The masked men of ice hockey, the goalies, represent perhaps one of the most enigmatic and specialized positions of all sports. Immediately recognizable with their helmets and extensive padding, goalies are charged with protecting the team’s net from the puck at all costs by using a variety of save techniques and styles. No team can be complete without a goalie, and a team’s success often hinges on their goalie’s ability to come up with timely stops and saves. To perform as a goalie requires, among other traits, special protective equipment, high focus and concentration, anticipation of shot direction and potential angles, familiarity with the gaps and “holes” where goals may be scored, technique to make “saves” as well as to “freeze” the puck or capture the rebound for the defense, and puck handling skills, especially around the back of the net. Being a goalie can also be the most rewarding and enjoyable aspect of the sport, since the stellar play of a goalie often dictates the outcome of a game, and by extension, an entire season. Goalies can also be team leaders- Roberto Luongo, for instance, is captain of the Vancouver Canucks. Playing the position, it can be said, is best suited for athletes interested in ice hockey and the goaltender’s role in general, able to endure and thrive with the pressure and stress that comes with manning the crease.

To begin preparing for the goalie position, you should first obtain all the necessary goalie equipment, and become very familiar with moving around the ice while wearing the gear. This includes finding or buying the following items:

• Goalie mask - The mask, which may be of several variants depending on the protective cage, is worn over the head, and protects the face. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/equipment/mask.html
• Goalie Glove - The catcher, somewhat similar to a baseball glove, is generally worn on the non-dominant hand, for instance, the left hand of a right-handed player. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/equipment/trapper.html
• Hockey Blocker - The stick, larger and heavier than a regular hockey stick, is held in the dominant hand. The “blade” of the stick is the curved end that is usually on the ice, while the paddle is the thicker part connected to it. The blocker, a unique board-shaped glove over the dominant hand, covers the wrist and forearm. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/equipment/blocker.html
• Goalie Pads - The pads are strapped to and protect the legs, and are instrumental in making saves, since the puck is commonly sliding on the ice. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/equipment/legpads.html
• Hockey Pants
• Goalie Skates - Ordinary hockey skates will suffice for most goalies, as well as regular hockey pants. There are certain regulations and restrictions depending on the league on the size and measurements of goalie equipment; these are issues that should be resolved with your equipment supplier. Refer to a local athletic equipment store, or even better, a store that specializes in hockey gear, for more detailed information and advice in selecting equipment. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/equipment/equipment.html

Once you have all the gear, put it on, and try and find an ice rink to skate around by yourself, to get used to the weight and feel of the equipment. You will want to move around the crease by “shuffling”, that is, lateral skating across the crease one skate after the other. Practice shuffling and keeping your body upright by moving one foot to the right, followed by the other, and then going back to the left again to return to your original position. While skating may not seem nearly as important for goalies as it is for other hockey positions, the amount of short distance skating required to perform is tremendous. Covering those short distances in the smallest possible amount of time, with bursts of strength and agility, is critical to a goalie’s success. Additionally, it is crucial to familiarize your vision with the goalie mask, so that you can still keep an eye on the puck at all times through the mask cage. Practice skating around the area surrounding the net, since you will have to leave the net to retrieve the puck and direct it to your team in certain situations. Get comfortable with the heavy goalie stick as well; if you have a puck, practice handling and maneuvering it with your stick.

In a game, when you have made a successful save, but the opposing team still has forwards hounding your crease, it may be ideal for you to “freeze” the puck instead of giving up the rebound; this involves holding it down with your catcher and maintaining stationary control of the puck for a whole second or more. Practice “freezing” the puck, while bending your knees and protecting the catcher with your body as you hold it down. In a game situation, opposing forwards may be slashing and hacking with their sticks in an effort to knock the puck loose, so effective freezing is a very important skill to have. Freezing is a simple yet important skill that may save your team when your net is swarming with opposing forwards. If you have enough time to direct the puck to your own team, however, you should do so, instead of freezing. You can practice this by maneuvering the puck with your stick and leaving it by your net for your defenseman.

Now that you’ve settled into the gear a little, it’s imperative to learn the most important stance for goalies: the ready position. During a game, the vast majority of the time spent on ice is in the ready position, and no matter what technique you employ to make a save or a stop, you must return to the ready position afterwards as soon as possible to ensure that you are prepared for more shots on goal. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/tips/tips-ready.html Inevitably you will give up rebounds after making a save, and the ready position allows you to recover and get prepared for the next shot should your defenseman fail to gain control of the puck. There are several keys to the ready position, and it may be useful for you to practice in front of a mirror at some point in time, so that you can see for yourself how the position works. Firstly, your knees should always be bent. This is because, with knees bent, you will move faster and react faster should an opposing player fire a quick shot your way. As for your catcher, it should always be open and in front of your body, to maximize the possible area in grabbing the puck. Only when you have caught the puck in your catcher should it be closed. On your other hand, the blocker should be positioned in front of your knees, at roughly the same height as your catcher.

The blade of the stick must be on the ice, at all times, regardless of whether you are on the move or stationary. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/tips/tips-ready.html This is because unless an opponent flips the puck up with a wrist or slap shot, the puck will be sliding towards you on the actual ice surface, and keeping the stick on the ice helps prevent deflections or shots in the gap between your leg pads. However, it should not be touching your toes, since at this angle a shot that hits your stick will ricochet outwards and give the opposing team a rebound that they may convert into a goal. As a goalie you want to control the puck even after you make a save, since this will prevent the other team from scoring on second chance opportunities, and make your job a whole lot easier. To do this, the stick should be angled and positioned in front of your feet, so it does not come in contact with your skates. All the while you should naturally have your head up, so that you can keep track of the puck and anticipate the possible directions it may take en route to you or the net.

