Yoga – A goaltender's secret weapon, at any age

Former Bruins star Tim Thomas revived his career with yoga.

Hi gang,

When I was young, I was lucky enough to have a fair amount of natural flexibility. But I still worked at it. I remember doing stretches in the living room of my house in college, and my roommates marveling how I could wrap my hands under the bottom of my feet, and touch my nose to my knees.

As I got older, and work and parenthood squeezed my day, I was less vigilant about my stretching routine. In my 40s and 50s, my once pliable body became stiff as a proverbial board. The solution? Yoga.

Here's my chat with my yoga muse, Kim Johnson. Let me know hat you think ...

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Yoga – A goaltender's secret weapon

Goalies are a defensive bunch. It seems whenever the "powers that be" decide that the game needs more scoring, everyone looks at the size of the goalies, and the size of their equipment. It's far less often that you hear folks talking about how today's goaltenders are better athletes, better coached, employing better techniques.

But what those same people often don't realize is that the techniques we teach these days, while incredibly effective, can wreak havoc on a goalie's body. It's no surprise that we're seeing more lower body injuries, especially the hips. Those in the goalie business have even designed specific exercise programs, which we employ at Stop It Goaltending, to help counter-balance those forces.

And yet, one of the best methods of avoiding butterfly-induced injuries is actually ancient, and much, much older than the game itself. Namely, yoga.

Just this past summer, I sat in as New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider was telling a group of young netminders about a time when he saw elder statesman and fellow Boston College alum Scott Clemmensen on the floor, going through an elaborate stretching routine – including yoga poses – before practice.

"Clemmer, what are you doing?" Schneider recalled asking his teammate. "And he says, 'Don't laugh. It won't be long before you're doing this too.'

"Sure enough, he was right," said the Marblehead, Mass., native with a big smile. "Now that I'm over 30, I'm doing the same stretches. Every day."

Kim Johnson of the Athlete's Yoga in Woburn, Mass., has been working with hockey goalies for more than a decade. They include pros like Schneider, Scott Darling, Mike Condon, Joe Cannata, Clay Witt, as well as a raft of young men and women still in school, from 12 to 22. Goaltending, she says, is "a unique position with unique needs that calls for unique training."

"Today's goalie has to train harder due to stiffer competition, higher standards, college scholarships, etcetera," said Johnson. "In order to gain a competitive advantage, athletes are seeking non-traditional methods of training. These unconventional methods can help avoid boredom, overuse, even fatigue, and yet maintain strength and endurance."

Contrary to the generally accepted notion that goalies are as rubbery as Gumby, Johnson said "surprisingly, many goalies lack 'natural' flexibility, making them more susceptible to injury." That's where yoga can make a difference.

"Flexibility in general helps prevent injury, and unfortunately flexibility is often minimized in relation to the overall strength and conditioning pie," she said. "Coaches often leave it up to the athlete to stretch on their own."

Because of that, a sensible stretching routine is often ignored altogether, or done incorrectly. Neither are good ideas.

"Most stretches are done improperly, or not held long enough," said Johnson. "And they don't breath into the stretch. Also, most athletes do the same stretches over and over again, and the body begins to adapt, and those stretches are no longer effective."

Because correct form is so important in yoga, Johnson recommends that goaltenders of all ages start their regimen under the watchful eye of a trained professional.

"A home practice is great, but proper guidance for the beginner is best," she said. "A qualified yoga instructor can customize a program to meet your specific needs as a goalie.

"Learning the breathing techniques, basic foundations, modifications and alignment are essential to a safe and effective practice," said Johnson. "In addition, so many issues (become apparent) on the mat that don't appear in the gym or in the net. A good instructor will ask questions, pay attention, and notice issues before they lead to injury."

A professional yoga instructor will also keep you on point, making sure you stay with the program.

 "Consistency is the key with a yoga practice, as the benefits are cumulative," said Johnson. "The yoga approach to conditioning is slow and steady in order to build strength and flexibility from the inside out.

"With a consistent practice, the actual resting length of the muscles improves," she said. "Elongated muscles are healthy muscles. Relaxed muscles heal faster. Healing and recovery take place through the breathwork, which relaxes the central nervous system. This is what makes yoga unique. It's a systematic approach that addresses the 'whole' body."

However, yoga is not a "one size fits all" discipline. Johnson stresses that goaltenders of different ages need to take different approaches.

With middle and high school goalies, Johnson said she keeps things simple, focusing on breathwork, simple stretches, body and spatial awareness, coordination, strengthening, core development, managing stress, and basic functional movements.

At the college and pro level, she concentrates of injury prevention, opening the hips and groin as well as developing strength in those areas, functional movement and functional strength, range of motion, balance, core strength, recovery and healing, fluidity of movement, balance, mental toughness, focus, breathing techniques, meditation, visualization, and stress management. Whew!

"Goalies peak later, but that's when the body shows signs of wear and tear," said Johnson. "Yoga keeps the body young and moving with ease and efficiency. A customized yoga program can improve their flexibility and complement their existing strength and conditioning program. Because we focus on flexibility and strength, the goalie gets a well-rounded, comprehensive training program."

Even beer-leaguers can benefit.

