Rachel writes: hi.so i have a question for you.i am wanting to restring my brine money stick and this would be the first time i have restrung a stick.do you have any links or tips on how to do it.
Thank You
Rachel
Answer: Hey there Rachel. If you like your current string job here's what I'd do. Get a second stick (you should have two on the go at all times) and copy your string job into that second stick. Break it in, then go back and redo the first one.
If you aren't going to get a second stick right now then take some digital photos of the current stick. Get up close to some of the critical points where knots are tied off and lacing is done etc. That way you've got some reference to look at while you're doing that new stick.
Make sure you use hard mesh. This will break in the best long term. I also soak my mesh over night before I string it up. It makes it easy to work with. Then I put some weights in there, or you can use some big soup cans or a jug of milk and put it in the stick over night. That way it dries in the stretched position. Most goalies will string a stick up and then that first time they play in the rain it shrinks up and gets ruined. By getting the mesh wet to start and then letting it dry it saves you a lot of time later.
Hope that helps Rachel. Let me know if you need anything else.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
www.lacrosseGoalieTips.com
Showing posts with label Box Lacrosse Goalie Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Box Lacrosse Goalie Tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Box Lacrosse Coach Wonders How Much Things Have Changed?
Question: Hi Jonathon, I came across your blog and wanted to ask your opinion on coaching box goalies as I've just begun coaching a novice house team. I played in goal for 10 years as a kid but that was 20 years ago - have the fundamentals changed that much? I feel confident that I can coach based on the way I played (angles, angles, angles) but was curious about the basic set up. I was always taught to have my glove hand against my kidney so that my arm formed a sideways "V" and my elbow and upper arm would stick out. This also prepared me for making a shoulder save on the glove hand side. I also made sure my stick was on the ground as part of my set up. Is that still practical?
Any advice will help.
Answer: I'm mostly a field goalie coach but I've been doing a lot of help with box coaches lately so I'll give my two cents strictly from a technique standpoint.
I would say that no, things haven't changed much. The equipment has obviously gotten lighter, and larger. The shots still come the same but now with more velocity and more ability for fakes.
The bottom line on position in the cage is the same. You want to have a nice balanced position on the balls of your feet so you can move. Some goalies now take the stick off the floor just a bit to aid with stance. But they need to respect the low shots that can sneak underneath.
As far as that off stick glove I've got some thoughts on that. You want to have that arm in the V so that you do take up some space. The glove is turned over to protect the exposed palm. I would not tuck it as far back as the kidney as that may be a bit to far to the back. You want it to be useful and not hidden. (I'm waiting for someone to design a glove that can be turned over to act more like a catching glove but flat so you can't catch. But would allow for you to then grab the stick. This would put that arm in a much more aggressive position to stop shots to that side yet still allow you to throw.)
All in all you're going to be 90% there when you coach. Stay positive and stay relevant. You've got a chance to watch some great goalies up there in Vancouver so watch some games and see what the top guys are doing. You'll be right back on board fast.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else. I spend a ton of time in Calgary and was just out in Whistler racing bobsled nationals. Actually tried out for the Canadian National Field team a couple of years ago at that soccer complex in Burnaby. Love that area.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru.
Any advice will help.
Answer: I'm mostly a field goalie coach but I've been doing a lot of help with box coaches lately so I'll give my two cents strictly from a technique standpoint.
I would say that no, things haven't changed much. The equipment has obviously gotten lighter, and larger. The shots still come the same but now with more velocity and more ability for fakes.
The bottom line on position in the cage is the same. You want to have a nice balanced position on the balls of your feet so you can move. Some goalies now take the stick off the floor just a bit to aid with stance. But they need to respect the low shots that can sneak underneath.
