Short Answer
DON’T JUST ASK WHERE THE COACH PLAYED. ASK WHO THE COACH HAS DEVELOPED.
A former professional Hockey Goalie may become an outstanding coach. However, an impressive playing career does not automatically make someone an outstanding teacher.
Playing and coaching require different abilities.
As a player, the goalie is responsible for understanding and performing their own game. In contrast, a coach must recognize problems in somebody else’s game, explain corrections clearly and create a development plan for that individual goalie.
Therefore, when families evaluate choosing a Goalie Coach, the coach’s playing résumé should be only one part of the decision.
At U16–U18, this becomes particularly important.
If your goalie wants to reach Junior or college hockey, you should be asking:
HAS THIS COACH ACTUALLY DEVELOPED GOALIES WHO REACHED THE LEVEL WE ARE PURSUING?
Why Trust This Hockey Answer?
Our hockey development people include a former owner of the Kenesky Goalie School, along with decades of minor-hockey coaching and player-development experience.
In addition, our hockey-management background includes Junior hockey ownership and management. Consequently, we have seen goalies develop from younger ages into increasingly competitive hockey environments.
That experience has reinforced an important distinction.
BEING ABLE TO PLAY GOAL IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING ABLE TO TEACH GOAL.
Nevertheless, Search the Hockey Answer™ does not rely solely on experience.
Before publishing this answer, we tested our conclusions against established goalie-development information, coach-development principles and real-world goaltending experiences.
What Did We Find?
The independent information reviewed supported our central conclusion.
Playing experience can provide valuable knowledge. However, effective coaching also requires communication, observation, individualized instruction, technical understanding and the ability to develop another athlete.
Furthermore, modern goalie development changes as players advance.
Therefore, the right coach for an eight-year-old beginner isn’t necessarily the right coach for a U17 AAA goalie pursuing Junior hockey.
Does a Great Playing Career Make a Great Goalie Coach?
NOT AUTOMATICALLY.
A goalie who played professionally has experienced an extraordinarily high level of hockey.
That experience can be valuable.
However, during a playing career, the athlete’s primary responsibility is:
PLAYING GOAL.
The player learns how to prepare their own body, understand their own movements and perform within their own physical characteristics.
Coaching is different.
For example, a coach needs to identify why another goalie is struggling. Then, the instructor must determine how to explain and correct the problem in language that particular player understands.
Furthermore, the coach may work with goalies who have completely different bodies, strengths and weaknesses.
THE COACH HAS TO TEACH SOMEONE ELSE’S GAME, NOT RECREATE THEIR OWN.
Can a Less Accomplished Player Become a Better Goalie Coach?
ABSOLUTELY.
A coach may have played Junior or college hockey without ever becoming a professional goalie.
However, after the playing career ends, that person may dedicate years to learning how to teach the position.
For example, the coach might study:
Modern goalie technique
Biomechanics
Practice design
Video analysis
Communication
Mental performance
Age-specific development
Different playing styles
How different body types affect technique
As a result, that person’s coaching résumé can eventually become much more relevant than the old playing résumé.
Therefore, parents shouldn’t automatically choose the most famous former goalie available.
CHOOSE THE BEST TEACHER FOR YOUR GOALIE.
Who Has the Goalie Coach Actually Developed?
This should be one of the first questions serious goalie families ask.
Don’t simply ask:
Where did you play?
Instead, ask:
WHO HAVE YOU DEVELOPED?
For example:
Which goalies have you coached over several years?
Where were those goalies playing when you began working together?
Where did they eventually advance?
Have:
you developed AAA goalies?
you developed Junior goalies?
your goalies reached college or university hockey?
Can we speak with former goalie families?
A strong coach should be comfortable discussing their development history.
Moreover, a serious family should be comfortable checking it.
Should a Goalie Coach Provide References?
YES.
If your family is investing substantial time and money in specialized goalie coaching, asking for references is reasonable.
However, don’t merely ask whether families liked the coach.
Ask what actually happened.
For example:
How long did your goalie work with this coach?
What improved?
Did the coach provide individual feedback?
Was there a development plan?
Did the coach communicate honestly?
Did the player advance?
Would you hire the coach again?
In addition, ask whether the coach remained useful as the goalie became older and more advanced.
A coach can be excellent for one developmental stage without being the right person forever.
Has the Coach Developed Goalies for YOUR Destination?
THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Suppose your U17 goalie wants to play Junior A.
A coach who has successfully developed multiple goalies for that environment may understand what those organizations expect.
Alternatively, perhaps the player’s realistic goal is college hockey.
Now the family should ask:
HAVE YOU DEVELOPED GOALIES WHO REACHED COLLEGE HOCKEY?
The destination matters because development isn’t identical at every level.
Furthermore, a coach familiar with the next level may recognize deficiencies that aren’t currently being exposed.
THE COACH SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHERE YOUR GOALIE IS TRYING TO GO.
What If Professional Hockey Isn’t the Realistic Goal?
THAT DOESN’T END THE HOCKEY PATHWAY.
At some point, a family may reasonably conclude that the NHL or professional hockey is extremely unlikely.
However, college or university hockey may remain an excellent objective.
Depending on the program and circumstances, hockey can contribute to educational opportunities, financial assistance and several additional years of high-level competition.
Therefore, Choosing a Goalie Coach should reflect the player’s actual destination.
If college hockey becomes the goal, a coach with a successful history of developing college-calibre goalies may be considerably more useful than someone whose reputation comes primarily from an impressive playing career decades earlier.
THE BEST PATHWAY IS THE ONE THAT FITS THE PLAYER.
Should the Goalie Coach Understand Your Child’s Size?