"Flexibility and balance wane as we age. Flexibility keeps the joints and muscles healthy, enhancing range of motion," said Johnson. "Balance means enhanced coordination and control over how the body moves. This translates to better form and technique. Skating alone requires proper technique, attention to detail, balance, rhythm and coordination, all of which correlate with yoga."

Regardless of your age, the reality is that goaltending is tough on the body. With sports specification becoming all the rage, there's precious little off-season, and that constant pounding can take a toll.

"Overuse is a big issue due to playing the same sport all year," said Johnson. "Hip issues in young goalies is epidemic. My concern is the future of their bodies. Most goalies careers will end after high school, yet they need their bodies to be healthy for life in order to lead an active lifestyle.

"I emphasize core and gluteal activation, so there is ease of movement, less exertion, less stress on the joints," she said. "Use those big, meaty muscles to keep the hips and groins safe. The core is continually engaged while you practice yoga, so in essence you train the core to fire in games, practices or any workout. It becomes habitual."

Johnson also accentuates the mental aspect of yoga, which incorporates meditation with movement.

"Just as you would train the body, meditation trains the mind," she said. "Every practice ends in Savasana, where you are still, eyes closed, resting on your mat. This is where the magic happens, giving the mind and body a chance to process and generalize what it just learned.

"This calming effect translates to the net so that nothing rattles you. Better poise, control and composure," said Johnson. "Feedback from our goalies indicates that they use the breathing techniques before and during games to calm nerves. I like to teach them 'One breath at a time, one puck at a time.'"

FINIS

Trying new things, from techniques to technology

Apple iPads are an excellent teaching tool for goalies.

Hi gang,

Where in the world did the last four months go? My apologies for not paying proper attention to The Goalie Guru, and keeping my blog up to date. But rather than a long-winded explanation of why I've been off the grid, how about if I just post a recent column?

Let me know what you think!

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Trying new things, from techniques to technology

For the most part, I think of myself as a hands-on, Old School kind of coach. Much of that comes from my own experience, growing up wanting to be a goaltender, but having very little coaching available. I was self-taught, reading and rereading books by Hall of Famers Jacques Plante and New York Ranger coach Emile "The Cat" Francis (a former goaltender himself).

Frankly, I couldn't get enough of those "how to" books. Plante's "On Goaltending," released way back in 1972, even featured a "Question & Answer" chapter with Chicago Blackhawk star Tony Esposito on the newfangled "butterfly" technique (years before Patrick Roy became a household name). This revealed Plante's willingness to think outside the box, and consider styles that were radically different from his own. (Plante was a more traditional "stand-up" goaltender who relied on his flawless angle play, keen anticipation, and well-honed athleticism.)

As a Plante disciple, I adopted his acceptance of different styles, and different approaches, to playing the position. I'm willing to bet that just about every goalie I've worked with, at almost every age, has heard me say: "There are dozens of ways to stop the puck. You've got to find what's right for you."

Another favorite is this: "I'm not asking you to use this technique all the time. I'm just asking you to try it, and see if it's something that works for you."

This is the major reason I'm suspicious of any goalie-coaching program that touts only one way to play. Goalies come in all shapes and sizes, with various skill sets, with all sorts of different strengths and weaknesses. The key is maximizing those strengths, while minimizing thosee weaknesses. And that means finding out what works for each individual.

Take New Jersey Devils all-star netminder Cory Schneider. The Boston College product is one of the best goalies in the NHL. One of Schneider's greatest strengths is his cerebral approach to his position. If you look closely, there are several subtle elements to his game that bear this out.

For example, the "generally accepted" method of playing wide-angle shots (really wide, as in almost down by the goal line) has evolved over the years. Standing upright along the post with the leg pads stacked like pillars gave way to the "load," or "vertical horizontal" (VH for short), where the pad against the post is vertical, but the knee is bent and the inside pad is along the ice, or horizontal. The idea is that the goalie still gets a good seal, but can push off the upright, post-side edge in the puck comes into the slot.

Then a few creative goalies, particularly the Swedes and the Finns, started revolutionizing edge work and began using the post as a platform to push off of, and found they could quicker while on their knees. That led to the development of the "lean," or "reverse VH," to seal the post against wide-angle threats. In many (but not all) coaching circles, it's become go-to move in those situations.

Enter Schneider. The Marblehead, MA, native has adapted his game to his own strengths. As a result, he employs the Reverse VH to the blocker (or stick) side post, but relies on the more traditional VH on the glove side post. It is, he told me, simply what he's more comfortable with. And no one can argue with Schneider's success.

It's also hard to argue with Schneider's reasoning. Being comfortable usually leads to being more efficient, and more effective. But Schneider never would have found that comfort level if he wasn't willing to try new techniques. That's the lesson.

Of course, that also applies to coaching. I haven't always accepted new technology with open arms. Since my own "style" developed through the typical "trial and error" methods, I just prefer working with goalies one-on-one, explaining or demonstrating techniques and then letting my goalies try them out for themselves.

That works most of the time. But not always. Some goalies don't realize they're executing a certain technique – such as keeping their stick blade on the ice, or keeping their gloves in proper position – incorrectly.

