Respect Your Goalie, Educate Yourself

DEVELOP, NURTURE, MOTIVATE, PROMOTE ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME

Thank You, Coaches!

First, we are grateful for your dedication and commitment to coaching. We understand it’s no small job, and even though it may not always feel like it, your efforts are genuinely appreciated.

Coaching can be a gratifying yet challenging endeavor. Goalies have often been seen as an enigma, with some coaches choosing to overlook them or resorting to the misguided approach of bombarding them with shots. Both of these approaches do more harm than good. In fact, the longer you allow or coach a goalie to do something incorrectly, the harder it becomes to correct those bad habits.

Coaching a technical position like goaltending demands understanding the position itself, the subtleties within various techniques, and the ability to pinpoint the root causes of problems. Teaching anything to children or adolescents requires a specific mindset and the capacity to connect and communicate in the language of a goalie. So, bringing in a “goalie dad” or a parent who played goal long ago is not the solution.

Incorrect coaching of goalies often leads to:

  • Injuries: Some of which can be recurring and severe.
  • Extreme Frustration: Resulting in goalies leaving the game they love prematurely.
  • Stoppable Goals: Scored regularly, resulting in losses that should have been wins.
  • Lack of Skill Development: Goalies struggling to improve and develop their skills.
  • Parent frustration and complaining: Disappointment when their child does not receive the same quality training as the players.
  • Team dissension: Players become frustrated when the goaltender doesn't provide the expected support.
  • Goalies Leaving The Game: Due to a lack of coaching or misdirection.

How do coaches address these issues?

  • Gain a fundamental understanding: Dive deep into the intricacies of goaltending.
  • Learn Essential Core Goaltending Skills: Seek expert guidance from those dedicated to developing goalies.
  • Diagnose your goalie's deficiencies: Understand the root cause of common problems.
  • Build Confidence: Boost team morale and goalie confidence through steady development.
  • Have More Fun: Witness your team's improvement and more victories.
  • Help goalies get better, play better and stay in the game longer: Too many young goalies are leaving the game in frustration.

Don’t just “wing it” when working with your goaltenders, and never leave them standing around while the other players are working on skills development. While many coaches have good intentions, their lack of knowledge often leads them to inadvertently offer incorrect guidance, and teach goaltenders improper techniques and basic skills. This reinforces incorrect habits and leads to improper muscle memory development, undermining the goalie’s confidence.

icoachgoalies.com and the Essential Core Goaltending Skills course were specifically created for coaches like you and goalie parents. Our mission is simple: to help you deepen your understanding of goaltending and boost your goalies’ confidence through sound advice and proper development. 

I appreciate your commitment, and let’s work together to make goaltending a better experience for everyone involved.

BUY ESSENTIAL CORE GOALTENDING SKILLS PROGRAM AT 75% OFF

“For goalies, it’s like trying to attend university before grade school… Coaches expect them to play well, develop skills and learn the game, but they don’t even provide the basic goaltending skills that are the vital foundation they need to build upon.”

Allen Kool Founder of Q5X, Innovator and Manufacturer of Wireless Technology for the Sports Industry, Award Winning Film Producer

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