As far as that off stick glove I've got some thoughts on that. You want to have that arm in the V so that you do take up some space. The glove is turned over to protect the exposed palm. I would not tuck it as far back as the kidney as that may be a bit to far to the back. You want it to be useful and not hidden. (I'm waiting for someone to design a glove that can be turned over to act more like a catching glove but flat so you can't catch. But would allow for you to then grab the stick. This would put that arm in a much more aggressive position to stop shots to that side yet still allow you to throw.)
All in all you're going to be 90% there when you coach. Stay positive and stay relevant. You've got a chance to watch some great goalies up there in Vancouver so watch some games and see what the top guys are doing. You'll be right back on board fast.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else. I spend a ton of time in Calgary and was just out in Whistler racing bobsled nationals. Actually tried out for the Canadian National Field team a couple of years ago at that soccer complex in Burnaby. Love that area.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Box Lacrosse Goalie Gloves for My Ten Year Old?
Question:
Jonathan, my ten year old son has started playing goal in box lacrosse and is looking for a good quailty glove for this position. I can find field gloves or very expensive eagle gloves. Is there a make and model you would recomend?
Answer: Mike the challenge at this age is that you need a glove that will protect from the shot, but inherently that means the glove is so stiff and bulky it's hard for the goalie to move his hand. Kids at that age can shoot hard enough to hurt a goalie with a soft glove, and because in box the shots come from so close I'd be wary to go with a field glove that is soft.
The Eagle gloves, in my opinion, are very protective but might be restrictive for a small hand. You can look for a used pair that have been beaten up in the palm and are easy to bend, or you can buy a new pair that he will probably get a few seasons out of and just work the heck out of them. Twist, pull, bend, warp, whatever. This way you will still have the protective outside but they will be more bendable. It all depends on the strength of your sons hands.
Couple years ago I was getting my hands really beaten up in field lacrosse. I actually found a pair of Nike hockey gloves at Sport Check that had a thumb with a hinge on it. They worked great. Hockey gloves in general tend to be more protective on the outside. They just don't hinge real well to cradle the stick. You may be able to find a really nice pair of hockey gloves with a short enough cuff that you son can throw and catch easily enough in box.
Bottom line: Any brand. Short cuff. Hard outer shell. Work them to see if the body of the glove is flexible enough for your son to close them and cradle the stick, a bit.
Hope that helps Mike. Let me know what you go with. I know those Eagle brand gloves are "cool" and all to the young guys, but personally I think they are great for the pro's who have strong hands and guys shooting at them at 160Kph. But for the little guys, there are other options.
Good luck and keep me posted. Where do you live? I spend most of my days between Calgary and Massachusetts.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com
www.yourbestlacrosse.blogspot.com
Jonathan, my ten year old son has started playing goal in box lacrosse and is looking for a good quailty glove for this position. I can find field gloves or very expensive eagle gloves. Is there a make and model you would recomend?
Answer: Mike the challenge at this age is that you need a glove that will protect from the shot, but inherently that means the glove is so stiff and bulky it's hard for the goalie to move his hand. Kids at that age can shoot hard enough to hurt a goalie with a soft glove, and because in box the shots come from so close I'd be wary to go with a field glove that is soft.
The Eagle gloves, in my opinion, are very protective but might be restrictive for a small hand. You can look for a used pair that have been beaten up in the palm and are easy to bend, or you can buy a new pair that he will probably get a few seasons out of and just work the heck out of them. Twist, pull, bend, warp, whatever. This way you will still have the protective outside but they will be more bendable. It all depends on the strength of your sons hands.
Couple years ago I was getting my hands really beaten up in field lacrosse. I actually found a pair of Nike hockey gloves at Sport Check that had a thumb with a hinge on it. They worked great. Hockey gloves in general tend to be more protective on the outside. They just don't hinge real well to cradle the stick. You may be able to find a really nice pair of hockey gloves with a short enough cuff that you son can throw and catch easily enough in box.
Bottom line: Any brand. Short cuff. Hard outer shell. Work them to see if the body of the glove is flexible enough for your son to close them and cradle the stick, a bit.
