Rick Heinz Blog

In order to excel at hockey, you can’t just expect to show up to practices and play in games. No, if you’re really serious about mastering your craft, you have to put in the work when you’re away from the rink as well. This is especially true with goaltenders, as at the youth level it’s unlikely that there’s a goaltending coach working with them during practices. 

However, all goaltenders should structure their off-ice workouts based on how strenuous they practice and how much playing time they receive during games.

A Typical In-Season Training Schedule

In most cases, Goaltenders shouldn’t work out off-ice on days that they practice or play in a game. So say, for instance, that you practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and play games on Sundays. That leaves Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday for you for training away from the rink. We strongly believe that you should take at least one day off to allow your body to recover. But on other days, light workouts that combine strength training, conditioning and stretching can give you a competitive advantage. 

Keep in mind that practices and games are often subject to change on a week-to-week basis during the season, so your off-ice workout schedule should remain flexible.

Other Helpful Training Activities for Goalies

Goaltenders need to not only be agile, but to have fast reflexes. Here’s a look at some non-hockey activities that can help improve these key goalie traits:

• Ping pong:  In ping pong, you have to react quickly and have good hand-eye coordination – two things that can really help goaltenders in a game situation. 
• Yoga:  Many goaltenders practice yoga to help build core strength, increase their flexibility and help with the mental aspects of their game. 
• Gymnastics:  Like yoga, gymnastics helps improve flexibility and range of motion. 
• Golf:  Golf is arguably just as mental as it is physical, so this can help with the mental part of your goalie game. Just like a golfer must rebound from a bad shot, goalies need to regain composure after letting in bad goals. 

For more information on what you should be doing – both in season and in the off season – to keep your game up,  consider attending a Goalie training camp or browse our hockey school dates.