GOALIE BASICS

Proper Stance:
The feet should be shoulders width apart and on the balls of the feet with "light heels". Be careful not to put too much weight on the balls of the feet or it will cause the weight to drift forward and be off balance, the toes should be pointed straight out at the shooter, the knees should be as wide as ankles and legs should be bent enough to keep the butt low with the chest out in front of the hips. The arms should be extended out and in front but not locked, the bottom hand should be slightly further out than the top hand or some goalies prefer to have the top hand out further, this is also fine. The stick should always be held out in front of and away from the body. Teach the goalie to keep his elbows in front of his body. The stick should be held almost vertical to the stick side of the goalie. The width of the hands on the stick can be determined by the goalie holding his stick at his hips horizontally with his hands tight to his hips. The top hand thumb should be even with the eyes of the goalie, this will ensure the stick is being held at the proper height. The top hand should hold the stick between the thumb and forefinger with support from the heel of the hand. DO NOT PUT THE PALM BEHIND THE STICK. On the top hand, the space between the stick and the thumb and forefinger should be no more than the width of one finger. This space will act as an extra shock absorber to help reduce stiff hands and create "soft" saves.

Playing Your Arc:
Goalies will play on either a low arc (staying close to the goal) or a high arc (playing further out in the crease). The position of the arc is a personal decision of the goalie. More athletic goalies tend to the higher arc to more aggressively attack the ball. This position will help cut down the angle of shots and decrease the amount of goal that is seen by shooters.

Feet:
One common mistake for goalies is to "dance" around in the goal. They must keep the feet as still as possible and only move when the ball moves or when making a save. There are only a total of eight positions that a goalie should be in, five foot positions to use when the ball is in front and three positions for when the ball is behind. The pictures below show all eight spots where the goalie should be in as much as possible (we can draw diagrams to go through with you).

Step Outside the Line of the Shot:
When ball is shot, use the "drive and step" motion to step outside the line of the ball so the center of the chest now is in line with the ball. By doing this, it will assist in getting the body in behind the stick and also perhaps making a save with the body if the save is missed by the stick. This is extremely important for making low saves, as it will help the body be in better position to play the bounce.

Top Hand Punch:
Goalies should be taught to "punch" with the top hand at the ball. One very effective drill is to have the goalie (without stick) punch and catch the ball with his top hand as the coach tosses it. It is important that the hips follow with every save so the body is in position behind the hands. Coaches should throw the ball and not use the stick for this drill. Soft goalie balls or tennis balls are very effective for use in this drill. By doing this drill daily as part of the goalie warm up it will drastically increase hand eye coordination and teach the goalie to drive his top hand at the ball when making saves. The key to controlling rebounds when punching is to have a proper top hand cushion (described above in "Stance" section) and to give slightly with the ball as you feel contact and also to push up with the bottom hand as described below.

Bottom Hand Push:
On high shots, as you punch with the top hand during a save, immediately follow that with a push upwards of the bottom hand. This will create a basket effect by lifting the stick upwards to help prevent rebounds on high shots and help make a more secure save. Be sure to not have the goalie push up so much that the ball can come out of the stick behind the goalie.

Elbows in Front:
By keeping the elbows out in front of the body, it will keep the goalie from "handcuffing" himself during the save.

Hands, Hips, Feet:
These are the three motions of making a save. Use the hands out in front first with the hips following out to the ball second and the feet will fall in behind them both. This phrase should be used everyday when working with goalies.

Step (Front Foot) and Drive (Back Foot):
One common mistake is to only teach the goalie to "step" at the ball when making a save. While this is important, it is useless if the off ball foot is not driving at the same time. The idea is to get the hips to move quickly so the body will be in better position behind or under the hands to finish the save. Remember to drive and step OUTSIDE THE BALL, NOT AT THE SHOOTER.

Knees, Shoulders & Hips:
It is important that the goalie not become "top heavy" with his head too far out over his body because his weight is then out in front of his feet, causing him to be completely off balance and making it difficult to extend back up to react to a high bounce. Have the goalie keep his butt low and "SHOULDERS OVER HIS HIPS" with his head up enough so you can see his face from the nose down. If you see nothing but the top of the goalies helmet it is most likely that he is too "top heavy".

Kill the Bounce:
On bounce shots, it is important to teach that the goalie do his best to kill the bounce, meaning that they try to meet the ball where it makes contact with the turf.

Foot Behind Stick:
When making low saves to stick side low or off stick low, place the foot in behind the stick facing out away from the goalie so the inside of the foot is behind the stick.

See the Shooters Lead Elbow and Follow to Stick Head:
See the shooters lead elbow (i.e. if shooting right handed, the lead elbow is the left elbow, vice versa for left handed shots). Once you see the elbow, follow that to the hand then follow from the hand up the shaft to the head of the stick to help locate the release point and pick up the ball. THIS WILL TAKE A TON OF PRACTICE TO LEARN. Even if the shooter is good at hiding the stick behind his hands, you will still able to locate the ball by following up the hands to the head of the stick.