Learning how to be a golie?

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92hatchattack

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Dec 23, 2005
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Jersey
I made this post on another forum, but im looking to get a wide variety or responses and suggestions...... that being said.....


I am 24 years of age, out of shape and overweight, and ive never really played hockey. BUT, i am facinated by it and see it as a fun way to get in shape and have a good time.

Now i bought a pair on inline skates to practice with outdoors, and i messing around with some first time stick handling and whatnot, but im also intrested in trying out the goile postion. I mean, i figure if i were intrested in playing both a foward/defense position, and a golie position i could try both out in a beginner ice league next winter.

But how do you get into playing goal at such an old, and out of shape/unflexable guy??? Im sure you cant just show up for a beginer league and say u want to be a golie without ever even practicing can you?

Me and my fiancee mess around in the living room and she takes some shots on me and whatnot. I bought a cheap catcher just for fun and i have to admit it pretty cool. But i feel that i should ask now and figure out some sort of proper technique before i start a bad habit.

Well, before i go any futher can anyone offer some advice for some at home first time goalie practice/technique???

Thanks guys.....

---Joe
 

nikebauer

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Jul 21, 2005
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Its probabaly too late to start playing hockey in terms of goalie. Like you said, you're too inflexible at 24 and you can't change that now until you stretch for years like mad, dont hurt yourself
 

RangersMoogle

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Oct 25, 2005
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Huh? I'm 19, and started playing goalie in October. Just one season, but I've been playing hockey since I was 11, so I had that goin' for me. I'm a competent goalie, but not competent enough to play it again next season. I'll definitely be playing the role of back up goalie, though. I played one season with no back up, it was brutal. Some days I really, really wanted a break on that Tuesday game after I had one on Saturday and played net with my mates in my driveway on Sunday and Monday. Goalie physically kicks your ***, it's really tiring. For me, at least. But I ain't in the best of shape.

Anyway, go pick up a book called "Hockey Goaltending" by Brian Daccord, it's a good goalie book that'll give you the basics on netminding. If you want to jump right into goalie, it's going to be a long while before you're going to play your first game. If I were you, I'd focus on getting in shape, and work on my skating skills. After I got confident in my skating, I'd work on gettin' into the goalie vibe.

As for shooting practice...get a friend that knows how to shoot, and practice on skates. You can learn angles without skates, but you can't learn recovery skills without skates on.
 

RedK

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Dec 2, 2002
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There are guys who have picked up goaltending in their late 40s, and I didn't start until I was 32. You will never make it to the pros, but you can have a great time in the beer leagues.

First, there are a lot of resources on goaltending out there. I like Daccord's book. There are also newspapers like the Goalie News and magazines like Goalies World that have instructional articles. The Goalie News is published by GDI (Goaltenders Development Institute) and they have fabulous instructional stuff. There are a lot of DVDs and videos out there. I've heard particularly great things about Steve McKichans 4-DVD set available from his website at futurepro.com. There are good resources on various websites. Vaughn.com has a series of goalie articles that are good. Goaliestore.com has a great stretching article in the goalie doctor page. Also, there are several good goalie BBs out there. The goalie store's BB was the best for the longest time but lost its most experienced members. It's archives are good, but for current information, goalieboard.com is better. There are several other smaller goalie BBs, but I think those two are the best. Remember that posting on the internet is not a guarantee that the poster has a clue. Read critically, feel free to ask questions, and people will be glad to help.

You will need to get gear. Lots of used gear out there on ebay, but I usually find better prices and more accurate descriptions by checking the used gear sections on the goalie BBs. A lot of the guys on ebay dont' have a clue what they are selling and do not present the facts accurately. Let the buyer beware. You can also check local Play It Again Sports stores. You will be tempted to spend a lot of money on pads. Don't. For your initial investment, your highest quality and highest priced purchases should be a mask and a cup. Get the best of both that you can afford. Neither your brains nor your balls can be easily replaced - protect them. Goalie skates will be helpful but you can use player skates with goalie-cut blades if you have to. Pretty gear is fun to have, but cheap, safe gear is what a beginner needs. Once you are sure you want to 'tend, you can always upgrade.

