News

Many goalies use routines during stoppages to keep their mind free from negative thoughts. Braden Holtby likes to stare at water spraying from his bottle. Whatever works, right?

By Jeff Hall
Stauber’s Goalcrease Coaching Director
 

Have you ever watched a goalie struggle and wonder what the heck they’re thinking? You may see a normally dominant goaltender give up a few soft goals and say, “He’s been so good lately. What got into his head today?”

Good question. It could be a number of things. High-level goaltending performance requires a very specific mindset that comes from a narrow focus, emotional control and positive thinking. How hard it is to control your emotions during the ups and downs of a game. How easily a small drop of negativity can turn into a flood.

New York Rangers great Mike Richter once said, “You’re really playing against yourself. You have to learn what you can control and what you can’t, and not let what you can’t control affect your confidence.” A goalie’s greatest opponent is their own mind. That is why a great goalie can have a terrible game, and why a bad goalie can play fantastic, or “out of their mind” as they say.

If Richter is right, it’s the things they can’t control that become the kryptonite of their mental super powers. 

What we can’t control/what not to think about when playing goal

• Teammates. Worrying about defensive mistakes or offensive shortcomings can only lead to mounting frustration and excuse making.

• Coaches. They may be harsh, teach improper techniques or even ignore the goalie altogether. Every goalie faces these problems at some point in their career. Learn to deal with them.

• Refs. They have a hard job, too. We teach our goalies to expect that officials will make mistakes. Don’t be surprised if they don’t blow the whistle right away when it’s covered or if they saw it cross the line when it certainly did not.  If you’re not surprised by it, you won’t let it get you down.

• Parents. Kids have a natural and healthy tendency to get emotional when thinking about their parents. These thoughts and emotions don’t help them get ready to stop the next shot. (Parents, you have no idea how often the thought of you might enter your goalie’s mind during a game. You want to keep this to a minimum.)

• Fans. Hostile crowds or sieve chants should not become a distraction. The best goalies keep their focus within the boards, paying little attention to anything else.

• Stats. Your save percentage tells us what happened in the past, not whether or not you’re going to stop the next shot.

• The other team. Whether you’re playing the last-place team or the first-place team, you respect your opponent without being intimidated by them.

• The future. Being too focused on the outcome makes it harder to do what it takes to get there. If you have a shutout going with five minutes to go, for example, you might get too excited about the prospect of the getting that shutout. The next shot might seem much harder than it actually is. You’re just putting extra pressure on yourself.  Stay in the moment.

• THE PAST. Capitalized for emphasis because it’s the hardest one to conquer. Goalies have to learn from their mistakes so they can adapt. Yet they must be resilient and bounce back emotionally after a disappointing event (like a goal against).  It’s impossible to do both at the same time. Dwelling on that goal you just allowed while the ref is about to drop the puck to start play again is only going to make the next save more difficult. Do what it takes to leave the past behind you during the game. Live in the moment. Maybe the next morning is a better time to analyze what went wrong.

What we can control/what goalies should be focused on

• Trying to give the team a chance to win. The trick to remember during games when things get tough is that the team needs you to stop the next shot. Simply focus on helping the team. How much more do they need you after a goal? With this attitude, there’s no time for sulking or feeling sorry for yourself. Instead of going into a downward spiral, you might actually feel more confident about stopping the next shot.

This leads to a positive, team-first attitude and strong effort.

And that’s it. There’s not much there, because to properly get to that place requires a quietness of mind. Less thinking and more reacting. To be in the zone is simply to get lost in the moment. It’s not unlike watching a movie or playing a video game. You get so focused and into it that you didn’t even hear your mom come in the room and tell you to clean your room before supper. 

Movies and video games, however, have no pressure, no real emotion and nobody counting on you to avoid disaster. These external factors tend to have a negative effect on our focus and our confidence. They make us think more, question ourselves and become more self-conscious. Great goaltending comes more from a subconscious place.

When emotions and negativity creep into a goalie’s mind, there is one major antidote to the poison. Instead of thinking, what went wrong? or that was HIS fault, say to yourself, the team needs me to stop the next shot.

As Coaching Director at Stauber’s Goalcrease since 2002, Jeff Hall has led the skill development of thousands of goalies from Mites to Pros, and everything in between. Goalcrease Training and Equipment Center in Edina has a real ice rink and full service goalie staff.