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Every goalie has their own style of play. What I recommend and say in my
column is what has made me a successful goalie. I recommend you watch different
goalies play and adapt what works best for you!
Good Luck!
May 2003
When the ball bounces on a hard surface outside the crease and you know
it will come high, what should you do? Do you step to it and get your
body in front anticipating the high bounce or get down and go up with
the ball as it bounces incase it stays low for some reason?
Date: May 4, 2003
Name: Ryan DeJordy
Year / Grade: 11
School: Columbia High School
Years in Net: 3
Ryan, I'm a big believer of attacking the ball. When you're stepping
with you're eyes on the ball you should be able to follow it and see
its path (that's if it's slow motion). Seriously, learn to read the
shooter meaning if he's shooting overhand to ≤ it's a good bet
the ball is going to bounce high, if he's shooting sidearm and lower
the ball should stay below your waist. This isn't the case all the time;
it also depends on the surface, the field conditions, etc. I would definitely
encourage you to be aggressive and attack it and your body should be
in good enough position to get a piece of it if the ball does pop up.
How does a goalie keep from flinching when a shot is coming at him from
really close?
Date: May 7, 2003
Name: Patrick Daul
Year / Grade: Freshman
School: Loyola Academy
State: Illinois
Years in Net: 1
Patrick it depends, are you flinching because you're afraid of the ball
or you're anticipating the shot? There's nothing wrong with fearing
the ball. When I first began playing goal (9th grade) I completely covered
my body with equipment... no joke. It takes time getting used to getting
hit, that's one thing I won't miss about playing in the MLL –
the bruises! If you're flinching because you're anticipating the shot,
then you need to focus on getting rid of this bad habit. When you have
time, grab a friend who will listen to you and not just crank shots
at you. Practice taking shots in tight until you can control the flinch.
A lot of goalies have a "hitch" as I like to call it, when
the shooter is winding up they move one part of their body. Whether
it's their feet, dropping their hands or "flinching" it's
more mental than anything else.
Bill Daye-
My first year playing in 8th grade I ended up taking over the goalie
job over another player for toughness reasons. This year I had a strong
year taking over the J.V job and ending with a 7-3 season. The goalie
ahead of me who will be on varsity next year is a sophomore, who is
quite talented but doesn't seem as determined as me. I'm attending a
camp in Ohio to work on advancing my skills, but how else can I approach
this kind of competition and will this affect my chance of college lacrosse
if I'm not starting varsity my junior year? Thanks
-Dave
Date: May 19, 2003
Name: David O'Connell
Grade: 9th
School: Shaker Heights
State: Ohio
Years in Net: 2
Dave - Hard work and determination will land you the starting job. Keep
working on the skills more than anything and improvement will be natural.
I recommend taking shots on occasion but also do some cross training
to develop hand eye coordination and footwork (Racquetball, squash,
basketball are some other sports). As for not starting affecting your
chances at college; I didn't start in the goal until my senior year
in HS. I played midfield and was the 2nd string goalie both my sophomore
and junior years. I got noticed by going to camps and making the all-star
teams etc. and not by actually playing my junior year. Keep up the hard
work, write some letters to coaches and send them tapes, be proactive!
I am a middle school coach who has had the pleasure of working with
a terrific young goalie who is an 8th Grader. He has developed significantly
with his throws, voice commands, control of loose balls near the crease,
and his positioning. My only concern his ability to bend - he doesn't
seem to at all. Any advice for this young man so he can be more effective
on low and bounce shots. Thanks!
Date: May 21, 2003
Name: Jim Scully
Grade: 8th
School: Hawken School
State: Ohio
Years in Net: 2
Coach Scully - that's a tough question. Basically it comes with practice;
the more repetitions he does in practice should help him start to bend
when attacking bounce shots. Try having him hop in goal without his
stick and with tennis balls take 1/2 speed bounce shots and focus on
bending at the waist when he attacks the ball.
Until this year it looked like making varsity next year would be a given,
because their are two senior goalies graduating next year. However,
this year when me and the other goalie couldn't make a big game for
different important reasons, we had someone fill in who turned out to
be good, so now there are 3 of us. I had already committed to an all-sports
camp in CT this summer, and planned on attending a goalie school. However
the goalie school getting me to and from isn't going to work out, so
I need a way to improve during the all sports camp. There will actually
be an ithaca bomber player there as a counselor. I was thinking maybe
put string or tape on a fence to simulate the posts, and have him and
other people shoot on me. (They would shoot with tennis balls, because
aside from my lax goalie stick I would be using a catcher's chest protector
and hockey gloves/helmet because that's all that would be available
for me to use there). What would you recommend I do to improve. Also,
my coach told me calve muscles are so important so I can always be on
my toes. What are some exercises to improve that muscle.
Date: May 24, 2003
Name: jeff
Grade: 9
School: a d1 high school in western PA
State: Pennsylvania
Years in Net: 3
Jeff - I actually teach goalies of all ages to work with tennis balls
without using your stick. It's a great drill which helps you focus on
hand eye coordination and also helps you attack the ball while making
sure your body is in correct position. You don't even need a goal, as
long as you're concentrate on the task at hand which is to attack the
ball, get your hands out away from your body to catch it and make sure
your body is positioned behind the ball in case you miss it.
As for drills to strengthen the calves: weights help as
well as jumping rope. I recommend carrying a jump rope in your equipment
bag at all times and jump rope before you hop in goal to warm up.
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