Is It Better To Be A Righty Lacrosse Goalie or a Lefty Lacrosse Goalie?

Question: A mom from New York just wrote me to see if it was a good idea to train her daughter as a lefty goalie versus a righty goalie. Here was my response.

Answer: Hey there Lisa. What a cool question! I love when I get intriguing questions that take some thoughts. You're crafty. Let's just start there.

The majority of goalies are right handed. Which means that the shooters on those teams are used to shooting on right handed goalies. If you throw a lefty in the cage it will catch them off guard and I would say that it IS and advantage to being a lefty goalie.

That being said, at a certain level of play that is no longer really an advantage. When your daughter goes up against really great shooters they will take that into account and will adjust. But for the majority of shooters, being a lefty goalie is an advantage.

Now, you did say that it was her non-dominant hand right now. Does that mean that she is right handed? Is her top hand on the stick her right or her left? Some goalies in hockey will shoot a normal stick with their right hand low on the stick but will catch with their left hand. I did. But some are the other way around.

The issue we are weighing here is the (Is it better being a lefty) versus (Is my goalie really good AS a lefty) as well as (Is it better being a lefty) versus (Is my goalie better as a righty instead of a lefty). These are the things you can keep in mind.

I would try it out. I wouldn't dismiss trying her as a lefty. If she picks up on it and does well then go with it. If it's awkward for her and she isn't really getting it then go righty.

But Lisa, here is the ultimate: If you can train her to be good at BOTH. No that would be awesome. I would sometimes switch hands in practice to screw up our shooters. I was pretty good at mid to high shots but not so good to the off-stick side. It was fun and I made some suprising saves on some guys. I would say the ability to be ambidextrous might just be the next evolution of the lacrosse goalie.

I hope that helps. I have thought about this question before. You're the first person who has asked me directly. I'll post this answer on my blog to see if I get any other comments.

Let me know if you need any more clarification. Good luck to your daughter and please stay in touch. My email is on the front page of my blog.

Sincerely,

Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com