Do yourself a favour and pay for a private session with a local goalie coach. It's worth way more than the little money you'll spend.
This is a discussion on Any advice for a "hybrid" goalie? within the Proper Technique/Style forums, part of the The Clinic category; I'm starting my 2nd season as a goalie, I've played about a year and a half in net. The year ...
I'm starting my 2nd season as a goalie, I've played about a year and a half in net. The year before that, I skated out, and the year before that, I learned how to skate at age 23. I'm now 26, so I'm still a rookie compared to most people on my teams(beer league). I used to play about 5 times a week, year round, so I've been in the net enough. I would just like some feed back on stance styles. What style do you use and why? I'm still in that grey area as far as my stance goes. Depending on the night, I'm playing butterfly, the next game I'm standing up almost the whole time. I've been coached by both schools. One coach would yell at me if I dropped, the other wanted me to drop constantly(or as play dictated). If the puck is being shot 5-hole, I'd rather close my pads and let it rebound, but I've been told I'm making "the right saves" when I drop in the same scenario, even if it goes in. I've just been going along and doing what works and my goal tending has improved since I've started. It's to the point where I need to try and find something consistent, that I'll do day in and day out. Any recommendations would be helpful, what works for you/what sucks, if you know of any DVDs or training aids/exercises you think might help, I'd like to hear it. I've had about 10 hours total of formal coaching, and have no access to a coach as of late, so you're feed back is as good as any(I don't mean that in sarcastic way either.) I've played the way I have for this long because I play in situations and games where it's about keeping the puck out, not developing the goalie. The two should go hand in hand, but yeah, beer league.
Do yourself a favour and pay for a private session with a local goalie coach. It's worth way more than the little money you'll spend.
Wow 5 times a week for a year and a half, that amounts to more time in net than people who have played twice that long. Ive been playing for something like 2 years. For about 6 months ive been playing 2 times a week, before just once. Makes a huge difference playing more than once a week, you just cant improve only paying once a week.
Ill let others give you advice about what style to go with, but the only question i would ask is have you taken any time off?
Playing 5 times a week for that long without a break could be detrimental to your progress. I have always found that if i take a break from something i come back much improved. Im not sure if its a documented truth, but i firmly believe that you reach roadblocks in your progress even if your not aware of it and the only way past them is a break from what you are doing.
I agree with Chewbacca, and not only because it is what I do. A good goalie coach is worth much more than what you will pay. I promise you it is worth it.
In my current session, my instructor has been stressing save selection. His theory is to not limit yourself to a "style", but to do what works to stop the puck, a la Tim Thomas. If I had to pick a style, I'd also say I'm hybrid, but I've found there are not a lot of true "butterfly" goalies in my levels of play.
"I am the game, you don't want to play me. I am control, no way you can shake me. I am your debt, no way you can pay me. I am your pain and I know you can't take me." - The Game, Motorhead.
I think the first thing you should work on, and a lot of the time is the first thing new goalies are taught, is to always be square to the shooter and the center of the net. Back yourself up into the net so your ass is on the center pipe, rotate yourself on the center pipe to get square to the shooter and come out straight to the shooter. This will always give you the proper positioning and thats the most important and basic thing. Once you the angles become more natural you can start to offset yourself to your weeker areas, like your stick side or whatever. I was trained as a stand up goalie, but for a while ive been playing a more hybrid style, using standup style for shots from farther out and the butterfly style for shots in close or through heavy traffic
Good Advice JohnnyZero.
I coach as well, and my advice is not to worry about style at this point. Even the most hard core butterfly goalies will use other technique when called for. My advice is to do exactly what you are doing. Face pucks! Learn as much technique across the board as you can. Learn butterfly, learn the Vertical/Horizontal, the 1/2 butterfly, how to stay square to the puck, angles, depth. Learn how to read the puck as it leaves the stick.
What you want to do is learn as much as you can so that when a shot is released, you are as close as possible to "the right place at the right time" from there, your body will naturally make the best save selection in your bag of tricks as possible based on muscle memory and experience. This will become your "style".
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I've been able to talk to a couple goalie coaches(the only two I know of are heavily involved with their respective teams at the moment). Our team has a "coach", he used to coach at the high school level when his kids played, so he has a few tips here and there. I appreciate everybody's input. Lining up with the post and then skating out is something I'll have to try
I took sometime off during the summer, cutting back to once a week or every other week, to pursue a new hobby. (Golf, oddly enough.) I'll be forced to take time off again as I dislocated my shoulder last week. Huzah.
What city are you in?
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