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053 - Is There a Goalie Skating Crisis and Are Multiple Goalie Coaches a Bad Thing
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Show notes are available at https://thediygoalie.com/pod053
On this week's episode, Connor and Nathan dive into two topics that create a bit of buzz in the goalie world. First off, we tackle the subject of skating. Some people in the industry think that goalies today are lagging behind in their ability to skate compared to previous generations of goalies, and we provide our opinions on that. We also talk about if it's a bad thing to have multiple goalie coaches working with you as a goalie.
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Transcript
Introduction to DIY Goalie Podcast
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY Goalie Podcast, where hosts and goalie coaches Nathan Park and Connor Munday share their insights on how to become a better goalie.
00:00:20
Speaker
Goalies, welcome back to another episode of the DIY Goalie Podcast, presented by True North Goaltending, as we have added to the end of that now.
00:00:31
Speaker
Yeah. We still haven't swapped things over, by the way. My bad. But ah we are here with that the first episode of the new fiscal year of the podcast, I guess. So we're on episode 53. So um thanks to all of you tuning in. If you are a returning listener or a new listener, we appreciate wherever you're tuning in from.
Podcast Highlights and Community Engagement
00:00:56
Speaker
um Today, we are going to tackle a new drill of the month because this is kind of our first solo episode, even though there's two of us, but the first host episode of the month. So we're going to slide you guys a drill. um We're also going to talk about a couple of things. So I'm going to go through some ah Kind of talking about why we need to be focusing more on skating and Connor's going to touch on kind of some pros to having some different looks from multiple coaches.
00:01:29
Speaker
So we'll dive into that. How are we doing today, Connor? ah You know, we're we're doing well. I'm glad to have you back from ah your multiple assignments. Hey, I was here last week You were, were, you were, you but you know, it's... In body.
00:01:45
Speaker
Yeah, not in spirit, but in body. um But yeah, no, I mean, glad glad to have you back. i mean, we had ah had a lot of fun chats with Evan Carrillo and Jamie Phillips in the last couple of episodes, and then shout out to...
00:01:59
Speaker
Mackenzie Erickson as well for being part of our our one-year anniversary episode. feel special for that, I guess. But yeah, and then heading into the new fiscal year, starting off starting off strong as we enter into the offseason for most teams and as well as probably for most organizations as well.
00:02:19
Speaker
um Before we do get started, I actually meant to mention this to you at the start of um the pod here, and i'm just I just pulled it up now. ah Former guest Hiroki Wakabayashi, um it was just it was just posted on the Arizona Kachinas uh, uh, Instagram page. And I wanted to, I wanted to give Heroki a shout out as he's been, uh, brought back to, uh, be the, um, goaltending director for the Arizona Kachinas this year. So Heroki shout out to you. Uh, I know that he's going to do some great stuff with, uh, with those guys and, uh, probably we'll be keeping a little bit closer tabs on it this year, but just, I wanted to get, I wanted to give that shout out to Heroki cause, uh, such an awesome guy, well-deserved and, uh, yeah, he,
00:03:02
Speaker
really, really, really smart guy and Arizona is lucky to have him. Yeah, for sure. It was ah pretty cool that we had a listener reach out to him asking about how they can, uh, you know, improve their local minor hockey development program. So, you know, kind of cool to see the small goalie community come together through, through mediums like this podcast. So that's kind of neat to see.
00:03:25
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, no, exactly. But, but yeah, so, but beyond that, I mean, I'm well, the wife was well, everything's well as of, ah as of right now and just ah counting down the counting down the days now to, to July. So we're, we're excited about that.
Goalie Drills and Skill Development
00:03:41
Speaker
um But we'll kind of segue away from that and move right into our drill of the month. um This one is almost a standard with every goalie company that you work with or you work for.
00:03:58
Speaker
ah even this has been something that's been around since Nathan and I have played and probably well beyond that. And this is a, um, a drill that's it's kind of like one the best when it comes to working on, uh, your stick handling and drill that we have here today. That's currently over on the DIY goalie.com website is the, excuse me, the two corner dump in drill.
00:04:20
Speaker
Um, this This is a nice drill for when you're working with pucks behind a net and when you're trying to set up your team for hour for a breakout going the opposite way. So coaches, you guys should be paying attention to this one as well as this. This is a variation of how you can incorporate your goalies into your breakouts.
00:04:39
Speaker
um So the drill starts as follows where the coach will have a ah set of pucks up close-ish by the blue line. And all they're just going to do is they're just going to throw that puck around the boards and the goalie is expected to come out behind the net, stop that puck behind the net on the boards here, making sure that they get proper hand placement on their stick and they get that nice seal,
00:05:00
Speaker
along the boards, both with their stick and I would say with their body as well, in case the puck does decide to ah take a weird hop and jump up. Goalie will then get control of the puck and make sure that they pivot in a way so then they're looking up ice and seeing kind of what their options are in terms of passing.
00:05:16
Speaker
And this drill in particular, we have in our diagram here, I would like i would actually move this guy a little bit further up in our diagram where we have a coach or the extra goalie kind of just sitting about the goal line where that goalie will make the goalie who has the puck makes a pass follow through follows through on his past return to the net.
