I got a great question this week from a lacrosse dad. His son plays goalie was having trouble shifting from X to the pipe as the ball passes goal line extended (GLE.) Instead of standing straight, he was squatting down unintentionally.

Have you ever seen how you transition from X to the pipe? It is a really important step for a goalie, as the shooter is just becoming a scoring threat as they pass GLE.

The best place to start is by filming yourself. When you film your movement, you can literally see what you’re doing instead of what you think they’re doing. This doesn’t have to be fancy, just have a friend, coach, or parent use an iPhone or iPad to capture how you make the transition from looking through the net at X to the right and left pipe.

After identifying how you’re stepping, you should walk through some lacrosse goalie drills to make that important step stronger. Jump into the net and have a coach at X. The coach should simply walk toward GLE on both sides and walk through the proper movement. Talk through what you see as the goalie and they can talk through what they see as the shooter

After doing this for a bit, you can switch to a variation of the shot-turn drill. Here you want to have a shooter stand 2-3 yards above GLE. As the goalie, you want to be facing X. When the shooter yells “SHOT”, step and turn from facing X right to the pipe. The step will be a simple pivot.

While he is stepping, the shooter releases a shot. The point is to make the foot movement instinctual. Keep the shots light at first while your son figures out his foot positioning and sealing the side of the pipe with his body.

Lacrosse coaches at all levels have a duty to make sure that the goalies are receiving the coaching and drilling they need to succeed. It doesn’t require a former All-American goalie to coach a future All-American goalie. All it takes is a commitment to learn the fundamentals of the position, a desire to find lacrosse goalie drills that build responsive muscle memory, and a commitment to give them time to develop.

To help coaches, players, and goalies themselves improve, we have put together a list of 10 awesome lacrosse goalie drill videos. This list covers several simple ball drills to build hand quickness and eye tracking, it also covers more complex drills that require multiple shooters. On of the biggest keys to success for a goalie is repetition. It will take thousands of shots for goalies to learn their proper movements and responses. Coaches, give your goalies this time and make speciality goalie drills a priority in your practice plan.

Face Away

Drew Adams shares an off-season drill focused on keeping the ball out of the net, reaction speed, and building an athletic goalie.

Irish Quard

Notre Dame coaching staff shares a drill they run with their goalies. The goal is to teach the keepers to hug the pipe as shooters dodge from X and take one on one shots.

Dot Drill

Lax goalie great Brian Dougherty shares the drill he does the most, the dot drill. This drill focuses on top hand, feet, and eyes.

Lead Hand Drill

Friar lacrosse breaks down a solid fundamental drill.

Goalie Pipe Drill

Notre Dame coaches break down their goalie pipe drill which helps goalie stay square to the shooter and maintain their balance between the pipes.

Improve Goalie Balance

Balance is key when reacting to a deflected shot and getting back into the ready position for another shot. This drill will help you build that ability.

“3 in 1″ Goalie Drill

Notre Dame coaching staff share their off season drill that builds quickness and hand speed.

Focus

Here is another good drill from Brian Dougherty helps train your eyes to pick up on the ball.

Notre Dame Agility Drills

Notre Dame Head Coach, Kevin Corrigan, take you through some agility drills he does with his team to improve their athleticism in the off season.

Preparing for the Shot

Drew Adams breaks down what he does to prepare for the shot.

Drilling is part of the position for both young lax goalies and experienced ones. You’re never “there,” there is always work you can do to improve your game. Keep hitting the field and making yourself better! If you have a favorite drill that I have missed, tell everyone about it in a comment or leave it on the Mind the Crease Facebook page.

Please welcome Pat Groschan to the MTC blog community. Pat is entering his junior year at Eastern University where he starts in goal for the Eagles. 

Making a one on one save is every goalie’s dream. All the cards are stacked against you, and you still come out on top. It is one of the greatest feelings in the world, but it can be a challenge to make this dream a reality.

Surprisingly, making a one on one save is a lot like making other saves. Check out these five tips and learn how to slam the door in the face of attackmen on the crease.

Stick to ordinary stance

When a shooter is bearing down on you, think like you would always think. Stay in your stance with your eyes locked on the ball. If you break ranks and lunge at the shooter too early, he will simply shoot around you. The idea of laying a big hit can be tempting, but it is better to play the odds and stay home.

