My Other Sport

Some of you guys may know that I was an Olympian in the sport of luge for the US in 1994. I finished 4th in the doubles competition and was .3 of a second out of a bronze medal. My wife is Canadian so I spend a lot of time living in Calgary, Alberta Canada where we have a house.

But this year I got to do something I've always wanted to do and that was to bobsled. Similar track but a way different sport to train for. I had so much fun this year I thought I'd post a couple picks. I'm driving and I'm wearing the white helmet with the Visa logo on the front. Check it out!

Interesting Question About Clamping The Lacrosse Ball for Goalies

Ok I got this question from a sixth grader named Mike. The question was, "How does hard mesh in a new goalie stick affect clamping?"

Hmm...Can't say I've ever really thought of this. Here is my answer:

Mike clamping the ball is the last thing you should be worrying about.

This is an interesting question and not one I've ever received before so it's made me have to think a little bit.

When you clamp the ball your goal is to gain control of the ball, rake it into the crease (if it's outside) and get the ball into your stick. My experience tells me that brand new hard mesh would not be an issue. What is more of an issue is if your top shooting string is too loose then the ball gets hung up on the plastic when you go to rake the ball.

That would be more of an issue. Otherwise, hard mesh has way too many benefits over soft mesh, and I would never recommend going with soft mesh so you could clamp the ball better.

Clamping on a list of priorities goes something like this:

1) Stopping the ball.
2) Catching the ball.
3) Throwing the ball.
4) Cradling the ball. (You an throw a ball without ever having to cradle)

and way down on the end of the list would be clamping. It's really an afterthought to so many other priorities.

Great question though mike. It brings up an important point I'd like to make. Don't focus on the little things. Focus on the big things. I'm going to guess that you're a pretty analytical kid who likes to have all the answers. I was like you as well at that age so I'd like to tell you that you're on the way to doing great things in this game. But at your age there are soooo many other things to be focusing on. Like your strength. Your visualization. And your stick skills among others. It is rare in a game that you have the time (or need) to stand over the ball clamping it to the ground. It does come in handy around the crease. But stay focused on the big things buddy! Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.

Jonathan-
www.LacrosseGoaltending.blogspot.com

Lacrosse Goalies Need The Right Equipment Or Else They Die. Seriously!

For those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, you know how I feel about equipment. There is such an old-school (read "stupid") mentality about lacrosse gear for goalies that it just floors me. I found this article recently about a goalie down in Florida. I don't know him. But the story is something that every parent, coach, and athlete should read. I teared up when I read this because I have taken many balls in the chest like this. Every athletic director should read this blog and read this article because then maybe they will never cheap out on equipment (especially chest protectors) again. Personally, I tell parents and goalies that they should invest in their own equipment right away. Typically it is better than anything the school will give you. And why would you risk a life over cheap equipment.

I'd love to hear peoples feedback on this. Let me know what you think.

Here's thelink: Lacrosse Goalie Struck In Chest

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030708/met_254598207.shtml

Big Brother Wants To Help Lil Sis Become A Better Lacrosse Goalie

Intro; Man what a great email I got from Adam in a location in the central US (I'm keeping the exact location a secret to protect the innocent. The short of it is that he wants to help his sister get better but it looks like her coaches are a bit clueless as to how to be a goalie. So I sent him an email back answering all his questions. What I did was pasted my answers back to him through the email he sent me. It's a good read if you can get through it. If anyone else has questions like this please just email so I can help.

Coaches: Make sure you've got your thoughts right before you work with goalies. I know it can be hard, but in this example I think we have some overly confused coaches who may really be hurting their team in general and this goalie in particular. Please send me questions if you need clarification. There is no such thing as a stupid question.


Here's My Response To The Email

Jonathan -

Adam my responses are below. Thanks again for writing. By being your sisters coach you're going to learn a ton yourself. They say that if you want to become an expert in anything you should learn how to teach it. So good on your for becoming a teacher.

----- Original Message -----
From: (Name and email address witheld)
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2008 6:22 pm
Subject: RE: differences between boy's and girl's goalkeeping
To: JONATHAN EDWARDS

>
> Jon
> I play in (City State witheld). normally I wouldn't care and
> would just accept that the girls sport is different, but I know
> that her team is not very good, so I don't trust them.