00:05:32
Speaker
I have that extra goalie. That's not in the net actually up along the, um the half boards there. um So then it's almost like they're simulating being basically being a defenseman ready to take that puck and go the opposite way.
00:05:44
Speaker
Once that goalie makes his pass, it's imperative that he follows through ah with his pass, returning to the other side of the net, ah because if they go back the way that they came, it leaves the opportunity for in case if a ah um a mishap happens where the net is basically wide open.
00:06:02
Speaker
The goalie who received the puck along the half boards makes that pass back to the to the coach who just initially rimmed it. around the net and then that coach will walk in for a shot, rebound pops out play. Um, the keys for this one is making sure that we're getting out of the net quickly to stop the puck.
00:06:17
Speaker
Make sure that we're being hard on the stick, both hands to ensure that the pockets stopped behind the net, uh, keeping elbows away from the body helps, uh, ensure to get behind the net when stopping the puck. So then the neck can get out of the way of any, uh, an awkward bounce to the slot, quick passes, minimal stick handling and decision time making and make sure that we make a pass on the tape.
00:06:36
Speaker
Um, I know as goalies, we like to saucer pass those pucks, or we like to see how much air we can get on those pucks, especially when you've if you've been watching the amount of goalie goals that we've gotten the last few years.
00:06:47
Speaker
But for something that's such a short distance from behind the net to the half boards where your defenseman is expected to be, we want to keep that puck on the ice so then the defenseman is able to get control the puck and go the opposite way if we saucer pass that puck to the defenseman. It's going to make it harder for them to control, puts them actually in a vulnerable position to possibly get blown up by the, by the, by the opposing player.
00:07:09
Speaker
And then it ends up being a turnover. So we just want to make sure that it's a nice crisp, hard pass tape to tape on the ice for that breakout option there. There are different variations to it. um One that I've done in the past is where I've actually had pucks basically about center ice along the blue line.
00:07:26
Speaker
And I'll just throw a puck in the goalie will come out, play it and then they look for that passing option there as well. So this is one of those drills there where I would highly recommend for coaches to incorporate in their practice plans, especially when it comes to your breakouts.
00:07:38
Speaker
ah So that way you can incorporate ah your, your goaltender in those breakouts as well. Mike Smith um with the Edmonton orders, when he was here, he was actually very, very crucial in terms of the oldest breakout. I mean, you've even seen it as well with Stuart Skinner, with the Oilers as well.
00:07:52
Speaker
I think Binnington's been another one. But, I mean, you see most goalies in the NHL, I mean, they'll kind that puck's coming down the opposite way, whether it's a penalty kill for the opposite team. and So they'll just throw the puck into the opposing end to try and get a change. But then you see that goalie come out basically by the top of the circles there to set the puck for the defenseman so it's a shorter breakout to go back into the attacking zone.
00:08:16
Speaker
um the other way. I like this drill. It's an oldie, but it's, it basically really, and I'm all for drills that simulate circumstances on the ice. This is just another one those drills that does that.
00:08:30
Speaker
Yeah, that's, we should probably actually do one of these days tackle a segment or an episode on stick handling and kind of go through. I don't think that's one we've really dove into yet.
00:08:41
Speaker
um But ah just a couple of things on my end, like it's, it's such an important thing. tool or such an advantage, I guess, if a goalie can actually make a good play and help get the puck moving up ice quickly, like it's like having that third defenseman or that sixth player out there. Right. And you see, uh,
00:09:05
Speaker
You see the goalies who are effective at it make a big difference. So if if that's something you guys can work on, if you have the time to work on it, it can be such an asset to your team. um The thing is with this specific drill, the more you can tailor it towards your team system, the kind of more effective that it can be. So if you do have some time as as a goalie coach or some goalie time or whatever, and you can actually get your defenseman involved in this drill,
00:09:34
Speaker
Um, that would be, um, highly ideal. And I'm a big proponent of keeping things simple when it comes to passing the puck. So if you guys can all get on the same page, like I like to kind of go through four different calls. So either forehand, backhand set or rim.
00:09:53
Speaker
Um, that's kind of what the defenseman is yelling at the goalie that they want to see happen. Um, and then that's something you can practice with this drill with your defenseman. You can also get them to hit the spots that the coaches like. So like Connor said, if it's a little higher up the half wall, or if it is the defenseman coming back to the goal line to get that little corner outlet pass,
00:10:13
Speaker
um Whatever it is, tailor it so it works for for you and your system. But I'll leave it at that so we don't dive into too much to it. But that that might be a ah segment coming soon to a DIY podcast episode near you.
00:10:29
Speaker
ah we're do it Do I pull another switcheroo on you here and just do that? No, because you already switched. No, I'm not doing that.
00:10:42
Speaker
but I know it was twice. Get right. Yeah, okay. um we'll ah yeah We'll tackle that one in depth sometime soon here because that's something like if you guys have – you know, five, 10 minutes at home and you can grab your glove blocker and stick and just do some stick handling, you know, outside or in your garage basement, whatever.
00:11:02
Speaker
Make sure you have your head up when you practice that though. Cause too many goalies, myself included, I was terrible at playing the puck. We'll have their feet or their head staring down at their feet and they have no idea what's going on. So the more you can have your head up, the better.
00:11:18
Speaker
But yeah, We will link that up in the show notes. um That'll be at the diygoalie.com slash pod053, or potentially if you're listening to this in the future at truenorthgoaltending.com slash pod053.
