Minnesota Hockey Journal

M H J O N L I N E . C O M | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 14 by Shane Frederick Raise the Bar Tips Carroll is also the goalie coach-in-chief for USA Hockey's Minnesota District and is founder and director of Minnesota Hockey 's CCM High Performance Dave Peterson Goalie Camp. Growing the goalie game means providing close atten- tion to the position from the time kids first give it a try. And that means attention from every coach and every youth hockey association at every practice—not just during special goaltending sessions or separate camps. "A lot of kids don't have the opportunity to work with a professional goalie coach," Carroll said. Here, Carroll, who backstopped Mankato State (as it was then called) to a Division II national champion- ship in 1980, has a few key goaltending tips that should benefit youth players—and their coaches: GREAT GOALIES = GREAT SK ATERS Sometimes you'll hear hockey players divided into two groups: Skaters and goaltenders. But goalies are on skates, too. In fact, Carroll said, " You need to be a great skater to be a great goalie." Developing strong skaters is critical to the position. A nd not just condi- tioning; technique, too. "Skating skills are what get you in position to make saves," Carroll said. "When you play goalie, you're play- ing in small spaces, so you need to be efficient. If you're pushing off the wrong leg, you're not going to get there as quickly as you should." If you're right-side dominant, work on strengthening your left side and vice versa, so that you're not favor- ing one side over the others. Carroll encourages youth coaches to pay as much attention to their goalies' skating skills as they do to their forwards and defensemen. THINK ABOUT THE STANCE Goaltenders must think about the way they're standing on the ice. Carroll said that playing in the proper stance also will make a goalie more efficient in stopping pucks. Carroll said your skates should be "just beyond shoulder width apart" and your blocker and catching glove should be "just off the edge of each leg pad to maximize the amount of space you cover." STE VE CARROLL WANTS TO "GROW THE GOALIE GAME." It's a play on the "grow the game" notion that so many around hockey advocate and, perhaps, a way to remind those folks, and others, that goaltending is indeed a vital piece of that puzzle. "There's a national shortage of goal- tenders," said Carroll, who has been running his Carroll Goalie School for 28 years and is beginning his 21st season as the goaltending coach for Division III women's hockey power Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where his brother, Mike, is the head coach. Photos / Derek Ricke Steve Carroll on Goalie Growth and Development "We're trying to get coaches to rethink how to play their goalie during games…No one signs up to be a backup goalie when they register for hockey." Keep your eye on the puck before, during, and after the save.

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