+++When things are new to people they tend to take whatever they hear and apply it no matter what the source. Also, they might misunderstand things along the way and end up teaching the wrong things even though they think it's right. There is a great saying that I tend to remind myself of and that is this, "The worst position in the World to be in is to think you know that you know, but you really don't know." You might want to read that a couple of times so it sinks in.
>
> first off, they were having her hold her stick at the bottom of
> the shaft instead of at the head. I don't know the logic
> behind it, but they say it works better, I think she just looks
> like a retard. I think I have her convinced to change
> that, but it would be helpful to get confirmation that I'm
> right.

Ok here's a great drill just to test that theory out. Have your sister get in her stance with her hands at the end of the stick. Now take a ball in your hand and hold it. Now take your hand with the ball in it and pretend like it's a shot coming at her. (The ball doesn't leave your hand. Do this in slow motion.) Now take your hand with the ball and have the ball go to her off stick hip. Have her try and catch it with the head of the stick. There is no way she'll get it. Now do that to a bunch of different positions. She'll be able to get the ones to stick side high. And maybe off stick high. Even the low shots. But anything near the body she will have no chance on. This should prove to her that holding the stick down low on the shaft is not a good idea.

As for looking like a retard I can't help her there. Those are bigger issues. But hopefully they are helped by holding the stick at the throat. Just FYI, the top hand goes right to the plastic. The bottom hand should be a shoulders width distance from the top hand. The reason it goes right to the plastic is now it's like a big baseball glove. It's an extension of that top hand and you should always think about getting that top hand to the ball first.

>
> The biggest differences are in stringing and throwing.
> They have her string it like a tennis racket, with almost no
> pocket. She's new so she doesn't know, but there aren't
> pocket depth requirements in girls lax are there?

+++In the girls rule book that you can download for free at NCAA.org it doesn't say anything about depth of stick. It does however talk about depth of stick for any other stick. Her coaches may have it confused but she should have some depth in that stick. Now I'll be honest, I've always assumed you can have depth in a girls stick. If there has been a rule change I don't know about you'll have to double check but I don't think so.++++++++++

but the
> main reason it seems that she is stringing it that way is so she
> can throw it, she's having trouble throwing with the big stick,
> so she flings it with her waist. any ideas on how to get
> her to throw....like a man, the full overhand way you have to
> throw with the big stick.

+++This is a very valid reason. Most girls are simply not strong enough in the wrists and forearms t throw with a deep pocket. Heck, most young guys aren't able to throw with a big pocket so by having a shallower pocket she will be able to throw further but she'll have no control of the ball in the stick.

As far as ideas to get her to throw like a man...strength train. Seriously, get her in the gym. You too. You guys can train together.

One of the best ways to teach anyone how to throw a lacrosse ball with a stick better is to have them throw a ball without the stick. If you guys have some baseball gloves this is what you do, start on your knees facing each other and throw back and forth. By taking the legs out of it you really see how weak you are. Then you lift one leg up so you are on one knee and one foot. (The up leg should be the one opposite your top hand. If you're a righty then your left leg is up bent at ninety degrees.) Then you stand and take a step. By getting the legs into it you'll really notice how far the ball can travel. If she's just throwing with her wrists she's not using a lot of the power that comes from our legs when we throw.++++++++++++++
>
> As far as stepping to and reading shots, we're obviously a long
> way from that, but if there are any tips you can give me as to
> how to teach her to play, I think I have the basic athletic
> stance with her, but does she need to walk an arc or is it just
> like hockey where you square up with the shooter all the
> time. and what are the major rule differences I need to be
> aware of.

++++++++++Ok, as for rules I think it would really help you to read the girls rulebook at NCAA.org. Just go to Spring Sports > Womens Lacrosse> 2008 Rulebook. One major rule to note is that once they leave the crease they are just like any other player.

