Lacrosse Goalie Hurts Hand, Now Ducks When Shots Are Taken, Help!

Tom writes in that his son hurt his hand badly playing box and he now ducks when shots are taken. He didn't do that before his hand got hurt and he wants to know how to fix the problem.

Answer: Hey there Tom. Great question. Injuries are tough and tougher still is the relationship between parent and young lacrosse goalie. I have two ideas in my head right now, you pick which one works for you...

1) Let him be. It may be better to leave him alone and let him figure it out.

2) I'm not a big fan of #1 so here's a better recommndation...try to get some video of him and try to catch his eyes/head so he can see what he is doing.

I once saw video of a college lacrosse goalie and was able to see that as the shot came the goalie jumped. It was a little jump but just enough to delay his ability to move to the ball effectively. Now, your son, once he sees that he is ducking or closing his eyes may raise his awareness and realize that he's having a problem. As they say, awareness is the first step to recovery. Getting back from an injury is no different. I'll let you deal with how to help him get more aware but video may be your best option.

When a lacrosse goalie ducks it means he's afraid of the ball. To solve that you need to either have the shooter back up so that he's at a distance where the goalie feels safe, have the goalie wear more equipment, or change the ball from a lacrosse ball to a tennis ball that is softer and won't hurt him. Even college goalies that develop fear for the ball will go the tennis ball route to get their confidence back.

If he is wearing the same gloves that he wore when he got injured guess what he's thinking about? Getting hit that exact same way. If you haven't gotten him tougher glove for indoor do it now. Also, goalie gloves for indoor are like hockey gloves. You can't throw nearly as well with them but then again this is box, it's not field. In box the goalies demands are much different, and the equipment is much different. In box the goalie takes more shot to the body. If he's wearing his field stuff he's going to get hurt and that's not good for his long term development.

Thomas that should help a bit. If you need some more info don't hesitate to email me back. If you want to talk about equipment more just let me know.