Guessing, What to do?

[TartanBill]

Can anyone suggest how to deal with the problem of committing too early? Are there any good drills that might help, or for that matter some that should be avoided because they reinforce the incorrect behavior. I am thinking of a college age goalie BTW.

One thing I have considered is to have the subject just watch shots for a while and try to make a list of keys to watch for.

Coach is a volunteer, and has his hands full with the skaters. I suspect he mentioned it to me hoping to get some additional help. For that matter, I would appreciate any suggestions on how to organize the practice to better drill the goalies. They aren't abused, just neglected.

[daemyn75]

This is a big problem for me too. I have problems reading if a shooter will pass or shoot. I usually drop too soon and they shelf it on me. what I do is what I call a shuffle drill. I will take 2 on 0's and follow the puck of course. than shuffle with the puck. I try not to drop just shuffle side to side eventually the shooter is close enough that you can commite and he can do nothing except look at you make a save. It isn't 100% but nothing is. Try is and see how it works for your guys. I look forward to other posts. One more thing to reenforce good behavior I allow myself to drink a beer for every save I make after practice of course.

[This message has been edited by daemyn75 (edited October 18, 1999).]

[Bernie]

Can't really help too much here Tartan except to say that when I'm guessing, it usually means I'm playing bad, but not in the obvious sense! Usually something else, something deeper is affecting my game and I respond to it by guessing on shots. If something isn't right like my confidence is down, or I'm just not on my game, I start guessing rather than reacting. When the "original" problem is fixed, then I go back to reacting.

Try looking to see if a part of your game isn't feeling right- other than the guessing part, and maybe that'll get you back on track.

Bernie




[This message has been edited by Bernie (edited October 18, 1999).]

[Brett]

This position, in its purest sense, involves reacting to a puck, moving to intercept it. Obviously, and we have written many times about this, guessing, or commiting to a course of action before it is necessary, is counterproductive, and starts a vicious circle. The goalie who starts guessing starts getting beat more which leads to his guessing even earlier and more often.

The correction isn't so much a drill as an understanding. Make sure he understands exactly what it is you are saying you want him to do, and WHY.

1. Q. When does he need to move for the puck?

A. When it is not going to hit him.

Q. How does he know it's not going to hit him?

A. Because he is watching the puck, following it's path, and can see that it is not going to hit him.

Following this logic, how can he move when the puck just comes off the stick, or even earlier? He has only seen the puck travel a foot or two, if that. He can pinpoint exactly where the puck is going, too the inch, a foot off the shooters stick? No, of course he can't. None of the goalies I work with can. So they learn to hold their ground, and watch the puck as long as they can.

Q. What advantage is there to waiting longer before moving opposed to moving earlier.

A. The longer you can wait, the more time your eyes and brain have had to determine where the puck is going. Thus, the more precise and explosive the goalies' move can be, and the more control the galie has over the rebound.

First drill of the day. Have a few shooters with good shots standing around the tops of the circles. Have them shoot (not rapid fire), with the goalie centered on the shot, BUT UNABLE TO MOVE FOR THE PUCK. Make sure he doesn't flinch, and make sure he follows that puck. All he can do is stand still and watch the puck either hit him, or fly past him. Check out his success ratio. It's very sobering to a goalie that he can stop 75% of the shots on goal without moving an inch. Not too good for the ego. Make sure your kid understands what it is you are teaching. Not that standing still is the way to play goal, but that following the puck will show him when and where he has to move. Please, please please, also make sure that when you tell him to stand still, it means he stands still. The slightest flinch or straightning up when the puck is released is destructive. Make sure he stays heavy and solid in his stance.

Does this make sense?

Once he starts catching the drift of the above, present this too him. Given the fastest speed that he can make a save, how long can he wait before moving. Since waiting longer will allow him to track the puck more, try to get him to understand the difference between adjusting the speed of your saves to meet the puck (i.e. shooter lets go a slow one blocker side, we drop to our knee and slowly stretch and lean ouuuuuut to make the save) and adjusting your time of execution to meet the puck (i.e same shot, the puck is travelling towards the goal, finally, with the puck a foot in front of him, the goalie slams out a pad save and forcefully directs the puck to a teammate) Accuracy and power work hand in hand with patience.