This really hit home recently, when I read Lisa Lane Brown's blog post, "The 6 Ugly Mistakes Coaches Make That De-Motivates Their Athletes And How To Avoid Them." Lane Brown, the founder of "Courage to Win" and an expert on developing mental toughness, examined several "mistakes," including being too nice to your athletes, being too negative, and failing to believe in them. But the one that jumped out at me was "trying to 'help' athletes by correcting them." Here's what she wrote:

What do most coaches do when they see an athlete make a mistake? Right! They try to "help" the athlete perform better, usually by correcting them. The problem with this approach is that it rarely works. 

It's true that about 5 to 10 percent of athletes (usually the best ones) will take a verbal correction and implement it immediately. The rest will nod, smile, say "Okay, Coach" and then pretty much go back to exactly what they were doing. Infuriating. This doesn't work for two reasons.


First, you are sending them the message, "You're not doing it right. And if you want the answer on how to do it right, listen to me." This violates the athlete's basic code, which is: "I want to figure it out on my own by FEELING the move."

The second reason this doesn't work is that your athlete actually does not REALLY understand your correction. Let's say you're trying to get a hockey player to skate with his knees more bent, because he'll get more power and speed that way.

"Tom, bend your knees!" you might say.

Perfect suggestion. Only, here's the problem. In Tom's brain, his knees ALREADY ARE bent. In his mind, he's skating perfectly (or he wouldn't be skating that way in the first place. No athlete makes an error on purpose).

See, Tom's BODY doesn't know what it feels like to skate with his knees super-bent.

But he THINKS he does.

Am I saying you can never correct your athletes? Not at all. I'm saying that the vast majority of VERBAL corrections won't work, and there is a better way.

 For goalie coaches, that "better way" is often video. That meant I needed to get over my technophobia, and get more comfortable with an iPad, my iPhone, or other video devices.

At Stop It Goaltending, we use iPads equipped with a simple and cheap ($4.99) app called "Bust A Move," which provides a delayed video and allows us to show our goalies exactly what they're doing right, and what they're doing wrong.

The impact has been tremendous. Some kids (and adults) are simply visual learners. They may not "hear" instructions, but when the "see" themselves, things click. As the old saying goes, sometimes "a picture is worth a 1,000 words."

And the technology has proved that even this old dog can learn new tricks.

FINIS

Back to the basics

Goalies, on your mark, get set ...

Hi gang,

The importance of skating to the position of goaltending was drilled into my head a long, long time ago. Hall of Fame netminder Jacques Plante, in his famous instructional manual, "Goaltending," repeated the time-honored adage that "goalies have to be the best skaters on the ice." And I took particular pride, in high school, in making sure I didn't finish in last place during sprints and suicide drills.

Times have changed in the four decades since I laced up my skates for the Manchester Central Little Green. The skating techniques that goalies need to master today are much, much different than the ones I first learned, and even from those of positional players. Yes, there are still C-cuts, shuffles and T-glides (or drop steps), but there's much more to how a goaltending moves around the crease now.

Yet the emphasis on being a great skater, and becoming proficient in goalie-specific techniques, is more important than ever. Here's a column on the topic, based on my experiences last summer with Stop It Goaltending's summer camps at Merrimack College. Let me know what you think ...

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Back to the basics

Each summer during goalie camp season, I work several sessions that focus strictly on skating and stickhandling. It would be a gross understatement to say that these sessions are typically met with a less-than-enthusiastic response from the campers. After all, they're goaltenders. And goaltenders live for stopping pucks. As our neighbors in Quebec might say, that's a goaltender's "raison d'etre," or reason for being. Making saves is fun. Skating and stickhandling? That's work.

However, it's important work. As a 50-something goalie coach, who has now seen generations of goaltenders come and go, I know just how foundational good skating is. The single most important aspect of good goaltending is getting to the right pace at the right time, in the right position. Do that, and you'll be successful most of the time. But to do that, you've got to be able to skate.

Still, try telling that to a bunch of hyperactive 12-year-olds. I've gotten pretty good with my snake-oil sales pitch, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel like a snake-oil sales pitch. I believe in what I'm selling; I just don't believe that my audience is all that receptive.

Here's a great example. Last month, I had a group of 12-year-old netminders for a 6 p.m. skate session, and a half a sheet to work with. These 10 boys had already been on the ice for two hours earlier in the day, and had done some off-ice training as well. So when I got them, their energy level was still pretty good, but their collective attention span left something to be desired.

Knowing that, I prepared my usual spiel about how even the best goaltenders work on their skating constantly. As in, all the time. I also try to remind my campers that the ability to handle the puck, and pass, is another crucial tool in the goaltending toolbox that far too many netminders, male and female, don't work on enough. And when coaches have two goaltenders who can stop the puck, they'll often go with the one with a more complete toolbox. Blah blah blah. This was going to be a hard sell, and I knew it.

Fortunately for me, I got a last-second assist. There's nothing better having a couple of National Hockey League netminders on hand to drive home the point. On the other half of the ice was Cory Schneider and Scott Darling, pro goaltenders with the New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively. Darling can even call himself a Stanley Cup champion these days, after he provided some quality performances this spring while backing up starter Corey Crawford. Darling was so effective, in fact, that the Blackhawks signed him to a new two-year deal.

So, in short, both Schneider and Darling have that "street cred" that an old coach like myself can only hope for. Since the two got on the ice a few minutes before my group, all I had to do was get my kids to watch them. Schneider and Darling set up a "four-puck drill," with the pucks forming a small square. The idea is to skate from puck to puck, first in a clockwise direction, and then in reverse. It's a simple drill, at first, but gets more complicated as you add more and more elements.

