feel of, but it's not too bad.

The hardest part I find is changing my mindset, especially on defence. You have a different job, and have to focus on that - like take the man, not the puck.

One day in a pick up game I skated out after not having done so in a few months. I was skating backwards quickly as a guy with the puck came down the ice. When he wound up to shoot, I drove myself down into a butterfly position instinctively, and ended up sliding all the way to the boards with my momentum.

I find that playing forward avoids the worst of the goalie habits compared to playing D.