Drill two, the worst drill imaginable. Stand with the pucks between the hash marks in the middle of the slot. Goalie on the goal line. Shoot the puck slowly towards the corner of the net, so slowly that the puck barely could reach the back of the net. First, have the goalie watch the puck all the way in his stance, watch it go past him into the net, then kick the appropriate save out as hard as he can. You are looking for perfect, explosive form on the saves, even though he has already let the puck past him. Then, start allowing him to make the save. The idea is to stay in your stance, unflinchingly as long as possible, then exploding with a perfect save at the last possible second. A 18 year old should be able to wait until the puck is 1 foot in front of him or so. DON'T BE EASY ON THEM. This is the time to see how long they can wait. Anybody can stop these pucks. That's not the purpose of the drill. The purpose is to test your patience and your ability to follow the puck as long as possible.

They will hate this. I spent 2 months last summer working with two Junior A goalies on nothing but this. (2 months with no pucks shot over 30 MPH. To this day, they say that it was the best thing they could have learned) The key, they have to understand the benefit of patience.

Once a goalie has rediscovered that they are well capable of reacting in time to a puck after it has been released, you will find that they are able to hold their ground more confidently, wait shooters out, and ultimately play a "simpler, less busy" game.

Interested to know how things go.

[badgerit]

wow, that was REALLY enlightening! I think I'll go get some friends to help me out with these drills...

[Squealagig]

I think I'm gonna print that one out and give it to as many ppl as possible. It just sounds so right.

[Squealagig]

Hey Brett do you have a book? if not you should write one.

[daemyn75]

Brett that sounds so Zen like it just flows like water in a river. I'm going to print it out too and give it a shot to see what happens. I know that is a big problem with me too is reaction time. Being a new goalie and so old it is hard to adjust especially when I am basically teaching myself how do do all the defication. Now if I can get some friends to help me out I would be in business.

[Bernie]

Damn Brett- Looks like you've eaten your Wheaties today. I've gotten more information from your last two posts than I've gotten in my whole life thus far.

I'll try that drill on my guys this weekend and see what happens.

Wow,
Great drills. I'm glad I've been hang'n around this BB past couple o'days.

I was just going to suggest not going down at all for a couple of practices. Sounds stupid now!
Chris

[TartanBill]

Brett, you are a gentleman, a poet and a scholar. You have described exactly what I am looking for.

Can't wait till practice tomorrow night. Thanks for the help Brett

[This message has been edited by Darkhawk (edited October 19, 1999).]

Here's a drill I used when I coached Squirt-level goalies -- it helped them develop the "anticipation mindset." In particular, it helps prevent them from backing up into the net too quickly -- great for breakaways.

1. Have the goalie stay in his basic stance at the hash marks (I like to have my goalies play way out).

2. Have the players at center ice skate straight in on him, veering off at the last second. DON'T ALLOW THE GOALIE TO MOVE FROM HIS BASIC STANCE!

This will get him used to "holding his ground" during a breakaway.

3. After a few rounds of this (after he's used to not automatically backing up when he's got a player skating in on him), now have the players skate directly at him, toward the goal. This time, have the goalie back-up BUT ONLY AFTER THE PLAYER CROSSES THE HASH MARKS, timing his speed backing-up with that of the player skating in. The distance between player and goalie should be very close. (Start this drill at slow speed, and then increase it once they've gotten the hang of it).

I've found this drill really helps prevent committing too early. Just remember the key points:

-- Don't back-up until the player crosses the hash marks.

-- Time how quickly you back-up with how fast the player is skating in on you and maintain a close distance.

-- Be as compact in your basic stance as you can...watch that 5-hole in particular, so remember to the leg pads together.

[badgerit]

I don't know about that drill, Mike. Something about it sounds extremely wrong, but I'm not sure what it is. Bernie? Brett? Someone? I know keeping the legpads together is something you can't do while moving, so i don't quite understand how you expect to do that.

[Kuzma]

I agree with Badger. If you can keep your stick on the ice spread um. Cause when they make a cut you want to have them make a big move not just a little more around you.