The pair started with drop steps (or T-pushes), and then began to add shuffles, butterfly slides, butterfly pushes, recoveries, and "momentum continuation" maneuvers (recovering to the next puck without stopping, using the back leg). Then they started adding pivots around each puck (clockwise and counterclockwise), and then literally moving pucks to pucks, working their stickhandling. Each movement was crisp and precise, with a corresponding head snap to find the next puck, while maintaining a quiet upper body. Each movement was also accompanied by the clean, distinct sound of their skate edges carving the ice. Ice shavings flew with each stop.

In 10 short minutes of flawless effort, both Schneider and Darling had worked up a good sweat, and came by the bench for a drink. While my young campers looked on, wide-eyed, I asked Darling how often he did skating exercises. "Every time I'm on the ice," he replied. "No shortcuts."

That's all he had to say. My campers were on the ice in a heartbeat, and we had a great workout. We skated almost non-stop for 40 minutes, concentrating strictly on the basics. The same thing happened the next day, and the day after, for the entire week. Each session, these kids worked their tails off, without a single inspirational speech from me.

By the end of the week, these youngsters were better goaltenders, in part because they bought into the value of hard work, and mastering the basics. All because they saw how important those basics are to goaltenders playing at the very top of the game.

FINIS

Bullying has no place on the ice, or in the locker room

Whether between boys or girls, bullying is wrong. Period.

Hey gang,

Heavy topic today. Bully is a very important topic for me, because it's the antithesis of what team sports should be about. Team sports are meant to build character, not tear it down. They should be an example that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, not a vehicle that allows some players to gain some misguided "advantage" over their teammates.

After my sophomore year in high school, my family moved, from New Jersey to New Hampshire. It was there, during my first season with the Central High hockey team, that I saw bullying in all its ugliness. The seniors wanted to "initiate" me. I wasn't going to let that happen, and I got into a few locker-room brawls because I wouldn't back down. To make things worse (for me), I wouldn't let the seniors initiate the freshmen either, because I wouldn't stand by idly while these 15- and 16-year-olds were bullied. That's not what my parents, and former coaches, taught me.

Of course, my actions had repercussions, and that season was pretty miserable, from a team standpoint (though I did make some great friends who weren't among the seniors). However, three decades later, one of those freshman reached out to me, via Facebook, and told me that he never forgot how I stood up for him. Whatever modest success I had as an athlete, none of it compared to getting that note.

The column below prompted a small firestorm among some readers of the New England Hockey Journal, because they recognized the players and schools involved (although I refrained from using the real names of any player or any school). Those people missed the point. This column is about the deleterious effects of bullying, and why it should never be accepted, at any level. Let me know what you think ...And thanks for reading!

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Bullying has no place on the ice, or locker room

After a half century in the game of hockey, I thought I'd see it all (shades of Barry Melrose, who made the same comment after BU's Matt O'Connor handed Providence the tying goal in the 2015 NCAA final). Wrong.

Until now, I had never, ever, seen a mid-game fight between two high school goalies. Girls. On the same team. On the ice. During the break between periods, as the coach was giving instructions. In a lighthearted spring pick-up league. Crazy.

It was so surreal, that other parents and I thought the two girls were just goofing around. My daughter, who was on the same team as the combatants and on the bench right in front of the goalies, thought the same thing. When she realized that it was a genuine brawl, she stepped on the ice to separate the two, but she wasn't as quick as the coach.

That coach, to her credit, was on the girls in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, the mother of one of the goalies started screaming from the stands, and running toward the rink door.

"I've had enough of this," she hollered menacingly, pointing an accusatory finger directly at the girl who was tussling with her daughter.

It was a scene right out of some Fellini movie, unnerving and uncomfortable. Unless you knew the back-story. I did know part of that back-story, and quickly put the pieces together.

Just by chance, I had an opportunity to talk with the same mother before the game. It wasn't planned (at least not on my part). We had seen each other for the better part of the past two years, but never really had any serious conversation. But this afternoon, we found ourselves sitting together on a lobby bench, and we got to gabbing.

Her daughter, Abigail, was a high school freshman at Holy Name Prep (I'm refraining from using real names – people or schools – since I didn't have a chance to fully investigated the story). I say "was," because she transferred out of Holy Name in February, to another private school. The reasons, according to her mom, that precipitated that move were pretty disturbing.

Again, according to her mom, Abigail came to Holy Name the year before as an 8th grader, and was one of four goaltenders on the team. That's a dicey situation right off the bat. Most girls' high school teams are desperate for one goalie. Two is a luxury. Four is a problem, for obvious reasons. There's only one net, and one goalie plays. That meant Holy Name had three goalies in a back-up role.

During Abigail's 8th grade year, Holy Name had a senior goaltender who was the clear-cut starter. A natural order was established.

But, apparently, Abigail's stable mates – two freshman last year – were looking to the future, a future without the senior goaltender. So, according to Abigail's mother, the two targeted her daughter. The hazing started early, and soon became relentless. It ranged from annoying (a missing glove or other piece of equipment) to tampering (removing the edge from her skates) to physical abuse. Beatings. The mom said she regrets not taking pictures of the bruises that dotted her daughter's back and rib cage.

