beginning goalie needs help

[froggy chaos]

hi i need i help i ahve been playing pickup roller hockey games for a few months now really just starting uot playing goalie. i lvoe it. even though my gear set up is really ghetto.

very used pair of ccm breezers
chipped sherwood stick
very old black hockery mask
extremely used lousiville tps blocker
brand new tour usa style catcher
old leather cooper leg pads.

my leg pads are so bad they ahve duck tape opn them i ahve replaced virtually every strap on them. tomorrow i am going to be gettign some new tour gtl pads. does any one know how well they would do for outdoor roller hockey. i play n a nice smooth copncrete court.

ok so on to my real problem. as i mentioned i play pick up games right now until i can afford to finish buying all the gear and play ina real leauge. which means basically no one plays defense. typically i will el tiona bout 10 goals at least a night. i am by far a butterfly style goalie. as i can see my game right now there are 2 major weaknesses to my playing

1. high corner shots.
i get ebat on these numerous times as i tend to drop down on every shot that comes at me.

2. dekes (fake outs)
1-1 situations i struggle with a lot. i will drop down way to early shooter just goes around me easy goal.

so what are some drills or general advice tyou could give me to help this. i ahve been using my trapper and a bouncy ball lately and this has helped against high shots. not nearly as much as i would like though. please help

froggy
chaos

[Wrighter]

Greetings froggy, welcome to the board.

First, a couple bits of general advice:

#1 - Take time writing and checking your posts. Your post was very difficult to read and understand.

#2 - Before posting, do a search on the board. There are quite a few threads about advice for starting goalies.

More goalie-specific:

Check out Keek's cd-rom for lots of info, from basic stance, to advanced tips and tricks. Here's a link: http://clam.rutgers.edu/~wrighter/KeeksGoalCDR.pdf
(I hope it is ok that it is on my site. I had a hard time finding the link before).

Work on your high gloves (blocker too, not just catcher), as you are doing. Check out your stance and angle too. Are you far enough out of the net to cut down the arial angle?
On dekes, you must be very patient. First, you must be traveling about the same speed as the shooter. If you are not moving, he will blow by you. Second, you have to wait for him to make his move (generally). You already know what happens when you commit too early. Practice practice practice is the only way you condition yourself to do this.

Some people will probably violently disagree with me here, but I say don't worry so much about your gear. I've seen many goalies who spend huge wads of cash on gear, apparently with the belief that better gear will make them a better goalie. Gear should be adequate to keep you from getting hurt and reasonably effective for its purpose. By "reasonably effective" I mean a blocker should be a blocker, and not just a forward's glove; leg pads should fit and should allow you to butterfly. We all love getting new gear, no doubt about it, but I think especially when you are starting out, your main focus should be on developing skill. As long as your gear doesn't hinder your ability to work on skills, then it is adequate. (Example of bad gear is something that doesn't offer enough protection, or gear that fits so poorly or is so worn that you trip over straps, over the gear, it falls off, etc.)

One caveat I'll throw in here is this: worry about your mask. Since your noggin is what makes everything else work, get the most protective mask/helmet you can afford. Everything else is secondary.

Just my two cents. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Wrighter

[froggy chaos]

Thank you very much for the advice.
That link is wonderful i ma gonna be spending tons of time reading that. as far as equipment i do agree with you. right now i am just trying to complete my equipment. ya know cup, chest protector and neck guard. but aside from that i am pretty happy with my set up. ive dreamed of playing goal for so long. im stoked to finally get out there and do it.

goalie in training
froggy chaos

[Colin]

Froggy,

I'd reccomend changing the order of your purchases:

1. cup (to quote Gordie Howe: you can pay someone to do your thinking for you)

2. helmet. You can get a good helmet/cage combo for less than $100 which is a lot less than a concussion will cost you.

3. C/A combo. If you start getting stung by pucks, you'll start flinching when shots come in. At that point you're fininshed.


I wouldn't buy anything new except the helmet and the cup until you're sure that you're going to be a goalie you're sure you know what type of stuff you're looking for.

Paul has some really good used stuff in the stockroom that's been repaired and is almost good as new. If you're looking for pads, check e-bay. For a beginner I'd reccomend an old pair of Aeroflex/Winn-Lites over a new pair of Tours or Franklins any day. The cost is about the same.

[big dog daddy]

Froggy,

I second/third or whatever level it would be that Wrighter and Colin said. New gear is nice but skills make the goalie. Irbe got his to the finals last year in pads that were about as old as dirt.

also welcome to the BB.

