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The Consummate Communicator
By Todd Lightfoot, BTP Goalie Coach - COPYRIGHT © 2008 All Rights Reserved
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Welcome to the New Year! 2008 leads us into two intense hockey months leading up to March playoffs and hopefully an extended hockey season with a journey down the championship road.
This month we will talk about the, “Consummate Communicator.” Now what the heck am I talking about right! You know, the skilled communicator, the one who can carry out the verbal communications… the coach… right? WRONG! I’m talking about the goaltender!
The goaltender needs to be a traffic cop, the eyes and ears giving direction to his players coming back into the defensive zone. We’re not talking about idle chatter. Clear concise simple communication. Let the defensive player know what, where, how much time, yes, no, right, left, fast, or slow. Over the last few seasons, it appears that there are only two real items that are communicated well by goaltenders. The first is when a penalty is about to expire... the non-verbal banging of the stick on the ice from the defensive zone seems to the norm. The second is when the goaltender believes that an icing call needs to be made and the glove hand goes up in the air as if the game officials need the assist in determination! The first example is acceptable, but is not what I consider the maximum effort. The second is… well I rank it right up there with players trying to knock down a puck that’s way above their head, waving their stick above the head like a butterfly net!
The goaltender needs to be vocal. Their words need to be heard, their players need the direction. The goaltender will often see the un-noticed threat standing off of the far side post before the defenseman will. The bottom line is that the goaltender should talk to his defense all of the time.
Simple words strung together without concern to grammar. Got Time, No Time, Screen, Feet, Fast, Slow, Right, Left, Move, Go, Setup, Cut. I hope that I’ve communicated the premise. The goalie is on the ice for the whole game…shift in, shift out… watching the play transition and develop. The more mature goaltender, with a greater tactical understanding of the game will have an instinct as to what will develop on the ice, where and when the flow will shift. The goaltender is not distracted with concerns about space on the bench, talking about what we did on that last shift or what we want to do on the next shift, or what the coach is saying behind us. The goaltender should be more in tune with what is happening on the ice than anyone else wearing a uniform! Therefore, the goaltender needs to share and communicate. Effective communication from the goaltender will render positive results in puck possession, gains in time and space or the taking away of time and space. Just as important, good communication on the ice becomes contagious and soon everybody will be talking to each other! So let’s get them talking!
Remember, the quality of our game is a direct reflection of the practice work ethic!
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By Jeremy Kaleniecki, BTP Director, On Ice Operations & Goalie Coach - COPYRIGHT © 2008 All Rights Reserved.
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Before I get started on this article I would just like to wish everyone happy holidays and a fantastic New Year. I hope it was a safe holiday and wish everyone all the best in the second half of the hockey season.
Last month (December), I had the opportunity to spend time with two of my top goaltenders, Danny Venet and Brian Markowicz. Both of these goaltenders are at the top of their game and the top of the current level they are playing. After much deliberation with both goaltenders I came across a common problem that they were having and that every goaltender will have at one point or another. Both goaltenders seemed to be very happy with the way that they are moving, feeling, and playing, but for some reason weren’t getting the job done.
At the highest levels of hockey as I have said before, the game becomes almost completely a mental battle day in and day out. There’re many outside influences that will dictate your position on the team, in a game, and in practice. The goal is to make sure that none of these affect your game. In many cases if even one of these becomes an issue, the goaltender will try to “over think” the game. When a goaltender over thinks the game, the effects can be detrimental. They may still feel comfortable and move well… but they just aren’t getting the job done. This is where the “Plethora Effect” comes in. Anytime I have a goaltender that is in a similar situation, over thinking the game, I approach it the same way.
When I find that I have a goaltender in this situation, the goal is not to work with them and try to fix how the goals are going in. Working only on fundamentals and fixing what you think the problems of the individual goals may be will only make the problem worse. The more complicated you make the coaching the more the goaltender will try to think about what they may be doing wrong. In this type of situation the goal should be simple, get the goaltender back to what they are doing right and well. Build up the confidence in the goaltender and don’t try to change them or what they are doing. Given a private lesson or at least given time with a goaltender in this situation, I would only do simplistic drills that the goaltender can thrive off of. Run the goaltender as if there aren’t any problems, ignore that they are having difficulties with their play.
If approached as I described in the above paragraph, the “Plethora Effect” will take hold. The goaltender will begin to exhume confidence in his play from nothing more than a simple private tune up if you will. The goaltender will feed off the confidence that the coach has portrayed. Simply the fact that I went out to work with a goalie will erase the over thinking and mental block. The team will then perceive this newfound confidence and everyone will benefit and play better. The fact that a goaltender has gotten a seal of approval from his coach will go farther than any type of training that could be given.
The “Plethora Effect” simply put is that simple air/bearing about someone or a group that exhumes confidence and readiness. When a goaltender has the air about him that he is confident and knows that he will play the best game, the team will follow suit and their confidence will be built up as well. It is a simple thing that can have a domino effect.
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Past Articles
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September/ October Articles
December Articles
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