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All instruction is integrated around the following concept: the key to great goaltending is to be in the right place at the
right time, keep control of your body which allows you to control
the puck which ultimately enables you to control the play!. In
order to obtain this result we break it down into 4 areas. First,
the goalie has to get to the right place, in other words movement. Not only is it important to know where to go, it's just as important
to know how to get there.
Second, the goalie has to know where the right place is, angles & positioning. If the goalie has great movement but does not know where to
go or where to end up, it causes even more trouble.
Third, the goalie has to know what to do once they're in the right
place at the right time. It all starts with stance. Too many stances are out of balance, resulting in the goalie
having 2 different stances - a movement stance and a save stance.
If they are in a movement stance and a shot is taken, they don't
have time to change their stance and get caught looking. On the
other hand, if the goalie is in a save stance and the shot is
not taken, they don't have time to change stances and then can't
keep up with the play. By constantly getting caught behind the
play, the goalie can only react to the play instead of controlling
it. Moving with explosive quickness and making saves with speed
and control all begin with a good balanced stance.
At this point we begin working on save technique and breakaways. How to go down - so that we don't have to rely on defensemen after the save
is made. When to go down - so we can not only make it more difficult for the shooter but
to give us the best chance of making the save in the process.
Too many goalies go down without the proper timing and in doing
so actually move out of the way of the puck. This is usually a
result of practice habits developed from repeated exposure to
situations where the goalie spends almost all practice time as
a target.
The Summer Programs are set up to give the goaltender the best
possible chance to retain and internalize the material. To avoid
the trap most camps fall into - covering too much material to
remember - the amount of material we cover is limited to the most
important areas that the competitive goalie must execute on a
regular basis. Due to the short amount of time available to execute
in a game, everything must be automatic, which can only be done
through repetition.
Since the goalies are not in competition with each other, they
begin to focus more readily on learning and applying the material instead of focusing on the goalie next to them.
This produces an ideal type of learning environment. Comprehension
becomes greater which makes it easier to internalize the information
and put it into action. |
