Goalie Czar - On Ice Game Video

[Adam Cooper]

Hi Goalies,

This is GoPro video of my Friday Night Shinny from a couple weeks ago.  First game back from being off for a month so I was a little rusty.  But I have to say, two players on the opposite team scored some highlight reel goals on me that I have to respect.  

[Adam Cooper]

This video is from last week's season opener with the Cerebral Czars hockey team in the Winter 2018/2019 True North Hockey League.  The level here is "D."  The Brewsters had our number last year so this was going to be a good test for our team.

[Adam Cooper]

This is video game footage from the Cerebral Czars game this week where we tied Dazed & Confused 3-3.  I was not that busy this game.

[Imperative]

Tough bounces on the first two goals and a bad breakdown on the third. No OT or shootouts to break ties? Overall you looked good

[Adam Cooper]

Thanks @Imperative!  No in the True North Hockey league during regular season if we tie there is not overtime or shootout.  Only in the playoffs.  Thanks for your comments.

[Adam Cooper]

Here is my game from last week. I was not sharp in this game and it was a really warm day so the puck was also bouncing everywhere.  The good news is we gave the 1st place team some close competition.  I'm confident we can get them next time.

[Math.]

Hey, great game.

On that second goal your analysis is spot on.  Had you challenged the shooter a bit more, that puck was heading for the backboard instead of the back of the net.  Great job on finding the puck through traffic right after that goal too!
Unlucky bounces on the short handed AND the last goals.

Two things I noticed:
- Your catching glove is often held fingers up, but not quite, making the glove face facing downward towards the ice.  I think you could benefit from either tilting it back up or usign a glove down position that would open up the face of the glove to potential incoming shots.  Personnaly I tried to focus on my fingers up position in my last game and keeping my hands WAY in front of me and it worked wonders!
- When you go into RVH (or really just down on your knees) when the puck is in the corners or down low, I noticed you have a tendency of leaving a gap between your skate/pad and the post opening up a hole (see 4:18) and potentially deflecting incomming shots in instead of out and away.

Overall great work, especialy and the top seed.
Cheers.

[coopaloop1234]

So there were two things that immediately popped out to me from skimming your videos:

1. Get up
2. Focus on getting up with the correct leg.

You, like many goalies (even myself), are wanting to slide everywhere. Unfortunately, you're getting beat in a few situations because of this. Skating to point to point is a faster, less energy intensive, and more precise way of moving around in the crease. As you improve your backside recovery technique and hone your knowledge of situations to remain down, you can get away with more of that style of play, but for the meantime, as you're a relatively new goalie, I'd recommend putting some more emphasis on your general skating from point to point.

Second point: There were times when you were getting up on the wrong foot. While most of the instances of this you weren't in any danger of facing a shot, it's still a very important habit to form. Especially if you want to play a way more modern style'd game (which by my previous point it looks like you do).

These two basic techniques are so damn pivotal for your overall development. Keep these in mind as you're playing and learning and eventually they will become second nature and will allow you to focus on and improve more technical aspects of your game.

Keep at it.  

[Adam Cooper]

Thank you so much for this great feedback @Math. and @coopaloop1234.  This is so appreciated.

I have a game tonight and I'm going to try to work on a couple of these areas. 

• The glove position has definitely been an issue and I have noticed it dropping.
• RVH - most definitely.  I find the RVH the most difficult save selection to get right and then being able to quickly push off to the other post.
• Get Up - I notice that the majority of goals scored on me are when I'm down and less mobile.   Totally agree.  Can't be lazy here.
• Correct Leg - this has been the most difficult to correct.  Still definitely a work in progress.  

Thanks again.  We'll see if I am able to make any changes in my next video post from tonight's game.

[Math.]

2 hours ago, Adam Cooper said:

Thank you so much for this great feedback @Math. and @coopaloop1234.  This is so appreciated.

I have a game tonight and I'm going to try to work on a couple of these areas. 

• The glove position has definitely been an issue and I have noticed it dropping.
• RVH - most definitely.  I find the RVH the most difficult save selection to get right and then being able to quickly push off to the other post.
• Get Up - I notice that the majority of goals scored on me are when I'm down and less mobile.   Totally agree.  Can't be lazy here.
• Correct Leg - this has been the most difficult to correct.  Still definitely a work in progress.  

