Short Answer
PROBABLY NOT.
THEHOCKEYRESOURCE.COM SAYS Many hockey practices are designed primarily around developing forwards and defencemen. Unfortunately, Goalie Practice Development can become secondary to the needs of the skaters.
Players work on passing, puck control, timing, skating and shooting. Meanwhile, goalies are often placed at the end of a drill to stop whatever shot eventually arrives.
From the stands, that can look like excellent development because the goalie is constantly busy.
However, effective Goalie Practice Development requires more than simply facing a large number of shots.
Many of those shots don’t resemble what goalies actually see during games.
Why Goalie Practice Development Matters
Our hockey development people include a former owner of the Kenesky Goalie School, along with decades of minor hockey coaching and player-development experience.
That experience provides a practical understanding of goalie development, team practices and the challenge of integrating meaningful goaltender development into practices designed for an entire team.
However, we don’t rely on experience alone.
Before publishing this Hockey Answer, we tested our conclusions against established hockey-development guidance, recognized goaltending information and real-world goalie experiences.
What Did We Find?
A majority of the independent hockey sources we reviewed supported our central conclusion.
The information consistently supported several principles:
- Quality of repetitions matters.
- Appropriate recovery matters.
- Game-like situations matter.
- Position-specific goalie development matters.
- Simply increasing shot volume does not automatically create better goalie development.
Does Your Goalie Practice Development Look Like a Game?
Consider a typical end-to-end drill.
A player may skate uncontested toward the goalie, have plenty of time to prepare a shot and release the puck without meaningful defensive pressure.
Another player follows. Soon, another puck is coming toward the net.
Perhaps the drill becomes repeated 1-on-0 or 2-on-0 rushes.
The skaters may be accomplishing exactly what the coach intended.
But what is the goalie learning?
During an actual game, the goalie isn’t simply waiting for the next shooter.
Instead, the goalie must read:
- Defensive pressure
- Passing options
- Screens and traffic
- Back-door threats
- Possible deflections
- Rebound opportunities
- Changing shooting angles
- Puck movement across the slot
- Plays developing around or behind the net
- Whether the puck carrier actually has enough time to shoot
Therefore, the better question isn’t:
How many shots did our goalie face?
It’s:
How many game-like situations did our goalie actually practise?
Good Goalie Practice Development should increasingly prepare goalies to recognize and react to situations they will actually encounter during games.
Can Shot Volume Hurt Goalie Practice Development?
YES.
A goalie may face dozens of shots during an actual game. However, those shots normally occur within the natural rhythm of hockey.
Practice can be very different.
After one save, another puck may arrive almost immediately. Before the goalie has properly recovered, another player can already be preparing to shoot.
There may be little opportunity to reset, track the rebound or prepare for the next situation.
Eventually, fatigue matters.
Independent goalie-development information reviewed for this answer repeatedly emphasized the importance of allowing goalies to prepare, complete the save process and recover appropriately between repetitions.
MORE SHOTS ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY BETTER SHOTS.
Why Recovery Matters in Goalie Practice Development
This may be one of the most overlooked problems in team practice.
Imagine a goalie spending much of practice facing repeated high-volume shooting drills.
Later, the team moves into:
3-on-2
4-on-4
5-on-5
Power Play
Penalty Kill
Defensive-Zone Situations
Those may be among the most valuable portions of practice for the goalie because they require actual hockey reads.
Unfortunately, the goalie may now be physically and mentally tired.
Technique can deteriorate. Recoveries may become slower, while positioning and concentration can also suffer.
Then goals start going in.
The coach watches the goalie struggle during the most game-like portion of practice and concludes:
The goalie didn’t look very good today.
But there’s another question the coach should ask:
DID THE PRACTICE STRUCTURE HELP CREATE WHAT I AM NOW SEEING?
Effective Goalie Practice Development should prepare the goalie for the game-like portion of practice, not exhaust the goalie before it begins.
What Did Our Goalie Practice Development Research Find?
Before finalizing our position on Goalie Practice Development, we reviewed established hockey-development information, goaltending guidance and real-world goalie experiences.
A majority of the independent information reviewed supported our conclusion.
Established development guidance cautioned against excessive rapid-fire shooting without adequate recovery.
Other information emphasized increasingly realistic situations as goalies develop.
In addition, coaching guidance stressed that goalies need enough time to prepare for the shot, make the save, deal with the rebound and recover for the next situation.
Real-world goalie experiences frequently described high-volume practices as more exhausting than games because shots can arrive every few seconds without the natural breaks created by normal hockey play.
THE WEIGHT OF THE INFORMATION WE REVIEWED SUPPORTED OUR CONCLUSION.
A goalie can be extremely busy during practice without necessarily receiving excellent goalie development.
