Marshall Starkman
Head Goaltending Instructor - RNHC
Goaltending Coach - Lindsay Muskies |
Goaltending: The Stance
My last tip for goaltenders talked about the importance of
being a good skater. Continuing to lay the foundations for
the position, it is essential to have a good stance
regardless of the style you choose to play.
In today's game, the majority of goaltenders play the
'Butterfly' style, or at least a version of it, dropping
to their knees or going down to take away the low part of
the net. Here are some valuable tips that will improve
your game simply by adjusting your stance:
1) Open your feet up, placing them at least shoulder
width apart. This is not only comfortable, but also forces
you lower in your stance and enables you to get down
quicker.
2) Bend your knees and force your bottom down so
that you are almost in a 'squatting' position. Getting low
and having lots of knee bend is what gives you the power
to explode in and out of your net to cut down angles and
to make an assortment of saves.
3) Push your arms out and away from your body and
slightly to the sides. This helps to cover additional
areas of the net than your body, but also enables you to
cushion shots as you save them or direct them safely to
the corners.
4) Keep your catch glove turned and facing the puck
with your fingers pointed down towards the ice. Since you
need to have your glove facing the puck to catch it, you
might as well start it there to save valuable time.
Keeping your fingers facing down is not only comfortable,
but is also helpful when snapping your glove to the top
corners of the net.
5) Finally, your stick should be in the middle of
your body, pushed out and away from your feet. Angling
your stick towards yourself will help direct pucks to the
corners and over the glass away from danger. This takes a
lot of practice, but is a valuable tool for controlling
rebounds. Be sure to keep your blocker high enough in your
stance (around knee height) so that the angle of your
stick is not so severe such that you deflect pucks into
your chest or the top of your net.
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