Thinking of trying standup instead of the modern game

[bunnyman666]

55 minutes ago, CJ Boiss said:

Elastic bootstrap? Depends on how tight your toes-ties are, and how snugly the rest of the pad is strapped. Tight toes and snug straps would make any kind of bootstrap extraneous.

Loosen either of those up and you might see some benefit from an elastic boot strap.

Interesting thought. I know that a tight bootstrap was designed to limit rotation. I am definitely still in the thought stage and have to see where things go from an experiment.

And this is kinda where it could be me extending my save selection more so than going totally stand up. The pads I currently use full-time are total butterfly, with elastics everywhere. Not the totally flumpy floppy loose pads as they do stay firm to my legs for the most part until I go down. 

Now- it could be a case where I go totally into the abyss with my old Vorteks. I am dipping my toes and seeing where it takes me...

[Fullright]

It does throw a curve balls at the players unless they skate with their heads up. The high shooting - "bar down" - happens anyway...esp if you;re short.

[bunnyman666]

11 hours ago, Fullright said:

It does throw a curve balls at the players unless they skate with their heads up. The high shooting - "bar down" - happens anyway...esp if you;re short.

I am in the Short Old Man Goalie club, so bar down is a regular occurrence for me. 

[Scythe]

i feel like such a fool when i have to use the crossbar to help myself stand up sometimes .

[bunnyman666]

22 minutes ago, Scythe said:

i feel like such a fool when i have to use the crossbar to help myself stand up sometimes .

Don’t feel bad as I resemble that remark!

[Colander]

3 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

I am in the Short Old Man Goalie club, so bar down is a regular occurrence for me. 

OK guys, once again, we are not "short", we are Goalies Of Diminutive Stature" aka GODS!

[robertbarker]

Interesting discussion here!  I am of the  ancient , diminutive , and mobility challenged category and my game was always stand up.  Now, coming back to play after 15 years I'm struggling with it a bit.  I found when I first started shooters were always picking top corners until they realized that as a stand up with a decent glove hand I was going to gobble those up  about 95% of the time.  Then they started shooting low and they are blowing right by me because my "kick save" has evaporated due to lack of leg conditioning.  Also, I don't find my new gear very conducive to that style of play.  If I go down I'm not flexible enough to butterfly so one pad rotates and the other doesn't which is certainly not helpful.  Now I see there are others like me and it gives me hope!

[bunnyman666]

49 minutes ago, robertbarker said:

Interesting discussion here!  I am of the  ancient , diminutive , and mobility challenged category and my game was always stand up.  Now, coming back to play after 15 years I'm struggling with it a bit.  I found when I first started shooters were always picking top corners until they realized that as a stand up with a decent glove hand I was going to gobble those up  about 95% of the time.  Then they started shooting low and they are blowing right by me because my "kick save" has evaporated due to lack of leg conditioning.  Also, I don't find my new gear very conducive to that style of play.  If I go down I'm not flexible enough to butterfly so one pad rotates and the other doesn't which is certainly not helpful.  Now I see there are others like me and it gives me hope!

I have been a Giggy fly at best goalie. I have to rely upon perfect positioning or I get burnt in the butterfly. 

But maybe I am actually trying to become hybrid stand up centric. My game is still evolving at this point. Whilst not believing that I will be inventing a new style of play, a lot of shooters who expects a goal line slider finds me hard to shoot on. If I could get into better conditioning, I’d like to try more Hasek-style play. 

[Fullright]

I was off for 16 years (from 34 to 50) and boy oh boy did hockey change during that interval. I don't think standup, hybrid, or butterfly gives us an innate or inherent edge on the shooters. I think they key is to get in the best shape you can. Adding to the age issue is the diminutive nature of some of us. For me, I have to work much harder now than I did in my 20s or 30s. The big reason for that, as I see it, is how the Os have changed. Used to be a guy came in and fired as hard as he could from the blue line to the dot. You got dented because the gear sucked but once you had the angle (read "squared up") it was not a physically taxing save to make. So you really only had to worry about the rebound.  Now, most guys don't do that; they look to make a play. Now a lot of O is cross crease/backdoor pass and for a diminutive guy like me that means I have to move more laterally and do so as quickly as possible. So I think whichever approach/style us older diminutive goalies play, mobility is huge and use whatever gear helps make that happen. 

This is an awesome topic. I love these conversations/discussions.

[bunnyman666]

The biggest reason why the NHL is most likely leaving the gear alone is that most modern goal pads are one-timer trainers, shooting the puck back almost as hard as they shot it. Juicy, juicy rebounds. I know as a few shooters use my pads as one-timer trainers and that rebound goes in bar down, and it sure pisses me off!

@Fullright I am happy as hell you’re in this discussion.

[robertbarker]

That's a really good point Fullright,  based on my limited experience and some of the youtube video's I have watched there seems to be much more passing which makes mobility a much more important skill.  I've watched your videos and you are doing an amazing job of getting in front of the puck.  You're playing at a lot higher level than I am 

[kyledjean]

16 hours ago, robertbarker said:

Interesting discussion here!  I am of the  ancient , diminutive , and mobility challenged category and my game was always stand up.  Now, coming back to play after 15 years I'm struggling with it a bit.  I found when I first started shooters were always picking top corners until they realized that as a stand up with a decent glove hand I was going to gobble those up  about 95% of the time.  Then they started shooting low and they are blowing right by me because my "kick save" has evaporated due to lack of leg conditioning.  Also, I don't find my new gear very conducive to that style of play.  If I go down I'm not flexible enough to butterfly so one pad rotates and the other doesn't which is certainly not helpful.  Now I see there are others like me and it gives me hope!