As far as teaching her to play you are on the right track. My recommendations to most goalies at this stage is to focus on being an athlete first, and a goalie second. If we can make her stronger, and more aggressive then she'll be better. Also, she has to be well protected. She has to feel safe and unafraid of the ball to be able to focus on the ball at all times. If she's fearful and not enjoying herself then she won't be a good goalie as you would if you felt the same way.

She should walk an arc as well. She needs to be square to the shooter of course. The best thing you can do is to shoot on her in a stress free environment and focus on moving properly to the ball. When you shoot on her do this, take all the shots for the whole shooting session at the same place. Every single one. Pick a new spot every day but only shoot to that one spot. This way she can focus on moving properly. What you're doing is wiring in the right moves over and over and over again. That way in a game, when the shot comes, she'll be able to move without thinking.+++++++


Hope that helps Adam. If your sister, or her coaches need any guidance send them to the blog. They can email me any questions they may have. Great to hear from you again and good luck. Stay in touch and let me know how it goes.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Edwards -
www.LacrosseGoaltending.blogspot.com

Three Tips To Help This Female Lacrosse Goalie Improve During Practice

Jessica writes to ask what to do to get more out of practice. It seems that they are doing a lot of in close shots and she feels her game isn't really improving. My answer will be well received by any coach who wants to help out his/her goalies in practice.

Answer: Jessica thank for writing. First off you're definitely going to want to check out my goalie blog. There is a ton of info there and you'll find some things to work on. Here's some quick tips.

1) Get out of the cage and work on moving to all those spots without the actual shots. This will take any thoughts of havign to actually catch the ball and you can focus on the fundamentals of moving to the ball properly.

2) Everyday when you get warmed up have them start to shoot at a different spot first. Today it might be off stick high. Tomorrow stick side low. If you don't make them all a priority at one point during your career then nothing will ever improve. In strength training we say that the thing that is done first in a work out improve the most. That's why you need to switch things up all the time.

3) When you do the close shoots and the undefended roles have your coach ask your shooters to shoot to a particular space. This does two things. 1) You can focus on how the shot is coming out of the players stick regardless of what the rest of their body is doing. When you see the ball leave the stick you can work on moving to the ball. The odd shot will go someplace it's not supposed to but that's ok. 2) The shooters get to work on their accuracy which is something they need anyway.

4) Also, those quick shots and undefended one's don't have to be done so close in practice. Again, ask your coach to have the girls take their shots from further out. This way you have more time to react to the ball. Don't worry, you'll still be ready for the shots in the game that are closer. But by having them move out you will feel safer in the cage, will have time to react to the ball, and will be able to work on things better.

Don't forget that your team wants you to improve too right? After all, you are their goalie. If your coach finds this funny she/he can always write to me and I'll explain my thinking. Many coaches don't give any thought to this so yours is probably no different. I'd be happy to help you out.

Good luck Jessica. Let me know how it goes. And let me know if you need anything else.

Oh...two more things> The biggest things I see with girl goalies that need improvement are 1. Strength. and 2. Stick skills. One of the best "drills" you can do is to fall in love with the gym. This is the biggest factor to improving your game. When you improve your strength everything else improves.

Kick butt and let me know how it goes. You can reach me through my blog.

Jonathan -
www.LacrosseGoaltending.blogspot.com

Can a Hockey Goalie Teach A Lacrosse Goalie?

Question: My name is Mike (name witheld). I was asked to work with my sons goalie from his team. The problem is I am a ice hockey goalie instructor, I do not want to confuse this boy by showing him angles and other things done by a ice hockey goalie. I believe keeping it simple is a great start, if you can help it would be deeply appreciated.

Answer: Mike hey there. Thanks for writing. And there's no problem with you being a hockey goalie. In fact I think you are way ahead of the game right now to help.

I too was a hockey goalie back in junior high school and high school so I know where you're coming from. There are some things you must keep in mind when working with lacrosse goalies that are definitely different but there are also some similarities. I'll try and list a bunch here.