00:11:36
Speaker
And that'll be in the show notes. We'll have a link to that, that drill on the website. Um, Good to move on then. You all done with the drill of the month? Yeah, no, I got nothing else there. Just, yeah, go check in show notes because at this stage in development and at this stage in kind of where teams are at, I mean, it was probably just a few weeks
Importance of Skating for Goalies
00:12:02
Speaker
before. Yeah.
00:12:04
Speaker
Puck handling is kind of like the last, okay, i don't and I don't mean this way that I'm phrasing it, but puck handling is essentially the last um stage of development that I work on with my goalies.
00:12:16
Speaker
I did that in the last few practices that I have here. That's like the very last skill that I work on, um particularly with the goalies throughout the season. All right.
00:12:28
Speaker
Well, one of the first things we work on with our goalies, nice segue there, props to me. I set you up for success. Yeah, that's that's what we call chemistry.
00:12:41
Speaker
We just ruined it by rambling. and No, i i really wanted to touch on this um because currently what I'm doing with ah the True North Goaltending side of things is i um I've tasked myself to kind of structure an internal um documentation of what we want to do for a development and a progression plan as an organization.
00:13:08
Speaker
And so I've kind of been tailoring it around a few kind of core concepts or pillars or whatever you want to call it. And um one of the things that I've heard with a lot of coaches In our organization, as well as coaches outside of our organization is i have heard a lot of comments from goalie coaches about the lack of skating ability from goalies today.
00:13:39
Speaker
um i i do agree to an extent, although I also think that the game itself is just faster, which I think um kind of maybe exposes a little bit more ah the goalies than what it used to back when like we played and before that.
00:13:59
Speaker
um So I don't necessarily think it's all on the goalies, but I do think there's lots of room for improvement when it comes to um the skating side of things.
00:14:11
Speaker
As a former goalie, I used to hate skating. It's not the sexy thing to do. um As a coach, I love it. Like when we structure our practices and our sessions, especially our group sessions, we make sure that half of the session is skating because When you think about it, especially at the higher levels, like with how quick the shots are, with how quick the passes are, how quick everything happens.
00:14:39
Speaker
A lot of times goalies don't have a lot of time to react. And like people say, it's like 80 to 90% of the, of the save is positioning and you can't be in good position if you can't skate.
00:14:53
Speaker
So we need to make sure that we are prioritizing our skating and we are working on it with every chance we get. And you can work on skating without being at your practice. You can go to the ODR, you can go to public skate, you can go wherever you can work on some goalie specific skating.
00:15:14
Speaker
Um, a couple of other things that I think might be playing into it a little bit. First off, um, I used to kind of be a little bit more like this when I first started coaching, but there's a lot of flack in the goalie world about the quote unquote cookie cutter goalies, um which to an extent I do agree with a little bit.
00:15:38
Speaker
But at the same time, like it's kind of the tried and true method that we've you know or at least right now made efficient when it comes to goaltending but that being said there's been such an emphasis on tracking and body shifting and save execution and stuff like that that i do agree that maybe skating has kind of gone a little bit to the back burner Um, so if you're a goalie coach out there, if you're a goalie parent out there, if you're a goalie out there, please emphasize a little bit more on your skating, take the time to work on your technique.
00:16:20
Speaker
And once you have the technique down, push yourself to get as fast as you can. uh, one, one thing that really stuck with me that I heard Ian Clark say once was, uh,
00:16:35
Speaker
we want you to fail because that means we've pushed you to the edge of your control. ah I'm paraphrasing. That's not exactly what he said, but basically it's, we want to push you to the point that you are not succeeding, which means that we've hit you know, the edge of your ability and we want to push that further so that the next few times after we've done that, you actually can do it properly at that speed or at that technique or whatever it is that you're working on.
00:17:06
Speaker
So the other thing, too, is I think goalies and kind of players in general have lost their ability to be athletes a little bit compared to when we played and before that. Like if you think about back to like the 80s and 90s, there was no technique really.
00:17:29
Speaker
It was all strictly athleticism. Like who is the most flexible? Who is the quickest? Who is the most creative? um And we've kind of lost that a little bit. And I think that's part of the reason why too, we might, uh,
00:17:45
Speaker
not have goalie skating as well as maybe they were once perceived to be. Again, I think just in general, the skill level of the game has gotten better or higher.
00:17:56
Speaker
um But yeah, that's that's a couple of reasons why I think the skating has dropped off a bit. And just a couple of points for if you are working on it and to make sure that you guys are good orre getting good at skating.
00:18:12
Speaker
really work on the efficiencies. Like that's the biggest thing I see with goalies is there's so many inefficiencies in the way goalies move that it takes away from their ability to get across quick.
00:18:25
Speaker
If you can just dial in, being the most efficient you can be, that's going to make you quick without physically being any quicker. Right. So if you can get a good rotation, if you can stay low and forward, if your hands move with your body, right?
00:18:41
Speaker
Like the two points that I like to tell my goalies is if you're doing something, it should either help you make a save or help you get into position to make a save. And if it doesn't do one of those two things, get it out of your game, right?
