There are six fundamentals of goaltending: Skating, Stance, Positioning, Save Selection, Rebound Control and Recovery
The first three (skating, stance and positioning) are all preparation for the shot to come. The last three involve stopping the puck efficiently, and being prepared for the next shot.
1. Skating- Here we work two main skating techniques, shuffles and C-steps. You use a shuffle to move a short distance, staying in your stance, with quick precise movements and little-to-no upper body movement. This keeps you square and on angle as you move. The C-step is for longer distances, and works similarly to the traditional T-Push technique. The difference however, involves bringing your lead skate back toward the net, dropping back, then pushing. This allows the goaltender to reach the angle sooner, cover more net, then gain angle.
2. Stance- Find the most comfortable stance. Make changes to a stance if they are structurally debilitating, causing imbalances or lack of control and power. General rules of thumb include having your weight evenly distributed on the balls of your feet, hands in front of body, but NOT outstretched with elbows locked. Shoulders square, butt down and skates a little more than shoulder width apart.
3. Positioning- There are 3 key positioning elements, angle depth and squareness.
Perhaps the most important of the three keys to positioning is angle. I have devised a system that separates the ice into shooting lanes. This way the goalie knows where he/she needs to be in relation to where the puck is on the ice. The goaltender holds his/her position, shuffling to each lane as the puck travels across the ice, always set and prepared for a shot.
The next key to positioning is depth. This system works similarly to the lane theory, however we use various depths depending on the situation. There are four depths: A, B, C and D. A is our Aggressive depth, used correctly, this allows the goalie to step up and close the gap on the shooter. B is our Base depth, our primary depth we use to follow the puck in our stance. C is our Conservative depth, used when we are shorthanded, or if an opposing player is lurking back door. D is a Defensive depth, and this is used on breakaways, and odd man rushes.
Square-ness refers to the goalies body position in relation to the puck, NOT THE SHOOTER. The puck should be aligned between the goalie’s skates, knees, hips, hands and shoulders.
Now that we are in position, let’s stop the puck. Goalies need to be responsible for every shot. That means, we do not blame our defense when the puck finds its way to the net. Instead of blaming others, always ask yourself, “What could I have done to stop that puck?” This empowers the goaltender and develops the proper mindset; confidence. Otherwise, the goaltender will never work on what he/she needs to, and just places blame. Some situations are more difficult than others, but never say “that was the defenseman’s fault” or “There was no way I could have had that.”
Save selection, rebound control and recovery are all connected. What this means is if you are off balance on the first save, you will have bad rebound control, and be off balance for your recovery. Hence, there is more likelihood of the second and third shots going in. By making the correct save selection, the goaltender will have better rebound control and have a balanced recovery.
The focus should be a “block first and react second” mentality. This means the goaltender will open up less, and there will be fewer holes for the puck to find. Our blocking saves consist of Butterflies, Butterfly Slides, and Butterfly Pushes.
Goalies can react when the puck is outside of blocking range or outside of their Butterfly Zone. The butterfly zone extends from glove to blocker down to the edge of each pad, much like a strike zone in baseball. Any shot within the butterfly zone will require the goaltender to make a blocking butterfly. Shots outside of the butterfly zone will require reaction saves such as glove, blocker, stick saves and leg extensions. The leg extension allows the goaltender to reach shots that are outside the butterfly zone.
Using the proper save selection will of course dictate our rebound control. It’s a fact that over the course of a season a goalie will give up fewer goals if he/she faces fewer shots. Rebound control can dictate the sum of shots faced. Fewer shots equals fewer goals against, and fewer goals against equals wins.
Proper recovery involves getting up on the correct leg, controlling the upper body, and moving efficiently. Use timing drills to push goalies’ recovery times, while working on the efficiency of their movements.
Coaches should use drills to support these six areas and repeatedly work on them in practice. Repetition of movements in practice become automatic movements in games !! Stay tuned to this site for drills to support all 6 of these key areas !
Specific questions can be directed to Dave Airoldi at:
