Too short!

[barnhart_goalie]

I'm having a problem stopping the puck on occasion to the corners. The lower corners are really hard to reach for me in butterfly. I'm only 5'4" or 5'5" (one of the two) Anyone have any ideas. I guess the only thing I can do is come out more playing my angles, or I could use stilts! I'm trying to step up my game more, I have worked over the whole year playing roller hockey almost everyday, but I still want to get better before college comes around. Hopefully I can step it up enough to get on a Division I hockey team. Anyway, can anybody help me?

[Jukka Ropponen]

It's tough to give a good advice without seeing you playing and see some of the situations causing problems.

However, I can try to help a bit as my son is 5,4" and what he does is:

1) Try to be out enough when butterflying.

2) Uses kicksaves for the shot's on low corners as that gives him much more reach than butterfly.

...so consider using butterfly more of a tactical move to take the lower part of the net away in situations where that is needed and develop "more tools" for your saves and don't try to butterfly on everything.

Jukka

[sloth2946]

What Jukka said! To add to it, be more aggressive, top of the crease and then some, be patient and wait for the puck to come to you, and react to what you see rather than to just drop into the butterfly as a default save in lieu of making the proper save movement.

[barnhart_goalie]

Cool thanks for the input, anyone else think of anything else to add to their wisdom???

[jer35gohabs]

I would agree with what sloth and jukka has said except for one point. First I think by kick save jukka ment skate save witch I would not use because it exposes your inner thigh witch is a very painful spot to get hit in and it takes your hips out of position (try and always remain square) for a tip or another shot off a rebound and also commits you to a certain side of your body. Try recovering from a skate save to the opposite side of the body it is very difficult.

Remember to play big, be aggressive. Don't over commit yourself though. take into account the options the player has for example if he has an option to pass back door be aware of that and don't come out to far for you to get back if the player does pass. There are times to play big and there are times to stay back in the net you have to decide when and where. I could go on and on but if you have more questions feel free to email me. Jer35gohabs@aol.com

By the way which D1 program are you trying out for?



Jared

[TartanBill]

Alternatives to the kick save, which can be somewhat slow to execute, are the half butterfly and a pad extension. The pad extension is also called a half V because you drop to the opposite knee while kicking out your save side leg. Only the toe of the save side leg will be on the ice.

A full extension does not involve pivoting your body so you therefore achieve extra range. As with the kick save, this is a reactive save rather than a just a block. Also, try to make the save with your stick while using the pad as a backstop. If you are still missing them, work on being square and centered to the shot. You may find you are being beaten to the one side more often, or it may depend on the shooter being left or right.

[Jukka Ropponen]

It's a matter of terminology this time.

Skate saves were out 10 years ago and I have not teached those since.

I guess I use the term kicksave when you kick your leg out, but always have pad facing the shot.

See how much more reach you get in

Butterfly


Vs.

"Kicksave" where goalie is reaching to low catch glove corner (this shot is 3-5" off the ice)



Jukka

[jer35gohabs]

Ok I get it that would be what I consider a pad save. To me a kick save was for stand up goalies, when they would kick at the shot coming towards their leg and remain standing. No one should teach those now let alone use them.

[TartanBill]

Consistent terminology has long been a problem. But a picture is worth a thousand words. Great pictures.( I wish my butterfly had that kind of coverage.) Notice how square to the shot the goalie is. It's even more important to be square than centered.

[Detfreak]

Just to add to whats been said.. I would work on my flexiblity if I were you.. If you look at short high level goalies like Irbe he makes alot of saves in the split.. I don't think he tries to use it like a butterfly but being short he makes up for his lack of reach by doing this when he has to.. Not many people can do splits it takes some work but with good regular streching you can get there.. Seek the advise of someone that can get you on a good program so you get the most out of it...

[sloppy]

Couple of words..... Arturs Irbe. Sure, he's 5'8", but hey, what's 4" huh? If you didn't see him play the Leafs in the semi finals, shame on you!

Goalies' World Issue 28, January 2001 has a great style analysis on Irbe, check it out if you haven't already.

As for those low corners, which I had plenty of problems with in the past till I checked my positioning, played a tad further out and slapped on OD's. Now my stance is very wide, 5hole looks huge, but because I'm so wide, it's not far to the ice to drop immediately to my knees in a butterfly.

ok. I'm not playing roller, but it applies to ice.....will a tad wider stance be possible for you?

[BKLYNNetminder]

I'm 5'4" and very aggressive. When I am playing my game, I make alot of saves at the faceoff circle (not the dot). I've made saves where opposing players end up behind me. I make sure that the puck goes to a D-man or the corner. That way, I have time to get up and back into my crease to continue to follow the play.

[Goalie Girl]

I'm 5'4 too, but my butterfly coverage on shots has never been much of a problem because I instinctively flare my leg like the earlier mentioned alternatives to kick saves. It's saved my butt too many times to count, and I pretty much consider it an essential part of my game. I'm flexible enough to do the splits when I need to, but a lot of the time it's faster and simpler to flare the leg out.