Goaltender Development: Fundamental Drills for Building Championship Habits

"You are what you are, by the habits you create." - Seth Appert

Your goalies are a key to your team's success, and goaltending is perhaps the most important position in all sports. Developing habits are critical to being a top notch goalie. Through a series of movement drills and game situations, Seth Appert takes you through a goalie practice with detailed instruction and feedback. He covers specific drills to help you learn fundamental foot movement, improve shot tracking techniques, and help with "next save" and "next play" focus.

Goalie Fundamentals

The emphasis of this video is not for you to change your goalie's style of play, but instead show how your goalie can be their best within their own style. Practice starts with goalie fundamentals to provide a proper base to work with. It is said that 75% of the shots a goalie will face are basic, fundamental shots. It's what your goalie does with that shot that will either keep it routine, or create secondary scoring chances for the opponent.

Daily Drills for Fundamentals and Skating

Create muscle memory and correct common mistakes to get the most out of your goalies. Coach Appert provides over 10 drills to help goalies build strength in their game and get them positioned to stop pucks. These drills combine multiple aspects of previous drills to challenge goalies and prepare them to excel during games. Some of the drills include:

• Visual Tracking Drills - Goalies need to be able to gain a clear view of the shot and watch it all the way to their glove or pad. Not only on the incoming shot, but also track the rebound to stay square to the puck at all times. Coach Appert uses a lot of visual tracking shot sequences to reinforce the importance of focus and positioning for goaltenders.
• Fundamentals of Skating Drills - This progression challenges your goalie's foot speed. It also refines their ability to gain an angle first and use their depth to be in position to stop the puck with as little movement as needed. Keeping the feet under the body with shoulders up and hands in front helps steer your goalie's movements.
• Wide Angle Shots Drill - This drill reinforces the need for goalies to use their stick to deflect pucks to the corner and out of play. This drill segment stresses utilizing the stick rather than just letting the puck hit the leg pads, which would create rebound shot opportunities. Goalies need to use strong foot movement to get square to the shooter and use the stick on the low shot to direct the puck out of trouble.
• Pass - Outs Drill - This exercise is great for the goalie, but will benefit your shooters as well. With a one pass option, this drill makes your goalie move from post to post and stay square while gaining depth and remaining on angle to take the shot.

Coach Appert uses the whiteboard to illustrate the drills and demonstrates with instructional insight on ice to make this video a terrific learning tool for coaches.

Coaching goalies goes far beyond telling them to "just stop the puck." Investing time in improving your goaltenders will translate into improving the team as a whole. Even if you've never played or coached the goalie position before, this video will help you be able to provide insights and instruction to arguably the most important player on the ice.

"The biggest thing with this video is it has given me several ideas of what I can work on with my goalies in the absence of my Goalie Coach and the practice still being productive for the Goalies." - Customer Review

95 minutes. 2016.