would like some helpful insight for a rookie goalie?

[Big River]

My son has been playing hockey now for six years, and since the beginning he has wanted to play net. But at the insistance of my wife and I, we asked him to first learn the basics. He spent his time in initiation (3 years), and just finished his second year as a mite. In his two years as a mite he has played both forward and defence, and has a very strong awarenesss of the game. My son finally got to experience playing net, our normal goalie was out having his tonsils removed, Our team had a tournament, and he volunteered! Well, in short, having only two practices heading in to the tournament, I was very skiddish, but he played very well, We didn't win any of the games, but for being his first time in net, it was nothing short of amazing. We recieved compliments on his play from not only his coaches, but the other teams coaches & parents, and they were in disbelief when we told them it was only his first time. So to get to the point, that one tournament has now fueled him and this is what he wants to do, we have agreed, and I think we are taking the right steps, We have him signed up for Rick Hienz Goalie School this summer, and He may play in a Summer League. He likes the idea of working out at home, but other than just shooting on him, is there any other drills I could be helping him with? He has really taken us by surprise at not only how he played, but his attitude about playing goal. His excitement is contagious, and any advice that can be passed our way is gratly appreciated! Sorry for the long-winded post!

[Timberwoof]

I delayed responding because I don't have any experience coaching kids, but I do remember my and iGoalie's experiences learning goaltending as adults. And I hated seeing your queston go unanswered.

There's not terribly much you can do at home to train for ice that isn't a whole lot more effective -- and fun -- on ice. So I would advise any new goalie to find as much ice time as possible, playing pick-up and skate-and-shoot. Carpet just doesn't have the same friction qualities as ice, and it's really boring to put on the gear just to stretch and practice the stance.

Going to a goalie clinic with little experience can be overwhelming; you have to have some experinece to use as a basis on which to build with all those drills. On the other hand, a new goalie might learn some wrong things and then have a bit of a slump after the first goalie camp while all the new correct stuff gets integrated.

However, I think that the sequence here is fine: if your son starts in goal now with guidance from Keeks' CD-ROM, he'll be ready to absorb the lessons from the clinic this summer. In other words, if he's taking naturally to the net, there's probably not much need for additional special off-ice training at home.

[Big River]

Timberwoof:

Like I said before any advice is helpful, and yours was greatly appreciated! One thing I would like to add: We have my son signed up for a summer league. The league rundns from July to August, 10 practices, 8 games and 2 skate & shoots. I am hoping that this league along with camp with help him towards next year. Now I will begin to search for Keek's CD-Rom, as a newbie to this sight I am unfamiliar with it, but in reading posts through searches I have seen this name pop up many times. The more I have learned, the better prepared I feel to answer my sons questions, and offer him help in his new adventures! Again my thanks to you!

[sloth2946]

RIVER: Welcome!!! I bumped up the thread to the top, but here is a link to it. http://64.119.160.130/board/showthre...&threadid=5419 On the last page of the thread is a post by Bryan with a link he has so that you can download this CD rom from his website. You will need Adobe Acrobat if you don't have it. They have a free reader on their website just in case you don't have it.

[TartanBill]

He needs to work on skating, balance, and quickness. At this age, only worry about stance and recovery. Take
him to the ice and have him skip rope. Have him skip rope dryland! A power skating class will benefit him far
more than a Rick Heinz at this stage.

Here are some other suggestions,
Have him take up tennis or ping pong. He needs to overload on the focus and tracking of a moving object.

Use a balance board and/or a slide board. Take him to a skate park.

Soccer is great for developing leg strengh and agility.

Give him a baseball glove and a pitchback. Better yet, go hit him some grounders. Pucks start from ice level
after all. Also make him practice his shooting with a regular stick, but his catching hand low. This is probably
backwards from what he is used to.

You'll notice that I've not mentioned hockey. Just playing in a league will be next to useless. He won't see many
shots and it will likely only reinforce his bad habits. Develop the athlete first!

Then find a program where there is a coach who knows something about teaching goaltending. They are hard to come by.