1) Hockey goalies and their equipment are mostly designed to block shots and not catch them. I know, I know, goalies in hockey try to minimize rebounds by catching the puck with their body, their glove, or any other part of their equipment. That is true to a point. But if you look at a hockey goalies equipment it is clearly designed to protect the goalie and to block (or direct) the puck away from the cage.
In lacrosse the goalie is trying to catch the ball no matter where it goes on its way to the cage. Because of the lack of equipment goalies are taught to pretty much try and get their stick on everything or else it's pretty much going to hurt like a you know what.
That being said I really feel that the game of lacrosse has evolved but the goalies have not. The athletes, the sticks, and the velocity of the shots are such that a lacrosse goalie should really stop trying to catch everything and to start trying to block more shots. It comes down to simple physics. There is a point where trying to get your stick on the ball is useless. If you think about it, when was the last time you heard a hockey goalie being taught how to bring his glove hand across his body to try and catch a puck low blocker side? You don't. For some reason lacrosse goalies are taught just that and I think it is basically a lot of old school thinking that has never evolved.
I will teach an advanced goalie how to get their bottom hand on to a shot that is to the off stick hip instead of trying to get his top hand all the way there. Again, simple physics, why move a perfectly good piece of equipment away from the ball when they can use it like a blocker and deflect the ball wide and to the corner. (Keep an eye out for the quality of the glove as this can be dangerous if the glove is poor.)
I will add this though. Right now a concept like that is very advanced an no one teaches it. Be careful not to lose credibility with your young goalie by bringing it up at the start but I think the concept is valid.

2) I teach young goalies to wear more equipment for a number of reasons:
a. To protect them from errant shots that can hurt and thus lead to high levels of fear. Fear of the ball is a killer to the long term development of the goalie.
b. To help them get in front of the ball with their body. We must teach lacrosse goalies to move to the ball and get their body in front of it. The term "step to the ball" is important and young goalies tend to sit back on their heels usually because of fear (and a lack of strength.)

3) You can definitely teach angles but in lacrosse goalies tend to sit back on the goal line a bit more. With young and small goalies they need to step out a bit more because they are unable to reach balls shot to the corners just because of their size. I will turn a goalie around and stand him on the goal line, then I will have him reach his stick to all the corners so he knows just how far he needs to move to save all those shots. Many of the shots to the corner are not stoppable unless he steps which is a great teaching tool.

4) Something I learned in hockey was the ability to explode down to the puck. Instead of freefalling with my body it was more of an ability to contract the abs and get down to snuff out shots down low. Young goalis need to learn that and to be aggressive to the ball.

5) A good hockey to lacrosse lesson is to stay balanced on your feet so you can move in all directions. Surely you've had your coach push and pull at your skates with his stick trying to knock you off balance. With young goalies it is important that you find their base stance and make sure that never changes. We call it "athletic stance." In my opinion it is almost the same as an older style hockey goalie. You're not on your inside edge of course but the ankles, knees, and hips are bent. Shoulders ahead of the knees, and hands our in front of the body. I'll work on that stance first with goalies and then I will add the stick. I find that when you put the stick in the hand too early goalies tend to focus too much on catching and not enough on moving the whole body. Sometimes it's great to have that young goalie get into an athletic stance without his stick and throw a dodge ball at him. (Or a soccer ball, basketball, beach ball, doesn't matter.) What matters is that it's big. They need two hands to catch it, and it's safe.

What else...hmmm...are you familiar with the string drill? Go get some brightly colored string. Home Depot has bright yellow which is nice. Cut two pieces to twenty five yards each and tie one string to each post. You hold the ends so you make a big triangle. Goalie in the cage. Now move around the field so he understands his angles. Angles are important in lacrosse. And certain constants apply to both hockey and lacrosse goalies. Things like: Don't give up short side goals. It's harder for the shooter to shoot across his body. Give them a space you'd like them to shoot and thentake it away. Things like that.

I'll reiterate again, make sure your goalie is protected. These guys look at the college goalies and the MLL guys and see that they are wearing next to nothing. I think it's stupid to be honest and I'm only thirty five. I'm not some old school guy but I think my hockey experience really taught me alot wearing all that gear. I never heard a hockey goalie say, "I really wish I could lose these arm pads so I could move faster to the puck." You hear that stuff in lacrosse all the time.

If he's protected early on he'll have little or no fear of the ball. And that's priceless.

