3 Ways to Become a Highly Sought After Hockey Goalie

Have you ever had a team, school or work mate who was very successful at what they do, but a complete pain in the butt to be around?  Since we are in NHL play-off right now I am immediately thinking Radulov & Kostitsyn.  Even though they can play well, they are more of a liability than an asset to the point where their own team is benching them for a pivotal Game 3.

Today I want to share three ways you can show that you are an asset to your team, which may give you the upper hand over someone with even more talent.

1. Be a Cog In The Wheel.

In other words, don’t be a pain in the butt to be around.  Yes, you are the goalie, yes it is a critical role.  Every year there is more and more proof that a team cannot win without top notch goaltending, but you are just a cog in the wheel and no more important…okay probably  more important, but just don’t act like you are more important 😉 – than anyone else in the locker room.

Afterall, a team cannot win in the long run without goal scorers, good defense and grinders.  If the coach sits you, it is NOT because he or she does not like you, it is because you have done something dumb a la Radulov & Kostitsyn or your team just rotates goalies or the coach feels the team has a better chance of winning with the other goalie in net.

2. Control What You Can Control On The Ice

I love seeing goalies smash their stick over the crossbar in fury after letting in a goal.  We all have bad days at the office.  Just last week I had to let “Maureen” who apparently was the Director of Customer Service for all of Sears Canada, have an earful of my displeasure at their lack of customer service.

For about three hours afterward I was still livid about it, I brewed it over in my mind time after time –  had some training programs to do, but I could not really focus on my task at hand because I was still boiling on the inside.

When I see a goalie lose their cool it tells me – and everyone else in the arena – fire everything you can at that net because this guy or gal is not going to be on the ball for the next little while.

No matter how furious you get, you cannot get mad enough to make the puck pop back out of your net and take that last point off the board.  No matter how many times you shake your head back and forth, you won’t be able to wind time back.

I love to see the goalies who have their routine – they skate to the corner, do a circle and skate back into their crease – like they are starting a new game.  Or the ones who spray their face with water to ‘wash’ the goal away and start again.

Some goals are not your fault, some are.  But all you can do is stay focused on your task at hand – the next puck directed at your net.

3. Be Prepared

How about the awesome goalie who is always injured.  Wow, they are dynamite, but they continually tweak their back, their groin, their hip flexor.  We all know that you cannot help your team win from the bench.  You can encourage them, but you cannot have a direct impact on the game.

So be ready for each and every game and practice, show your coaches and your team you are ready by being in terrific shape – by doing a thorough warm-up.  Show them that a goalie’s warm up is not standing in net while they take slappers at you.

Do something to be physically prepared.  I know you don’t all have the time or finances to follow a detailed off-ice training program, but even if you start with something like these Top 3 Ways For Goalies to Improve Hip Mobility video, you will see improvements.

If you want a little more guidance, then do yourself a huge favour and check out the Goalie Workout Club where I post a new goalie specific off-ice routine each month.  Each workout includes exercises for flexibility, stability, strength, speed and stamina, so you do not need to go elsewhere looking for ways to improve your game and reduce your risk of injury.

Happy Training.
M

Tags: hockey goalie