She said she went to school administrators, who told her she needed to talk to the coach (a male). She said she talked to the coach, but he said she needed to talk to school administrators. Talk about going in circles. Mom confided that it was clear that no one wanted to take responsibility. That's a damn same.

There's usually (but not always) two sides to every story. That's Journalism 101. But I've also learned that sometimes the story is simply the story. When a school, and a coach, stonewalls a parent, it typically raises suspicion. But rather than fight a deck that she felt was stacked against her daughter, the mom decided to enroll Abigail at another school. I told her that I hoped things would work out for her daughter, and went into the rink to watch some hockey.

That's when things went completely sideways. Abigail played the first half, and nothing seemed out of place. But, during the intermission between halves (again, this was springtime practice hockey), Abigail and the other goalie on her team started flailing away at each other.

A third goalie whom I happen to know, and who was skating as a forward in the same game, got off the ice at the same time as the goalies, and followed Abigail into the locker room to console her. When that girl came by the stands, I called her over, and asked if the second girl also went to Holy Name. "Yes," she said. "How did you know?"

Of course, I didn't, at least not until an hour before the game. But once I saw the girls taking swings, it made perfect sense. "Just a hunch," I said.

"Yeah, they've got history," said the girl.

And that was it. The first girl walked straight out of the rink, likely for the last time. Abigail and her parents spoke briefly to the rink manager, before also calling it a day. The game went on, and the little pas de deux between netminders was quickly forgotten. But I walked out of the rink that day with two long-time lessons being reinforced.

The first, of course, is you rarely know the entire story. If I hadn't had that chance conversation with Abigail's mother before the game, I would have cast the entire incident in an entirely different light. Even my daughter, who doesn't know either girl and was still puzzled by the whole incident afterward, said she was taken aback when the other goalie leveled Abigail.

All that said, I'm not buying the story Abigail's mom shared completely, not without getting both sides. But I've been around the game long enough to now that when a parent feels that strongly, there's usually some basis to her concerns.

The second, and equally important, is that bullying can never, ever be tolerated. Ever. I don't buy the "boys will be boys" or "girls will be girls" argument. Not anymore. I've seen this up close, and any coach that dismisses parental concerns out of hand probably ought to be dismissed.

Coaching a high school team goes far beyond X's and O's. Coaches need to accept and embrace the responsibility of how each player on their team behaves. The locker room is the coach's locker room. If they fail to police it adequately, they not only fail the boys and/or girls in that locker room, but also the parents who entrust their children to that particular program. That's especially true for men who coach girls' programs, because they don't have the same locker room access. It's imperative that they create a culture where bullying is not tolerated. At all.

I don't know everything that happened at Holy Name Prep, and what exactly led to Abigail feeling like she had no choice but to transfer to a different school. But I've seen far too many coaches fail in their responsibility to make sure that every child knows the locker room is a safe haven. There is no place for hazing, or bullying. None.

FINIS

Overcoming fear is a big part of a goaltender's job

The L.A. Kings Rogie Vachon, putting on a brave face.

Hi gang,

Happy 2014! For me, the New Year was always a good time to re-evaluate my game, to figure out what was working, and more importantly, what needed work. A big part of that review was an honest assessment of whether I was being brave enough. Courage comes more easily to some than others. And it comes in many shapes and sizes. The same can be said for "fear." There is the fear of getting hurt, the fear of playing poorly, the fear of embarrassment. All are very real emotions, and a goalie needs to deal with each one of them. Coming to grips with your fears, and overcoming them, is an essential part of goaltending. It takes work, and good equipment. Here are a few thoughts on the topic, originally written for my column with the New England Hockey Journal.

Overcoming fear is a big part of a goaltender's job

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." -Mark Twain

Of course, the temptation was to begin this column with FDR's famous inauguration quote, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Hockey goaltenders know better. Not only do we have to worry about getting hit with a vulcanized piece of rubber that is only slightly softer than a rock, but we need to deal with all the emotional baggage that comes with being "the last line of defense."

Sure, hockey is "just a game," but try telling that to a kid who pours his (or her) heart and soul into the position, and lives and dies a little bit with every goal that gets scored. You don't have to take my word for it; just ask my colleague, April "The Hockey Mom" Bowling. She has a son, Sam, who has been bitten by the goaltending bug, and the poor guy clearly sacrifices an ounce of flesh every time his team loses.

That's been the burden of goaltenders for as long as hockey players have been able to convince someone to stand between the pipes. It's an exquisite torture, though, and most of us who don the tools of ignorance gladly accept the responsibility. So, putting aside the psychological pitfalls that goaltending presents (that's a topic for another column), lets focus a bit on the potential physical trauma. Pain is a pretty good precursor to fear, and once you've been hit in a delicate or unprotected area with a puck, the memory of that sharp, biting sting is going to stick in your memory banks, no matter how mentally tough you are.

Still, better goaltenders excel because they, as Mark Twain said, can master their fears. Playing goal at a high level takes guts – there's just no way around it. You've got to be willing to put yourself in harm's way because, oftentimes, that's the difference between allowing a goal and making a save. Better goalies have always preferred the temporary pain of a bruise to the lingering disappointment of surrendering a goal.

