Repetition reminds the muscles of the patterns they use playing the game.
Every day at the beginning of practice it is very important for the goalie to have her own specific warm-up. She needs the standard loosening exercises with the rest of the team, but when the team transitions to their line drills, the goalies should have their own specific drills. This is an idea for preparing the goalies for practice and games.
Lunges: for hip flexors – 3 sets of 10 for each side. At least three times a week
Squat saves: for quads – 3 sets with 15 balls
Targeted top shots – 15 shots per upper corner
Rotated top shots – 20 shots rotating between upper corners
Random top shots – 20 random shots to upper corners
Targeted weak side – 15 shots at weak side between hips and toes
Rotated weak side – 20 shots rotating between upper corner and lower side
Random weak shots – 20 shots, 3/4 speed initially, at weak side
Bounce shots – 20 shots spread across the bottom of the goal.
Open shooting – vary speed and location of shots
Up tight and personal – 20 fakes/shots
Clears – 20 clears to differing distances.
Coaches:
Goalies need to stretch their flexors and build up their quad strength so that they can flex down and up as needed to make their saves. These need to be done at a comfortable speed, not a fast pace (to get them done).
Shots should start from a line with the center hash, but can migrate anywhere between the adjacent hashes. Challenge the goalie with the speed of the shots, but remember that we are training their reactions. They need to succeed in practice to get better for the games.
Targeted shots are meant to strengthen the repetitive muscle actions needed to reach each point in the goal. Sort of a warm-up for their muscle reaction. They should be done at a speed where the goalie is challenged, but not missing many saves. These are meant to train their muscles and build their confidence.
Random shots are exercise for the goalie’s mental focus on the ball. The goalie tracks the ball from when the shooter has it in a shooting position to when it hits her stick. Shots should still be at a speed where she can track the shot and make the save.
Side benefit: If you ask your stronger players to warm up the goalie this way, the shooter’s accuracy and confidence will also grow. DO NOT, though, use it just to teach shooting. We must keep to the patterns and goals to strengthen the goalie.
Goalies:
Stay focused on this pattern. With each shot, each flex you will build your comfort in the goal. This is your practice, so if you are uncomfortable with the shots, ask them to slow them until you are again confident.
Stay focused on watching the ball from the moment it comes out of the shooter’s stick to when it hits your pocket. As you focus on the stick, we have some patterns that will help you to understand where the shot might go.
For low shots and bounce shots, remember that you need to bend at the knees, not at the waist, to get down to the save.
Queen City Girls Lacrosse - from the coach's perspective 