Let them make the first move

The shooter is coming at you. You’re standing in your stance with you eyes locked on the ball. The next thing to do is wait.

Simply waiting messes with the shooters head. They are trained to look for open net. By staying up, you cover that up. The time the shooter spends thinking about where to place the shot may be just enough to allow your defenders to recover.

Stay big between the pipes

Just like any other shot, it is better to take up as much goal as you can. Avoid making yourself smaller by crouching or ducking. Just stay big and in your proper goalie position. Be in position to save the high shot first.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: field players love to look fancy and ping top corners. What they don’t realize is that it is easier for a goalie to save high shots inside, we already have our stick up so all we have to do is then move to the ball. If they shot low we would have to completely move our whole body as well as our hands, which takes longer.

Don’t assume anything

I know its tough, but don’t guess where you think the player might put the ball. If you do guess, you will start thinking way to much about where they may put the ball. It is better to watch the ball and then reacting to the shot.  Don’t assume anything!

Keep calm and carry on

Simply watch the ball, make the save ,and make the offensive player look silly because you just stuffed him on the crease. After you make the save, you will probably be jacked up and pumped. It’s important to take a millisecond and calm yourself down. Make a good outlet pass to give your team a chance to get to the other end and score.

Your turn- where do you struggle facing shots? Outside? Inside? Let me know in a comment!

 

Just the other day I was talking with my uncle about my cousin who is a beginning goalie. He was sharing just how difficult low shots are for her to save.

It is a problem area for many goalies, especially beginners.

First off, just like any other shot. Your stance and where you position yourself in the goal are some of the biggest keys to increasing your save percentage.

Many times you can help yourself to get low shots simply by moving your entire stance forward by a half step.  In other words, set up like you normally do in the cage then move directly forward (towards the crown of the crease) a half step.

Then just play from here, keeping your same arc that you always use.  Keep in mind that just because you moved your stance forward it is still important to step into the ball with both feet when a shot comes.

Another key is to keep your eyes completely focused on the ball at all times.  We call this being “honed in.”

It is easy to get lulled to sleep when the ball is being worked around, or when it is behind the cage. You want to maintain a strict focus on that little white sphere any time it is in your end.

Even when it is in an opponent’s stick getting cradled you should be staring at it. Then watch it fly through the air as it is passed around.  Try to see if it has a patch of dirt on it, or if Warrior makes it or Maverick does. That is the kind of focus you need to have on it.

When it comes time for them to shoot and you are this focused on the ball it will give you a split second advantage and help you move low if that is where the shot is heading.

The Mechanics

When you see a shot is coming low (and always SEE it’s coming, never guess or assume that it is coming low) begin to step in the direction of the shot.  If it is coming between your legs just step forward, if it is coming low and to the right step out and to the right, vice versa for left.

As you step begin to turn your hands so that your stick head is upside down, and then move it to the ground where the ball is coming.  You want to emphasize getting the head of your stick all the way to the ground.  Really jam that head into the dirt. The movement of stepping forward and turning the stick upside down should be done at the same time and in the same motion.

Be sure to keep your body square at all times.  Every save you make on a low shot should end with your stick head on the ground between your legs, you never want to have the stick to the left or right of you or outside of your feet.

Stepping to the direction of the ball should mean that this never has to happen.  Your top hand should be slightly further extended than your bottom hand, meaning that the stick will be at about a 60-70 degree angle from the ground, as opposed to 90 degrees.

As you step to the ball you want to bend more with your knees than with your back.  Don’t just bend your back straight down, because then you will not be able to see rebounds. On top of that, you will be out of position.

Practice Makes Perfect

A great way to practice low shaves is to mimic the motion you should make over and over again without even taking a shot.  This is part of our walking the line drill.

Doing this will help you develop muscle memory so that your body is used to the motion by the time the game rolls around.  Simply get your pads on and take your stance, then pretend there is a shot coming bottom right and make the appropriate movement.

Stand up and do the same for the other side or the middle.  Keep going, walking forward and making the hypothetical saves.

After awhile step into the goal and have your shooter shoot low on you, you will be surprised how natural it feels now.

Low shots are tough to save, but by sticking to basic principles and not freaking out about them they become much more manageable. Remember that a renewed focus on the ball will provide you with more time to react.  Always attack and move into the ball, make your feet and arm movements as efficient as possible.