How to Coach an Ice Hockey Goalie

Coaching an ice hockey goalie can be difficult and frustrating, particularly if you are working with a team. Goalies generally do not benefit from the same drills as skaters do, but they don't benefit from sitting on the bench and watching, either. Goalies need less speed and skate-work training than skaters do, and more agility and movement training. Experience is the best teacher, so a good way to coach an ice hockey goalie is to take shots at the goal he is tending.

Things You'll Need

  • Hockey rink
  • Hockey net
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Instructions

  1. Non-Shooter Drills

    • 1

      Instruct the goalie to position himself in the net and cross back and forth from post to post without stopping. This helps improve lateral speed and teaches how to catch the edge on the skate while moving. You can also do this drill without using a net.

    • 2

      Position the goalie in the net and instruct her to slide out from the post to the top of the goal crease and be ready to take shots from various angles. Tell her to keep moving back-and-forth from top of crease to post to top of crease.

    • 3

      Put the goalie in a butterfly position--on his knees with leg pads out to the sides--and have him adjust to a puck while you move it around in front of him with your stick. Work for 10 seconds to 15 seconds at a time, on and off.

    Shooter and Team Drills

    • 4

      Instruct players to pass back-and-forth from the face-off circle across to the other circle to take shots at the goal. The goalie will have to slide back-and-forth across the net to stop shots from various angles.

    • 5

      Tell shooters to skate across the front of the crease and take shots from close to the goal. Make the shooters get rebounds and continue to pass and shoot until the goalie controls the puck or a shooter scores.

    • 6

      Take wrap-around shots, with shooters skating around from behind the net, to teach the goalie how to hold the post and make quick side-to-side movements.

    • 7

      Take breakaway, "shootout" or penalty shots against the goalie to prepare her to handle the increased puck speed from these very powerful shots.

    • 8

      Practice full-squad drills to force the goalie to make saves, check his positioning and keep track of the puck even with player traffic between him and shooters.

    • 9

      Practice shorthanded drills, in which offensive players outnumber defensive players, to increase the number of shots on goal and the degree of difficulty for the goalie.