Hope that helps Mike. Let me know what you go with. I know those Eagle brand gloves are "cool" and all to the young guys, but personally I think they are great for the pro's who have strong hands and guys shooting at them at 160Kph. But for the little guys, there are other options.
Good luck and keep me posted. Where do you live? I spend most of my days between Calgary and Massachusetts.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com
www.yourbestlacrosse.blogspot.com
Monday, March 9, 2009
Unhappy Lacrosse Goalie Needs Some Tips
Question: Hi Jonathan,
My school just started a new lacrosse team at the start of the this season. Only 1 girl has ever played before, and the team has practiced together for about 4 weeks. There was so much interest that Coach decided to make two teams, a varsity and a JV. I offered to play Goalie, because I had never played any kind of goalie before, and it is, after all, pretty fun. While we are playing established Varsity Teams, our girls are pretty athletic.
Anyway, I guess my question is this: as a brand new varsity goalie, with less than 1 week experience before the first game, having never played before, how many should I be expecting to save? In a typical half, I am taking 20-25 shots on goal, and the other team is scoring 16-18 points. Our typical game score is 16-0. Our team doesn't yet have the ability to complete and score. Some of the team members are claiming that the only reason I made varsity is because no one else wanted to play in the goal. When I remind them to stay out of the crease, they give me a lot of attitude. I am trying my best, but the only "goalie drill" we ever do is to line everyone up and have them take shots on me. Am I just a really bad goalie? At first, I really liked it, but now I am very unsure of my decision to play goalie right now, and I wonder if I made a big mistake.
Any advice you give me is highly appreciated,
A brand new, rather unhappy, goalie.
Answer: Hey there Unhappy. I've attached an article that I think may be of help to you.
Couple things:
1) You guys are all learning. No one is in a position to be criticizing anyone else on your team so my first bit of advice is to not enter into any chatter about how poorly anyone else is doing. Especially you. No one else volunteered. If you'd rather play out go for it. Those girls will either be bummed that you decided not to play goal, OR it may be best for everyone.
2) The great thing about playing goal is that your "grade" isn't the one on the scoreboard. That is everyone elses grade. My favorite saying is that "If your team was so good they wouldn't even need a goalie." So for now, just focus on playing and enjoying the challenge of stopping as many balls as you can.
3) As far as expectations on how many shots you should be saving? That's a little premature to do that now. But I understand that you are on a Varsity team and it's tough not to find out what "good" is. For most goalies a save percentage anywhere between 60-70% is excellent. So I'd say you're right on track.
4) Playing lacrosse is a team game. If all those shots are coming from five yards away from the cage, your defense needs to step it up and play better. If you are letting in goals from 20yards away you'd probably agree that you should have those. So within that save percentage there are "good" goals and "bad" goals. You'll know which ones you should be saving as you gain more experience.
Don't get discouraged. It's a useless feeling and not productive at all. Instead, focus on being better every day. And encouraging others. There is a term the Japanese use called "Kaizen" It means constant, and never ending improvement. You can't expect to be world class right away. But after many days of improvement, world class comes quickly.
Stay positive. Stay focused. Remind yourself of why you wanted to play goal and get back to that.
Let me know how you fare and keep me posted on your progress. Enjoy the article.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
My school just started a new lacrosse team at the start of the this season. Only 1 girl has ever played before, and the team has practiced together for about 4 weeks. There was so much interest that Coach decided to make two teams, a varsity and a JV. I offered to play Goalie, because I had never played any kind of goalie before, and it is, after all, pretty fun. While we are playing established Varsity Teams, our girls are pretty athletic.
