Introduce Yourself

[Mroy31]

Hey all, apparently I haven't posted in here yet.

I've been playing goal full time for about 20 years.  Started when I was 10 when the goalie on our house league team sometimes wouldn't show up to games because her asshole parents were going through a rough divorce and just wouldn't take her to games.  She had her own equipment, so I got the league supplied stuff and would dress half-way and wait to see if she was coming or not.  Started full time the next year, the team gear that year had deer hair filled pads, and a trapper that was full brown leather with the cuff that went half way up your arm.  Parents decided it was time for my own gear.

Played varsity my senior year of HS, on a team that folded half-way through the season because we owed the local parks and rec a few thousand dollars and they froze our account so we couldn't get a bus to away games.  That was my one taste of select hockey, Intramural and Beer League since then.

Only recently got into the modding and finer details of gear.  I've been in Brian's, Vaughn, Brown, Bauer, Eddy, Itech, Koho

Currently on the shelf for a couple of weeks after busting up my ankle in slo-pitch softball playoffs, but back to my men's league A division team after that, avoiding the only potential winter without a team since I started playing hockey as a kid.

Happy to be here!

[MangoRhinehart]

I never introduced myself either.

I am also a former member of GSBB though I changed my alias, and I am trying to not be such a lurker.

I am a self taught goalie from Pittsburgh that started playing back in 2006 when I was 23.

Recently came back after being retired 4 years due to a lower back / hip injury that was nagging me everyday. Out of the blue my roommate from college said he started playing hockey and needed a goalie for a league and it started the next week. I was woefully out of shape having put on more weight than I care to admit and was going through a rough patch in life. So I said fuck it and agreed to play.  Went to a pickup game and felt like I was going to die after 20 minutes.  Made it through my first few games and decided to upgrade my gear, since everything I was using was around 10 years old.

[Max27]

Been playing hockey since i was 13, turning 16 next august, starting playing goalie at 14, my dad and i were playing street hockey after school i was in net, he told me "you should be a goalie" so i did lol

havent looked back since. 

[MangoRhinehart]

25 minutes ago, Max27 said:

Been playing hockey since i was 13, turning 16 next august, starting playing goalie at 14, my dad and i were playing street hockey after school i was in net, he told me "you should be a goalie" so i did lol

havent looked back since. 

My maltese collar is almost as old as you! 

[Max27]

1 minute ago, MangoRhinehart said:

My maltese collar is almost as old as you! 

haha

[dualshowman]

Hey all!

Former (current?) GSBB member/lurker. Born and raised in Illinois and currently reside in South Pasadena, California. I began playing hockey around 8 years old. Frozen retention ponds in winter are one of my most cherished memories. Started playing goal around 10 and in an indoor roller league and ice, as well. Ice exclusively by the time I was 13. I played on Varsity A and then on the top team in high school (AA Varsity) Sophomore through Senior. My high school wouldn't sanction the hockey team as it was deemed too violent, so we had to pay a good amount to play. We would do fundraisers and garbage detail at local fests and such. I had two jobs so I could pay for gear and the league. Since we were a 'club' team, we got into some good tournaments and traveled a bit. We played against some AAA teams and hung in there pretty well. I broke my left femur in a car collision late in my Junior year after the season was essentially over, but I was eager to get back to a normal existence. All seemed well, but then I spent months trying to have this lingering pain diagnosed. It felt as if nothing worked anymore. I carried a 1.73 GAA my Junior year and was now giving up 3 to 4 goals a night. I had to walk away from hockey that winter with no answers, a limp, and my first foray into depression. 

Over the next few months, my life was not getting any better, and the leg pain persisted. My parents did the best they could with the feedback I was giving them, but I simply wasn't giving them enough. Additionally, not one doctor suggested imagining the break site on my femur. It got to the point where my leg was quite literally bent outward - bending the titanium rod in the femur.  I eventually went to an ortho that essentially knew what was going on, and the x-ray confirmed as much - I had 'rebroken' my femur.  What was actually occurring was not unlike a stress fracture, albeit a massive one - the bone had unfused at the break site. I would need another surgery, a larger titanium rod, and extensive PT to get healthy again. My second summer in crutches...

Eventually, I began skating again at pickups. I played a season on the club team in college before it folded. I played sporadically and stopped for nearly 4 years. I started playing heavily around 28 -29 years old through 33, often times 6 times a week and multiple games a night. I was having a blast and feeling pretty good. I managed the inevitable injuries with a routine of stretching, therapy, and conditioning, and I felt pretty good most of the time. I was spending hours each week preparing my body and my gear for the ice, and I loved the routine. But, as it happens, circumstances often change.  My father passed away in late 2014 and I was in the middle of a divorce at the time. Also, I was struggling in my career and there just wasn't room in my life for being a reliable goalie. I decided to go on an indefinite hiatus until I could rekindle my love of playing hockey... which brings us to the present.

