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039 - Injury Prevention and the Importance of Taking a Break
103 Plays3 months ago
Show notes are available at https://thediygoalie.com/pod039
Head to https://vizualedge.com and use code DIYPOD for 20% off.
This week we tackle the topic of preventing injuries and the importance of having a post-game routine. We also dive into the importance of stepping away from the game every now and then and that it's okay to have a break from hockey.
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Transcript
Introduction & New Year Greetings
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY goalie podcast, where hosts and goalie coaches, Nathan Park and Connor Monday share their insights on how to become a better goalie. Goalies, how are we doing today? Oh, welcome back to another episode of the DIY goalie podcast with Connor Monday and Nathan Park as your hosts.
00:00:31
Speaker
We are back for episode 39 today and it is now 2025. So hope you guys all had a grand old holiday and new year celebration and that you guys didn't do anything Connor wouldn't do. So hopefully, uh, hopefully the new year brings you guys better defenseman and a whole lack of a lot of nice goalie gear. So.
Holiday Experiences & Family Time
00:00:59
Speaker
How are we doing today, Connor? What did you get up to over the new year? ah Well, Nathan, first off, I had to be back. um Didn't get up to a whole lot, honestly. um Had the four days off from work. i Had my grandpa fly in on the 22nd. And then had the brother, well, my brother was flown in like a week or so beforehand. but um Beyond that, we just kind of hung around the house, had the family over and opened some presents and all that and went over to the in-laws place as well and ah had a whole bunch of Christmas food and dinner and everything else um under the sun there.
00:01:44
Speaker
ah Beyond that, it was it was a good Christmas all around um and yeah, can't really can't really say much else, always is always a fun time to to be spending time with some family away from you and... good do good to go from there. But yeah, hopefully everybody had a safe and happy holidays and hopefully the new year, um whatever resolutions that you have set for yourself, I think by the time that this episode releases, it'll be like the second week or so into 2025
Goalie Drill Techniques
00:02:18
Speaker
there. But um definitely though, just ah
00:02:23
Speaker
Can't wait to see what every, what, what comes for everybody this year and just kind of the the successes and the failures and just kind of the learning opportunities that come with, uh, that come with 2025. This is definitely going to be a big year for me and my wife, but, uh, beyond that, it's, uh, we had a good time yourself. Yeah, it's, uh, back to normal. So, you know, it's been a while, two weeks as it normally is around this time, but we are back. We are doing some content.
00:02:52
Speaker
And, uh, yeah, we got some exciting things that are going to happen at true North school attending over the next couple of weeks here. So, um, pretty excited for that. Um, we'll dive into it and not only is it a new year, but it is a new month.
00:03:08
Speaker
which means we have a drill of them. ah So we are going to tackle a drill that I like to do when you have a group of goalies. So this works really well when you have like three goalies out with you, you can do it with two as well. um But We are doing the ah dynamic T push screens. And um this one works really well to just have goalies battle, fight for their sight, just try and stay on top of the puck through traffic. And it also keeps goalies who aren't in the net busy, which is nice. um So basically you have a goalie in the net at the top of the crease.
00:03:51
Speaker
You can add a movement if you want, if you want them to start on the post and push out to the top first or whatever the case is, that's totally, uh, totally doable. But basically the goalie will at some point get to the top of the crease. The pucks are in the slot area. And then you have the goalies who are not in the net.
00:04:12
Speaker
Um, basically just in the slot between the goalie and the net and the pucks. And they're a little bit off to the side. So when the coach yells go, the goalie is not in the net actually T push across the vision of the goalie in the net.
00:04:30
Speaker
And as soon as they clear that lane, the coach takes a shot. So basically the goalie in and the net is fighting through the moving screen of the goalies who are T pushing across and they have to fight to track that puck, pick it up.
00:04:46
Speaker
make the save. And then obviously like we like to do, we play out the rebound, make the goalie battle a little bit more often than not make us feel good. Cause we'll bury on them on an empty net, you know, all of that fun stuff. But, uh, I do it all the time.
00:05:07
Speaker
One of us has to be nice to the goalies we work with. And I keep telling myself that and not the fact that I have no skill as a player whatsoever. so and But yeah, it's a nice simple drill. It's something that pretty much anybody out there can do.
