Ice Hockey Goalie Drills

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3 Keys To Goaltending Success

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1. Angle

2. Square

3. Depth

 

   In that order 

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Skating Skills

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Shuffles

T-Pushes

Butterfly Recoveries

Bufferfly Slides

Lateral Adjust

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Practice these skating skills before and after team practices or anytime you are on the ice.  They are the fundamentals of playing goalie and repetition is key to mastering skating skills.

 

Being able to do these movements REPETITIVELY with the PROPER TECHNIQUE is necessary to be a successful ice hockey goalie. 

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These movements are great for warming up, and keep in mind goalies at all levels practice these skills weekly! 

 

When I played for Penn State University Jones, Funkey and I would do skating drills that incorporated these movements multiple times a week.

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Here is a great video on proper technique and drills!

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Puck Tracking 

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ALWAYS follow your rebound in practice and games!

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Watch the puck the whole way into your body

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Butterfly

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Drop straight down. Don't launch your body at the puck.

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Drop both knees to the ice.  Going down and leaving one knee off the ice opens up holes and rotates your upper body.

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Keep your upper body upright. Don't lean back, don't lean forward, and don't drop your butt.

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Ice Hockey Player Drills

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Skating

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Skating is everyone's least favorite skill, but it is the most important skill. When practicing skating the main focus should be trusting your edges.

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Lean hard and put a lot of pressure on the inside edge and outside edge.

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The outside edge is the hardest edge to learn and is the most important to learn.

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Before practice, do semi-circles up and down the ice using 1 foot, switching from your inside and outside edge. 

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Stickhandling 

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The best way to improve your stickhandling is to get a puck on your stick. Stickhandle with the puck in front of you, then move the puck to the left side of your body, and then to the right side of your body. 

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Stickhandling at different angles will help you pick up bad passes and loose pucks that aren't right on your tape.

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Once you get a good feel for the puck stick handle with your head up. DO NOT look at the puck.

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When you are at home, get a ball and stickhandle while watching TV. You want to be comfortable with a ball or puck on your stick at all times. 

 

The more you practice the more comfortable you will feel.

 

Passing
 

Get a teammate, parent, or friend and pass the puck back and forth. 

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Make the passes hard and flat on the ice. Use your forehand to start. Then move to backhand passes. 

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The next progression is catching passes with your skates. Keep passing the puck back and forth, but only catch the passes with your skate.

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Make sure to deflect / kick the puck to your stick.

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Use both feet and use both the outside of your skate and the inside of your skate.

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Shooting 

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Everyone's favorite! Explaining shooting is much easier with a video so I will not say a lot here.

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First practicing the CORRECT TECHNIQUE makes for a perfect shot. 

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Here is a good video to get you started on using the correct technique.

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