Jonathan Squats 440 Pounds Raw Post Sports Hernia Sugery

Ok so this was my first real heavy squat in over a year so don't pick on me for the depth. It's a little bit high. But it was stll 440 pounds with no belt, no wraps and no briefs. So pretty happy getting that much weight on my back since going through hernia surgery.

70 Shots a Game? I Feel Bad When We Lose. What Can I Do To Improve?

Question: I have a question regarding my play. I am a goalie starting my third year in the net as a senior. I play for a club out of Wilmington Ohio. but heres my question. i am giving up allot of goals to my non stick side and 5 hole. and when we lose a game i feel like its my fault. which allot of it is, but i also get about an average of 70 shots on the cage a game and save most but i let allot. any recommendations on what i should do to improve my game? him also doing allot of AB and strength workouts in the weight room 4 days a week!

Answer: Zac you shouldn't feel that it's your fault when you guys lose a game. If your team was any good they wouldn't need a goalie. And if they are letting up 70 shots a game that's a player/coaching issue.

The good thing about playing on a bad team is that you are getting a ton of shots to work on. It's better than playing on a good team where you are getting less shots.

It's awesome you are hitting the weight room. Train like a football player would train and you'll be well on your way to becoming a more explosive and talented lacrosse goalie.

Jonathan-

www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com
www.lacrossegoaltendingforum.com

Any Good Lacrosse Goalie Coaches in Mass?

Question: I live in MA and want to further my goalie skills. I'm looking for a place I can go during the off season to get individual goalie instruction. I would like to have my own goalie coach that can give me advice and training but am having trouble finding one in my area.

Answer: Hey there Amanda. I spend some time in Mass but spend most of my time in Canada as my wife is Canadian. I did start coaching kids via video a while ago and that has worked out really well. If you'd like to do that I can help you.

Right now I don't know of anyone I can recommend you to in Mass. There just isn't anyone good enough yet that I would feel confident recommending you to.

If you are willing to travel you should go check out the Shutout Goalie Academy out in New York with my former goalie coach Rich Barnes. That is the ONLY school I recommend right now during the summer.

If you want to try the video coaching just send me an email at jonathan@lacrossegoaltending.com and we'll get in touch that way.

Thanks

Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com
www.lacrossegoaltendingforum.com

New York Lacrosse Goalie Needs Some Answers Aboout His Mesh

Question: Jonathon
I am a goalie that is in the winter before the season of my sophomore year. As a freshman, I played well, but noticed a weak point in my game, clearing and stick control. After each save, depending on where i made the save, I normally picked it off the ground and looked for an outlet and if i didn't find it, made my way out the back. I was in my winter league last Saturday with the same routine when I was walking the ball up the field, i started to make progress when i got stick checked and I dropped the ball, i managed to keep the ball out of the net for the rest of the drive, bit in the process, i got nailed in the knee by a stick check. I use monster mesh wish a small pocket, and i think that it is the problem. I have an eclipse also. I was wondering what kind of mesh is great for ball control and the pocket size for that. I wash looking for a mesh that i could bomb the ball down the field with, but also keeping control in a deep pocket. I'm 5'10 180 and i play in New York.

Answer: Hey Bobby. Thanks for the question.

The first thing that sticks out to me has nothing to do with your stick at all. It's getting checked.

You mentioned in this question that you were "walking up the field". Now I can't tell if this was a controlled clear after a save or not. For example, you were unable to make the pass during the four seconds so you went out the back and then were heading up field with it. When you do this your team has the advantage. You have one extra player now that you are in the mix. In order to get checked someone was out of position and/or wasn't open and/or you did a horrible job of not recognizing who to pass to.

Clearing the ball is a team game. And in order for it to be successful everyone needs to know their role and be in position. It doesn't seem that was happening on this clear. So you have to decide what it was and try and fix that first because the type of mesh you have in your stick is irrelevant if you are getting checked on the ride with no one to pass to.

All that said, my take on mesh is this, it's not the mesh that makes the difference...it's your hands. As you get better you will realize that you can play with any stick. With a couple of saves and passes your hands will adjust to whatever stick you are using. Granted, you will have your favorites, and you will pick up sticks that are just garbage, but your hands will adjust to whatever stick you decide to use.

