© Bandits Goalie School - 2008
The focus of this column is to introduce and explore the importance of developing the mental skills necessary to become a better goaltender. While these skills are not a substitute for the athletic skills essential for goalies, current sports research suggests that if an athlete develops mental skills along with physical skills their performance improves.
I asked the first National Hockey League goalie I worked with, “What is the job of the goalie?” He responded with “Stop the puck”. This made a good deal of sense because goalies are evaluated on their ability to keep the puck out of the net. We determined, on average, he faced 30 shots a game. The shots usually arrived at the net in less than half a second. So for 15 seconds of the game he was stopping shots. I asked him “What do you do for the other 59 minutes and 45 seconds of the game?” He created a long list of activities that described what he did but nothing was dependable. After talking about the goalie’s job for a while, stopping the puck is really the last thing in a long list of consistent actions taken by a successful goalie.
We then looked at speed of the shots and goaltender reaction times. He thought the average NHL shot was probably about 85 miles per hour. At 85 mph the puck travels 124 feet in a second. A goaltender’s reaction time includes recognizing that a shot is coming and starting to move. At the elite level this takes a surprisingly long 7/10th of a second to occur. With that speed and with the elite reaction time the puck travels 84 feet. So in real playing time, any shot greater than 85 mph taken closer to the net than 84 feet, that didn’t hit the goaltender and was on the net would score. That shot is just from inside the center red line. In other words it’s humanly improbable, at the elite level, to move quick enough to “Stop the Puck”. Consequently the top level goalies must be doing things to reduce this reaction time. Since good NHL goalie stop over 9 of 10 shots taken at them, it became obvious that what the goalie does before any shot is taken is the most important component of being a successful goalie. Shots can reach over 100 mph in the NHL. A shot of 100 mph travels 147 feet in a second with a goalie reaction distance of 99 feet. That shot is between the center red line and far blue line. So the mental skills of concentration, self talk, processing information, imagery, goal setting, having a ready strategy, relaxation, confidence, and playing in the present became as important, if not more important, than the physical skill of stopping the puck. Once this NHL goalie realized this and worked on improving these mental skills, his performance on the ice improved dramatically.
Now you may see the importance of elite level goalies working on these mental skills but if we look at speed and reaction times for younger goalies it is important for them as well. Shots at 20 mph travel 29 feet in a second and the reaction time distance is 20 feet. Shots at 40 mph travel 59 feet in a second with a reaction distance of 39 feet. Shots at 60 mph travel 88 feet in a second with a reaction distance of 59 feet. That shot is from just inside your blue line and without concentration it could easily go in the net.
In a hockey game it finally comes down to two factors on any shot. What the goalie brings to the situation and what the shooter brings to that situation. In the younger age levels, the goalie is most likely to come out the winner in spite of their skills in the shot situation. Young shooters usually aren’t skilled enough to put their shot where they want to, or they see the scoring opportunities but the young goalies reflexes are faster than the puck. The limitations of the shooter make the goalie the victor.
As the level of play improves shooters are more accurate and powerful and the goalie can’t rely on the shooters deficiencies to be successful in the shot situation. They can no longer sit back and simply wait for the shooter to shoot. Now shot situation success depends more on what the goalie brings to the situation. A thinking style of “If the shooter does what I expect, I will stop the shot” is leaving the likelihood of stopping the puck to reasons like fate, luck, chance, or magic. That’s like being in school for a math test and saying “If the teacher asks all the right questions, I will get a good grade on the test, if not I’ll fail”.
At an advanced level of play shot stopping success depends primarily on what the goalie brings to the situation. A new style of focus is necessary to be effective at this level. Your focus needs to be where I am rather than how am I doing. Where I am refers to positioning. What is the proper position for the goalie? Proper position can be determined if you place an extra puck on the goal line centered between your two posts. Draw an imaginary line from that puck to the puck on the shooters stick and straddle that imaginary line. As the puck moves across the ice, you and the imaginary line move with it. This needs to be done at every practice with every shot. It needs to be consistent to the point you trust yourself totally to do this. The second positioning skill is keeping your shoulders square to the shooter. The imaginary line and your shoulders form a “T” with the shooters puck always being at the base of the “T” and your shoulders forming the top part of the “T”. Always maintain your “ready stance” when the puck is in your end. One former NHL goalie said that positioning was so important to him that if he had to move more than an inch to stop the puck, he was out of position. A goalie with average quickness and good positioning will out perform a much quicker goalie that is out of position. Positioning is a mental skill.
The goal opening is 3,456 square inches the average goaltender covers approximately 1,550 square inches of this area which leaves 1,906 square inches of the net unprotected. As the goalie moves out of the net toward the shooter, the size of the unprotected net area decreases, making it more difficult for the shooter. As the goalie moves back into the goal the size of the unprotected net increases, making it easier for the shooter. How far out from the goal line is best? Research states the ideal position for most situations is 5 foot 9 inches from the center of the net or basically, just outside the crease. Experience and situations will dictate the optimum distance in various game situations. However, it should be noted that coming out toward the shooter too far can be as counter productive as staying back in the net. It is important to work at every practice to develop trust in your positioning and challenging skills. Why do so many goalies back into the net giving the shooter more net to shoot at? The main theory is that goalies are asked to defend an object that they cannot always see and may not be totally sure where they are in relation to the net. There is a mental tendency to stay close to that object as potential danger approaches so it is easier to protect the net Another reason for backing up is to create space between the goalie and the shooter to increase the likelihood of stopping the shot. In reality the goalie is just allowing the shooter to see more of the net and based on reaction times decreasing the chance of stopping the puck. The goalie must learn to trust in him or her self in moving out away from the goal line. This natural tendency of staying back can be overcome through repetition and constant reinforcement of challenging the shooter. Another former NHL goalie said to me to always “Think Big” as you move out toward the shooter with no “Double Coverage”. This is when a goalie puts a piece of their equipment in front of another piece of equipment. For example your stick glove covering up some of your pants or leg pad. When we are nervous or uncomfortable there is a tendency to pull in, making ourselves smaller and increasing the likelihood of double coverage. When we are relaxed the tendency is to spread out and cover more of the net. Consequently the goalie must be comfortable with their skills and trust in their ability to use their skills. Challenging is a mental skill.
This introductory column has covered the numerical and statistical aspects of goaltending. Just to get goalies in the proper position and challenging the shooters will improve performance. These are both learned skills and it will take some time to develop them to the point they become automatic for each goalie. They will need constant attention and practice to get them to that automatic point. The purpose here is to change the way you think about goaltending which will likely change what you do. The change process can be difficult because you are moving away from what feels comfortable and natural to something new. I encourage you to be willing to make changes in your thinking and approach to goaltending, because, as you know, without change there is no improvement in performance.
The new job of the goaltender thus becomes “Knowing the proper position, the correct place to be, how to get there, and when to get there”. These are the important steps that allow you to actually stop a puck.
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