All that said, I need to acknowledge the gear evolution, which has helped provide young netminders an extra measure of confidence, and even courage. Goaltending has changed a great deal since I strapped on the leather and felt pads in high school in the mid-1970s (no laughing, please). The position has always required hard work if you want to be a really good goaltender, and that fact is as true today as it was back in "my day." There's simply no substitute for busting your tail, on and off the ice.

But the reality is that the training is better, the coaching is better, the technique is better, and the gear is better. And the latter is probably most important of all. While the fancy leg pads and gloves and masks get the most credit, I'll wager that the gear that has made the biggest difference on how the position is played today is the body armor. Specifically, I'm talking primarily about the chest and arm protector, the pants, and to a lesser degree thigh guards and a neck danglers.

These essential, yet vastly under-rated pieces of gear allow goalies to play "big," or "wide," by keeping their arms to the side and soaking up shots like Muhammad Ali used to do with his famous rope-a-dope defense. We even teach goalies "smother" saves as part of our basic goalie curriculum. By rolling their shoulders forward, which pushes the chest protector away from the body, goalies can create an air pocket not unlike the air-bag in your car. When a shot hits this air pocket, it decelerates almost immediately, and the puck often drops into the goalie's lap. To the untrained eye, it looks like the puck simply sticks to the goalie, as if he was a giant sponge. But it takes practice, some courage, and a really good chest and arm protector and a solid pair of goalie pants to relax enough to "give" with the shot.

Again, looking back at my formative years, my chest and arm protectors were actually two pieces, made of quilted cotton, felt, and a few thin squares of foam padding. The pants weren't any different than the ones worn by the rest of the players (which, of course, meant there wasn't much to them). In reality, these pieces provided little more than token protection. I remember coming home at night, after practice, with my arms and torso covered with welts. The next morning, I took care to hide the blue and purple bruises from my mom, afraid she might forbid me from playing.

And that's how I played the game – in constant fear. I used my glove and blocker to protect my body, instead of keeping them at my side. I would move away from high shots, trying to snare them in my trapper or deflect them off my blocker, because that was the safest option. I stayed on my feet as long as possible because dropping too soon left me more susceptible to getting hit in places that weren't adequately covered. My style, really, was based not only on stopping the puck, but also preservation.

Now, we teach goalies to drive into the shot, or to absorb the shot. We want them playing big, which effectively shrinks the net behind them, leaving the shooters fewer options. The body armor allows them to do that. But, that said, it's just as critical that this gear is adequate, and fits properly. This, unfortunately, is where parents can sometimes cut corners.

I understand that not all parents are going to gleefully open the checkbook the first time that little Johnny or Jenny says they want to play goal. But I also see too many parents who "suit up" their goaltending hopefuls with inadequate and/or ill-fitting protective gear, and that's a bad recipe for the youngster.

Here's the quandary that prospective goalie parents face – if you don't invest in good gear, and make sure it fits correctly, the odds of your child getting injured increase exponentially. That has a Domino Effect – if Johnny has a normal pain threshold (without any underlying masochistic tendencies), and he takes a shot to an unprotected area, his enthusiasm for the position is going to disappear fairly quickly. Worse, from a team perspective, a fearful goalie is rarely a capable or reliable goalie. Fear paralyzes. Tight, tense muscles are slow muscles, and slow goalies spend a lot of time pulling pucks out of the net.

The good news is that the converse is also true. When young goalies feel safe, they can concentrate on stopping the puck, instead of worrying about getting hurt. They're more relaxed, and loose muscles a quick muscles. Quick goaltenders tend to be more successful, and that breeds confidence.

That's why I also mentioned thigh guards and neck danglers. These pieces (the thigh guard covers the area just above the knee that is often exposed when a goaltender drops into the butterfly), combined with a good chest and arm protector and goalie pants, plus a good helmet/mask, ensure that your child will be protected. Young goalies still need to ratchet up their courage, and learn to trust the gear. I've never told a goaltender that he (or she) won't get hurt. But by and large, the risk of getting seriously injured have been reduced dramatically. And that's a good thing.

FINIS

Riding the pine ...

One of the, um, joys of coaching youth hockey is dealing with parents who have very, well, different ideas regarding what youth sports are all about. Here's my latest column for the New England Hockey Journal. Let me know what you think ...

RIDING THE PINE …

Aside from team placement, there's probably no thornier topic in youth hockey than playing time. And, like most issues regarding hockey, sports, and life in general, it's typically easy to identify – "My kid's not getting enough ice time!" – but more difficult to address. That's because it can be a very complex issue.

This is especially true for goaltenders, for one reason. There's only one goal to protect, and goalies, traditionally, don't come off the ice. If a youngster is the only goalie on a team, he/she plays the entire game, every game (which isn't always a good thing either, as some shell-shocked 'keepers have discovered). If you have two or three goalies, the situation becomes exponentially more complicated. Here are some thoughts on how to handle it, as a coach and as a parent.

There are "age-appropriate" guidelines for distributing playing time. Assume a team has two goaltenders. For Atoms and Mites, I recommend that each play half the game, alternating starters. Younger goalies can get tired or bored. When their minds start to wander, pucks get behind them. Asking them to only play half the game (with the natural break between periods) gives them a chance to stay mentally fresh.