You've got great height and weight for your age. So you will be able to get away with using a deeper pocket. I am NOT a fan of monster mesh unless you are playing indoors or in really dry conditions where it doesn't rain. In New York it can rain and that monster mesh gets really baggy. My recommendation is NOT the Monster, and not the Mini, but the ones in between. I find that it gives you the greatest bang for the buck. It works in most field conditions. I run two sticks. They are both Eclipses. I have one strung with the mini mesh for when it gets really wet because it tends to bag out just enough to be perfect. I have the average mesh in the other which I play with most of the time.

Bombing the ball down field will be mostly based on your strength levels and how much whip you have on the stick. Again, the mesh by itself won't make a difference. In high school I used a very shallow pocket. Wasn't great for dodging but in today's game you shouldn't need to do that much so your primary role for your stick is to make saves and not to give up rebounds. Your shouldn't be stringing your stick to fake or dodge. That should be an afterthought.

Hope that helps Bobby. I've posted this answer on my blog so you can take a look there as well. Stay in touch and let me know how things go.

Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com
www.lacrossegoaltendingforum.com

Check Out www.LacrosseGoaltendingForum.com

I get lots of questions from parents, goalies, coaches, trainers, etc. The questions vary but many of them are able to help others. So what I've decided to do is start a forum where I can answer these questions and have them there for eternity to help others. Now I just put it up today but by the time you read this it will have grown I'm sure. What I'd like you to do is head on over there to www.LacrosseGoaltendingForum.com and register. It will take you literally two minutes. Go over there right now and register and get around the board.

The goal of the board is to be The Number One Resource for goalies, coaches and parents on the net. What will make this forum different than any other forum is that it is moderated by a coach who knows what the hell he is saying. Other forums are just a bunch of kids trying to figure it out on there own. NOT a good plan to be successful. We will have a couple of legitimate coaches to help you play right. We'll also have resources that you can own that will help you with your game as well.

So get on over there right now and register at www.LacrosseGoaltendingForum.com

See you there!

Mom Wants To Know What Stick Is Best For Her Lacrosse Goalie

Question: I saw that you recommend the STX Excalibur goalie head. I am having trouble finding it and I do not think that STX makes it any more. Is there another stick head that you would recommend? My daughter is 13 and is playing her first year of club lacrosse in the goal (she has been playing goalie at the rec level for several years). She has grown a lot since we bought her last stick and we are thinking of getting her an entirely new stick and head once the club season is over (next week) that she can break in during the rec indoor season.

Thanks so much.

We have gotten some good suggestions from your blog. My daughter was really helped by the entry in which you talked about what the jobs of the goalie and the defense are - whose responsibility it is to stop the high percentage vs. the low percentage shots. We also found a private goalie coach for her this year, as she had never been formally trained in the position. She has had a few sessions, and the focus has primarily been footwork. My daughter is an aggressive goalie that loves to come out of the goal to surprise the shooter. She also loves one on one penalty shots - they are the thing she is most confident in. We want to give her the opportunity to progress as far as she wants to, as she just lights up when she is in the goal. I just printed out your blog entry on low shots, as we discovered at her last tournament that low shots are her weakness. I will show her what you said about getting her head over the ball. She is not afraid of being hit (in the head or otherwise), so it shouldn't be a problem. It just isn't a skill she has been taught yet. I suspect that part of the problem is her ever changing height. There is a bit of misjudging the distance to the ground now.

Anyway, thanks for any recommendations/suggestions you can give as far as the stick is concerned.

Answer: Hey there Lisa. Thanks for writing and thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the feedback and love to hear it.

I was able to find some Excalibur's online and would doubt highly if they discontinued that stick as it is one of their best sellers. I grew up in the same town as Commonwealth Lacrosse http://www.comlax.com/ecom/product/80/262/t and would give them a call although you've got a ton of resources in Maryland.

Once you get this stick going all you're going to need to spend money on for a while are shafts since she is still growing. I would go with the lightest shaft you can find that is inexpensive until she stops growing or at least slows in growth. When you get to that point I always recommend Titanium because it will last the longest and you will spend less on shafts over time. That being said, in the womens game there is far less contact on sticks so you may still be able to go with a light, inexpensive shaft that may in fact last her a very long time.