00:18:56
Speaker
So a lot of goalies, like when they go to make a push, they rotate well. And as soon as they load up to push their hands, swing back the other way from where they just were. And that's inefficient. You've now added an extra movement that you have to now counteract by swinging your hands back the other way.
00:19:14
Speaker
A lot of younger goalies do that because they use the momentum of the arm swing to get them across. But if you can forego that and just use your legs and your upper body doesn't move at all, you get across a lot quicker and a lot better spot.
00:19:31
Speaker
So kind of moral of the story is use the time that you have to work on your skating as much as you can. Use the time that you have to become efficient at skating and the rest will kind of fall into place. Like if you can have a foundation of good solid skating, the rest is a lot easier to fix and to get better at.
00:19:58
Speaker
And if you're a goalie coach out there or a goalie parent or a regular coach or whatever the case is, get your goalies working on skating, take them to power skating, whether it's even if it's a player power skating session, the edge control helps a lot.
00:20:15
Speaker
If your goalies can be comfortable on their edges, they can do a lot of stuff when they're in a bad situation. Like if they're, on their butt or on their back, you know, it's a lot easier to get up when they can control their edges and they can move a lot better and a lot more comfortably.
00:20:30
Speaker
So that's kind of my two cents on, on the skating, I guess we need more of it and we really need to work on properly, like being efficient, proper technique, skating properly, whatever I've, I've ran out of my rant, so you can chime in now.
00:20:52
Speaker
Do you think we have the opportunity to expand the true North Empire now and have just a strictly goalie power skating,
00:21:06
Speaker
i don't know, thing? you know Because like in here like we have Serdacni power skating. or like, yeah, well, it's, it's not so new. Like there's a lot of, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not saying it is right. But mean, like for us as an organization and I've been, I've been with a few goalie organizations where you'll spend me, like we, we spend the mornings on skating and amongst other things. And then it's the afternoon setter shots. I'm saying what I'm saying in particular is that do we have like a power skating sort of thing that almost is almost like the, the, the,
00:21:38
Speaker
The business formula of it almost exactly is the same as player power skating. Yes, I would love to Two things on that. First off, I did try that ah season and a half ago with one like when we were renting ice with one of our ice times. I advertised it as a goalie power skating session and nobody signed up. So I went back to a regular goalie session. and Of course.
00:22:03
Speaker
Yeah, we got booking. So that was kind of frustrating. um But the other thing, too, is ice time's expensive. And the problem is, and everybody knows this in the goalie world, the problem is is the economics of goalie coaching is not very favorable. And that's why goalie coaching is expensive. Because, but i mean, with a power skating session, you can do a little bit more with like a higher goalie to coach ratio and it'd still be okay.
00:22:30
Speaker
But yeah, it's it's tough, especially with how expensive ice is. i don't know where it is, wherever you guys are listening, but here in the Edmonton area, it is pricey. So yeah, I would love to, it's something that we'll revisit at another point, I think, but so yeah, it's a tough goal.
00:22:52
Speaker
Fair. um Okay. So I have a few things that I want to break down with your whole, with your whole spiel here. um I guess first thing I don't want to break down is right off the bat. And just cause there was a very first thing that I thought of was, you know, goalie coaches such as ourselves and then coaches in general complaining about,
00:23:10
Speaker
the lack of skating ability. I agree and disagree with that to a certain extent. Cause being like, Oh, I've had goalies that are good skaters, right?
00:23:22
Speaker
But when they move in the crease, they don't look like they're good skaters. And so I would say that how much of that is actually, them being good skaters, but just taking the wrong route or the wrong angles in their crease.
00:23:37
Speaker
Right. Cause when I think of, mean, like if, like if you can see, mean, like there's always, always um room to improve with it. And I'm kind of in the same boat as you as a coach. I love skating as a goalie. I hated it.
00:23:53
Speaker
um Where like, if I look, look at goalie skating by itself, like, there's only for me, there's only so many times that I can have a goalie do C cuts around like from blue line to blue line. There's only times I can have him do shuffle to shuffle from one end of the circle to the other.
00:24:14
Speaker
For me, i would say how much of it is that how are they utilizing the angles in their net?
00:24:25
Speaker
What routes are they taking in their net to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible? There's one point of that. So there's one point of that. The other point of it is that, yeah, exactly. We need to continue refining, working on our edges, continue getting better at T pushes, refining our T pushes, our shuffles, our butterfly crawls, et etct cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
00:24:48
Speaker
But I think, but that's, that's the other side to the coin. You know, i've I've had goalies that are good skaters, but move in the net, Awfully is what is is a way of putting it.
00:25:02
Speaker
um And that kind of goes back to the efficiency thing, right? like Exactly. Yeah. Working on being efficient. ah Yeah, exactly. the other The other part that I wanted to say was is that you were talking about power skating. I was thinking about it a few moments ago.
00:25:17
Speaker
um What it would be ah figure skating? Yeah. Because I think kids mean like most good football players, for example, have taken...
00:25:29
Speaker
Ballerina classes and that's to work on their footwork or thats there's there's there's a correlation from ballot from being a ballerina to Playing football when it comes to their their foot strength or their edge their their footwork or something to that extent Figure skating would essentially be the same deal because those girls or those guys those people work a lot on their edge work and they can move on the ice and There was one other point and I can't remember what it was.