[Joe]

In these dark years of goaltending technique it is important that any bad habits (i.e. chronic barrel blocking) are mended quickly, but other then that it is important just to let him PLAY...

[TartanBill]

My point here is that playing young kids on full sized ice doesn't provide enough exercise for a young goalie to improve. In a game that lasts an hour wall clock, there will typically be around 20 shots if the sides are even. It's the same with players. A kid is luck to touch the puck for 30 seconds in a game.

On ice, it would be much better to play side to side in a zone, or use a half zone and play 2-2 with one goalie.

The bottom line is I don't see kids improve from playing league games. They improve from playing pond hockey, or playground hockey, or other intense activity. The common thread is CONSTANT playing. If I sound strident, it's because I fight this fight with parents all the time. They want to see kids play games with uniforms and a referee while I want more practice time. I run my practices with about 50% time devoted to short side games to generate intensity and game like conditions.

The off ice activities I suggest all over stress skills that will become important as the kid grows into the game. To improve, you must push outside the box.

[Timberwoof]

How common is three-on-three hockey? There's a rink in San Jose ( www.hockeyworkout.com ). Anywhere else?

I ask because it gives a goalie far more exposure to shots than big-ice five-on-five ... and then gives a goalie lots and lots of practice with penalty shots.

[hockeyshifter]

As for a your young one the basic are the most important. skating and positioning. at this age and level no one is blasting them from the point.. skating for the position and for fun. make it a game and you keep him going wanting more and more.. the goaile HAS to be the best skater one the ice.. keep him skating

[TartanBill]

Originally posted by Timberwoof
How common is three-on-three hockey? There's a rink in San Jose ( www.hockeyworkout.com ). Anywhere else?

I ask because it gives a goalie far more exposure to shots than big-ice five-on-five ... and then gives a goalie lots and lots of practice with penalty shots.

A couple rinks here run it in the spring. Mostly it's tournament though. I recommend these to our parents rather than spring leagues. Puckmasters also runs 2-2 with one goalie.

[Old Swiss2]

Big River: I haven't coached kids for many years, but here are my thoughts:

Along with the excellent advice by my betters, I would suggest you subscribe him (birthday present/graduation present) to Goalies' World magazine, it is fun and won't be too overwhelming for his age.

You might want to look for Keeks DVD later this year and Jim Park also has a terrific series on vhs.

Above all, I would keep it fun. And congratulate him on his wise choice of positions. Playing goal will teach him a lot about himself and a lot about life. It builds good work habits, confidence, personality and all of that other good stuff. Plus, it is something he can play for most of his life.

Old Swiss2

[vort3x]

hey River!

i'm only 15 now, but I've been a goalie since I was four. I've also worked a little bit a my goalie school, so maybe i can help out a bit.

When I first became a goaltender, i was just house league, and played that way for about a year until my first actual lesson.

The first thing i noticed when i got my first taste of caoching mite aged kids, is the need to know how to skate properly with all that equipment on! Going from a forward/defense to a goalie puts a lot of extra equipment on your back. So I'd suggest getting him out on the ice and learning the basics. Such as shuffling (the lifeline of a goalie), and just basically manouvering around the crease and net area.

when i started out, befor i went onto the ice with my goalie school, and had a series of 1-on-1 sessions. If you're unfamiliar with what these are, at my goalie school, i went onto the plastic ice, and my instructor had a puck machine. he worked on the non-skating basics with me, ie: glove and blcoker, butterflies, etc.

He also taught me a very valuable system. It's called the 7-point system, but i dont think your son needs to know about that untill he's comfortable with manouvering around. Although the system helps you get very much intouch with your net, and when you are on the ice. If you want to know about it, just pm me, and ill draw you up a diagram. It's more beneficial to see it on ice, but if I send a diagram to you, you could probably take your son on the ice and show him everything there.

[Big River]

To All:

I would like to thank you for your time and advice, it is greatly appreciated, hopefully in the near future, I can reoprt to you how my son is progressing! For now we are just starting our journey! I can truly tell you that " you learn something new everyday" and this forum is a great foundation of knowledge!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!