With her changing height she will have coordination issues as well as a muscle to skeletal length issues. You want to make sure that she really focuses on her flexibility while she grows. Women are prone to knee issues because of hip to knee angles and we don't want her to develop tendonitis that keeps her from wanting to bend her knees. You will see in some young goalies where their knees hurt so much they just bend at the waist and not the knees. Keep an eye on that and always ask her how she is feeling. (Don't keep asking her if her knees hurt because she may end up expecting them to hurt. We don't want her to perpetuate that in her own mind, just keep it in the back of your head. If she is flexible, and develops good leg strength she should be fine.)

Good luck with everything. Let me know how it goes and keep me updated on her progress. I'm always here to help.

All the best to you and your daughter.

Jonathan Edwards - Olympian (Luge 94) All-American

To The Lacrosse Goalie In Japan

Hey Alex, shoot me an email at jone94@shaw.ca I can't hear your info over Skype. It's too garbled and digital to hear the details. Try to email me there and we'll get in touch.

Jonathan -

Should I Be Able To Do A Front Split If I'm A Lacrosse Goalie?

Ok, I just got a question from a goalie. Basically, someone told him that he should be able to do a front split and that good goalies can do front splits.

This has to be one of the most retarded things I have ever heard.

No, you should not be able to do a front split. This is not a good goal to seek if you want to be a great goalie as there a thousand of other things you should be working in.

A couple of things: Flexibility for flexibilities sake is not a goal worth seeking. Now strength and explosive power over a large range of motion is. There is a difference. One means that you have the pliability of a piece of Play Doh. The other means you have the stored strength of an elastic band. One is like overdone spaghetti. The other is an explosive tool just ready to stop lacrosse balls.

Man, I'd rather see you squat a ton. Or learn how to do the Olympic lifts.

A front split. Sheesh. What next? Dumbass.

Sorry I'm a bit grumpy tonight. It's 2 am.

Man!

Brine Triad Lacrosse Helmet. Sticky Throat Guard

I got an email from my buddy Shawn Brown. He asked me what to do with his Brine Triad Lacrosse helmet. Seems that the throat guard keeps getting stuck on the mask. This happened to me a ton with mine. By the way I LOVE this helmet. For goalies I think is absolutely the best. Because the center bar is so close to your eyes it gives you great visibility. My only complaint is that the mask sits a little bit too close to the chin. If your chin strap is loose and you take a shot in the mask or if you hit someone the mask tends to cut your chin. Can look sexy but it's really a pain in the...chin, I guess.

So here's my answer to Shawn. If anyone else has a problem with their equipment don't hesitate to write and ask.

Answer: Hey there Shawn. Make sure those little black pieces that hold the throat guard are installed in that bottom part of the mask by your jaw. They need to be flush to the plastic so if they're not it won't hang right.

I had the same problem with mine. What I did to fix it was I took some sandpaper and sanded down the inside of the throat guard where it was hitting the center bar on the mask. By reshaping that upper portion it just changed how the throat guard hit the mask. Instead of getting stuck it would just fall back down.

Try that. It should work.

Jonathan -

Lacrosse Goalie Stick Is Giving Up Too Many Rebounds. What Mesh Should I Use?

Question: im a highschool goalie and my hard mesh gives up a lot of rebounds and i was wondering if i should use monster mesh and would it make a difference in bounce.

Answer: Richie I don't recommend monster mesh. Yes, it will bag out and keep the ball in it a bit better but the truth is it is very inconsistent to throw with.

Go with a medium diamond mesh. Ten, maybe twelve diamond. And stick with that.

I always say that your stick doesn't give up rebounds, you do. That might seem a bit harsh but it's the truth. A great test of skill, and a way to develop your hands is to practice with a very tightly strung stick so you can soften up your hands. Most goalies have a death grip on the stick and that is probably what is causing you to give up rebounds. Don't change the mesh, change your grip and you will give up less rebounds.

I know what you're trying to do Richie by going with a different mesh. The challenge is that you're just setting yourself up for bigger problems later when you play at a higher level. If you don't work on your hands now you'll have really bad habits later on.

Let me know what you decide to do. If you need anything else just email me.

Kick ass Richie,

Jonathan -
www.yourbestlacrosse.blogspot.com
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com