Check your local ice rinks for a Learn To Play Hockey class. They will be happy to have a goalie take to shoot on. If you are lucky, you may even find an instructor who can help you learn. Wear your gear to open skate to get used to moving around in it and to work on learning your angles. Go to stick-n-puck or other open practice sessions. Pick the brain of any goalie there. When you are comfortable getting shot on, you may want to try a drop in hockey session. In the meantime, talk to your local rink managers. They will know what sort of beginner adult leagues there are, and may even be able to help you find a team. The more ice time you get, especially at first, the better off you will be. You need to learn to move in your gear, and the only way to do that is to wear it and skate.

Goaltending is not easy, but it is hugely fun. Remember that even in the pros, it takes longer to develop a goalie than it does a forward. Give yourself time and don't expect to be a master of it right away. But it's a lot of fun, terrific exercise, and well worth doing. Good luck!
 

technophile

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Oct 10, 2005
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Check your local ice rinks for a Learn To Play Hockey class. They will be happy to have a goalie take to shoot on.
This is the gospel truth. Very few goalies come to most LTPH classes for some reason. The class I've been going to has been lucky; we almost always have 1 goalie (a B-leaguer who actually just got drafted by an A team; he's really good) and lately we've been getting 2 or 3, and it's great. Our instructors always try to target at least one drill at goalie skills as well as skater skills; they get quite the workout, but we really appreciate them being there.

Some places will even let the goalies participate free, to encourage them to come.
 

fism

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May 5, 2004
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keep your stick down, and be prepared to be extremely tired. i played goalie in high school for 1 3/4 games...6 goals into game 2 I was yanked. game 1 was a 1 GAA win though...
 

DisgruntledHawkFan

Blackhawk Down
Jun 19, 2004
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Make sure you're mentally capable of dealing with disapointment. You'll get shelled. Every goalie does. Against real competition there are angles and the right way to drop into the butterfly and all that, but in a rec league, just do what works. Find a way to get in front of the puck, and hopefully hold on to it. It really is that simple.
 

felonious_r

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Dec 29, 2005
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It's never too late man. I suggest you watch A LOT of hockey, paying particular attention to the goalies and how they move with/react to the puck. And don't let a bad performance deflate your confidence; bad games happen to everyone, and you're just beginning. Good luck, from one goalie to another.
 

OldTimeHockey

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Oct 20, 2003
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Being a goalie of 25 years, I can tell you one thing, and it's probably the most important. A goalie that can't skate, is nowhere near as good as a goalie that can skate. On most teams, regardless of what players think, the goalie is the best/strongest skater on the ice. I was tought by Johnny Bower at a young age. He gave me the same advice.
 

92hatchattack

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Dec 23, 2005
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Jersey
Great info guys. So at this point its safe to say that im just going to start stretching slowly. Get myself fleaxble before i try anything crazy. I have some time before ill get to change shifts at work and get onto the ice so flexability will be my drill of choice first.

As for skating, im also thinking about trying out the foward/defense position as well. Maybe play one leauge as a goalie and one as a player eventualy. Maybe one day i will chose one or the other, but both facinate me as of now. And im a pretty decent inline skater. Did Aggro for a long time, so im going to try and aply all that onto the ice. I have a strong feeling that the trick royale is very similar to a hockey stop.
 

nikebauer

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Jul 21, 2005
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Vancouver
OldTimeHockey said:
Being a goalie of 25 years, I can tell you one thing, and it's probably the most important. A goalie that can't skate, is nowhere near as good as a goalie that can skate. On most teams, regardless of what players think, the goalie is the best/strongest skater on the ice. I was tought by Johnny Bower at a young age. He gave me the same advice.

You must be ageless! Are you Hasek in disguise by any chance :amazed:
 

KOVALEV10*

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Three things that you need to be successful.

1- Confidence: This is the most important thing. If you lack confidence you will not succeed in just about everything, and goaltending is no exception. You gotta challenge the shooters. You ought to say to yourself who is he to score on me and stop the shot. If your not confident you will either go down too early or too late causing you to allow a lot of bad goals. (just look at jose theodore for example) However dont let the confidence go through your head to the point where you would start to overthink shots and try to guess too much. That kills you.