00:05:24
Speaker
um And like I said, the thing that I like about it is when you do have a few goalies that you're working with, it keeps all of them busy. um One thing to focus on, I guess, is I find the goalies not in the net tend to I don't know, cheap out it a little bit on on their T pushes and they tend to just be a little lazy with it. and So just make sure that they're still working on, you know, getting a good rotation, getting a good hard push across a hard stop, all of that stuff. Cause I find the goalies like to be a little complacent when they're not the ones in the net and they're pushing across.
00:06:03
Speaker
um But yeah, we will link up that drill in the show notes. We have a YouTube video on it too. If you want to see how it goes, we will link that up as well. And we have the PDF download on our website and all that good stuff.
Managing Mid-Season Fatigue & Injury Prevention
00:06:18
Speaker
And if you guys want to get access to our monthly practice plan that we send out with our article, little article that we do every month,
00:06:30
Speaker
ah You can sign up for our monthly email newsletter at the DIY goalie comm slash email And you can get drills from us like a whole practice plan of drills every month So the last one we just did was working on some post play stuff where it was all ah drills based off of the puck starting behind the net so um Yeah, I like this drill. it's It is a fun one. um Not my go-to drill, to be honest, when it comes to screens. I do like the dynamic kind of two-layer screen that you'll have going there with the two goalies pushing from side to side.
00:07:13
Speaker
i Generally when I am working on screens and such I am more working with static screens in that regard or having whoever the goalie is or the guy who's not in the net be the screen being the screen in front there just kind of moving with the goalie as we're moving back and forth.
00:07:29
Speaker
Because for me, when it comes to working on screens, it's more about fighting for your visualization. but regardless So regardless of me being a negative Nelly about it, it is it it is it is a good drill because there are instances where you do have like a flyby ah flyby screen and it does end up taking and just those milliseconds end up being all the difference.
00:07:52
Speaker
I'd argue that you probably come across moving screens more often than static screens in a game. Absolutely. Absolutely. But for me, I feel like that there are probably other drills or other ways of doing it. but and not the Again, this not my top 10, I would say, or probably isn't my top 10, not my top five. I don't know. I'm just i'm just i'm making myself look bad right now, but it is what it is. But yeah, no, definitely a good drill. Go check it out the diygoli dot.com slash drills, or we'll have it also linked in the show notes there as well.
00:08:27
Speaker
Yeah, so I guess today what we'll talk about is we're at that point in the season now where everybody's played a significant amount of games, whether it's in season games, tournament showcases, tournaments in general, ah and the body is starting to starting to feel it for for a little bit now, um especially for those who are first time goalies and who are utilizing muscles that maybe you haven't utilized before.
00:08:53
Speaker
or you are in the the beer league side of things and you come home screaming in pain every night because your knees are dying and your hips are dying and whatever else nathan Nathan's one of them. I don't even play and I feel like that.
00:09:09
Speaker
So I suppose for today's ah topic, we want to talk about but we're as we're entering into the second half of the season now, for most of us, um we want to talk about wanting to make sure that we're doing what we can to take care of our body and make sure that we are preventing any injuries in the now or that may occur later down the line.
00:09:34
Speaker
um Might get Nathan to help me out here on this one because he's the expert when it comes to goalie injuries um But just we want to talk swish ah do as i do not as or do as i say not as But anyways um So just what are some of the more common interviews for goalies that we typically see? I I think it's fair to say that a lot of it is hips. Um, and I think a lot of that more so stems from just kind of, uh, the movements that we have in that, cause playing goal is not a natural position by any means, at least the way that we play it now in the 21st century, probably a little bit less. So, um, back in the earlier days, the Ron Hextall Patrick wah days, but how we play goalie now is not a,
00:10:29
Speaker
not a typical human way of playing goal, especially especially when it comes to that RVH. um because it is it is an awkward it is me let's be blunt it is in ah it It is an awkward position position and it can um
00:10:48
Speaker
create a lot of problems when it comes to your hips. Same thing with your knees as well. My knees in particular, they always crack whenever I go down into a squat and that's from playing in the butterfly for however many years that I played. So those are, those are some, I think your hips are the, the number one, um, kind of common injury. And so it's just, it's a matter of how do you, how do you, how, what can you do to prevent injuries so you can stay at peak performance? Doesn't matter which level that you're playing at, whether you're starting out or whether you are playing
00:11:24
Speaker
Junior hockey or you are playing barely hockey and such I so I think just stretching number one is is is a good one I want to make sure that you stretch out your hips stretch out your groins um You know want to make sure that you do get loose enough to make sure so if you do have to go into a movement that isn't in your day to day routine, um it's less likely that you are going to want to come off the ice on a stretcher. um There are a lot. I was going to just to build off that.
