"They play like they practice, so they should practice like they play."

As a youth hockey coach, and as with most youth hockey teams, I do not have a dedicated goalie coach for our team. While I personally took the USA Hockey module on goalie basics and took the additional step to get my goalie coach certification from the organization, I have never played in net.

This doesn’t mean I cannot coach goalies, but I don’t have a lot of experience to draw from. We do have goalie coaches through our club that we utilize regularly, however, with all the training and education I did take, while I may not be a textbook goalie coach, I learned one very important thing.

As coaches, we often forget about our goalies. Look at the language we use. We say “5-on-5,” and when we pull a goalie only then do we say “6-on-5.” Got two forwards breaking in against one defenseman? We call that a “2-on-0.” We call our forwards and defense players, or skaters, as if the goalie isn’t a player on the team and isn’t skating as well.

We ignore goalies in our language, but worse, ignore goalies in practice. We too often assume because they are getting shots during drills, they are getting the practice they need. Or we think that setting up a drill in which they get bombarded by shots from all directions does anything for their development, rather than just a chance to injure them with a shot they are not ready for. Another common mistake is that we yell for our goalies to play a puck they covered in a drill, because we want to keep a drill moving. As if the goalie stopping the puck messes up the flow of the drill.

So, after getting my USA Hockey certification, how did we change our practice plans?

Warm-Up

There might be a little debate about the goalie participating in skating drills during practice. At some levels and some practices this is not an issue, but with limited ice time we often choose to have our goalies take warm-up at a practice separate from the others to work on their t-pushes, edges, and other basic skating routines.

Then, we might warm them up with some shots, but these are intentionally designed, not just throwing pucks on net, or making them stop 100 coach breakaways.

In this drill pictured above, we set up a few pucks in the slot, and a few just outside. We then put two pucks on both sides of the crease. These will act as unpredictable rebounds.

The coach takes a shot from one of the three piles of pucks from a distance, and regardless of it going in or not, will then skate as fast as they can to one of the four pucks in front of the net and take a second shot.

This forces the goalie to try and make the first save, and then be prepared for the rebound, which might be unpredictable in different situations.

We sometimes do variations where if the goalie does absorb the shot, we don’t rush in as a reward for not giving up a rebound. We can also place a coach lower down near the net where the initial shot may turn into a pass for a backdoor goal.

But don’t just take the shots and move on. It’s about helping them see how their angle, stance, and decisions put them in great save situations or take them out of them.

Game-Like

We talk a lot about designing drills to be “game-like” for the players, but what about the goalies? The example above about yelling at a goalie to play the puck – I removed that from our drills. The rule we use at practice is that if the drill’s flow is ruined by the goalie doing their job and freezing the puck, we need a new drill.

What do you think happens if you condition a goalie to always play the puck? You get to a game, and you see your goalie play the puck they just froze, even in a dangerous situation. They play like they practice, so they should practice like they play.

So, we design our drills so that if the goalie freezes, we start again. The players have their tasks during the drill, and so does the goalie.

Listen to the Goalie (and their parents)

This one is quick and simple. Ask the goalie (and their parents if necessary) what they need. Be open and willing to allow them to bring in a goalie coach to use some of your ice. We regularly have an AHL goalie coach, who is hired by our goalie’s family, to come out and work with him away from the rest of us.

It’s that simple to give them the extra care they need.

Make it Fun

Lastly, it must be fun. Ask the goalies what their favorite drills are, not just the skaters. The skaters will always pick a shootout. But are shootouts always fun for the goalies?

But, because shootouts are fun for the skaters, and are important to practice from time-to-time, you can create games that make them fun for everyone. So much so, my goalie now asks too much to finish practices with them, to the point I must turn him down.

How we do this is in a few ways. The easiest is points: one point for a save, and the skater gets a point for a goal.

Yet, adding creativity is often the most fun way to incorporate shootouts.

This we do by awarding points for most creative shots, but also the most creative saves. Having our goalies loosen up and not be afraid to be scored on, but instead try and make a save in a way they’ve never thought before, maybe pull a Dominik Hašek and charge the skater.

We also love to encourage the best celebration, and this goes for the goal scorer, but also the goalie. Make a huge save? Show us how you celebrate that.

It’s not difficult to include your goalie in practice, you just need to be intentional about it. Every time I draw up a drill or a practice plan, when I think I am done, I ask what our goalie gets out of it, and if I don’t feel it’s enough, I will modify to ensure they see quality time getting warmed up, game-like situations, and most of all, having fun.