Copyright
Ó
Jukka Ropponen 2001
It's
finally time for our last article in this series on modern
goaltending. We will now look into what I call the 4th
basic rule, which is "Move & Participate".
What
do I mean by this rule?
Simply
put, the modern goaltender has more duties than just staying
in goal and stopping pucks. The goalie needs to become an
active participant and a member of the team that can contribute
in several more ways to the team success than just stopping
shots.
Basic
requirements
We
always come back to this as you cannot move & participate
well without good skating ability and excellent balance.
These elements of your game should be topics of every practice
you do on the ice. Skating and balance cover the moving
part, but how about the participation now that you can get
to the right place?
You
have to be able to "see the ice!" Good vision and capability
of seeing the plays and situations is something you either
have or don't. This can be fine-tuned, but not developed
in general.
You
need to be a good communicator, which will enable you to
help your defense.
Last
but not least, you need to have excellent stick-handling
skills.
So
how do I play by this rule then?
This
article alone would be way too long of a topic to cover
on a single web article so I am giving you a summary here:
- Agree
on the standard 1 word commands from you to your "D" and
vice versa. Practice these with your "D" during your regular
ice practices so that you and your "D" are both comfortable
using them in games. These are simple commands like: Time,
One, Leave, Play, Freeze.
- Practice
stopping shoot-ins to make it easier for your "D".
- When
you have time to play the puck, make the pass to your
teammates instead of making them come to you and pick
up the puck
- By
active participation, make yourself an extra skater out
there that the other team has to worry about. This can
be done with good breakout passes when the other team
is changing on the fly etc.
- Be
the 6th skater out there for breakouts and
learn to handle breakout passes and know your teams breakout
patterns.
- Move
out with your team on breakouts as then you have enough
depth to telescope back on quick turnovers situations
etc. when needed.
- Be
ready and out in time in your stance to play even in the
most surprising situations, turnovers etc.
