HAND/EYE COORDINATION
The bulk of all athletic performances lies here-the coordination of the limbs (arms and legs) with the eye. This is critical to a goalkeeper who must use a four-inch stick paddle or an 11-inch skate blade to stop a three-inch puck traveling up to 80 miles per hour. USA Hockey, and others, have published a lot on dryland training as it relates to hand/eye coordination, Here are a few ideas:
1) Dribbling one or two tennis balls while squat - hopping
2) Playing handball against a wall with one or two tennis balls
3) Dribbling a tennis ball on the paddle of a goal stick |
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Calgary Flames goalie Mikka Kiprusoff reaps the benefits of hand/eye coordination drills. |
Blind reaction drills are another way of increasing hand/eye coordination. Facing a wall eight to ten feet away, have the goalkeeper do a variety of things with a ball which is tossed from different angles over the player’s shoulder and off the wall.
1) Have the goalkeeper clearly catch the ball, alternating hands.
2) Use a rapid fire tossing at the goalkeeper using the palms to deflect the ball off to the sides.
3) With hands behind the goalkeeper’s back, move laterally and stop the ball with the chest or stomach.
4) With hands behind the back, again, the goalkeeper must use only the legs to stop the ball.
5) With goal gloves and stick (wrist weights can be added to increase the challenge), isolate the glove hand, stick hand and stick paddle.
CONDITIONING:
Conditioning should also be approached from two different angles. First, is a base or aerobic conditioning. This would improve overall fitness by building a base to help athlete recover quicker from intense bouts of exercise.
As the season approaches, an emphasis would also be placed on position specific “anaerobic conditioning” where the athlete performs drills that mimic their movements on the ice. This would allow the goaltender to adapt to short, intense bouts of performance while still maintaining the proper level of play required to be successful. Such a proper conditioning program will also help to reduce body fat, making movements quicker and more efficient.
UPPER BODY STRENGTH
Although goaltenders aren’t involved in as much physical contact as member of the team, Upper Body Strength is still important in helping to maintain a strength base throughout a long and physically demanding hockey season. Emphasis should not be put on common weight training movements always using heavier poundages with lower repetitions (6-8), but rather on functional, explosive techniques that help improve goaltender movement using lighter weights with higher repetitions (10-15).
Light weight training can also improve muscle coordination and quickness by continually training the neuromuscular pathways used when performing a goaltending move and also strengthens joints through a great range of motion.
Goalkeepers up to approximately 14 years of age should not be too concerned with strength training, other than the traditional push-ups, squeezing of a tennis ball, etc. At the age of 14, though, goalkeepers should begin to develop a program.
Every young developing athlete is different, so programs will vary. The objective, though, is the same: To strengthen and properly tone the body without adding excessive bulk or eliminating flexibility. Today, unlike 10 years ago, there are a great number of “clubs” or “gyms” that can provide a custom, supervised well developed program without risk, and with someone there providing the incentive. At home, some strength training exercises involving the stick arm and wrist without the use of anything special are for example:
1) Take a stick at the butt end and do the following:
A) Shoulder height, with locked elbows using the stick hand, hold the goal stick directly in front of you at the butt end.
B) Essentially do the same as above, but hold the stick out to the side.
(*Note: The length of time and the number of repetitions should be determined by each participant.)
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
This concept is nothing more than taking specific skills (poke checking, clearing the puck, paddle saves, etc.) and using off-ice drills as if they were on-ice. Goalkeepers playing street hockey is a fine avenue to skill development. Practicing clearing/shooting the puck in the driveway is great.
SUMMARY
In summary, any sport must be dissected in order to insure that the training program the athletes perform maximizes their ability to play the game. Strength and Conditioning athletes goes far beyond lifting weights and riding a stationary bike or skating numerous laps after practice. There should also be a great deal of emphasis placed on variety.
The reason for this it two fold. First, the more variety of stimulus in the training program the more progression and adaptation occurs. And secondly, and maybe equally important, the more variety, the fresher the approach and subsequently the better chance in motivating even the least enthusiastic athletes to participate. Typically goaltenders have been very poor when it came to conditioning. Such an attitude is not only old fashion, but just plain lazy. There is simply no reason for not trying to improve. Currently, some of the hardest working and best conditioned athletes at the collegiate and/or professional level in the game of hockey are goaltenders. |