I am currently conditioning myself to get back on the ice this fall at the young age of 37. I feel as if it will be a smooth transition as I have been boxing, stretching, doing yoga, myofascial release, etc. I'll be skating again soon and probably contributing more to the GoalNet than I ever did on the GSBB. 

Thanks for reading!

[Patrick Roy's Wink]

Hey fellow goalies, 

Glad I found this place. I use to visit GSBB back in the day under a different name but that place has gone dry. 

Anyways, a bit about myself. I started playing the position on ice around 12 years ago. Loved it so much that I attended a few of the Performance Adult Goalie Clinics that Dave Wells ran. Those were fun. Those sessions really improved my game. I went through a few different goalie pads before settling on my current set. I rocked KOHO 590s, Reebok pro series 2 and 3 before settling on Warrior Ritual G1 pads along with Brian's subzero catcher and blocker. I've been serious eye balling the new G4s. I love the innovations that Pete Smith and Warrior are bringing to the table.

I haven't played the past two years due to a torn meniscus and partially torn ACL. I injured my knee playing ultimate frisbee so it wasn't even doing what I loved most. I played my first game last week with the help of a custom knee brace and It felt DAMN GOOD to be back on the ice. I hope my injury days are behind me now. Looking forward to visiting here often and contributing when I can.

Cheers!

[Lucky Pucker]

10 hours ago, Patrick Roy's Wink said:

Hey fellow goalies, 

Glad I found this place. I use to visit GSBB back in the day under a different name but that place has gone dry. 

Anyways, a bit about myself. I started playing the position on ice around 12 years ago. Loved it so much that I attended a few of the Performance Adult Goalie Clinics that Dave Wells ran. Those were fun. Those sessions really improved my game. I went through a few different goalie pads before settling on my current set. I rocked KOHO 590s, Reebok pro series 2 and 3 before settling on Warrior Ritual G1 pads along with Brian's subzero catcher and blocker. I've been serious eye balling the new G4s. I love the innovations that Pete Smith and Warrior are bringing to the table.

I haven't played the past two years due to a torn meniscus and partially torn ACL. I injured my knee playing ultimate frisbee so it wasn't even doing what I loved most. I played my first game last week with the help of a custom knee brace and It felt DAMN GOOD to be back on the ice. I hope my injury days are behind me now. Looking forward to visiting here often and contributing when I can.

Cheers!

Hey PRW! Gotta ask - you’re in The GTA, but a Habs fan? Or maybe just a Roy fan? I’m guilty on both counts myself - lol!

[Patrick Roy's Wink]

1 hour ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Hey PRW! Gotta ask - you’re in The GTA, but a Habs fan? Or maybe just a Roy fan? I’m guilty on both counts myself - lol!

Both! Habs and Roy fan.

[Hockey School Dropout]

Not sure how I missed this one......

Always loved hockey.  Played one season when I was 5 and never really learned how to skate.  Parents had no interest on hockey and used my inability to skate as an excuse to keep me out of it.  Loved street hockey and floor hockey, always as the goalie.  Fast forward to age 25 and started skating with the intent to play hockey.  Got in with a pickup group and played a couple years with them and found myself on a men's league team.  Played for 10 or so years and started running my own men's team.  I've played all skater positions (with varying success) and after having to find spare goalies far too often, I decided to jump in to something I always wanted to do - play goal.  So 7-8 years ago I bought a whack of used gear and took some adult goalie clinics (actually switching from skater to goalie during the first one).  Started playing with a group of mostly novice adult players, found my way onto a team and the rest is history.  

I still skate with a pickup group where I spare occasionally as a goalie, and I play in a league as a goalie with some assorted sparing here and there.

[Sandy56]

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a few weeks and have really found the forum posts useful/interesting. Decided it would be good to have an account to speak to fellow goalies as there's not a huge hockey scene in Wales! 

I've played inline on and off since 2005 (off from 2012 to a couple of months ago). I've moved home and reconnected with my old teammates who are all still playing and I'm so hyped for this season. Realised how much I missed hockey and being a goalie, sad that I have wasted possibly some of my best development years from 18 to 24. I have tried ice in the past but have never had the funds to get into it so I'm back playing on Cardiff's new purpose built roller rink!