00:12:01
Speaker
Make sure you're doing dynamic stretches too. Like a lot of us just get caught in the, you know, Oh, I'm sitting in the whatever butterfly stretch or whatever that one is where your feet are together and pushing down on your knees. Like do some leg swings, you know, stuff like that. Like get your body moving as well, not just static stretching.
00:12:24
Speaker
Yeah, so, yeah, just making sure that you are doing whatever you can to stretch. um However, that may come across like Nathan said you know what the dynamic stretches is um one of the better ways to go about it.
00:12:39
Speaker
um and then just because a lot of a lot of the injuries that we will typically get as goalies will be lower body, hips, groin, knees, whatever that whatever that you name it there. So there are are a lot of great resources out there. I think I talked about it in a podcast well long ago. Maria Mountain is probably the top um person or the top yeah the top person when it comes to having the knowledge of preventable injuries when it comes to goalies and the proper stretching and all that we do have some people in house that uh that know about it as well but i think just for the general goalie community maria mountain is
00:13:19
Speaker
probably won the best at it and you can find over all her stuff over at i think it's goalytrainingpro dot com or whatever it is that that that her website is there sorry maria but lowing but yeah up too yeah i her youtube channel cause that's gold It is. It absolutely is. I haven't checked it recently, but ah yeah, there are like any time people ask me for like fitness ideas or goalie related things, I go just go check her out because I i can i' like the least qualified person to ah to talk about it. But um yeah, you never actually know how um
00:13:57
Speaker
how physically exhausting it is to be a goalie until you actually until you actually play the position. and I've had my fair share of at least growing injuries because I pull it and whatever. and and and yeah so just just Stretching is is a huge thing, making sure again, you know we talk about nutrition and you know make sure that you are eating healthy as well as you know you're hydrating as well and it's not any of that quench or that bio-stealer.
00:14:25
Speaker
whatever it's an actual proper water um I Think that's just kind of let's call me being old-school But I think that is just ah the way to go like any any type of energy or sports drink I think is it has its place I know Gatorade is typically the popular one and there are different like there's a general Gatorade that you can get out of any out of any convenience store, but then there is also like, I think it's like Gatorade zero and like Gatorade after a workout or whatever it is that they have there. um So there is all that stuff that you can take as well. and So I'm not saying quench or bile steel or anything of the sort is not.
00:15:05
Speaker
is not good for you, but I don't think it should replace just straight water, essentially. I could be totally wrong on that, but... Balance. Yeah, so just balance, exactly. Exactly. um But yeah, that's that's kind of what I got for it. Again, Nathan, you're kind of the expert on this, so I feel like, you know, is is there any is there anything from your playing career, you know, with all the injuries and such that you've had? I know you just came off you were your second hip injury.
00:15:33
Speaker
um A couple months ago now? um Yeah, back in April, I had my second hip surgery. Yeah. you know just you so you Again, I joke about it, but like I'm being serious at the same time. like like what like what do you What do you wish that you had done differently to prevent having hip surgery at 29 years old?
00:15:54
Speaker
Honestly, the funny thing is, is during my career, I actually didn't have a lot of injury issues. The only two like major injuries that I had was I tore my meniscus on one knee and exactly a year after my surgery, I tore the other meniscus.
00:16:15
Speaker
Like literally the year anniversary of my surgery. I'm like, Oh, okay. Uh, so, and to be honest, the first one I think was more due to inline, like, so for me.
00:16:29
Speaker
I think a lot of the issues that I had with my knees were related to what I did in the offseason because I played in line and I played ball hockey and those are even worse on your body than ice is because there's yeah a lot less give. um So that didn't help.
00:16:48
Speaker
um My hips actually didn't bother me until my two years of college. like I could never had a hip issue and then it was really only my last year that they started bugging me. And and I think to be completely honest, it was related to my equipment.