00:26:01
Speaker
So I'm going to leave it at that. um i got some stuff to add. So if it comes back, you can you can try and um yeah, because like to your point about just um repeating, like there's only so many times you can see cut around a ah pylon or whatever. And I do agree. and Um, shout out to recent guests to the show, Jamie Phillips. I know there is a, an and early episode in their goalie science podcast in which he kind of talked about, um, I think he, he put it as like a skating first mentality or something like that.
00:26:44
Speaker
And, um, Like the point that he made, which, you know, I think we all kind of do without realizing it. But the point he made is that like not every skating drill has to be a skating drill, right? Like you can have a shooting drill that incorporates three or four different skating movements and ends in a shot. And then it's not really as...
00:27:06
Speaker
you know, bad or or as daunting for the goalies. Right. It's not like, oh, I'm going out there to skate like it's like, oh, I get a shot. Right. But what they don't realize is is before that they're you know, making a T push, dropping into a butterfly, T push recovering, and then shuffling back. So there's like three different direction changes and three different movements in there that they don't realize. Right.
00:27:31
Speaker
And the other point to that too, is giving them the ability to improvise, like putting them in situations where they're they have to get creative and they have to figure it out.
00:27:44
Speaker
Usually translates to goalies that move very well, just because they have to, right? So if you can put them in situations where they're battling, if you can design unorthodox drills that help them work on weird stuff, like one of the drills i like to do, I usually save it for the closer to the end of the season when it's more of like a fun kind of laid back atmosphere.
00:28:09
Speaker
But where they lay at the top of their crease on their stomach, you get them to barrel roll ah full way around to one side. And then once they get back to their stomach, they have to get up to their feet and T push across the crease for a shot.
00:28:26
Speaker
Right. And it looks weird. And I always like to say before the drill, I'm like, hey, everybody thinks we're weird. Let's look weird today. But, you know, it's one of those things that they have to figure out how to get from their stomach to their feet and across the net as quick as they can. And it's it's very rare that they'll do that in a game.
00:28:46
Speaker
But in a game, they might have somebody fall on them and they're kind of on their hands and knees or something and the play still going and they got to figure it out. Right. So I think if we can find a way to incorporate more movement in general into the drill, whether it's strictly skating or whether it's something a little more unorthodox, I think that goes a long way in improving that skill as well.
00:29:11
Speaker
You had said Jamie Phillips, and now i remember my point. um um So there was there was a point in the podcast that when we had Jamie on um talking about being an athlete, right, and how you mentioned before.
00:29:27
Speaker
um and that's something I think that we've stressed on podcasts time and time again is just be an athlete first, be a hockey player second, essentially, or something to that degree.
00:29:40
Speaker
um So that would be – that is something that I think goalies and goalie parents really need to emphasize on. And, again, we've talked about it before with, like, the spring hockey and the summer hockey stuff there where it's like take a break from hockey over the summer.
00:29:59
Speaker
You know, go play a different sport. Go play basketball. Go play soccer. Go play go play this. Go play that. Work on your foot speed. Exactly. Something to that you know something that extent. Hockey can come back again. i mean, you can do like bits and pieces of it here and there, but hockey can hockey can come back once it's once once it starts to get closer
00:30:21
Speaker
excuse me towards the towards the end of the season there. so um Again, there was another point now that I had forgotten, but the biggest point there was was that was the Jamie Phillips thing. Yeah.
00:30:32
Speaker
So bottom line, guys, I know skating sucks. I know it's not fun. You don't want to do it, but it's probably the number one thing across the board that coaches and evaluators look for. And if you can be a good skater, it'll take you a long ways and everything else will kind of fall into place.
Diverse Coaching Perspectives for Goalies
00:30:49
Speaker
Um, so push through, find a way to make it fun and get better at it. Um, all right. What do you got for us on your end of things? Are you changing it up again? or No, I'm not. I promise. I promise. No, I promise. I've already changed it up on you once today, and I'm not going to do it again. um No, my segment today is something that I think
00:31:16
Speaker
there's a little bit of a stigma, I guess, behind it. to an extent we're seeing we've seen it a little bit here in, in, in oil country. Um, but talking about, I want to talk about today, ah just the importance of different voices and the importance of having different goalie coaches throughout your season, but also throughout your career.
00:31:44
Speaker
Um, um, I should preface this by saying first is that like I would love to, and Nathan, i think, can agree to this as well. So we'd love to have a goalie where we see them when they're small and starting out for the first time. And then they're only working exclusively with us throughout the entire year. And then we send them off to show.
00:32:03
Speaker
just so that we can promote the business. But regardless of that, um the the the reality of it, though, however, and this is where you get voices like myself and Nathan and the guys over at Goalie Science and In Goal Magazine, the more voices that you have in your game, the more tools in the toolbox, the better. And I know we've i know we've touched on this before, but as goalies get older, mean as goalies get older you will outgrow your coach.
00:32:33
Speaker
It's straight, simple fact there. I mean, i've had I've had guys that I've worked up with to a certain age and then they've gone off to go work with somebody else. And that is okay because that next person that they have, that they're working with or whoever might have played at a higher level than me, or they may just have knowledge that either I don't possess or they just have a better way of presenting that presenting that knowledge and be able and working at the level that I'm not working at, which is, which is fine.
