Shot Redirection vs Stop

Many coaches tell us the goalie’s job is to STOP the shot. I feel this is incorrect. A goalie’s job is to neutralize the energy of the ball with their stick. If you just think of stopping the ball, you will always wonder why the ball gets out of your pocket. The ball pops because it hits a barrier and has to go somewhere.

If you think of redirecting the energy of the ball, then the ball will stay in the soft mesh within the pocket. Having said that, there are always sticks that have pockets that are deep enough so that you can stop any shot. Still, if you go in thinking of redirecting the energy of the shot into your pocket, you will have fewer balls get out of your pocket. The ball will be moving along the mesh and not into the air. You will have it already set to move to make a pass.

• Focus on the BALL at all costs! Forget the shooter’s eyes. Watch the shooter’s hands, the shaft and the ball. Wait for the shooter to tell you where she is shooting as she releases the ball. You will learn from the ball and from the direction of the release from her stick. Focus on the ball. The shooter may attempt a fake, so you must concentrate on watching the ball.
• Watch the ball with your stick in your view. Your stick should always be held so one edge of the head is always alongside the front of your helmet (not in the middle of the helmet and not over by your shoulder outside your view). Watch the ball all the way into your stick. This should be relatively easy if you have the stick in your field of view.
  • If the head is not in your view, then you are adding time for you to get your stick to where you need it for the save. Micro-seconds cost goals.
• Once it is released, take a small to medium size step toward the ball. DO NOT extend your arms at the ball. You are just closing the gap. Any shot deserves a stride out from the goal to set yourself in position. If you do not retain this energy, you may find yourself leaning the wrong direction when the shot is made.
  • When you step out, the distance is dependent on the distance of the shooter to the goal. Most shots from distance will require a small step out to set your position. When shooters are tight around the crease, you will need to make a longer stride to cut down their angle and then move apace with the shooter.
  • Stepping out to a shot should use the same foot as the side where you are making the save, quickly followed by the off foot, so as to retain balance. Thus, if the shot is going lower left, you will stride out with your left foot and quickly bring up the right to set yourself.
• Once it hits your pocket, lower your top hand and twist your firm grip on your bottom hand upward to take the stick to the original horizontal position we spoke of earlier. This is the redirection energy we want. Still, you must follow the ball until you have the stick in this neutral position below your chest and you have control.
  (There are goalies who are trained to stab out at the ball as it comes to them. This creates/adds to the energy when colliding and can result in the ball being propelled in another direction, OUT of the soft mesh of the pocket. Not my choice)

• The goalie should always keep the stick head tilted back whenever possible. Your job is to redirect the energy of the ball and make it calm. If the stick is leaning straight up or forward, the ball may hit the plastic, which will add energy to the ball and bounce out of the stick. If the stick is leaning back, the ball is caught in the mesh, which, along with twisting the stick up with the bottom hand, will put it in a neutral position and be ready for the clear.
• Off side high shots should have the upper hand use a sweeping motion with the stick as wipers would sweep across a windshield. Feel as though you are catching the ball at your shoulder and not in front of your body. The bottom hand can push out a little so as to keep the head tilted back. DO NOT cross your body with the bottom hand, as it will change the face of your stick toward the ball. The upper hand should not push the head out at the ball. You need to catch the ball in the fat of the mesh and not have it hit the bottom plastic.  Once the stop is made, the bottom hand will twist outward and upward behind the goalie while the upper hand stays still, so the ball is kept calm in the stick. Your chest will naturally rotate toward that side, so that the bottom hand can complete its work. If the upper hand drags the ball back over to the strong side, this will give the ball energy and it may actually be released from the stick and into the field of play.
• Stick side hip shots should focus on the bottom hand keeping the stick parallel to the ground. If the hand elevates higher, the goalie can lose the rebound by having the ball bounce or roll out of the stick. When the ball is in the mesh, the bottom hand twists and top hand lifts to take the stick to horizontal.
• Off side hip shots require the goalie to throw the top hand into the target area. At the same time the bottom hand pushes up and forward so the stick will remain perpendicular to the ground. Your chest will necessarily rotate toward that side. This retains the maximum surface area the goalie needs for the save. Once the ball is in the mesh, the bottom hand pushes down to level off the stick. (The top hand should not be used to pull it up because it will generate increased energy on the ball and it may escape the stick and roll out of the crease.) If you make the save and the ball falls to the ground because you are too vertical, you have still made the save and still control it.
  • Often, when just starting training for shots on this side, coach the player to just make the save and watch the ball roll out onto the field at their feet. If the ball rolls forward, it is because they are using the upper hand to pull it up and it is giving unwanted energy to the ball. We like to see it fall and lie still near the bottom of the stick.
• Bounce shots: to stop these, you want to “kill” the ball in front of you and then clamp it. You do this by lowering your body in a squat, pushing your bottom hand out front and rotating your top hand between your knees (or in the target area). The top of the head should be near your toes. The stick will tilt toward the shooter, creating one side of a tent.
  • You do not want to extend your top hand in front of your body because: 1) you are reducing the area of the stick that you need to make the save, and 2) if you make the save, the ball can hit the plastic and bounce out of the crease.
  • You do not want to let your bottom hand stay by your side because: 1) you are reducing the area of the stick that you need to make the save, and 2) your stick will be jammed in a position where you cannot follow the ball if it takes an odd bounce.

By squatting behind your arms and the stick, you are also setting up a second line of defense to the ball. If you should not kill it with your stick, you have your chest and your legs as a second line of defense.

• IF YOU HAVE IT ON THE GROUND, CLAMP IT! Don’t let it roll out.
• Bounce shots require even more concentration. Balls coming off grass can take a deflection on uneven ground. So, the goalie needs to focus even harder on tracking and setting the head of the stick in a position to “kill” the ball in the “tent.” Turf shots are true and you need to concentrate on how high they bounce while warming up. Work to get the head of the stick quickly on the target line and lower your body by your knees (squatting). Your hands should not need to extend far from your body, as you are getting low to the ground. If you are down and the ball makes a change, having your arms not extended will give you the ability to adjust quickly. If your arms are extended already, then you will need to use more muscles in your arms and back to make the change for the save, adding micro seconds to your respose time.
• The perfect position for taking a bounce shot should have the goalie in a crouch (not bending at the waist). The head of your stick is on or around a line between your toes. Your bottom hand should be pushed out toward the attacker and your top hand should be relaxed between. Your tent. What you will find is that your top hand elbow should not move in your transition between your ready position and your kill position. The distance to the ground is covered by your crouch. If you do notice your top hand elbow is moving, it is probably pushing the bottom of the stick away from the line between the toes. This will, again, give the ball an opportunity to roll out of your control.

This is a start. More to come.

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