I played at a high standard (relatively speaking, it being inline and in the UK) and I'm looking forward to working hard  to be even better than I was as a kid. As I've gotten older I'm enjoying keeping up with the pros more and am loving the gear siting thread. 

Thanks for having me!

[ccsgoalie]

Hey all,

I'm a sophomore in high school this year, and it will be my second year of varsity this year. I also play 16U midgets in a town nearby. I live in northern New York, but i was born in Albany and lived in Saratoga for 10 years before moving upstate.

Getting into goal tending was a challenge, because of how expensive the gear was on top of the fact I've played defense my whole life. We ended up texting one of my friends dads who was the Youth program director at the time, and he was able to get me some beginner level stuff. I'm extremely grateful, but I'm surprised i didn't die that first year with the stuff I was wearing. I had a very old jr level Itech mask, bauer reactor 4000 leg pads, a 5-6 year old reebok glove and blocker, and a large jr chest protector that only covered 3/4 of my arm. It was still an amazing year.

This will be my third year as goalie, and second year starting on varsity. We are aiming for a section championship at the least this year. For midgets we definitely have the talent to win a state championship and hope to do so.

I finally got some new gear this year:

Mask: CCM Pro 2017

Pads: CCM Premier 2.9

Glove: Reebok Premier Pro

Blocker: Vaughn Ventus

Chesty: Passau

Skates: CCM RBZ

Stick: An old reebok

[lummy31]

Hey all,

Been a full time goalie since 1977 when at 10yrs old my cousin gave me his Fibrosport mask that I coveted. And bang I had to wear a combo instead due to rules. Born in Toronto and now live in Austin TX. With stops in various places around the world - Helsinki, Leningrad (back when it was called that), Palo Alto, London England, Tokyo and a few others. Everywhere I've lived hockey has been the one constant - and the greatest people too. Love being a goalie and the continual learning to keep playing the game at good level. Was a member of GSBB before the house cleaning, and again afterward. Miss that place, but happy to have found this one. Figured it might be cool to show pic from 1st season as a goalie and one from US Nationals this year in Tampa. And one learning some new techniques this past summer.  

[Lucky Pucker]

6 hours ago, lummy31 said:

Hey all,

Been a full time goalie since 1977 when at 10yrs old my cousin gave me his Fibrosport mask that I coveted. And bang I had to wear a combo instead due to rules. Born in Toronto and now live in Austin TX. With stops in various places around the world - Helsinki, Leningrad (back when it was called that), Palo Alto, London England, Tokyo and a few others. Everywhere I've lived hockey has been the one constant - and the greatest people too. Love being a goalie and the continual learning to keep playing the game at good level. Was a member of GSBB before the house cleaning, and again afterward. Miss that place, but happy to have found this one. Figured it might be cool to show pic from 1st season as a goalie and one from US Nationals this year in Tampa. And one learning some new techniques this past summer.  

Wow - thanks for sharing, @lummy31 That Vic in the last pic looks soooo heavy. Can't imagine using one of those today.

Just curious - and not meaning to pry - but what was the reason for all that travel? That's quite an impressive list of places you've been! (Though you'd assume that when born in Toronto, you're already in the center of the universe, which precludes the need to go anywhere else! )

[Harkonnen26]

Hey all, 

I got started in hockey after I got out of the Marine Corps in 2013.  I had always wanted to play hockey as a kid, but never had the the chance to. After a few years of playing as a skater I got started in net. My fiancé plays in net and seeing the work she did got me hooked on goalie. So I've been playing in net for about 2 years now. Its been a challenge learning the skills necessary to play at 30. Thankfully I knew a coach who was willing to work with adult skaters which helped a lot.  Had to work on correcting a lot of biomechanical issues to be able to play at least semi competently.  I grew up in LA, moved to SD, and am now living in southern New Hampshire (fiancé got a job here).   Since I just moved to the area I'm play mostly pick up games until I get settled a bit more. 

[old but slow]

@Harkonnen26 Talk to Brian or Andrew at Monkey sports in Derry. they both have a pretty good feel for what's available in the southern part of the state. Hit me up if you're interested in playing farther north ( Lakes region, white mountain areas).

Welcome to the granite state, oh and the Forum of course.

[coopaloop1234]

Sup fellas, I want to contribute to this thread despite being an active member for a while. 

Been playing goal for about 8 years. Played as a shitty house defenseman until I was 16, took six years off and jumped into goaltending. 

Always loved the position, patents are just to cheap to pay for me to be a goalie. Don't blame em, my kids are all going to play soccer. 