Anyway, I guess my question is this: as a brand new varsity goalie, with less than 1 week experience before the first game, having never played before, how many should I be expecting to save? In a typical half, I am taking 20-25 shots on goal, and the other team is scoring 16-18 points. Our typical game score is 16-0. Our team doesn't yet have the ability to complete and score. Some of the team members are claiming that the only reason I made varsity is because no one else wanted to play in the goal. When I remind them to stay out of the crease, they give me a lot of attitude. I am trying my best, but the only "goalie drill" we ever do is to line everyone up and have them take shots on me. Am I just a really bad goalie? At first, I really liked it, but now I am very unsure of my decision to play goalie right now, and I wonder if I made a big mistake.
Any advice you give me is highly appreciated,
A brand new, rather unhappy, goalie.
Answer: Hey there Unhappy. I've attached an article that I think may be of help to you.
Couple things:
1) You guys are all learning. No one is in a position to be criticizing anyone else on your team so my first bit of advice is to not enter into any chatter about how poorly anyone else is doing. Especially you. No one else volunteered. If you'd rather play out go for it. Those girls will either be bummed that you decided not to play goal, OR it may be best for everyone.
2) The great thing about playing goal is that your "grade" isn't the one on the scoreboard. That is everyone elses grade. My favorite saying is that "If your team was so good they wouldn't even need a goalie." So for now, just focus on playing and enjoying the challenge of stopping as many balls as you can.
3) As far as expectations on how many shots you should be saving? That's a little premature to do that now. But I understand that you are on a Varsity team and it's tough not to find out what "good" is. For most goalies a save percentage anywhere between 60-70% is excellent. So I'd say you're right on track.
4) Playing lacrosse is a team game. If all those shots are coming from five yards away from the cage, your defense needs to step it up and play better. If you are letting in goals from 20yards away you'd probably agree that you should have those. So within that save percentage there are "good" goals and "bad" goals. You'll know which ones you should be saving as you gain more experience.
Don't get discouraged. It's a useless feeling and not productive at all. Instead, focus on being better every day. And encouraging others. There is a term the Japanese use called "Kaizen" It means constant, and never ending improvement. You can't expect to be world class right away. But after many days of improvement, world class comes quickly.
Stay positive. Stay focused. Remind yourself of why you wanted to play goal and get back to that.
Let me know how you fare and keep me posted on your progress. Enjoy the article.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
Friday, February 27, 2009
Box Lacrosse Goalie Tips
Question: Jonathan
I stumbled on your blog today and hope to have some time to
explore it a
little more.
My son started playing goalie in Box Lacrosse last year (Novice
10-11 years
old). Never having played lacrosse other than a little in
High School (and
never goalie), I am at a loss to help him improve. He
seems to have taken
to it and is sucsessful at the basics (As much as I know
anyway). He
attended the Edge Elevate Lacrosse camp in Calgary last year and
had fun,
but petered out a little wearing all the gear in the field and
finished off
playing out (He was the only goalie in that age group anyway).
Hopefully, you may have some tips for us as you have offered up
many on your
blog and via email.
Good drills/excersises for hand eye speed and eye tracking?
Basic drills he can do by himself or with his brother (Tyke,
8 under)
Drills or strategys I can employ in our practices for better
goalie> > development. (I like the suggestion of assigning shot
types and locations
for drill duration to exercise particular saves. I do that
in my Hockey
practices all the time..Doh)
Any other thoughts that you have a few moments to provide.
Thanks in advance...
**** Hugh McKay
Answer: Hey there Hugh. Sorry it's taken so long to get back. I'm getting bombarded by emails being the start of the season in the States.
Most of the frustration with young goalies and all of the problems for goalie at this age stems from them being physically weak due to their age. We all would wish our ten year olds were like high schoolers. Especially in box, with so much equipment. It is easier for a player who plays out to learn the game relative to the goalie who is encumbered by those huge pads. All of the things that you are looking to improve will get better as your son gets older and physically matures. Tracking, eye drills, etc really boil down to focus which is really hard with that age group as you know. As with most things, "He'll grow out of it." And into better things.
As far as drills and ideas there are around 100 posts and articles on my blog. Although most pertain to field lacrosse they are applicable to box as well. (I'm waiting for someone to revolutionize box with a modified non-stick holding glove. I have some ideas too.)
