As part of the Hockey at Home Series, Hockey Alberta will publish a weekly video focused on goaltender skills drills that can be done at home.
This week, Team Alberta alumna, University of Calgary Dinos goaltender Dayna Owen shows how to practice recoveries and crease movement. Check back every Saturday for the latest goalie skills video!
Recoveries and Crease Movement
Oftentimes, goaltenders do not get the opportunity to practice good recovery habits in drills during the season. Now is the perfect time to work on good habits that can help get you ready for next season!
Being able to recover and move across the crease efficiently is a key element to having your feet ready and set for the next shot. You can isolate your recovery and agility skills, or you can combine them with tracking exercises to your glove and blocker. In season and during team drills these skills, without deliberate focus and repetitions, can be easily overlooked which will ultimately limit performance. This drill can be done with a puck or a ball, whichever works best for your training. When practicing these skills, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
- Start in an down/butterfly stance – Chest up, weight over your knees, eyes downward, chin in front of knees
- Hands away from the body, blocker and glove are positioned in front of the body. Elbows are bent and hands are ready.
- To rotate to start your recovery, think head, hands, hips;
- Eyes and head turn to look where the goalie is going (new target)
- Hands begin to move together towards the next target (remember: elbows stay against the body)
- Lead leg pulls under the body and squares the hips up to the next target
- Once you have rotated, get up and push with the outside/back leg
- Stop using the lead leg
- Make sure to square up your shoulders to the “shooter” (or ball being thrown)
- Push yourself to set your feet prior to the “shot”
- Make sure to track the puck all the way into your blocker (or glove)
- If you do not catch it, square up to the rebound to practice good habits
- Make sure to do this on both sides (glove and blocker)
- To progress this drill:
- Have the “shooter” move to different positions to simulate shorter/larger pushes across
- Incorporate up/down movements to simulate getting in and out of the butterfly (knee pads encouraged)
- Reaction balls can be bounced off of the ground towards the goaltender
- Obstacles can be placed to simulate a screen (depending on the skill set of the goaltender)
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Change up the footwork patterns (smaller shuffles, bigger T-Push-like cross-crease movements, etc)
Hockey Alberta Goaltender Guide >
For more Hockey at Home videos, go to hockeyalberta.ca/hockey-home
Tosha is the trainer for the Red Deer Junior B Vipers, a position she’s held since 2016, having previously been the volunteer coordinator for the team. She has been a volunteer coach for the Red Deer City Soccer Association since she was 16 years old.
Pete and Crystal Swales are both longtime volunteers in Central Alberta, and currently volunteer with the Red Deer Senior AA Rustlers. Pete has been the team’s trainer since its inception a little over two years ago, with Crystal helping out in various roles during games and practices.
Tom has been coaching hockey in Lethbridge for eight years, at every level from Peewee AA to Midget AAA. He also currently is the Lethbridge Hurricane’s assistant video coach.
Darren is a long-time hockey coach in Edmonton, and also coaches lacrosse and baseball. He’s also volunteered as an assistant coach in lacrosse, and as an player evaluator during hockey evaluations.
Kevin has held numerous volunteer positions in the Grande Prairie area, including coaching minor hockey and minor baseball, and has been a minor hockey board member since 2016.
Janet is a long-time volunteer with Hockey Alberta as the Zone 1 Minor Administration Coordinator and Minor Administration Chair. Her long list of volunteer roles in hockey also includes coaching female hockey with the Grimshaw Minor Hockey Assoications, numerous team manager positions, registrar for Grimshaw MHA, and the manager and registrar for the Grimshaw Huskies Senior Men’s team. She also has been a member of the Arctic Winter Games Mission Staff since 2012.
Lesley holds a number of volunteer roles within her Southern Alberta community, most notably as a founding director of the University of Lethbridge Women’s Hockey Alumni Foundation.
Kayne currently sits on the Sylvan Lake Minor Hockey Association Board of Directors as the Initiation Director, where he started the Learn To Play and Junior Coach programs.
Julie is currently Hockey Alberta’s Minor Female Chair, a position she’s held for four years, and is the Senior Midget Governor for NAI. She’s previously held the position of Vice President and President of the Ponoka Minor Hockey Association, and the Governor for the North Central.
Scott has given his time to the sport for 12 years as a coach, board member and director with Hockey Calgary, as well as the First Shift Program and the Calgary Flames Learn to Play Program.
Bernie Vanderham is a volunteer coach with the Innisfail Timbit Eaglet program for four year-olds, a position he’s held for 14 years. Bernie has had the opportunity to coach the program alongside his son Logan, who was just 15 years old when he began coaching.
Keith Hurd has been an active volunteer since 2007, including over 10 years with the Team Alberta program as a Director of Operations at the Alberta Cup, and Camp Coordinator at the Team Alberta U16 Summer Development Camp.
