Movement and Agility
A goaltender should be an excellent skater, no question about it. Take powerskating lessons without your goalie equipment on at first. Use your goalie skates of course. Get to know your edges and the mechanics behind your stride. Learn how to make powerful C-cuts, T-push, Shuffle and how to stop properly. Then when you get the hang of it, try the same moves in your gear. It will be difficult at first, but you should be able to apply the skating techniques you learned in power skating to moving in all your gear.
Key Points:
-use shuffle for fine adjustments when play is in close. This keeps you compact and square to the play
-use T-push for speed to keep up with cross crease plays
-C-cuts for forward and backward movement
-remain in stance with stick blade flat on ice in front of skates as much as possible
-bent knees (flexion) will improve power in stride
-keep edges flat so that weight is distributed evenly to improve lateral movement
Skate Blade Edges- Use both of them:
Goalie skates have extra thick, long, flat blades. And, like forward skates, two edges. The use of edges is often overlooked when learning to play goal. To move forward and backwards, shuffle side to side or even get up, requires the use of both your inside and outside edges.
When working on your stance, notice what edges you are putting your weight on. Too much weight on your inside edges can lock you into position, making any movement other then going down difficult. Try to distribute your weight as evenly as possible on both edges.
Balance and Agility:
Goalies not only have to be good skaters but they have to be able to bend and twist in all directions, with split second timing. A fast pass, or a nice last second fake by a forward or even a deflection, can cause major recovery problems if the goalie doesn't have balance control. To make things even more difficult, goalies have heavy, cumbersome pads on them. Whether you use the butterfly, two pad slide, skate save or whatever save the situation requires , learning how to adapt to the changing environment around you in a fast, controlled manner is essential.
Key Points:
-keep weight over wide part of feet on both edges so you are not locked into any one direction
-low crouch keeps a lower center of gravity for improved stability
-bend at knees as if attempting to sit in a chair. Bending at the waist too much throws your CofG out in front of your. Standing too far upright limits your core strength and reach.