00:33:04
Speaker
um ah Even then as well, you you know, you'll have an opportunity where you, you where you, you worked with the goalie coach throughout the entirety of a season and they've and they've told you to do a b c d e f and then maybe you've moved towns maybe you move teams maybe you're going to a new goalie camp for the first time and then those guys are telling you to do xyz and you're like well goalie coach number one told me to do a b c d and you guys are telling me to do x y f
00:33:38
Speaker
the the point The importance of the story here is that it's always a good idea to always be open to new ideas and to new voices. And the more tools on the toolbox, the better is the best way that we can describe it.
00:33:54
Speaker
um The idea, again, with that is that Nathan can maybe articulate something better than I can. Or I can articulate something. Or I bring i bring an ideology that is...
00:34:08
Speaker
that maybe Nathan hadn't thought of before. they mean We've seen it here in Edmonton as well, where I think there was a point in time where it was either Mike Smith or Stuart Skinner, but there was rumor floating around anyways that um that they had one of those two goalies had ended up bringing on their own goalie coach midseason, and then all the fire Dustin Schwartz things happened and everything else, and it's like you guys don't understand or you guys don't understand the importance of the realization of That's okay.
00:34:38
Speaker
It's not a knock on Dustin Schwartz. It's not a, it's not Stuart Skinner or Mike Smith or whoever was telling Schwartzy where to go and how to get there. It was, Hey, I need a different voice because what I'm working on with my regular coach isn't working.
00:34:53
Speaker
And that's where bad habits are starting to come take place. Is it maybe a bad look throughout the season? Sure. But again, for those in the goalie community know that, Hey, the more,
00:35:04
Speaker
voices that you have or the more the more open you are to new ideas, more open the more open you are to new voices, in the grand scheme of things, it'll be it'll be better. You're not going to have one goalie coach so throughout the entire year. You might have the one goalie coach throughout the throughout your entire career, but they're not going to be with you at different levels.
00:35:26
Speaker
Even then as well, for so for organizations like us, you know where we have different coaches on staff. Sometimes if you are an organization that hires a goalie coach, you aren't going to be getting, or a goalie company rather, you're not going to be getting the same goalie coach every week or every few weeks or whatever. Again, and that there are some outside factors to that depending on scheduling and everything else.
00:35:50
Speaker
But companies hire good coaches. Companies should hire good coaches who are knowledgeable, And are approachable and can bring different aspects to a goalies game.
00:36:03
Speaker
From the goalie side of things, is it going to get overwhelming? Yes. Can it get confusing? Absolutely. But that's where the onus comes in to say, hey, I liked what goalie coach A said. I didn't like what goalie coach A said. So I'm going to incorporate what I liked. I'm not going to incorporate what I didn't like.
00:36:21
Speaker
And move on and move on from there. And that's what builds your uniqueness to your position. That's what builds your uniqueness to the game. So I don't know if there is really a moral the story. I think the moral of the story over anything is just be open to new voices. Be open to new ideas.
00:36:39
Speaker
Don't be a stick in the mud and say, like nope, I'm only going to do what goalie coach a taught me and I don't really care what you have to say. Yeah. And that's there's always that bias that comes into play. Like, hey, I've only worked with so and so goalie coach for the last three years that I've had a goalie coach.
00:36:59
Speaker
And there's always a reluctancy that you have that bias. But a lot of times there's a couple different things that can happen. Like a lot of times goalies will actually outgrow um ah goalie coach. Like, cause there's certain coaches that are really good at working with the grassroots, the basic, like starting level goalies.
00:37:21
Speaker
And then there's some coaches that, They can't like they just don't know how to explain stuff to a seven year old like or they just absolutely hate it.
00:37:34
Speaker
Right. Like I know some coaches that'll just be like, yeah, sure. Send them my way once they're 13 and playing AAA. But before that, like, no, thanks. Right. Um, so, you know, sometimes you outgrow a coach. Sometimes like Connor said, you move away, whatever the case is. Like for us, um, we've got a coach on our staff who's, i don't know, six, six or six, seven or whatever. He's going to have a much different perspective on things than I am at five, 10. He's, he's going to have different things that worked for him throughout his career that might resonate better with a six foot five goalie than me trying to be like,
00:38:10
Speaker
yeah, I don't know, try and get your head in the top corner when you're in the ah RVH. And they'll be like, what? My head's over the crossbar. And I'm like, oh, you're lucky. But, you know, I digress. ah it's It's one of those things that, you know, we've all had problems.
00:38:26
Speaker
Very different experiences. And the other things too, as goalie coaches, we have worked with a bunch of other goalie coaches and we have taken things from each coach we've worked with that we've liked and we haven't liked. I have drills from a bunch of different coaches I've worked with as a goalie.
00:38:44
Speaker
I have, you know, ways of explaining things. I have techniques from a bunch of different coaches that molded kind of the game that I played. and have kind of molded now my coaching perspective and approach.
00:38:58
Speaker
And it's not going to be everybody's cup of tea. And that's kind of the reality of it, right? Like somebody might come to me and say, wow, that was awful. And then they go next door to whoever and say, yeah, that was great. And the only difference was a difference in personality.
