Recently my partner with MTN had posted in the "AAA goalie coach - what should be parents expectations?" thread. In prkinggoalie's post he gave a perfect example of adding purpose to practice and to a drill that many goaltenders would just stand around and watch. The post goes as follows
Quote:
Posted by prkinggoalie - The Midget AAA team that we are affiliated with, we act more as consultants than as coaches.
When we attend practices we get very little on ice time with the goalies(relating to goalie only drills).
However I feel that attending these sessions are very useful. We have a very good relationship with the head coach and this ensures that the goalies can perform within the team's systems.
During one practice the team was doing a regrouping drill, after the regroup they would attack with passes from the neutral zone entering the offensive zone. If the first pass was to far a head of the intended target the goalie would wait until the players got possession of the puck and then face a shot. We asked the goalie if this was the way he would play that situation in a game, just wait for the offensive team to get possession. He said probably not, that he would have tried to get to the loose puck and clear the puck out of the zone. We told him then to practice like he played. The coach reiterated to him that leaving the puck for them was not helping the team out any. For if the goalie could get to the puck and play it out, that would teach the team to bear down and make better passes, which in the long run would benefit the team.
We believe that goalies must be self motivated in order to improve. Watching their habits in practice, (ie: using their spare time wisely, warming up properly, etc.) gives us feedback to talk about after the practice.
|
Goaltenders, even if your team is doing something like working on neutral zone transition and you are not getting shots you need to make sure you turn that drill into something that will benefit you. Get used to tracking the puck and getting into initial depth as the puck crosses the red line, not the blueline which adds too much complication to save preparation. Move with the puck as it moves around high in your zone. Basically, be ready to cover up for a bad break in order to make a difference and it starts by taking everything possible out of each and every practice and each and every drill, no matter what the drill is working on.
Always ask yourself, how can I give purpose to this drill? If you do you will find improvements in all areas of your game.