What Should Goalie Practice Development Include?
Effective Goalie Practice Development should address the needs of the goalie rather than simply using the goalie as the final part of a skater drill.
When part of practice is designed almost entirely for skater development, the team’s goalies may benefit more from spending some of that time receiving position-specific instruction.
Depending on age and development needs, that work could include:
- Positioning and depth
- Close-in play
- Post integration
- Lateral movement
- Tracking through traffic
- Rebound control
- Recoveries
- Screens and deflections
- Puck handling
- Plays from behind the net
- Individual weaknesses identified during games
Afterward, the goalies can return when practice moves into realistic team situations.
Now the goalie isn’t simply stopping another puck.
THE GOALIE IS READING HOCKEY.
How Coaches Can Improve Goalie Practice Development
Every hockey practice should answer two questions.
First:
WHAT ARE THE SKATERS LEARNING?
Then:
WHAT ARE THE GOALIES LEARNING?
If the answer to the second question is simply:
They’re getting shots.
the drill may be accomplishing considerably more for the skaters than for the goalies.
That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad drill.
Instead, the coach should recognize who the drill is actually developing and determine whether the goalies could use that practice time more effectively.
Better Goalie Practice Development means deliberately deciding when the goalie should participate in a team drill and when position-specific coaching may provide greater value.
Our Goalie Practice Development Conclusion
ARE YOUR HOCKEY PRACTICES ACTUALLY DEVELOPING YOUR GOALIES?
PROBABLY NOT AS MUCH AS YOU THINK.
Goalie Practice Development should not be measured simply by the number of shots a goalie faces.
Goalies certainly need shots and repetitions. However, those repetitions should have a developmental purpose.
Position-specific instruction, appropriate recovery and game-like reads should also be part of the practice.
A majority of the independent hockey information we reviewed supported this approach to Goalie Practice Development.
The objective isn’t to give goalies less work.
IT’S TO MAKE MORE OF THEIR WORK MEANINGFUL.
DEVELOP WHAT THE GOALIE WILL ACTUALLY SEE IN A GAME.
DON’T JUST SHOOT AT THE GOALIE.
We Report What the Research Finds
Hockey rarely produces 100% agreement.
Coaches, players, parents, organizations and specialists can look at the same situation and reach different conclusions.
Before publishing, Search the Hockey Answer™ tests its experience-based conclusions against established independent hockey information.
When a majority of the independent sources we review support our conclusion, we tell you.
When credible information provides a different opinion or legitimate alternative approach, we include that perspective as well.
Our objective isn’t to claim universal agreement.
We provide an experienced hockey answer, independently test it and report what the broader hockey information tells us.
Have Another Hockey Question?
Agree with our answer? Have a different hockey experience? Perhaps this answer made you think of something you had never considered asking.
Contact The Hockey Resource™ with your hockey question.
Your question may become another Search the Hockey Answer™ and help another hockey parent, player or coach facing the same situation.
Search Other Hockey Answers
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GOALIES: What Should They Short Answer
PROBABLY NOT AS MUCH AS YOU THINK.
Many hockey practices are designed around developing forwards and defencemen. As a result, Goalie Practice Development can become secondary.
Skaters practise passing, skating, puck control, timing and shooting. Goalies, meanwhile, are often placed at the end of those drills to stop whatever shots eventually arrive.
A goalie may face a lot of pucks during practice.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the goalie is receiving good development.
The more important question is whether those repetitions resemble the situations a goalie actually faces during a game.
Why Goalie Practice Development Matters
Our hockey development people include a former owner of the Kenesky Goalie School, along with decades of minor hockey coaching and player-development experience.
That background provides practical experience with both goalie development and team-practice environments.
However, Search the Hockey Answer™ does not rely solely on experience.
Before publishing this answer, we tested our conclusions against established hockey-development information, recognized goaltending guidance and real-world goalie experiences.
A majority of the independent information we reviewed supported our conclusion.
Does Goalie Practice Development Resemble the Game?
Consider a common end-to-end drill.
One player comes down the ice and shoots. Shortly afterward, another player follows.
Perhaps the drill produces repeated 1-on-0 or 2-on-0 opportunities.
The drill may be excellent for developing a particular skating, passing or shooting skill.
For the goalie, however, something is missing.
During a game, goalies must read:
- Defensive pressure
- Passing options
- Screens
- Traffic
- Back-door threats
- Deflections
- Rebounds
- Changing shooting angles
- Puck movement across the slot
- Plays developing around the net
In other words, goalies aren’t simply reacting to shots.
GOALIES ARE READING HOCKEY.
Effective Goalie Practice Development should help them develop those reads.
Can Shot Volume Hurt Goalie Practice Development?
YES.
