Between the Pipes Newsletter
Question of the Month
Am I willing to look foolish today so I can learn something that will make me better tomorrow?
Three Tips for Finding the Right Goalie Camp this Summer
- Player to Coach Ratio- Will you be getting the individual attention necessary to improve?
- What will you learn from the camp? - Do your homework and find out the main coaching points of the camp.
- Cost Benefit - Does the price match the benefit of attending? Are you paying money for something that can be done on your own or with friends?
What can I do on my own to be a better goalie?
Learn how to be a shooter
One underrated aspect of playing the goalie position is stick work. Having poor stick skills makes playing the position that much harder. An easy fix to that problem, is learn how to be a scorer. This will serve two key purposes;
1) Your stickwork will improve tremendously, making handling the stick in the goal easier
2) If you know what to do to score on a goalie, it'll make staying patient and finding the ball in the goal that much easier
Russell Wilson: Staying Focused Under Pressure
― It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life
See the Ball /Save the Ball
The mechanics can never be and don't have to be perfect, the most important part of playing goalie is; If you SEE the ball, you will SAVE IT!
Unreal concentration by St. Paul's Max Watkinson. You'll notice, despite falling, he's able to track the shot and make the save!
Check out the clip on Instagram here
Star of the Month
Mike Adler Duke University
Checkout Mike Adler's 20 save performance against powerhouse UVA in a big ACC matchup at the beginning of April.
How do you mentally prepare for games/focus in-game?
Jack Kelly Brown University '16
"This has drastically changed throughout my career from HS to the pros. When I was in high school, I never really thought about mental preparation. I went out and played with the mentality of I am the best player out here go prove it. When I got to college the game changed in a lot of ways (schemes, pace, better players/shooters) so I found myself struggling to make the adjustment my freshman year because I was consumed with trying to focus on everything as well as trying to stop the ball. I would lose confidence and I started to realize how important mental toughness is for goalies. I started to do small things. I would try to relax as much as possible before games, things like reading, softer music, and visualization. Really trying to picture myself in every situation possible."
Danny Fowler Duke University '18
"So the biggest thing I have done that's helped me improve my focus over the past few years is beginning to meditate. I can definitely talk to you more in depth over the phone on this topic if you'd like, but using the app headspace is how I would recommend for any goalie to get started. It helps you focus but it also helps you to whether the highs and lows of not only games but just everyday life as well."
Mickey Jarboe Naval Academy '99
"I would try to go through a game in my head, either the night before, morning of, sometimes both. Start with the first faceoff and go through scenarios. For example, first faceoff there is a fast break, FOGO passed to point man on the top right, who shoots right away to my stickside low. I then make a PERFECT step and move to the ball. Catch it, and fire it up field to the breaking middie. Basically, go through game scenarios and everything I do is perfect. Focusing in games...I always felt that the better I was talking to my defense, loud, accurate and precise, the more focused I was on everything around me, and that made me focus that much more on the ball. I think this is different for everyone, but the more I talked to my D, the better focused I was. "