00:17:06
Speaker
I, in junior, I had a set of Brian genetic twos that had the smart strap system and I had tow hooks on it. So I didn't have a buckle, like a bootstrap. I didn't have um laces and my pads moved really freely. And then when I went to college, because our league sponsor was CCM.
00:17:30
Speaker
And as a broke college student, I decided that I only wanted to pay $1,700 for a full custom set as opposed to like $3,200 or whatever. So I bit the bullet and I went to CCM and I got E-Flex 2s. And they were significantly more heavy. They were more bulky. I tried making the tow hooks work, but it didn't work. So I had to go back to laces and a bootstrap.
00:17:58
Speaker
And yeah, that's really when I started having hip issues. So I think that played a part in it a little bit. Um, what I will say is being able to have a set routine that allows you to warm up and then to cool down properly. Like I think that's one thing, if I would go back and change, like After a game, I really didn't do too much when it came to, you know, a proper like wind down, a proper cool down. Like I didn't go sit on a bike for 10, 15 minutes or, you know, go for a little jog or a walk or anything like that. It was kind of like.
00:18:47
Speaker
Get undressed, grab the gear, go home, eat, sit on the couch, whatever. um I was also a big ice bath guy, so highly recommend that if you're if you have the ability to. It feels great the next day. It doesn't feel great for the first minute and a half, but once you get through that, you get numb and then it's all good.
00:19:15
Speaker
um but but yeah I think the big thing is a proper cool down and also like what you eat because ah there's there's a lot of and I don't know what they are. Um, I probably should actually look into it, but there are a lot of foods that actually like do help with good joint health and stuff like that. Um, and so if you can look into that, research that and get, get some of those foods as part of your like regular diet, that sort of stuff can help a lot. Like I don't think me included, I don't think we,
00:19:53
Speaker
really value the effects that our nutrition and food can have on our bodies, on like little things like that. Um, so that's something to look into too. But yeah, just like we talk, we probably
Post-Game Routine & Injury Recovery
00:20:10
Speaker
talk way too much about pregame routines and not enough about postgame routines, which funny enough was the article that we put out the last a month for our monthly newsletter. But, um,
00:20:23
Speaker
Yeah, making sure that you have some sort of proper routine to not only like cool down, but to have some sort of rest, some sort of heat or cold therapy, um stretching, anything like that, that sort of stuff is going to go a long way.
00:20:44
Speaker
um in terms of during play, like, you know, and proper equipment can help or different equipment, like everybody's body's different, everybody's like the way they can move is differently or different and for each person. But then also just how you play, right? Like in practice,
00:21:09
Speaker
I know you might get some flack from your coaches, but maybe certain drills we stay on our feet for, for the drill and just work on tracking into our hands. So we don't have as much, you know, we're not going down as much. So we don't have as much wear and tear on the body. Like that's another thing that can help a lot too. Um, but taking a break as well. And my segment's going to touch on that more so, but.
00:21:36
Speaker
We talked about spring hockey. Well, maybe in the springtime, in the summertime, we walk away from the rink and we give our body a break from going into that those weird positions that we do as goalies. And kind of the last thing I'll say is Everybody in the goalie community talks a ton about stretching and not enough about strengthening because you can be as flexible as you want, but if you get yourself into weird extreme positions and your muscles aren't strong enough to keep your joints in the right spot,
00:22:11
Speaker
you're going to have problems. So not only do you need to be flexible, but you need to balance that with the strength. So your muscles can keep things where they need to be when you're in those weird positions and kind of help prevent, you know, the hyper extension and all that kind of stuff that can happen when you're trying to do a backdoor split save or any of that stuff. So yeah, that balance makes a big difference too.
00:22:39
Speaker
Definitely for sure there Again, like kind of similar to you. I'm the only real Injuries if we want to call them that was just the fact that I kept overstretching my groin And it would end up taking me out of games I did also have quite a bit of like back problems as well Just like I just I would move a certain way and then I just decided of having a knot in my back for the rest of the day So that that was not fun Yeah. And that's one thing too, that I think people don't realize is how common back injuries are with goalies. Like that's what did price and right. Yeah. And, um,
00:23:16
Speaker
That's another thing, like it's not really a and natural position to just be in when you're kind of hunched over a little bit, squatting, you know, all of that stuff. And another one too, I don't think it's as common anymore as it was back in the day with the big, you know, bait and switch windmills, but shoulder problems can be a thing too, right? And it's just a matter of again, like being aware that The stuff we're doing isn't natural, so taking extra steps to really make sure that you know you're in peak physical condition, you're eating right, you're hydrating, you're taking care of your body and having that balance. and
00:24:00
Speaker
And just, you know, you only have one body if you don't take care of it, where are you going to live? Right? Like that's one of the quotes that I need to do a better job of following, but you know, it it rings true, right? Like.
