Should I Drop To My Knees Like Bud Petit Does?

Question: I have been playing goalie for six months. I am also 5'10 185. I watched Bud Petit play and noticed that he stopped bounce shots of his chest when he went down to his knees. I would like to know when should i go to my knees for bounce shots? Another question is should i start doing this? How much affect will this have on my game?

Answer: Hey there Trey. Great question. I watched the UVA Syracuse game again last night for you. I only got through the first half, and the overtime and I think I see the saves you were talking about. Here are my thoughts.

Going to your knees is usually not done on purpose. There are rare occaisions but they are really advanced and not something I would necessarily teach to a guy with your level of experience. That being said I'll explain to you why Bud went to his his knees: He didn't do it as his primary action to make the save. His dropping to his knees was actually a byproduct of moving explosively to the ball.

In the first quarter Bud made a save on this crazy pick up by the attack man just off the crease. The TV angle wasn't the best but from what I could make of it the attack picked up the ball and got a quick shot off. Bud kept his stick high but dropped low with his body and the player shot it into him. You don't teach that sort of save. It comes with a ton of experience. He kept his stick high to respect any shot that could come hight but because the player was so tight to the crease he dropped down like a hockey goalie to block the ball with his body. With his defense so close he knows that the attack is going to get checked pretty quickly and that any shot would be either a quick stick or almost a hockey shot off the turf.

Another save Bud made in the first quarter resulted in Bud dropping to his knees but it was the result of him firing his hands so hard to the off stick low side that he just lost his balance. The save was made before he went to his knees but it may have looked to you like he dropped to his knees to make that save. He didn't. It was just the result of moving explosively over a long distance that threw his balance off.

Now a save you may have in mind is that save he made in overtime. There was the feed from behind the crease to that attack out front. In this case Bud saved it with his chest because when he turned to the ball he was in perfect position. The shooter did the best he could but ended up hitting Bud in the chest protector. As Bud rotated from behind he turned and realized that since the shooter was so close one of the only places he can go is five hole. So as Bud sees the stick go down he's going to start to drop. (This mental processing happens in an instant too) So on that save he made the save with his chest and then dropped. It wasn't that he was dropping to his knees to make the save.

Does that make sense? It's easy to think that he was dropping on purpose. That's not the case.

Now I will tell you this. I have always taught lacrosse goalies to act more like a short stop in baseball. Or even a catcher. Get your hands out in front of you and get your body in front of the ball. If you play like that you will stop more shots with your body. Instead of picking the ball out of the air with your stick you're going to bend your knees more and "block" shots. A lot of them will hit you in the chest but that comes more from the style of goaltending than anything. A great drill is to get a hold of a righty and a lefty catchers mitt from the baseball team. Now hop in the cage and stop bounce shots. I guarantee you that you will take on a more aggressive athletic stance. And you will throw your body in front of the ball to stop odd bounces. It's a great way to learn. I find that when goalies put a stick in their hand they tend to lose great body position.

Bud Petit did a phenomenal job in that game and he's a great example of a solid goalie.

Now you asked if you should start doing this. The answer is no. Sort of. You wouldn't actuall practice dropping to your knees. But if you focus on snuffing out low shots like a catcher would in baseball you're going to start to assume the right body position. You may end up on your knees as a byroduct but it's not your primary technique to make the save.

One reason we try not to drop to our knees is that it takes a lot of time to get back up. And in that time a bad rebound can go in as a goal. I'm sure you saw how fast some goals were scored on rebounds during the tournament. IF you're on your knees you don't have a chance, that's why we like to stay on our feet. Also, because you are so tall it will take you even longer to get back up than it would for a shorter goalie.

I hope that helps Trey. This is a fantastic question and a really insightful observation on your part. I can really see that you're dissecting the game and the technique of a great goalie. You're going to go far. Good luck and let me know how things go.

Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com

Should I Lotion My Pocket? How Do I Keep My Mesh From Breaking?

Question: Ryan from Virginia writes: Hey I play for a high school in northern Va and I am planning on restringing my eclipse and was wondering what mesh you think is best. I have 12d on now but it broke on the sidewall in my last game. I was thinking about trying hard mesh this time. I've heard putting lotion on hard mesh to soften it and get a large pocket works but i dont want to mess up the mesh, any ideas?



Answer: Hey Ryan. Sorry about UVA this weekend. I used to go to Dom Starsia's camp when he was at Brown so I'm a bit of a closet UVA fan now.

I'd stay with that 12D. You will have much better luck with the hard mesh. No need to soften it with any lotion. Just let it break in and you'll be all set. You'll like the mesh better once it breaks in without the lotion than with the lotion.

As for the sidewall. You probably won't have it wear again with the hard mesh like it did with the soft. You can string it right down the side with one lace OR a more advanced string job goes like this...cut a piece of sidewall lace that is three times the length of the sidewall. Then, take the sidewall lace and weave it up the side of the mesh starting at the bottom and then going all the way to the top. At the top of the mesh bring it over and tie it off on the plastic. Now you should have about a half to two/thirds of the sidewall lace left. String that lace between the plastic and the sidewall lace that you have woven through the mesh. Make sure you are looping it around the lace and NOT the mesh. This will give you an extra bit of give in the pocket and you won't ever bust out the mesh again. In twenty years of playing goal I've never blown out a mesh with this type of string job. It also gives you the ability to get more depth in the pocket but I doubt you'll need it with the 12D hard mesh.

Good luck with that and let me know how it goes. Make sure you check out my goalie blog and sign up for the newsletter. My email is on the front page of the blog.

All the best Ryan. Hey, what school do you play at?

Jonathan-
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com

Cool Article on Virginia Lacrosse Goalie Bud Petit

Cool article on starting goalie Bud Petit of Virginia at this years final four. He gets a lot of crap about being 24 and finally in his fifth year of college. Personally I don't mind at all and wish more athletes took advantage of the NCAA rules for eligibility. I would have been a 23 year old freshman at Notre Dame after having pursued my Olympic career. Go Bud!