2- Exercise/Practice: I'm sure you know this but I dont know if people know how important this is. Practice every chance you get. It's tiring but its the only way you'll learn. I'm in my mid 40-s, I dont play ice hockey anymore but I still practice as goalie every weekend with my brother and friends.

3- Work your style to the fullest. If you want to be a butterfly (which 90 percent of the goalies are nowadays) try to learn the angles perfectly. If you're tall then you dont need to worry about the top of the net as much as a 5'9 goalie. If you're not then you'll need to work on your timing a lot more. Going down too early will kill a butterfly goalie as I said before so you will need to work on developing timing. Also NEVER give up on a play. I dont care how bad out of position you are always try to make the save. Jump like a cat, put your glove up or even throw your stick depending on the situation but never give up on a play. Just look at Hasek. He never ever gives up on anything and that's what makes a great goaltender and creates higlight reel saves.

Work on those 3 as well as the skating that's been mentionned already and most of all have fun. Hope this helps!
 

RPIBruin

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Nov 9, 2005
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Shrewsbury
Biggest thing learn about disappoint and getting ridiculed, you'll give up some ungodly numbers early, and if you can be ready for that, you might just be crazy enough to be a goalie.
 

mattihp

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Aug 2, 2004
20,423
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Uppsala, Sweden
The mental bit is way more HUGE than I thought... So be aware of yourself.


If you're not the most flexible guy out there... Try playing a floppy style ^^
 

kovalev27hf

Registered User
Aug 3, 2005
433
0
nyc
listen i've been a goalie my whole life at every level other than the pros, you've got to know how to skate so if your just learning how to skate goaltending probably isn't for you unless your planning on playing dek hockey. if your still determined to be a goalie than at your age and ability i wouldn't worry to much about learning how to be a butterfly goalie or anything like that. i'd mainly work on my angles more than anything. if your skating and ability isn't really there, then against the competition your probably facing a big guy that knows his angles well can stop alot of pucks. even if he isn't the best athlete technically or physically. take up as much of the net as you can and if they beat you to a corner than just learn to live with it. you'll stop more pucks than you'll let in working on that more than anything else you could do at this stage of your life. my advice, learn how to skate, and learn the game play forward for awhile then if you still wnat to, get in the net. don't buy used stuff on ebay because you can get new stuff for just as cheap decent stuff over at places like goaliemonkey.com. they've got some great sets of pads for under $300 dollars. good luck and just have fun at this point.
 

damoose212001

Registered User
Jan 16, 2005
474
46
Pittsburgh
I'm a senior in high school who just started ice hockey, and the biggest thing I recommend is taking the inline skates you have, skate around for fun, sometimes with a stick, sometimes without, and do it outside, or wherever you can. That's alot on what I did, and skated at least once a day, and the transition came really easy to me from inline skates to ice skates. Also, for the being in shape part, just do moderate excercise drills whenever you get the chance, and mix them up. Do a bit of running, stretching, pushups, crunches...Things like that. It'll help you out alot by doing those things, being in shape is very underated as a goalie it seems. Next, learn to have good position, and good angles. There are some sites out there, and i think specifically Vaughn's site (not 100% sure) have great video's to show you things like that. Also, not only that, but watch the lateral movement on them, and also even in the NHL and lower leagues. Learn as much as you can from everyone, and take in what you feel most comfortable with. Being comfortable is very important. If you do all that, you should be on your way to some fast progression, as it worked with me with me having better stats and more wins than the other goalie who was the favored starter at the beginning of the year with having plenty more years experience then me, but that all changed, so just stick with it, and enjoy the game! :)
 

Le Golie

...
Jul 4, 2002
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I don't know what your gear situation is, but unless you can borrow some you will have to make an investment in some. It's pretty expensive, so you should be fairly serious before you do it.

If you get your hands on some gear, I would suggest getting on the ice alone somehow. Go to an outdoor rink or find your way on to a rink when nobody is using it, and just get used to being in the net. Skate out and back in, feeling comfortable in the net and getting used to the angles is probably the most important thing you can do to prepare for your first time. Skating is the key to goaltending, no question about it. So you have to learn how to move yourself around the crease very fast.

There is a ton to learn as a goalie, but the only way to do it is on the ice in your gear. Good luck, hope you find it fun and rewarding.
 
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