00:24:16
Speaker
The problem is, is if if you're not proactive, it's so much harder with your body to be reactive after the fact and trying to erase problems that are already there as opposed to preventing them before they show up. It's so much easier. It's like, what is the saying? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure or something like that. I don't know. Never heard of such a thing, but sure. Climb out of your rock.
00:24:48
Speaker
But yeah, I don't know if you got anything more to add on that. But no, I think we've I think we've killed the horse there. But but no, I mean, it's it's it's one of those things that ring true time and time again. And I would not be surprised if in a later podcast we do end up talking about this again, whether it be over the summertime or in the new season is just kind of a just kind of a refresher. But it's it's one of those things where like We talk about it now and then we're going to have this conversation again a few months down the line, or for a year or so down the line and and such. and so we're at we're ah We're all at the point in the season now where fatigue will start to set in if it hasn't already.
00:25:35
Speaker
on top of the fact that we are we are probably dealing with some kind of injury, or we maybe we did deal with an injury, and we want to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to to to not prevent it again. um like I think it was just Cam Talbot had went on ah not season ending injury, but I know that he did go on injury of some sort prior to, I think it was before the Four Nations Cup announcements, because he would have made that roster, I think.
00:26:03
Speaker
um Ben and beyond I mean Piotr Kochekov was another one as well where he's been in and out the lineup due to due to some injuries as as well there. So it's it's What can we do as goalies to to make sure that that we are preventing any injuries from happening in general from or potentially re-injuring something or re-injuring something but it ends up being like a different part at the same time that kind of makes any sense but But yeah, but I think there are a lot of great articles. Again, Maria Mountain is definitely my recommendation there for for all that. And I think something definitely worth worth considering.
00:26:47
Speaker
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00:27:20
Speaker
visit visualedge.com and use code DIYPOD for 20% off. That's D-I-Y-P-O-D at visualedge dot.com. V-I-Z-U-A-L, edge dot.com. One thing actually now that you said it, just to wrap things up, if you do have an injury too, like especially in the hockey community, we have this tendency, this like,
00:27:49
Speaker
We almost feel like we have to play through it or at least come back earlier than we probably should. Don't, please don't. Take the time and even when you feel good, especially with something like a groin, like even if you feel good doing the majority of stuff, take a little bit of extra time because that's the thing that gets people into trouble is the, you know,
00:28:16
Speaker
the re-injured, the kind of chronic injury because they never allow it to heal properly. And then all of a sudden, you know, you've pushed through it for eight, 10 years. And now it's just a part of your life until until you die, basically. Right. And so we don't want to get into that cycle.
Balancing Hockey & Life
00:28:39
Speaker
um Take the time to really heal before you get back on the ice.
00:28:45
Speaker
Um, yeah, I guess that segues. Oh, yeah. I was going to say, let's just jump into yours here. Cause I was going to say that segues pretty good into, into what we're going to talk about on my end of things, I guess, um, was just the importance of, of taking a break and taking rest and taking a step back. Um, my favorite.
00:29:10
Speaker
iteration of this is the story from this past cup finals where Panthers went up three nothing. The Euler stormed back to force a game seven, but Borowski was very questionable in the three games they lost after having a really solid first three games.
00:29:32
Speaker
and the pressures on him and the pressures on the Panthers. So his goalie coach from Finland, I can't remember his name, but, um, the goalie coach that he works with told him the day before game seven to not even go to the rink. He basically said, spend time with your family, go for a walk on the beach. Don't even touch anything close to hockey, stay away from it.
00:30:02
Speaker
And he came out for game seven and had a really good game and obviously they won the cup. And, uh, to me, like it's so easy in the day to day to get caught up in, Oh, I gotta get better. I gotta do this. I gotta to do that. You know, what am I doing to get better? And you can't get better if you don't rest, like your body has limitations.