Things start to change at the Squirt level, and accelerate at Pee Wees. These youngsters are older, stronger, and better prepared to focus from start to finish. That ability to concentrate – keeping your head in the game – is just as important as good technique, but must be developed. Many Pee Wee teams with two goalies continue to have the goalies play half of each game. I'm not a proponent of this approach, especially as kids enter middle school.

Older goalies play the entire game for a number of well-grounded reasons. Foremost, goalies are at their best when they're in a rhythm. That's their comfort zone. Plus, substituting a second goalie halfway through the game puts that child, and the team, at a distinct disadvantage, since they're coming off the bench cold (the worst-case scenario is the second-half goalie gives up a soft goal or two, and suddenly feels the weight of the team on his shoulders).

Again, the only time I vary from this stance is if a team is only playing one game on a weekend; then it's only fair to give both kids a chance to play. Ideally, if you have two goalies, your team will play two games each weekend, and they can each play a full game. The other goalie – and I've found this to be surprisingly controversial – ought to suit up as a backup.

Why? Because at this critical age, young netminders should learn all the responsibilities of the position, not just the fun stuff (i.e. making saves). This speaks to the "team" element of hockey. Taking a turn on the bench is the goaltender's lot. I realize it's another trip for the parents, but as goalies move up the ladder, it becomes more commonplace for one child to play the entire game.

However, the "back-up" goalie is still a vital part of the team. Having two goalies also gives the coach options if the starting goalie gets hurt, or the team is getting pummeled that day, and the starter needs a break. This stuff happens.

Here's another example. In one program I know of, there are three goalies for two Pee Wee teams. When the coach put out a note suggesting that one child play a full game, and another child dress as a backup, he got three distinctly different replies. One family said "Absolutely," adding their son was a part of the team whether he was playing that day or not. Another family didn't respond at all, and haven't made their son available for any back-up duty. The third responded, but disagreed with the coach's thinking.

Essentially, Dad No. 3 said if the kid shows up, he/she should play. He added that watching from the bench in a cold rink wasn't "going to endear the game to an 11-year-old." While I understand the sentiment, Dad No. 3 should rethink his priorities. First, the game doesn't need to "endear" itself to anyone. If watching from the bench discourages a child from playing, then he's in the wrong sport to begin with. Or the wrong position.

Plus, parents should understand that other kids notice the commitment a backup makes by showing up, even if he/she isn't playing. That endears the child to his/her teammates. Further, the back-up goalie can learn a lot about the position by observing from the bench, listening to the coaches, and cheering on teammates.

At the Pee Wee level, kids are transitioning into a different realm of sports, where the better kids play more. There's competition between teams, and within teams. Allowing a child to sit home and not make an effort because they don't expect to play makes a mockery of what sports, and teamwork, are supposed to be about.

Finally, at the Bantam, Middle School, and High School, the rules change again. Now, it can be pretty cutthroat. While sports are always about building character, and teaching life lessons, there's a lot more emphasis on winning. Coaches at this level will put the players on the ice that they feel give their team the best chance to do that.

Sports have now become a meritocracy. I've listened to many parents complain that their child is buried on the bench because the coach is playing favorites, or doesn't like their child. That doesn't pass the giggle test. Ninety percent of the coaches I've met aren't looking to win popularity contests. They want to win games.

Now, what makes things dicey in this day-and-age of high school user fees is this question: "Why am I paying if my kid isn't playing?" Remember, all a user fee does is promise a child the "opportunity" to make the team, to earn a spot in the playing rotation. There are no other guarantees. Period. Sports aren't like band or chorus. There are a finite number of spots on the ice. If you're a goaltender, there's only one. That's a harsh reality. But better goalies rise to the challenge of competing for that spot.

Do coaches screw up sometimes, and neglect to find playing time for the loyal foot soldier (say, when playing a weaker team, or when the score is lopsided)? Sadly, yes. But they're not so much blind to the kids on the bench as they're myopic with regards to the kids on the field. They develop tunnel vision.

So do some parents. The worst thing a parent can do in this instance is enable a child when he/she starts making excuses (or, as often happens in youth hockey these days, find another program). There's much to be said for sticking with a tough situation, and bringing your best effort – your "A" game – every time you suit up. Trust me, those kids always manage to get enough ice time.

FINIS

Hey! You hoser ...

I admit it ... growing up, hockey wasn't my first love. Nope. When sports first piqued my interest -- and I couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 at the time -- I fell for baseball. In a big way. I couldn't get enough of the game, playing every chance I got. And when it rained, or it was late at night, or there weren't any other kids around (a rarity in my northern New Jersey town), I would bury myself in books about the game. Which led my mom to bark one of her most memorable lines (for me, anyway), when I was struggling with math in grade school: "I don't understand how you can remember Carl Yastremski's batting average for the past 10 years, but you can't figure out a simple math problem."

It helped that my Grandpere -- my maternal grandfather, and a native of Quebec -- was a big baseball fan too. He was the primary reason that my brothers and I, growing up in Yankees country, became diehard Red Sox fans. For that alone, I'm forever grateful.

But Grandpere was no mere spectator. He loved playing, and some of my fondest memories of my childhood are going out back, when my grandparents were visiting from New Hampshire, and playing catch with Granpere until I felt like my arm would fall off. And he was no young man at that time. Today, in my 50s, I have a much greater appreciation for how tough some of those patch and catch sessions must have been on him (especially when he played catcher, as I was perfecting my Juan Marichal high leg kick delivery).