Currently playing for two teams full time and four as their backup. Highest div is going against ex Jr B players and lifetime Rep guys. 

Lowest div is some serious ankle bending hockey. 

Anywho, I'm around, may as well spew my history. 

[Lucky Pucker]

Hi, @coopaloop1234! First question: for all the kids out there, what tips can you give them to grow up and be an elitist like you?

So I was reading your post, when I went "Woah, woah, woah - your kids...? Is a forfeit of your DINK status on the horizon....?"

9 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

my kids are all going to play soccer.  

[coopaloop1234]

2 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Hi, @coopaloop1234! First question: for all the kids out there, what tips can you give them to grow up and be an elitist like you?

So I was reading your post, when I went "Woah, woah, woah - your kids...? Is a forfeit of your DINK status on the horizon....?"

To become an elitist like myself, you require a huge inflation of your own self importance. Having full length mirrors in every room is a good way to jump start that mentality. 

Nah, no little elitists on the way or any time soon. There's still a wedding to plan and then a few years after that.

[Lucky Pucker]

15 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

To become an elitist like myself, you require a huge inflation of your own self importance. Having full length mirrors in every room is a good way to jump start that mentality. 

Nah, no little elitists on the way or any time soon. There's still a wedding to plan and then a few years after that.

So that's where I went wrong; I only have mirrors on the ceiling...

Glad to hear you're not rushed, man; little elitists will really eat into your playing and rioting time.

[lummy31]

On 10/10/2018 at 5:56 AM, Lucky Pucker said:

Wow - thanks for sharing, @lummy31 That Vic in the last pic looks soooo heavy. Can't imagine using one of those today.

Just curious - and not meaning to pry - but what was the reason for all that travel? That's quite an impressive list of places you've been! (Though you'd assume that when born in Toronto, you're already in the center of the universe, which precludes the need to go anywhere else! )

That stick was not as heavy as it looks since it was about 19" paddle... and I still have it. My dad saved it when he pulled it from the road hockey pile a few years after it was replaced since it was my very first goal stick. As to living in various parts of the world I work in the tech industry - principally wireless (phones) - so as its being developed or pioneered you where it goes to maximize market potential. 

[ThatCarGuy]

Helllo All,

I am a complete noob to goalie forums and hockey forums in general. I am a Texas high school Goalie for JV Gold and Varsity Bronze (I also play DSMHL 14U and 18U). I have joined these forums in hopes to pick up a few tips on how to be a better goalie. It's been a rough season overall for me and I just needed somewhere I could go to help and be helped. I am potentially one of the youngest members of this forum. I might cause great controversy over this statement, I am not a fan of the new Bauer pads. I prefer the older style stuff like the Vaughns I have.

My current hobby is remote control cars. I own 1 crawler, 1 short course truck, and 1 rally car. If I didn't put so much money into these then I could probably get my helmet wrapped or something cool like that. Also, y'all have some cool looking pads.

My current setup: Vaughn Ventus LT88 leg pads (34+2), Warrior G3 blocker, CCM Premier R1.9 Intermediate Glove, Vaughn SLR Pro CA, Bauer Profile 950X helmet, True A6.0 FCPro stick (25in paddle cut to 24in), Northstar G3 shooter stick (25in paddle), custom PAW neck protector, Graf Spura G4500 skates, Reebok Premier XLT thigh wraps, and Bauer Elite Knee Guards.

Go Raiders!

Edited October 15, 2018 by ThatCarGuy

[coopaloop1234]

21 minutes ago, ThatCarGuy said:

I am not a fan of the new Bauer pads. I prefer the older style stuff like the Vaughns I have.

My current setup: Vaughn Ventus LT88 leg pads (34+2),

Aren't you just adorable. Thinking that Ventus pads are an older style.

[ThatCarGuy]

1 minute ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Aren't you just adorable. Thinking that Ventus pads are an older style.

I did say I was a high schooler did I not? I'm aware that the Ventuses aren't old but it's a known fact that Vaughn has always trailed behind everyone else when it comes to new materials and designs.

[coopaloop1234]

1 minute ago, ThatCarGuy said:

I did say I was a high schooler did I not? I'm aware that the Ventuses aren't old but it's a known fact that Vaughn has always trailed behind everyone else when it comes to new materials and designs.

They're still a pretty new styled pad. Depending on the age of guys around here, old styled pad means many things.

For some of the older memebers on this site, it's deer leg pads

Others it's pre-butterfly era pads (80's/90's)

For others it's early velocity styled pads (V2-V4).