00:30:32
Speaker
And your mind has limitations. Like you can get emotionally, mentally, physically burnt out. If you don't take the time to have some RNR, some rest and relaxation. So if you, especially if you're feeling burnt out, you need to take a step back, but we want to try and do that before we get to that point. So if you have, I know we just finished it, but if you have something like a Christmas break,
00:31:01
Speaker
You know, maybe don't pick up that three on three tournament or maybe don't go to the ODR for 10 out of the 14 days. I mean, I know it's tough and I know a lot of times we want to. And if you're at that point, you're probably okay to not take a break because it it's still something you love doing and you're eager about, but at the same time.
00:31:26
Speaker
It can happen pretty quick. The, the switch from this is awesome. I can't get enough to holy like, what am I doing with my life kind of thing? Right. So.
00:31:38
Speaker
As much as it sucks, just force yourself to take a break, right? Take a step back. Go do something else. That's not related to hockey. Have a little bit of fun to have a little bit of diversity. Cause the other thing too, is if you don't, what happens to a lot of guys, not as much anymore these days, I think, because we're more aware of it, but.
00:32:00
Speaker
A lot of guys they're done their career and then they're like, I don't even know what to do now. Like hockey was my life and I never took a break away. And now I'm lost. Like I lost basically the thing that made me me. Right. So just switch it up a bit, I guess. And there's plenty of reasons why, but.
00:32:24
Speaker
you need to have that balance. you know We talk lots about work-life balance. It's the same when it comes to hockey. If you have too much hockey, it's just too much.
00:32:36
Speaker
Yeah, there's definitely a thing is, uh, excuse me, as, uh, as too much hockey there. Um, again, I think I talked about it in a different podcast, but when I coach spring league, I was just amazed and astonished. It's just how hockey centric a lot of these families were. And.
00:33:02
Speaker
from where I came from it was you played hockey in the winter and you played a sport in the summer because that's that's that's how it was and I think there's this notion out there and I kind of went through it myself at the start of this year where Anything hockey related that has the potential to advance your career Everybody wants to jump on it You know, i oh because they just recently they were like there's all these spring hockey um Tryouts that are happening summer hockey trials that are happening ah and these don't won't even happen until these seasons won't even happen until I
00:33:51
Speaker
may march whatever um and just it's it's it's astonishing to me the fact that yes there is this notion that If you don't come play with my team in spring time, then you may not even get a chance or even get a look at playing with the double A team that I'm also a part of or whatever. Meanwhile, they're like a hockey parent or like a volunteer that's in the organization or whatever. Um, again, I kind of went through it myself recently where after the team that I was part of last year that I was coaching.
00:34:36
Speaker
let me go without letting me go without verbally saying that they're letting me go. um but I was kind of stuck in limbo for a little while and Nathan knows as well where it's like I felt like if I wasn't part of a team this year, then I was kind of falling behind. And I'm safe to say that I'm content with not being on a coaching staff this year, but ah so again, it's that same idea where it's say if i like, if I miss a millisecond of hockey development or being on a hockey team or anything then what is what is the purpose of my life and then on the flip side of that as well as again on on the goalie parents Facebook group that I'm part of you see kids that are hanging up the skates that when when they're 10 11 12 years old and that's because they have on their interests and that's that's perfectly fine I don't think realistically that kids that age should be taking hockey
00:35:28
Speaker
as seriously until they reach until or if they until they make like a double A or triple A team or or or what have you it's important to note that at the end of the day hockey is not everything it's probably gonna have my Canadian card taken away for saying that but realistically it's not it's not everything at the end of the day there is life beyond hockey walking gauge is a great example of that um So it's just enjoy the moment of being in the sport, but also be aware that it has such a such a short lifespan for 99% of people who play this game. And then it's and then it's what do you what are you doing beyond that? So if you want to have a long lasting career just in hockey in general with hockey,
00:36:24
Speaker
I used to always say it's like it's ah it's like a cruel mistress actually, but um if if you if you want to have a lasting career in hockey, it doesn't matter where it is that you go. If you still want to be playing this game at 76, 80 years old or whatever, take the time to step away. re I want to say regain your love for it, but that's not the word that I'm looking for.
