This Lacrosse Goalie Needs To Get Their Stick Down On Low Shots. Here's My Advice

Got a question from an Assistant Varsity lacrosse coach at a school outside of Albany , New York today. He wanted to know if I had any tips for his goalie who wasn't getting their stick down to the ball. It's a great question and one that I don't think gets addressed too often. I think you'll find my answer a little enlightening. Let me know what you think and if you've had a similar problem let me know how this helped you. Also, got an email from a goalie in Minnessota! The list keeps growing. I think that puts us at thirty-five states or so and counting. I'm loving all the letters you guys are sending. Keep it up. If this blog helps you shoot me a note and let me know what you learned and how it changed your game. Send those mails to jone94@shaw.ca. Here's that answer.



Answer: Hey there Pete. Thanks for writing. Here are some thoughts for you.

The number one reason goalies don't get their stick down to the ball is usually based on a fear of getting hit with the ball. They try to pick at it with their stick anticipating a bounce that doesn't come, but underlying that is a fear of getting hit with a bad bounce. Low shots are tough especially if you're playing on a wonky grass field. Bounces are hard to read and young goalies try to catch it perfectly with the stick just like the college goalies do. Unfortunately, what is forgotten is that it took many years for those goalies to look that pretty at picking up the low shots.

As a coach here are some things to look for. Depending on what you see you will be able to figure out what is the main problem:

Can you see the top of her helmet when she attempts to make the save? If you can see her face mask she isn't getting her head over the ball which is mistake number one. If you can see her face, and her arms are fully extended, and she's not reaching the ball then she's not "following with her head." The hands attack the ball, the head follows, and the body is behind it.

Now if see her face mask and she has her eyes closed that can tell you that she's afraid of getting stung with a bad bounce. A video camera can be really helpful here to identify what she is doing. As a coach you have to make sure that she's got enough equipment on. If she doesn't feel protected then you need to help her with that.

I teach goalies to "save the space and not the ball." What I mean by that is, don't have them try to pick the ball out of mid air on low shots or bounce shots. I teach goalies to see the ball leave the stick, recognize where it's going, and then throw everything you can to the space where the ball is going to. With young goalies they end up blocking a lot of shots. As they get better those blocks become clean picks. But until they have a lot of experience under their belt I find it's a good visual for them to have, "Throw everything you can at the space and see what comes of it."

A cue a use with goalies to help with the head over the ball issue is to have them imagine that out of the top of their helmet was a huge flashlight. There goal is to light up the shooter as the ball comes to them. They don't want to light up the sky. If their head is up then the sky is lit. If the head is over the ball they are shining it up the field at the shooter. It's just a little visual that can help them.

The other main issue with young goalies is just their strength level. They are too weak to move fast enough. Sometimes a stick that "doesn't get down to the ball" is connected to a goalie who can't get down to the ball. If her head is over the ball and she's lighting up the shooter and her stick isn't down then she's just slow. And slow comes from not being strong enough. Strength will also improve her footwork but to be honest I think that footwork is a bit of a buzz word and no one really understands what gives you fast feet.

A couple of closing points:
1) Identify what she's doing with her head when the shot comes.
2) Identify if it's fear that is keeping her from getting over and in front of the ball.
3) Get her in a weight room. You may be familiar with the Force Equation where force equals mass times velocity. In a goalies case the Mass is the stick and her body. To get it to the ball faster she needs to be able to apply more force to that stick and that can only come with increased strength. Get her training and get her strong and she'll be more explosive to the ball.

Hope that sets you in the right direction Pete. Please email me if you need any clarification. Also you can check out my goalie blog where I've got about fifty articles on goalies so you should find some great resources there as well. Let me know how it goes and keep me updated on her progress.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Edwards -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com