00:39:15
Speaker
Like I'm pretty, yeah you know, dry and Sometimes a little monotonous and a little sarcastic, and that might not be everybody's cup of tea. And that's OK. Maybe you go down the street and go to, ah you know, positive sunshine Sally, who is nothing but rah, rah, rah, let's go.
00:39:32
Speaker
And that might work for you. Right. The message might be the exact same and it could just be a personality thing. um But the bottom line is, is pretty much everybody out there that's a goalie coach has at least something of value to bring, even if maybe there's varying levels of how good they are and what they bring to the table.
00:39:55
Speaker
There's always something to take out of it. and if you're a goalie and there's something you disagree with have that conversation as a goalie coach i love conversations like that i love to be like well here's why i'm proposing this to you why don't you want to do it and don't just be like well because i don't want to or i don't like it or whatever like tell me why just be like i'm not comfortable like my hip it bothers my hip or you know i feel like exposed or whatever. And then we can have that conversation and be like, this is why I'm telling you this because X, Y, is z And then you can be like,
00:40:34
Speaker
okay, I get that, but it doesn't work for me because ABC. And it's like, okay, well then how can we adapt and find that middle ground or whatever the case is, right?
00:40:45
Speaker
Or you can also be like, hey, actually i worked with this other coach that taught me to do this and I really like that way of doing it. And it's like, okay, well, why don't we try two reps with this new technique, see how it goes.
00:41:00
Speaker
If you don't like it, that's fine. Then we can go back to doing it that way. But the next thing they tell you might work better for you than what the last coach said or whatever the case is. Right.
00:41:13
Speaker
And. The other thing is, too, is it just might be a better way of explaining it that resonates to you better. Right. I think I've told this story before, but one of our former coaches, he used to explain rotations by saying the four H's, which was head, hands, hips, heels.
00:41:33
Speaker
me i explain it as let's rotate top down it's the same thing basically head body hips and feet right top down but it's a different way that might resonate with somebody better somebody might say oh top down yeah i can remember that and somebody might be like oh four h's i like that right like i like alliteration head hands hip feels whatever right like So there might be the exact same messaging. That's just a different perspective or a different spin on it that might resonate better with you.
00:42:05
Speaker
And so you just never know. And I'm not saying I don't think we're saying to go around and have, you know, eight, 12, 15 different goalie coaches throughout a season. But. it know Be open to different looks and different perspectives and take what you can from every coach you work with. Right. It kind of goes back to what Ian Gordon was saying way back on whatever episode that is, is embrace the development mindset.
00:42:32
Speaker
Figure out a way to take something out of every session you're at, whether it's with a goalie coach or not. The other thing that I want to touch on as well is if you're a new time goalie coming into the position, either you're brand spanking fresh out of the box or four months playing, and it varies in age level as well.
00:42:56
Speaker
Okay. And so what I mean by that is like, if you're like five years old or six years old, seven years old, and you're playing golf or, for, for the very first time. i mean, you know, I've seen, I've seen like the posts out on Facebook, you know, in our, in our, in the social media groups and saying like, Oh, Hey, we're looking for ah goalie coach or we're looking to, you know, get into our first goalie camp or whatever. Who do you, who do you recommend?
00:43:21
Speaker
And you see all the different options and, and all that. It doesn't hurt to try them. You know, you want I would say is like you'd you' you'd want a goalie coach that's going to at least help you get the foundation of the position. And any one of the goalie coaches that are out there can do that.
00:43:39
Speaker
um And then as you grow older, it's okay to it's okay to expand. It's not a it's not a it's not a compet well it's a competition amongst the goalie coaching companies, but in reality, in terms of if you're coming and into the position for the first time, it's not a competition. It's just who do you think would be best suited for you to start? And it doesn't hurt to, you know, for, you know, for us here in Alberta area, it doesn't hurt to start out with somebody in St. Albert or Fort McMurray. And then, you know, kind of gradually go your way down from there, just depending on how far you're willing to travel.
00:44:16
Speaker
um In terms of the older goaltending side of things, whether you are, know, getting for, again, first time playing goal because you haven't had the chance to before or whether you did play goal a very, very long time ago and you're coming back into the position because your 35-year-old son or whatever is asking you to play on the beer league team.
00:44:37
Speaker
um
00:44:40
Speaker
It's, again, i mean, it's okay to be open to those new ideas and to learn the – to learn the nuances behind it nowadays compared to how it was played back the eighties nineties, early two thousands. And now we can say, and, and, and beyond.
00:45:02
Speaker
Yeah. It's just a matter of, you know, finding a good fit, but, They'll, there will be multiple good fits out there. Like you don't have to settle on one. Like, I mean, again, like Connor said, we'd love for, you know, to work with the same goalie for their whole career, but it's not realistic. And I think, you know, just being able to try things out, as Connor said, like, look for
00:45:35
Speaker
Look for the organizations that kind of offer like one off sessions and you can try a couple of them out before you commit to like a full week camp or something like that. Like just for us specifically in the Edmonton area, like there's three of us that have facilities.
00:45:52
Speaker
that you can go for a one off session. There's also a couple others that like rent ice and do, you know, one on ones or one on threes or whatever. They kind of split the ice up. um So there's ways that you can go about trying a couple of different options, um even within those organizations. Like if you come out to us, you might come out twice and get two different coaches, depending on how things
Exploring Coaching Options and Resources
00:46:15
Speaker
go.