BDD

[froggy chaos]

Well i just got some new tour usa series pads yesterday. Only 70 brand new. and i got my new helmet in the mail saturday. my next step is a cup. hten a nice c/a. Im looking at the tour c/a. its very reasonably priced. and it looks high quality. And colin i am very sure that i am going to play goal. Been doing it sense the beginning of last summer. Just now able to get all of my gear. My setup is coming together rather nicely. Thank you for the advice though. And i totally agree with you. Skills take massive precedence over new gear. Right now im more looking for functionality in my gear before gettiong anything high level. Ebay is helping with that a lot.

Tonight i have a pickup game to go to. Wish me luck we will see how these new pads do. i am expecting the gam,e to go better thasn i usually do. You guys should of seen my last pads. Horrible pads. My wife says i should burn them .

I will post the results of my game tonight.

laterz
froggy chaos
Of all the things ive lost i miss cujo the most
-toronto mapleleafs

[froggy chaos]

The game tonight went really well. i let in 5 goals. which is good for me. there was probally about 20 shots on me. And gasp there were actually good defensemen were there. one sought his job to hit everyone who entered my crease . during the game one of the straps on my helmet came loose. and before i could fix it i took a hard slapper to the face. my helmet hit hard on my collarbone. man that stung. my upper shoulder area is all red from the shot still. my new pads worked really great. stopped a hard slapper with them didnt even feel it at all. and the shot fell down right in front of me to cover with my trapper. when will players stop hacking at my arm when i have the puck in my trapper.

which brings me ti a question. in roller hockey pickup games what is acceptable for me to do to players in my crease?

laterz
froggy

[RRG]

Hey Congrats on your game. In pick up roller hockey I doubt that the players will ever stop hacking at your glove As for what to do with them there will be many sugestions as to what to do, but I think you should really take a look at the whole situation. Are they just standing there or are they actively bothering you? Does this happen every single play or once in a while? I'm not even gonna bother asking about the D-men.

I use the Tour USA's too and they have held up decently. After a few games the stitching started coming loose but nothing you can't fix with some needle and thread.

RRG

[froggy chaos]

Thanks man
they never really do anything to me. just stand in my crease block my view wait for the rebound and typically score. man i gotta get a c/a for my elbows.

laterz
froggy

[firefighter]

Welcome, another Colorado goalie!!

C/A: I have a Franklin c/a that I could sell to you if you want. If you have read the board for very long then you know what most of the members think about Franklin gear. I used this for a while for roller hockey and it worked good for me. If you're interested then I'll have to check the condition to make sure that it is okay, I wouldn't want to sell you something that's going to leave you unprotected (it's been sitting for about 9 months). I'm pretty sure that it is an XL, I'm not 100% on that one so I'll check that too. The reason that I switched was that the Franklin was the type that was pretty close to your neck. I went with one that is more U-shaped around the neck.

Anyway I'll check on the condition if you are interested and get back to you over PM or email so that I don't use up the board space.

About the roller hockey guys. Well I used to play at an outdoor concrete roller rink (play ice hockey now) in Broomfield with a group of guys who get together every Sunday so they all know each other and it's just a good time. The play was always very high-level and intense, but no one would get pissed at anyone else.

A few things to take notice of. 1. Are the guys prone to getting mad easily? If so they might take offense to even the most innocent/lightest laps or the skates(or other). 2. Are the guys respectful of you? What I have noticed is that the forwards/defensemen who have been playing for a while (years) know how valuable it is to have a goalie in the net, especially in a pick-up situation. You might want to explain what you want to them. Definitely say something if the hacking is going on in pick-up. Finally if you want to keep playing with this group of guys then I wouldn't start by pissing them off. If there is a problem then tell them. If they don't change then find another rink/time to play. If they like you then you'll be more to be invited to play on a team for a season or for pick-up on the ice (if you're going in that direction).

I have found that in a game situation it depends on who the refs are when it comes to stopping someone from hacking on you. I played on one roller season where the refs did not tolerate it. They would give players penalties for hitting my glove after the play was blown dead. And now I'm playing at the YMCA in Louisville and I get hacked on all the time and there is no call.

Brian

[froggy chaos]

colorado goalies represent go avs

yeah i'll pm you about the c/a.

well i play at csu's rink. there is seriously different people there every night. there are so many hockey guys\girls (like my wife) around here.

now that my game is getting better and im not making as many stupid decisions. i am rather respected down there. last night when i had to go home they were begging me to stay. its a good feeling. they dont typically get too pissed off here. a few do though so i dont really knowhow to handle it. i dont usually complain at people hacking my glove. i think it is mostly unintentional. i am more concerned with guys in my crease. what should i do about them?

laterz
froggy
chaos