Shots during a game normally occur within the natural rhythm of hockey.
Practice can be very different.
A goalie makes a save. Another shot arrives. Before the goalie properly resets, the next shooter may already be coming.
Eventually, fatigue becomes part of the drill.
Independent goalie-development information reviewed for this answer repeatedly emphasized appropriate recovery between repetitions.
That’s important because the objective isn’t merely to stop the first puck.
The goalie needs time to prepare, make the save, respond to the rebound, recover and prepare for what happens next.
MORE SHOTS ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
Why Recovery Matters in Goalie Practice Development
Consider what often happens near the end of practice.
The team finally moves into:
3-on-2
4-on-4
5-on-5
Power Play
Penalty Kill
Defensive-Zone Play
These are valuable situations for goalies because they begin to resemble actual hockey.
Unfortunately, the goalie may already be exhausted from everything that came before.
Technique can deteriorate as fatigue increases. Likewise, recoveries can become slower and concentration can decline.
Then goals start going in.
A coach may conclude:
The goalie didn’t look very good today.
There’s another question worth asking:
DID THE PRACTICE HELP CREATE THE PERFORMANCE WE ARE NOW EVALUATING?
Good Goalie Practice Development should prepare goalies for realistic hockey situations rather than exhaust them before those situations begin.
What Did Our Goalie Practice Development Research Find?
We tested our experience-based conclusion against established hockey-development information and real-world goaltending experiences.
A majority of the independent information reviewed supported our position.
Across the material reviewed, several themes appeared repeatedly:
Quality matters alongside quantity.
Goalies need appropriate recovery.
Game-like situations are important.
Position-specific coaching has value.
Rapid, unrealistic shooting does not automatically produce better goalies.
Hockey rarely produces complete agreement. Nevertheless, the weight of the information we reviewed supported the central concern behind this Hockey Answer.
What Should Goalie Practice Development Include?
Goalies need position-specific instruction.
Depending on the player’s age and individual needs, development might include:
- Positioning and depth
- Close-in play
- Post integration
- Lateral movement
- Tracking through traffic
- Rebound control
- Recoveries
- Screens and deflections
- Puck handling
- Plays from behind the net
- Weaknesses identified during games
Some portions of team practice may therefore be better used for dedicated goalie instruction.
Later, when practice moves into realistic team situations, the goalies can return.
Now the goalie isn’t merely receiving shots.
The goalie is reading the play, anticipating options and responding to hockey situations.
How Can Coaches Improve Goalie Practice Development?
Every drill should create two questions for the coaching staff:
WHAT ARE THE SKATERS LEARNING?
and:
WHAT ARE THE GOALIES LEARNING?
Sometimes the answer will be that the drill is primarily intended for the skaters.
That’s fine.
The problem occurs when coaches assume that putting a goalie in the net automatically turns a skater drill into Goalie Practice Development.
If the only answer is:
The goalie is getting shots.
coaches should consider whether that practice time could be used more effectively.
Goalie Practice Development: Our Hockey Answer
ARE YOUR PRACTICES ACTUALLY DEVELOPING YOUR GOALIES?
PROBABLY NOT AS MUCH AS YOU THINK.
Goalies need shots and repetitions, but those repetitions need a purpose.
They also need position-specific instruction, appropriate recovery and opportunities to practise the decisions they will face during games.
A majority of the independent hockey information we reviewed supported this conclusion about Goalie Practice Development.
The objective isn’t less work.
THE OBJECTIVE IS BETTER WORK.
Develop what the goalie will actually use during a game.
DON’T JUST SHOOT AT THE GOALIE.
We Report What the Research Finds
Hockey rarely produces 100% agreement.
Different coaches and specialists can reach different conclusions about the same development question.
That’s why Search the Hockey Answer™ tests its experience-based answers against independent hockey information before publishing.
When a majority of the independent information reviewed supports our conclusion, we tell you.
If credible information presents a legitimate alternative opinion, we tell you that as well.
Our objective is straightforward:
EXPERIENCE IDENTIFIES THE QUESTION.
RESEARCH TESTS THE ANSWER.
WE REPORT WHAT WE FIND.
Have Another Hockey Question?
Perhaps you agree with this answer.
Maybe your hockey experience has been different.
Or perhaps this Hockey Answer raised another question you hadn’t previously considered.
Contact The Hockey Resource™ with your hockey question.
Your question could become another Search the Hockey Answer™ and help another hockey family, player or coach.
Search Other Hockey Answers
GOALIES: Should Younger or Lower-Level Goalies Practise Up?
GOALIES: Should Your Goalie Move Up When Scheduled to Back Up?
GOALIES: Should U16–U18 Teams Have a Clear Starting Goalie?
GOALIES: What Should They Work on During Team Practice?
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