Hope that helps Mike. I'm going to post this on my blog so you can archive it later. Thanks so much for writing and if this helps I'd appreciate a testimonial I can put on my site for others to see.

Stay in touch and let me know how it goes.

Good luck,

Jonathan -
www.LacrosseGoaltending.blogspot.com

How To Stop a One on One for the Lacrosse Goalie

How To Stop a One on One
by Jonathan Edwards, www.LacrosseGoaltending.blogspot.com


I had a coach early on in my career give me this great piece of advice. He said, “If anyone on your damned team was good enough they wouldn’t even NEED a goalie!”

If you find yourself up against a one on one, here’s what you should be thinking, “Nine guys on the field screwed up so bad that I’m the only guy left on the field to help out.”

With that being said, you still have a job to do and that is to stop the ball. Here are some things to keep in mind to help make that happen:

1) Believe you can stop the ball. You may hear coaches, parents or other athletes say, “Oh, well, you’re really not supposed to stop those one on ones anyway.” If that was the case, ask them how they’d feel if you just dropped your stick and started to walk out of the cage the next time a one on one came down the field!

They may say that to try and make you feel good but really, you’ve got to believe that you’ve got as great a chance as any to stop that one on one over any other shot you must face in a game.

The greatest goalies in the World all believe that they can stop every shot. It’s in their make up. They are programmed to believe that. So start believing you can stop them too.

2) Practice One On One’s. Many goalies are surprised by one on one’s in games because they don’t practice them in practice. So practice them!

Grab a teammate after practice and work on one on ones. Have your teammate replicate the situations you most see in games. Is it a pass down low to an attackman on the crease? Do you have to move from side to side and then make the save? Do them first in slow motion and know where the shooter is going to shoot. Have the pass go to the attack man (or imagine the pass) and come across with balance and make the save.

3) Move with balance. If you have to move across the crease to make a save it’s important that you do it with balance. Most goalies lunge and step and look like idiots on one on ones. Don’t. Visualize yourself moving into position and having perfect balance on your feet. Move to make the save with balance.

4) Don’t run out at the shooter. Lots of young goalies want to run out and try and deck the shooter with a good check. While this is sometimes recommended often it’s not. So forget running out to deck the guy for now. Here’s why:

When you run out of the cage it is very easy to shoot over you. A simple lob over the goalie and into the cage is an easy score. Usually you don’t get to hit the guy anyway. I understand, if this is the fifth one on one you’ve had in the game you’re pretty frustrated and you just want to hit someone. You'd probably go out there and kick him in the groin if the ref wasn't standing there. That’s not your job. Leave that to your defense and stay in the cage.

In most situations, if you keep your ground and stay balanced and ready for the shot, the shooter will try to take another step and lose his angle. He’s try and do one more fake to try and fake you out. Or he’ll try and make a pass to his open teammate. Any of those things can result in a dropped ball, a shot wide, or a missed pass. So stay home and let that attack man screw things up on his own.

By staying home you let the defense do their job too. As you get better, and the teams you play for get better, you will be playing with better defense. And I want you to create great habits so that when you play at that level you play solid. So you need to remember that in most cases your defense will be sliding to that man on the one on one just trying to lay him out. If you stay in the cage you will make that attack man think for a half second more. Maybe he’ll want to fake you one last time, or pass, or try to get cute with it. And in that half second that you’ve made him wait your defense gets a stick on the ball. Rubs the shooters elbow so the shot goes wide. Or lays that skinny little attack man on his butt. All because you stayed in the cage and played the shot.

5) Keep your feet still while your hands make the save. Here’s a little drill for you…turn and face the cage. (If you don’t have a cage handy go to Home Depot and buy some green painters tape in the paint section and mock up a six by six outline on your bedroom wall. Be sure to take the tape off every couple of days so the paint doesn’t come with it when you take it off.) Ok, so face the cage and get in your stance. This is going to give you an idea of how far you have to move to make a save on a one on one.

Now, your feet can move a little bit. I just don’t want you lunging left and right and getting too far out of position. Now, try and make saves moving your stick to all the spots on the cage. Imagine a shooter has just tried to fake you high to your stick side and is now tucking the ball to your left hip. You’ll have to move your hands to respect that high shot but you need to keep your balance in order to get your hands to your left hip fast enough.

