Ice Hockey Systems Question:
If you could give one piece of advice to every single youth hockey coach out there, about coaching goalies, what would it be?
Justin Goldman Answer:
“I’d have to say, honestly, developing a relationship with the athletes that you are working with. Take a little bit of time to get to know your goalies. It’s always huge when they have a shoulder to lean on, or someone that they can talk to about stuff that might not even have to do with hockey.
Goalies live so much in their mind and they are a little bit of a man or a women on an island. So, when they are in the crease and in the game, and got all these crazy thoughts going though their heads, it’s a lot to deal with. It’s a very mental and emotionally draining position.
Anytime that you can take a little bit of time to get to know your goalies off of the ice, joke with them a little bit, alleviate some of that pressure that they may be feeling internally to stop every puck, it can go a really long way. It can help them relax, it can help them perform better, and they are going to want to work harder for you as a coach.
That’s probably my biggest piece of advice, get to know your goalies a little bit away from hockey and develop that relationship and that friendship first.
You gotta remember these are human beings, they are not machines. If you can’t develop that friendship away from the X’s and O’s, its hard for the goalie, they feel shut off a little bit.
They can’t always got to their parents, their parents don’t understand. They can’t always go to their teammates, they don’t want to look weak in front of their teammate.
But if they can resonate with their coach and connect on a personal level, it helps a goalie so much because there is so much anxiety with the position.