00:36:51
Speaker
And then when you're ready to come back, you will come back with either a fresh perspective or just kind of a, a, a better appreciation for the sport and for the position that we play. So I think that's kind of the the best way for me to sum it up. Yeah. And that's like, we talked earlier about injury prevention. I mean, that's a huge key and in preventing injuries, right? Is, is.
00:37:19
Speaker
taking the break your body needs, right? It's okay every now and then to have a day or an evening where you binge watch a Netflix show or read a book or insert whatever you want to do here. It's not like, to me, I'd rather hear that than hear that you're at the rank three hours a day, seven days a week. And you know, like,
00:37:47
Speaker
We talk so much about how mental this the position is, like the mental side of the game, mindset, all of that stuff. And it's so easy when you're in the thick of it to be thinking 24 seven about goaltending. And that's not good. Like that's when we get into poor mindset, where we overanalyze, where we get into a bad state of mind because, you know,
00:38:18
Speaker
Oh, I'm not doing this. I'm not doing my ball drills right now. And the goalie across the ice from me this past weekend is probably doing their ball drills right now. So I got to go and, you know, and it's just like, yeah, take a breath. It'll be fine. It's think think goalie parents just need to realize that as well.
00:38:41
Speaker
Yeah, you know, we we like again in this sport and it's kind of sad to say but a lot of parents live vicariously through their kids. Right. And so I think it's I think maybe the segment is more so for the goalie parents and it is for the goalies themselves but just
00:39:00
Speaker
it's okay to step away from the game it's okay to just go and do other things you know whether you're going out boating or whether you're going hiking or skiing or whatever just it's okay to go and do other things with the family or whatever and then again same idea you come back and you go out of from there it's at the end of the day realistically your kid drives the ship when it comes to what they want to do with their career it's our job as Coaches to help them get there is your job as parents is just to be their number one fan Whether you are a coach or not if it's your kids step out of the way Essentially lately your lately your kids be kids and let them let them do what they're gonna do That's gonna help make them happy. You can provide your guidance. You can provide provide you can you can provide it at your opinion, but at still at the end of the day, it's like you cannot be signing your kid up for a
00:40:01
Speaker
a team and then three to four development programs on top of that on top of them being in school on top of them having a life outside of hockey and such as this that's that's that's way too much that is that is way too much on their plate and so it's again you need to kind of just tactically think of what what is going to be the best i want I want to say what's going to be the best use of their time. But that's not really the word that I'm looking for, but it's the kind of general idea that I have there. Again, just with the fact that just parents live vicariously through their kids. and So it's hockey, hockey, hockey all the time. And my kid has to play first line, double A or first line, triple A, because that's the only way that they're going to be making it to the show or whatever. And it's like, no, like step out of the way.
00:40:53
Speaker
Yeah, the other side of it too, um, on the coaching side, and this isn't strictly for goalies in the real world. We've had a shift away from, you know, our old school mindset when it comes to work, where it's like, unless you're dead in a ditch, you are there for work. And we shifted away from that. And I think.
00:41:21
Speaker
It would be healthy to have a bit of a shift for that with hockey too. Cause more so at the higher levels, it's still that mindset of you made a commitment to this team. You better be showing up unless you're dead in the ditch kind of thing. And I get it. Like I play it at a high level. I know why. And I understand the feeling.
00:41:48
Speaker
of that, but at the same token, I think we need to start being a little bit more okay with kids not being at the odd practice. And I'm going to say at the odd practice, because I'm not talking about, you know, little Johnny who showed up twice a month, you know, cause that's, yes, that's an issue, but you know, I think we need to have a bit more of a,
00:42:18
Speaker
an accepting mentality around, you know, stuff like I'm just not in a good head space to be at practice right now. And, and everybody's different. Some people like the escape hockey gets when they're not in the right head space and that might be good for them. And some people might just need that you know, walk on the beach time with family to break the Bobrovsky dead, right? And, and I think we need to start being a little bit more okay with that and a little bit more lenient with that, that if you have a legitimate reason that, you know, is only the odd time here and there, that doesn't mean that you're not getting the start this weekend or that you're up in the press box for, for the weekend or whatever the case is. And that's just kind of.