00:46:15
Speaker
um You can you know, it just doesn't hurt to to get a feel for what's out there to kind of see where you sit, where you gel and and yeah, just getting that fresh perspective. Like it's the same if you do video, um you you can send your video to three different coaches and the 80 percent of their feedback will probably be the exact same. But then there's 20 percent that you're like, oh
00:46:50
Speaker
The other two coaches didn't mention that. And, oh, that's an interesting take. Yeah, let's try that out. And then, you know, the other coach said something else that the other two didn't mention. And it's it's, you know, it's just a way, as Connor said, to kind of build that toolbox, because at the end of the day,
00:47:10
Speaker
there's really no two same situations like they're very similar but there's no two same situations so you might have to use something that you haven't really used much before in a certain situation and it doesn't hurt to have that or you know ah a different perspective might give you an idea of what you can do in that situation um So just build up your skill set by taking a little bit from every every kind of coach you work with or even your peers, like goalies that you're playing with, playing against.
00:47:45
Speaker
um You know, if a family member is a goalie, whatever, they there's always something positive that you can take. We touched on it when we talked about not emulating your game after the pros.
00:47:58
Speaker
Make it your own. Take everything you've taken in, piece it together, make it your own and make it work for you.
00:48:09
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's all i that's all I really have to say on that. Again, like I know we've, we've sprinkled this topic amongst other podcasts and but I don't think we've actually done like a,
00:48:25
Speaker
a proper segment on it, but um just, just something to consider. So, mean, and you know, and I know I referenced them a lot, but i think it's kind of relevant in this instance, the angle magazine had just posted out there, their, their goalie directory, their goalie coach or goalie company directory, which we're a part of.
00:48:43
Speaker
um And so it's, that's a great resource right there as well. That I think is getting a lot of use already.
00:48:54
Speaker
um so the, the, the point being is that like, when sleep, well, as you're going into the summer here and if you're, and if you're looking at camps or if you're looking at attending multiple or a few camps over the summer here, um, take a look at that guide, take a look at the guide that angle magazine has posted out there.
00:49:14
Speaker
They have both like the, the digital magazine and they also just have like the, the online directory on the tickets on their website. Um, But yeah, just be open to to to to to taking to doing new i to taking new ideas and to expose yourself to to do different to do different things. So if you do have any you happen to be traveling to the Edmonton area, we're one of them.
00:49:38
Speaker
We're one of them in the Edmonton area they there as well. so um I know Nathan as well. If you're on, think it's Edmonton goalie parents. Yeah. Edmonton and area goalie parents. Edmonton and area goalie parents. Nathan posts out all the, ah all of the camps that are happening in the Northern.
00:49:57
Speaker
Is it you only have to just focus on Northern. Well, I mostly just do the Edmonton area. I don't like look at what's around in Grand Prairie and and stuff.
00:50:08
Speaker
Point being, that's me. We post the same thing. He posts rather the same thing we're on ah over on there. But yeah be open to new ideas, I think is a the moral of the there.
00:50:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think those kind of directory posts or whatever, just getting a feel for what's out
Conclusion and Community Connection
00:50:24
Speaker
there. Like, again, ask ask other goalies in the area or, or families or whatever that, uh, you know, who they've been to, who was good, who wasn't as good kind of thing. Like, you know, just, just get a feel for what's around your area and, and try them out, try a couple out, see, see how you feel.
00:50:45
Speaker
Exactly. Well, as always, as we enter into the new fiscal year, another DIY goalie podcast is in the books. As always, Nathan, it has been fun, but we're we're running out of time here for today. But anyways, for those watching at home over on the YouTube side of things, thank you very much for watching. If you're listening on your favorite podcasting platforms, Apple, iHeart, Spotify, etc., thank you very much for listening. If you are a new viewer or a new listener to our wonderful program, make sure you hit that follow or subscribe button. You'll set the like button over on the YouTube video as well.
00:51:21
Speaker
The more goalies that we can bring together in the goalie community, the better, the more voices that we have, as we were talking about in the previous segment, the better. And just having more goalies as well. That's that's that's what we want. We just we want to bring goalies together here and and build our build our little community as we Go. You can follow us on our social media platforms, on your favorite social media platforms, so at the DIY Goalie.
00:51:45
Speaker
All soon to be transferred over here if it hasn't happened already or if you are listening into the future at True North Goaltending, except for Instagram because we like to be different. You can follow us there at Y-E-G Goalie Coach.
00:51:56
Speaker
You can follow myself on Instagram at Monday GC. Make sure you also head over to our website, www.truenorthgoaltending.com. I think we do still have some openings for our summer camp that is happening.
00:52:09
Speaker
um We also have a bunch of different options there as well for our synthetic ice programs out in the Nisku area here in Alberta. Lots of great stuff happening over there as well. And again, if you are listening to this in the future or ah depending on how fast Nathan gets things in motion, all of our articles will be happening over there as well from the DIY goalie transferred now over to true North goaltending. As always.
00:52:37
Speaker
yeah Oh, there you go. Either way. um As always, it's been a lot of fun. Thank you very much for listening to the DIY goalie podcast presented by true North goaltending. I'm your host Connor Monday along with Nathan Park. Make some saves goalies. We'll see you guys next time.
00:52:48
Speaker
Take care.