Being a hockey goalie as well I feel the pads for a box goalie are rediculous. The biggest improvements your son will make will be directly related to his strength levels. Get him in love with the gym and training. I always say, "You can make a goalie out of any athlete. You can't turn a goalie into an athlete." Now with time, your young son can turn into an athlete if he is wired for that. Go check out www.ltad.ca for some great info on athlete development. The guy is in Vancouver.
As far as getting the son and the brother playing, just let them play. A shot is a shot no matter who it comes from. Just make sure, as always, that your son feels safe in the cage and is protected. Although they look cool I think the visibility in hockey goalie masks suck for a box goalie. I'm a fan of the Brine Triad style helmets and think they would be perfect for box. Great vision. Way better than the hockey masks.
Hope that helps. Shoot me a note when you're on your way to Calgary. Maybe I can come watch a practice if I'm in the area and not out coaching or speaking. Hopefully he gets some good goalie coaching there specific for box and isn't just target practice.
All the best.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
I stumbled on your blog today and hope to have some time to
explore it a
little more.
My son started playing goalie in Box Lacrosse last year (Novice
10-11 years
old). Never having played lacrosse other than a little in
High School (and
never goalie), I am at a loss to help him improve. He
seems to have taken
to it and is sucsessful at the basics (As much as I know
anyway). He
attended the Edge Elevate Lacrosse camp in Calgary last year and
had fun,
but petered out a little wearing all the gear in the field and
finished off
playing out (He was the only goalie in that age group anyway).
Hopefully, you may have some tips for us as you have offered up
many on your
blog and via email.
Good drills/excersises for hand eye speed and eye tracking?
Basic drills he can do by himself or with his brother (Tyke,
8 under)
Drills or strategys I can employ in our practices for better
goalie> > development. (I like the suggestion of assigning shot
types and locations
for drill duration to exercise particular saves. I do that
in my Hockey
practices all the time..Doh)
Any other thoughts that you have a few moments to provide.
Thanks in advance...
**** Hugh McKay
Answer: Hey there Hugh. Sorry it's taken so long to get back. I'm getting bombarded by emails being the start of the season in the States.
Most of the frustration with young goalies and all of the problems for goalie at this age stems from them being physically weak due to their age. We all would wish our ten year olds were like high schoolers. Especially in box, with so much equipment. It is easier for a player who plays out to learn the game relative to the goalie who is encumbered by those huge pads. All of the things that you are looking to improve will get better as your son gets older and physically matures. Tracking, eye drills, etc really boil down to focus which is really hard with that age group as you know. As with most things, "He'll grow out of it." And into better things.
As far as drills and ideas there are around 100 posts and articles on my blog. Although most pertain to field lacrosse they are applicable to box as well. (I'm waiting for someone to revolutionize box with a modified non-stick holding glove. I have some ideas too.)
Being a hockey goalie as well I feel the pads for a box goalie are rediculous. The biggest improvements your son will make will be directly related to his strength levels. Get him in love with the gym and training. I always say, "You can make a goalie out of any athlete. You can't turn a goalie into an athlete." Now with time, your young son can turn into an athlete if he is wired for that. Go check out www.ltad.ca for some great info on athlete development. The guy is in Vancouver.
As far as getting the son and the brother playing, just let them play. A shot is a shot no matter who it comes from. Just make sure, as always, that your son feels safe in the cage and is protected. Although they look cool I think the visibility in hockey goalie masks suck for a box goalie. I'm a fan of the Brine Triad style helmets and think they would be perfect for box. Great vision. Way better than the hockey masks.
Hope that helps. Shoot me a note when you're on your way to Calgary. Maybe I can come watch a practice if I'm in the area and not out coaching or speaking. Hopefully he gets some good goalie coaching there specific for box and isn't just target practice.
All the best.
Jonathan - The Goalie Guru
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