Have you tried half butterfly? One leg under you with the pad flat on the ice, the other kicked out into a butterfly. Much less need for flexibility. Or even paddle down potvin style. The recent broduer interview even has him talking about potvin, especially when screen, would go paddle down on shots from the point. So one pad would be under you the other would be reaching out, without the knee coming down to the ice, and would have the paddle down for five hole coverage. Talked about how he would just be able to freeze is all the time like that. If you guys haven’t listened to that interview it’s awesome. I think it was in goal magazines podcast this last week.

[kyledjean]

If anyone is looking for drills to get them in shape. The quickest easiest thing would be to make a slide board to build up your outside quads. If you guys weight train, Abductors and feet together squats will get you there as well. And if you’re really into it making a Russian v would work.

[Wonder35]

Bunnyman, welcome to my world. I have come from 40 years of stand-up to my version of hybrid. 

You guys have seen my current gear, nearly 10 year old leather Battram gloves and pads that allow for some rotation, about as much as my highly  modified body can handle. 

I am 70 this year, been a goaltender my entire life and still play with the young guys, young being a relative term (age 55+).

I did your move in reverse, adapting my game to incorporate some butterfly over the past 20 years. Being 5' 7" it doesn't make a great deal of sense to go down on every shot directed towards the net plus many of you will find that age does have an adverse affect on a game based upon a steady flow of up and down moves (Breaking News!!!!!).  I suspect that 30+ seasons of butterfly will lead to some nasty hip, back and knee issues so that many advocates are going to have trouble playing into their later years without making adaptations to their game.

Have fun.  Be mindful of your body.  Keep your stick on the ice.

[robertbarker]

8 hours ago, kyledjean said:

Have you tried half butterfly? One leg under you with the pad flat on the ice, the other kicked out into a butterfly. Much less need for flexibility. Or even paddle down potvin style. The recent broduer interview even has him talking about potvin, especially when screen, would go paddle down on shots from the point. So one pad would be under you the other would be reaching out, without the knee coming down to the ice, and would have the paddle down for five hole coverage. Talked about how he would just be able to freeze is all the time like that. If you guys haven’t listened to that interview it’s awesome. I think it was in goal magazines podcast this last week.

Half butterfly, huh?  I have been doing a version of that with mediocre success but I didn't realize it was a "thing".   I can only do it to the stick side side presently probably  because I focus on trying to catch the puck  if the play is to that side.  I always considered my glove hand as my best asset and I've even been known to bait the shooter there from time to time.  Paddle down I have not tried.  

[kyledjean]

48 minutes ago, robertbarker said:

Half butterfly, huh?  I have been doing a version of that with mediocre success but I didn't realize it was a "thing".   I can only do it to the stick side side presently probably  because I focus on trying to catch the puck  if the play is to that side.  I always considered my glove hand as my best asset and I've even been known to bait the shooter there from time to time.  Paddle down I have not tried.  

If you can try to find a Jim park video from back in the day. Main goalie in the video wears a red jersey and I think might wear a player helmet. If there’s a little goalie named chuckie you got the right video. I’ll see if I can find a link. But I think it will really help you in your journey and might give you some inspiration. 

[kyledjean]

1 minute ago, kyledjean said:

If you can try to find a Jim park video from back in the day. Main goalie in the video wears a red jersey and I think might wear a player helmet. If there’s a little goalie named chuckie you got the right video. I’ll see if I can find a link. But I think it will really help you in your journey and might give you some inspiration. 

[kyledjean]

What state are you in bunnyman?

[TheWall0211]

45 minutes ago, kyledjean said:

I can’t stop watching these videos.  Amazing.  Some parts of the goalie game have changed a lot.  Some not at all.

[bunnyman666]

4 hours ago, kyledjean said:

What state are you in bunnyman?

IL near St. Louis, MO metro area.

[Fullright]

@Wonder35, that is amazing. Bravo Sir!

[CJ Boiss]

6 hours ago, kyledjean said:

Oh man, that's some classic 80's goodness!

"I'm wearing about forty pounds of equipment..."
And check out the player he sends flying at 2:45. XD

[EDIT] AND IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT GLORIOUS 'STACHE!? NO! IT IS NOT POSSIBLE!

[DL42]

6 hours ago, kyledjean said:

If you can try to find a Jim park video from back in the day. Main goalie in the video wears a red jersey and I think might wear a player helmet. If there’s a little goalie named chuckie you got the right video. I’ll see if I can find a link. But I think it will really help you in your journey and might give you some inspiration. 

thats the 2nd video

[Punisher Goalie]

First chance I get, I am 100% going to watch that whole video. Best intro ever lol. 

Been enjoying this thread. At 37, I am realizing that I have only a few years left playing my current style of game which relies on every ounce of flexibility I have left to execute a mostly-butterfly/blocking style, despite being 5’8”ish. 

Since joining this site I’ve been a big fan of @Fullright‘s playing style and have been experimenting here and there at pickup sessions with some of the most “traditional” stand up saves with an eye toward adapting for the future. Although I’m always keeping an eye on eBay for a “new old stock” set of old school pads that would fit me, eventually thinking I would commission a set of stand-up style pads from Kenesky or similar builder who can do something with modern materials.  

[cwarnar]

Jim Park's video was given to me b the and one and only goalie coach I had growing up.  I was always jealous of the kid who had the pop up bungee style butterfly...