Try this in a number of combinations and you’ll see yourself keeping your balance and making more saves. The more you can get a shooter to try and fake you the more chances you have of him screwing up, and that’s just as good as any save!

6) Know what the shooter is trying to do: Most shooters are taught to fake high, and shoot low. That first high fake is to make you leave your feet. As your momentum goes upward the shooter shoots low because you can’t get there fast enough. Just try to reverse you direction in mid air! So try and keep your feet and move your hands to respect that first fake, but keep your feet so you can explode down low as the shot goes there.

If you can learn what shooters tendencies are you’ll have a better chance of making the save.

6) Bait ‘em: You can always try and give them something to shoot at and then take it away. With less experienced shooters you can try things like looking big in the cage upstairs. Raise your elbows a bit more. Make it look like you are covering a lot of the top of the cage and make them shoot it down low. Now what you are doing, even though you are covering more of the upstairs, is to anticipate that they will go low. When you see the ball releasing low you explode down to try and shut it off. Hockey goalies are the best at this. They give the shooter the five hole between the legs and when the ball goes there they explode down to shut it off.

Baiting can be a bit tough to explain, but the bottom line is that you give the shooter a spot to shoot at, and then you take it away. Try this in practice. Take a half step to your left and give them more on the right side of you to shoot at. Be ready to jump to that right side once the ball is released and shut them down.


7) Visualize: Spend some time every day seeing yourself making those saves one on one. See yourself in a balanced position moving your hands and making the save. You can make incredible improvements just by visualizing yourself being strong in the cage so spend some time, just before you go to bed is best, visualizing yourself playing that one on one perfectly.


This should give you a lot to think about for stopping more one on one’s. Remember, believe that you can stop them all. The best goalies are the one’s who believe they can stop every shot.

Son Wants To Play In College. Should I Hire One Of Those Companies?

Question: Jonathan,

My son is just starting his junior year in HS, now in his 2nd year of varsity. He is interested in playing Lacrosse in college, and he is an excellent athlete and player (I'm completely objective here, of course!). I read your answer in a past column about scholarships and how hard they are to come by. My question: is there any value in these organizations which 'market' a HS player to colleges? They typically offer to produce a highlights video and get the player noticed by prospective college coaches. What are your recommendations for my son?

Answer: Jeff thanks for the question. A couple of years ago I heard a coach say, "If the kid had just called me I might have payed attention."

I think there is a lot to be said for the act of seeking out teams and coaches who you want to play for. It's like applying for a job, the candidate who has done his research and actively seeks employment with a company that he knows something about is much more valuable than some shmoe with a resume.

I'm not a big fan of those companies that market young athletes. I'm all for delegating work to people who can do it better than you. But lacrosse in many ways is still a small sport. It's a big sport, don't get me wrong, but it still has small roots.

I'd rather see your son pick some schools he really wants to go to. Then find out if those schools has coaches he really wants to play for. And then contact those coaches. He may very well get thrown in the pile and get a ton of form letters. He has to get past all that and make some contact. One of the best ways is to go to some camps where those coaches will be. Introduce himself. Etc.

In the marketing world there is an understanding that it takes at least seven advertisements before a prospect pays attention. The first time they aren't listening. After the fourth or fifth time they begin to notice. And after the seventh time the prospect actually pays attention and remembers. I think if you take that approach you'll do ok.

Recruiting is a very strange game. My answer to any kid who wants to play in college is to be so good that they can't help but notice. Your son is probably not in that position. But I think there are some great lessons to be learned by going out there and getting to meet some of those coaches personally.

Now many, if not all, of his lacrosse peers will NOT be taking this approach. Isn't that the point? He's got to stand out. Have him do his research. Don't go in blind.

With all that being said...I'm a big fan of the walk on. I always believed that I could make any team I had the chance to tryout for. If he gets no notice. No interest. But he ends up at a school he wants to be at, and he want's to play, he'll make it. And that's the best lesson of all.

Stay in touch. Let me know how the process goes and if I can help at all just contact me through my blog.

Good luck to your son.

Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com