Thanks again.  We'll see if I am able to make any changes in my next video post from tonight's game.

RHV - the one thing I use (and probably overuse) and only recently started keeping my self in check with.  Rule of thumb: DO NOT GO DOWN until they reach the bottom of the face off circles.

Also, read this article, makes this graphic all the more relevant.

Correct leg - One I'm still struggling with.  VERY hard to fight your body's natural instinct but it's possible.....apparently!

[Adam Cooper]

Thanks for sharing this diagram. That spot between the purple area to the face off dot is where I’ve been nailed. Have to be much quicker at pushing out of the RVH to then challenge. 

[Adam Cooper]

This last week’s game our team the Czars did not fair too well and this other team had a really strong player who made us all look bad. He got 3 of their 5 goals.  

[Math.]

- Pushes from right to left where good on you this week.
- I think you could cut back just a tad on your team's goal.  The lenght of the sequence I mean, not cutting out the actual footage of the goal.
- 2:36 - Ohhhhhh, that falling over save.  Nice one!
- 2:50 - You went down early.  Kind of lucky the guy tripped over and didn't got off a good shot.
- 2nd goal - What happened, lost visual of the puck?
- 6:15 - Class move from the other team's guy with the pad tap after the save.
- 3rd goal - Great deflection you gotta give it to the guy!
- 5th goal - Now that's just showing off.

Cheers.

[Adam Cooper]

15 minutes ago, Math. said:

- Pushes from right to left where good on you this week.
- I think you could cut back just a tad on your team's goal.  The lenght of the sequence I mean, not cutting out the actual footage of the goal.
- 2:36 - Ohhhhhh, that falling over save.  Nice one!
- 2:50 - You went down early.  Kind of lucky the guy tripped over and didn't got off a good shot.
- 2nd goal - What happened, lost visual of the puck?
- 6:15 - Class move from the other team's guy with the pad tap after the save.
- 3rd goal - Great deflection you gotta give it to the guy!
- 5th goal - Now that's just showing off.

Cheers.

Wow, you rock!  Thanks again for the continued feedback. This is so awesome and really helpful.  

- Good point on my team goals. I’ll try to tighten up those edits next game. 

- 2nd goal (I think you mean 4th one) I panicked and thought he was going to go right side vs left. Should have delayed. 

- Nice to get those taps from time to time from the other team. 

- 3rd goal was unreal.  Guy has awesome hand eye coordination and I was ready for the high shot. No chance.  

- 5th goal was also great goal by 21. I just got really upset because my team mates gave up and stopped skating. That was also 21 giving it to us as we took several penalties trying to body him. 

As always, thanks for taking the time to watch and provide coaching tips. 

[Math.]

- No I meant 2nd (3:40).  Looking back at it, I think you might have not expected the other guy alone in the slot on your right.
- For the fourth goal the guy had zero pressure and all the time he wanted right in the slot has the forward half-assed a pass block and then for some reason decided to skate away towards the other team's zone.  I think whatever you would've prepared for he could have waited you out and place it in a hole.
- Question: what trapper are you using?

[Adam Cooper]

On 10/22/2018 at 12:49 AM, Math. said:

- No I meant 2nd (3:40).  Looking back at it, I think you might have not expected the other guy alone in the slot on your right.
- For the fourth goal the guy had zero pressure and all the time he wanted right in the slot has the forward half-assed a pass block and then for some reason decided to skate away towards the other team's zone.  I think whatever you would've prepared for he could have waited you out and place it in a hole.
- Question: what trapper are you using?

I’m using a Brian’s Opt1k, game ready palm, with skate lace and a double T. Love this glove. Right now I’m finding that holding at 2o’clock is better than 12 o’clock. If pucks go in basket they stay there.  My 2 errors are dropping my glove and not tracking the puck into the glove.

[Adam Cooper]

Solid win this week with the Cerebral Czars. One team in our division got bumped up and another above us got dropped down so now our team’s in 2nd place with a 1-2-2 record.  

https://youtu.be/KwC0tULEzyU

[Hockey School Dropout]

What camera are you using?  I'd like to ask for an upgrade for xmas cause my hero3 just doesn't do a nice enough job anymore.

