Corey Wogtech

Hello everyone, and welcome to the W Goaltending Blog here on the Goalie Crease Network. I think that we can all agree that the administration for this site has done a great job thus far. We are all very fortunate to have such an amazing place to create community and trade goaltending secrets, so a thank you is in order to everyone who has worked to get this site up and running.

First things first, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words over the years. I can’t think of another sport where one single position has such a supportive network of individuals. The goaltending community is a unique thing; and I’ve been blown away by the positive interest you have shown in both myself and my new company, W Goaltending. I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time with a number of great goaltending minds over the years; so hopefully their generosity and time spent with me will translate into valuable information for some of you. I appreciate the forum, and I’m truly thankful for the confidence that you are showing in me by asking questions.

Since this is my first official post, it was tough to decide exactly where to start. You guys posted a few great questions, all of which I intend to address as time goes on, so check back often. After much debate, however, I felt that it was important to establish my personality and teaching objectives before I started doling out advice. A blog is a difficult place to truly dive into the intricate detail needed to discuss the technical aspects of goaltending. So bare with me this week as we begin to lie the foundation for what W Goaltending is all about.

This might sound a bit strange, but I’ve made it a priority in my coaching career NOT to simplify the game of goaltending. It’s not simple…not at the highest of levels. It’s detailed, it’s intricate, it’s complicated, and every little thing about every little second can either hinder or aid in your success. That means that the answers to most of your questions will usually be very complicated. On the surface there might be a simple solution to a simple problem, but even a simple problem in itself is serious. It is a rare occurrence in life that one wrong turn leads us down the dreaded path. Most often it is a series of aimless turns. Suddenly we’re standing in a dark alley dealing with an issue, confused as to exactly how we got there. Hockey is no different, goaltending especially. Some coaches try to fix what is happening in the alley. It’s quick, it’s concise, but it’s effortless; and you will undoubtedly end up lost in yet another dark alley before you’ve finished getting yourself out of the first one.

I like to address why a problem exists, how it became a problem. What else about your game, your body, your mechanics, and your mind existed to create this “problem”? You can’t fix what is happening in the dark alley until you know what turns you took to get there. Great teaching is not established by simply passing on information from the knowledgeable party to the answer seeker. Great teaching educates an individual to the point of empowerment, a place where a goaltender is capable of fixing his own mistakes as they begin to present themselves.

Simply put…there are no shortcuts! Not at work, not at school, not in relationships, not in life, and not with me. At W Goaltending we willingly walk the long road, and you will too.

Corey Wogtech
W Goaltending