00:43:08
Speaker
My opinion, we've shifted to that in the real world and the workplace for good reason. And I think that mentality needs to come a little bit too hockey, not to again, be to the point that nobody's ever showing up, but we still obviously have to have that commitment to the team. But I think we need to be a little bit more lenient on, on being able to take the odd day off here there.
00:43:37
Speaker
Yeah, I we can go into a whole episode on that because I am about 50 50 on that but uh, yeah me too, but You know You know what I mean? No, you know, and there there there is one person that comes to mind when when we talk about that i'm not name dropping or anything, but uh, um Yeah, I think just ah especially in a world nowadays where mental health is
00:44:07
Speaker
Becoming has become is a a Major thing and again, like you talked about like a like I'm not like I'm not feeling it today um Take the day off type deal um Again, I would and the only thing that I want to say is that there is accountability that comes with that as well um and Again, we can represent probably have a have a have a toll have a whole podcast on that as well, but I don't think we're well we're not definitely not going to get into that today. but Again, but you you are you are correct, though, is that there needs to be give and take, essentially, and how much you give is how much you take. That that kind of that kind of mentality there as as well.
00:44:52
Speaker
um not something that I think, well, I i believe in, you get you you get you get what you give in, or you take what you give in.
Community Building & Collaboration
00:45:02
Speaker
But I'm not, I don't know, I'm spiraling is what's happening right now, but um there's there's pros and cons, essentially, and ah definitely definitely a podcast topic for the f for the future. um i got I got nothing else, and I don't know if you have anything else that or of anything else that you want to elaborate on. One thing I will say if you guys are interested and if you guys do have like a goalie related business because we are starting to play around with some ads on the podcast more so just to cover kind of the you know cost to like host and and all of that stuff that that we have nothing too crazy but
00:45:46
Speaker
If it is something that you guys are interested in, you want us to feature on the podcast, reach out, uh, info at the DIY goalie.com. And we'd love to work with some of you guys out there to, uh, get any of your, your brands or products or anything like that in front of our listeners. So you can always reach out to us about that. If that is something that you're interested in.
00:46:13
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think, again, with the goalie community being so small, it feels so big at the same time because you only know of certain goalie companies, is it yeah whether be worldwide or just kind of within your small little group of of the group.
00:46:36
Speaker
um But I think definitely just if there's a hub or anything that everybody can come together and and either share ideas or share services or what have you, definitely the DIY Goalie is looking to be that looking to be that hub. so If you're an equipment repair place or a hockey stick brand belly, I'm looking at you um or anything of the sort, please feel free again, like Nathan said, to reach out to us, info at the diygoli dot.com.
Podcast Engagement & Sign Off
00:47:07
Speaker
Nathan, it's as always, it's been ah it's been a fun one here today. A little bit chaotic at the start, but that's okay. I feel like it's been a while since I last saw you, but we only just talked about a week ago. and ah You and I, I have a busy Saturday coming up. I'm not looking forward to it, ah starting with an early morning practice and I'm ending with a late night practice, so that's not going to be fun.
00:47:29
Speaker
um But beyond that, it is what it is. That's why we do this job. But for those listening at home, thank you very much for listening over on your podcasting platforms. And if you are new to the podcast, you can find us on all your favorite podcasting platforms. I heart Spotify, Apple podcasts.
00:47:48
Speaker
some random fourth party website that we don't know about. um If you are watching over on the YouTube side of things, thank you very much for watching. And if you are a new viewer to the YouTube side of things, please feel free to give us a like and to subscribe. We are currently sitting at about 231 subscribers as of recording this podcast. So that is very, very exciting. We do have a lot of video stuff happening.
00:48:15
Speaker
over there as well that does get shared on our Facebook and Instagram and whatever social media services on top of us in the on the DIY goalie website. as well. Speaking of such, you can follow us over on the DIY goalie dot com, where we have all sorts of courses and ah wow, I completely blanked on what I was going to say. Thank you. um And and yeah. And again, talking about social media side of things, you can follow us at the DIY goalie on your favorite social media platforms. If you are in the Edmonton area and are looking to train with myself,
00:48:51
Speaker
or Nathan or any of our great service staff members that we do have you can visit us at true north goaltending.com if you guys have any questions or anything please feel free to reach out to us at info at the diy goalie.com or goalies at true north goaltending.com Nathan it's been a fun one we'll see you next time take care make some saves