Second, why do you drop into rvh when there is no threat from the side?  A couple times you nearly got burned because of it.  While you move pretty well when down, it's still easier to move on your feet.

[Adam Cooper]

@Hockey School Dropout Hi. I use a GoPro Hero 5.  I picked it up this year from Costco for a decent price and it came with an extra battery and other extras. To set it up for hockey I had to buy the joby suction cup and Hero Super Case to protect it. Knock on wood it’s never fallen off the glass and never taken a direct hit. The battery will last about 1.5 hours filming. I picked up those accessories here in Canada at a photo shop called Henry’s but I believe you can also get them on Amazon. 

Thanks for the coaching tips. Agree, I should stay up standing longer.  I will try next game to focus on that so I can recover and move quicker.  I’ll be posting my game from tonight later this week.  Thanks again for the feedback.

[Hockey School Dropout]

Yeah, I've got the suction cup mount.  Mine has taken a few hits and fallen once in 5-6 years, still going strong!

[Adam Cooper]

This week our team struggled offensively.  I think it affected the guys after the 1st period when they had lots of chances and nothing to show for it.  For me, I was not as aggressive on  one goal and another I needed to really slam my pads down and flare my legs to protect the goal line.  This team has a guy who is very aggressive in front of the net (which I admire as I'd love to have him on my team) and he's now scored 2 goals on me in two games on second rebounds and just shoving the puck under me.

[Aquilzz]

Nice vids! Guilty pleasure of mine to watch beer league videos while I do other work in the background. 

Something I've been noticing, you look sort of off balance in your stance. It looks to me because you are leaning a bit too far back. You appear bigger like this (your chest is more upright), but it's causing you to go down into your butterfly off balance. 

In your stance, you want to be on the balls of your feet. I always stress you want to be on your metatarsals in your stance (specifically on your big toe). 

Pretty much this area:

 

If you balance there and keep your knees bent, I promise you will be butterflying a lot more naturally. 

I used to work as a goalie instructor so if you have any questions, DM me!

[Adam Cooper]

@Aquilzz thanks so much for the comments and feedback. That’s one of the keys for posting to this group. I feel very lucky people like you are taking the time to share some tips. 

I never thought about my feet and balance on them being an issue but I’m going to be more aware of this next game. Great illustration above. 

I am about to update my skate insoles to Superfeet as I have felt my feet move around my skate a bit more than I would like especially if I wear a thinner sock. This may also assist in helping with balancing more on the front of my foot. 

Thanks again!

[Imperative]

Always tough to lose but if your team only scores one you have to be perfect to win. You had some big saves in there. I am always hesitant to give other goalies advice especially if they don’t have ice time outside of games to work on things. Mainly because I know for myself when I am playing my best I am just reading and reacting to the game in front of me instead of thinking about what I am supposed to be doing.  That said two things I have noticed in your game which are a small adjustments but I think would help your game, one is stay square to the puck, a couple of times you were more parallel to the goal line than square to the puck as the shot was coming in. Two, recover to your feet quickly when the puck isn’t in danger of a quick rebound. Just keep working on your skating as well, that goes for all of us goalies, we are only as good as we can skate. 

[Math.]

0:39 - Lucky that 2m for tripping hasn't been a penalty shot!
1:02 - Great job by the D in black.  Shin pad tap.
1:35 - Great job on the wrap around.
2:10 - Great reaction save.  Stick wasn't covering the 5hole during the slide though.
2:50 - Ah man, I've had that same exact moment two games ago. (see attachment!)
3:15 - Early whistle is a savior sometimes.  That being said, no way that guy should have even get to the paint without a D between him and the goal line.
3:43 - You follow the puck to the corner but you weren't on your post, anything from the corner in would have most likely bounced in.  Also, once you recovered to your feet seems like you weren't stable on your feet.

I notice you keep your glove hand facing down.  One thing I try and be conscious of is the concept of active hands.  Basically it's about keeping your hands way in front of your body.  Personally I notice it does two major things:
- Allows you to have a better visual on your gloves, hence making it a lot easier to track pucks all the way into you.
- Forces you to present the "working ends" of your gloves.  It just comes naturally.  Otherwise, you're presenting the back side of your glove pocket and your finger board!

Curiosity, how do you tie up your throat protector?

Loosing sucks but hey, .897 is something I've never achieved so, be proud my friend!