A little bit later, maybe 4th grade or so, Grandpere introduced my siblings and I to another grand sport: hockey. About the same time, we started playing soccer too, spurred on by Grandpere's oldest son, my Uncle Art (who was quite a baseball player in his day). Slowly, baseball's special place in my heart got crowded out, as I became enamored with these new sports.

Still, I've always maintained a fondness for the Grand Old Game. Not necessarily the professional version (I was one of the fans who never forgave baseball for the 1994 players' strike that resulted in the World Series being cancelled. I always thought the game was greater than petty squabbling, even if those squabbles involved millions of dollars). Today's Major League game -- even my beloved Sox -- holds little  for me, with overpaid players bouncing from one team to the next, often mailing it in after hitting their big pay day (Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia being one of the shining exceptions). Even the regular-season games last forever, and the World Series games start so late, I'm typically sound asleep by the fourth inning.

But I still love the sport. And that's one of the reasons this hilarious video -- "Clark the Canadian Goalie" -- never gets old for me. In one short, sweet video clip, it captures so much about what I still love, about both sports. "Bo, Dieon, Clark ... He really could be one of the great two-way players!" Too funny ... Check it out.

FINIS

All we have to fear ...

"Fear is the highest fence." ~Dudley Nichols

Or, perhaps, fear is a hockey puck. A rock-hard, vulcanized hockey puck, aimed head high. Once you've been tagged a few times, unless you've got a serious kink in your hard-wiring, you're going to have a healthy fear of the hurt a puck can put on you.

Or maybe fear is a bad goal, an embarrassing goal, and the taunts of opponents and teammates alike, and the criticisms of win-at-all-cost coaches and fans who don't always understand and appreciate the singular pressures a goalies must deal with. The proverbial fear of failure can be crippling.

Hi gang. Sorry I've been away for a while, as my "real work" responsibilities have taken me from my "fun work." But this is an important topic, and one that's been driven home lately as we get into the stretch drive of the season. So let's dive in.

There are many fears that can play on the mind of a hockey goalie, and almost all of them need to be conquered if you want to be any good at playing the position. Because fear can paralyze. Fear can cause you to tighten up, and as the old goaltending adage goes, "Tight muscles are slow muscles." If you can't move, you aren't going to stop many pucks.

But the fact is, if you're puck shy, if you let your fears get the better of you, you're going to get hurt, and you're going to give up a lot of bad goals. I guarantee it. Fear is the single biggest hurdle a young goalie must overcome (though that holds true for goalies of any age).

I understand this hardly qualifies as a news flash. All hockey players have to ratchet up their courage in order to play this game, especially those who fling themselves in front of shots without the extra padding goalies enjoy. It's a tough, tough game, which is one of the reasons we love it.

The fear-factor for a goalie, however, is exponential higher compared to the average player. And this is not just a goalie coach blowing smoke. Don't believe me? Just think of all the mistakes that other players can make that go unnoticed over the course of a game. When a goalie makes a mistake, the puck is usually in the back of the net, and the other team is celebrating. That, my friends, is pressure.

So let's start with the fear of physical pain. It's a dilemma for many young netminders, who were initially drawn to the position by all the really cool gear, only to find that the gear has evolved to help prevent serious injury, but not always the painful garden-variety bumps and bruises that come with the position. Pucks can still hurt. The gear, as good as it is, isn't bombproof.

Just the other night, one of my young goalies (a second-year PeeWee) took a shot right above the thigh board. I could tell right away that it stung. And for good reason. My young netminder was wearing regular hockey pants. "Time to invest in some goalie pants," I told his dad.

Another incident, two weeks ago, a Squirt netminder of mine got tagged in the jaw. The shooter, an older kid, immediately apologized (to his credit). And it was obvious that my young goalie was is pain. The tears welled up, and his face went flush. But he shook off the hurt, and got right back into the drill without missing a rotation. I could not have been more proud, because he knew instinctively that if he gave into the pain, and the fear, then it would start to own him. And he wasn't going to give "fear" that satisfaction.

Further, youngsters need to understand that the gear is design to work best when they're playing the position properly. In other words, they have to stay square to the puck, roll their shoulders, keep their stick on the ice and stay compact. If a goalie lifts up on a shot, or turns away from it, the odds of getting hurt increase dramatically, as they often expose unprotected areas (I'm reminded of one puck-shy goalie who, when I asked if he'd ever been hurt from a shot, admitted he got tagged in the calf when he turned away from the play. "That doesn't count," I told him).

So, if your goalie has the yips, try to be patient. Start by tossing tennis balls, soft pucks, and then regulation pucks at them. Let them get comfortable in their equipment, and let them develop a trust that the gear will protect them 95 percent of the time (golfers can appreciate this ... Even your favorite club will desert you on occasion!). Keep them moving, moving, moving, so they don't get stiff (and susceptible to further injury).

But remember, there's no foolproof plan to avoid getting hurt. Pucks can still sting, especially at the higher levels, or when careless coaches are shooting. You should never sugarcoat that reality. It's part of the position that goalies must accept if they're to excel. If they don't, their career between the pipes will be short-lived.

My next post will deal with the "psychological fears," or performance anxiety. Stay tuned.

Best,
-Brion