A simple rule that goalies must remember is to challenge the opposing player, rather than staying cautiously in the net. By skating out to meet the player with the puck, provided he is well in front of the net, you help take away many of the angles that he or she can use to try and score a goal. As for how far you should skate, the front of the crease, which is the blue marked area right in front of the net, is about the location where you should skate to. Practice challenging by getting a friend to skate towards you with a puck. Go out to meet him or her at the edge of the crease, maintaining your stance in ready position, and then slowly skate backwards into your net again.

Now that you know the nuances of the ready position, you should start thinking about emerging from the position and making saves when challenged. There are two basic styles; stand-up, which is less common, and butterfly, which is far more popular. You may employ either one in different scenarios depending on your preference. For the stand-up style, goalies make saves while in an approximate standing position, instead of lowering themselves and going down to the ice. Practice with a friend who can shoot pucks on your net if possible, or you can even do it yourself, by shadowing save moves. Goalies can stop pucks in stand-up by bending over to use their upper body in blocking the shot, making the save and then controlling the rebound, or else by kicking the puck aside with their skates. Such saves made by kicking are known as kick saves or skate saves. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/tips/tips-skate.html Another way to make saves in the stand-up style is to simply use your stick to stop a puck; this is called a stick save. Though not nearly as prevalent as before, you should still be familiar with the stand-up techniques, such as skate saves and stick saves, since they are still commonly used in hockey today. Practice blocking pucks with your upper body, kicking it out, or using your stick to block it. After successfully making the save, remember to return and “recover” to the ready position each time.

It is important that, from the position where your knees meet, you arrange your legs in a triangle V formation. This is so that you can cover shots and angles from all angles; as well, when you do make the stop, the V shape of your pads will ensure that the puck is deflected to the side of the net, and not the front, which allows for a dangerous rebound. Get a friend to shoot some pucks on your goal, to see for yourself how the butterfly plugs the gaps on the lower side of the net. Of course, you will still need to make save on shots that are flipped up and above your wall. Do so by using your chest, your catcher, your blocker, or your stick. Movement in the butterfly position is also possible by using the “butterfly slide,” or the “backside push.” Raise one of your leg pads up, and lower the other, so that you have half of the wall intact. Push off from the heel of the leg that is up, laterally in the direction that your down leg is pointing. In this way, you will “slide” on the lowered leg in that direction, to help cover the various angles. http://www.kazlaaz.com/goalies/tips/tips-butterfly.html

Be aware that while you are standing in the net in ready position, there are five gaps in your coverage that you are responsible for. Knowing these “holes” is important in being a goalie. Watch videotape of goalies playing in a game, or look at yourself in a mirror, if necessary, to see the holes for yourself. Then use either the techniques of the stand-up style or the butterfly style to plug them up, by getting a friend to aim for a particular hole and then making the appropriate save. The first hole is located on the glove side, high; that is, the open area above your arm and catcher, below the top of the goal, and between the post and your mask. http://thechiefcanuck.wordpress.com/5-hole/ You can stop a puck fired at the first hole by keeping an eye on it through the air and moving your catcher up rapidly to catch it or block it. The second hole is the glove side, low; that is, the open area above the ice, below your arm and the catcher, and between the outside post and your pads. You can stop pucks from going in the second hole by using the butterfly save, which involves stacking the catcher on top of the leg pad and extending the leg to cover the post. http://thechiefcanuck.wordpress.com/5-hole/

The third hole is called the stick side, high; the open area below the top the goal, above the goalie’s arm and blocker, and between the goal post and the body. This is also where the top half of your stick is held, although you won’t be using that most likely to make the save. http://thechiefcanuck.wordpress.com/5-hole/ The fourth hole is the stick side, low; the area bound by the blocker and the arm on top, the ice below, and the outer goal post. The butterfly save protects this hole by covering it with the leg pad, while the blocker is stacked on top, to help block low shots. Normally, in the standing position, the paddle of the stick deflects the puck when it comes to the fourth hole. http://thechiefcanuck.wordpress.com/5-hole/ The last hole, known as the five hole, is located between the leg pads and the skates. When you are in ready position or using stand-up style, you must keep the blade of your stick over this hole at all times. Going down on the ice with the butterfly closes up the five hole quite well.

Being a goalie requires a great deal of experience. No matter how much tape you watch or how many techniques you learn, you’ve just got to get out there and have someone fire a whole slew of pucks your way to really improve and implement all of your moves. But now that you’ve learned all the basic strategies and moves you should be prepared to handle most of the shots that come your way. Get a friend to fire shots at you at every hole, from every direction. Remember to direct all rebounds away from the front of the net whenever possible; deflecting the puck to the side keeps it out of harm’s way and makes it easier for your defenseman to gain control. Once you feel good about your saving abilities, get involved in a scrimmage game, with at least one defenseman and two or so forwards. Practice making saves and directing the rebound away from the front and towards your teammate. The more time you spend making saves, the more confident you will feel, and the more you will simply respond to anything that comes your way. Finally, watch plenty of videos if you can of great goaltenders like Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, who holds the all-time shut out record. You can learn a great deal by watching legends like Brodeur cover the goal and save shot after shot.