YES.
This is particularly important because goalies don’t all solve the position in exactly the same way.
A 6’4″ goalie naturally covers more net than a 5’10” goalie.
Consequently, the smaller goalie may rely more heavily on:
Athleticism
Speed
Edge work
Positioning
Reading plays
Depth management
Recovery
Technical efficiency
Meanwhile, a larger goalie may be able to use size and positioning differently.
Therefore, the coach doesn’t need to be the same height as your child.
However:
THE COACH MUST UNDERSTAND HOW TO DEVELOP A GOALIE WITH YOUR CHILD’S PHYSICAL PROFILE.
Trying to force every goalie into precisely the same technical model can ignore one of the position’s most obvious realities.
Should Your Goalie Coach Understand the Mental Game?
ABSOLUTELY.
As goalies reach U16–U18, the position becomes increasingly psychological.
For example, the goalie may deal with:
Losing starts
Becoming the backup
Being cut
Tryout pressure
Junior scouting
Showcases
Physical projection
Bad goals
Watching another goalie advance
Uncertainty about the future
As a result, the coach needs to understand more than technique.
In addition, the instructor should help the goalie learn to recover from mistakes, prepare mentally and handle competition.
GOALTENDING IS PLAYED WITH THE MIND AS WELL AS THE BODY.
Will the Goalie Coach Tell You Something You Don’t Want to Hear?
A GOOD ONE SHOULD.
This becomes increasingly important at U16–U18.
Families don’t need four years of:
Great session. See you next week.
Instead, an experienced coach should eventually be capable of explaining:
What:
the goalie does well
needs improvement
the next level will expose
can realistically be developed
opportunities make sense
Whether the current pathway remains realistic
Sometimes the answer will be encouraging.
However, other conversations may be difficult.
Nevertheless, honest information can save families significant time, money and disappointment.
GOOD COACHING ISN’T ALWAYS TELLING THE FAMILY WHAT IT WANTS TO HEAR.
Should Serious Goalies Attend Established Goalie Schools?
YES, WHEN THE PROGRAM HAS A DOCUMENTED DEVELOPMENT RECORD.
A strong goalie school can expose players to experienced instructors, different perspectives and concentrated position-specific development.
However, don’t choose solely by brand recognition.
Instead, investigate:
Who will actually coach your child?
What level has that instructor coached?
Which goalies have they developed?
What is the coach-to-goalie ratio?
Does the program specialize in your goalie’s age and level?
Can references be provided?
Does the instruction fit your goalie’s physical profile?
Most importantly:
DOES THE PROGRAM HAVE A HISTORY OF DEVELOPING GOALIES FOR THE LEVEL YOUR CHILD IS PURSUING?
Could Goalie Coaching Become a Career?
YES.
This possibility should not be treated as an afterthought.
A goalie spends years acquiring highly specialized knowledge.
However, when the playing career ends, that knowledge can become the foundation for another hockey pathway.
For example, trained goalie coaches may work through:
Private lessons
Goalie schools
Minor hockey organizations
AAA programs
Junior hockey
College and university hockey
Camps and clinics
Video analysis
Professional organizations
Furthermore, high-quality specialized instruction can become a meaningful profession.
The important step is learning how to teach.
A former goalie who understands both the position and effective coaching may eventually create opportunities long after competitive playing ends.
Choosing a Goalie Coach: Our Hockey Answer
DON’T BE OVERWHELMED BY THE PLAYING RÉSUMÉ.
Respect it.
However, evaluate the person as a coach.
Ask:
WHO HAVE YOU DEVELOPED?
WHERE DID THOSE GOALIES GO?
HAVE YOU DEVELOPED GOALIES FOR OUR TARGET LEVEL?
CAN WE SPEAK WITH REFERENCES?
DO YOU UNDERSTAND OUR GOALIE’S PHYSICAL PROFILE?
HOW DO YOU DEVELOP THE MENTAL SIDE?
WILL YOU GIVE US AN HONEST ASSESSMENT?
A famous former player may answer those questions brilliantly.
Alternatively, a coach with a less celebrated playing career may have spent years becoming an exceptional teacher.
Therefore:
DON’T JUST ASK HOW FAR THE COACH WENT.
ASK HOW FAR THEIR GOALIES WENT.
And then ask whether that destination resembles the one your goalie is pursuing.
We Report What the Research Finds
Hockey rarely produces complete agreement. However, the independent information reviewed for this Hockey Answer supported separating playing achievement from coaching effectiveness.
For example, established coach-development principles emphasize communication, teaching, athlete-centred development and continuing education.
In addition, modern goalie-development information emphasizes individualized instruction because goalies differ in age, skill, physical characteristics and development needs.
Therefore, Search the Hockey Answer™ found strong support for evaluating a goalie coach through coaching ability and development history, not playing résumé alone.
Most importantly, families pursuing higher levels should evaluate whether the coach has relevant experience developing goalies toward that destination.
EXPERIENCE IDENTIFIES THE QUESTION.
RESEARCH TESTS THE ANSWER.
WE REPORT WHAT WE FIND.
Have Another Hockey Question?
Perhaps you’re considering hiring a private goalie coach. Alternatively, your U16–U18 goalie may be pursuing Junior or college hockey and you aren’t sure whether the current coaching is sufficient.
Contact The Hockey Resource™ with your hockey question.
Your situation may become another Search the Hockey Answer™ and help another goalie family make a better decision.
Search Other Hockey Answers
USE GOALIES AS YOUR SEARCH TERM:
How Important Is the Mental Side of Goaltending?
How Do Junior Scouts Evaluate a Goalie?
What Makes You a Legitimate Junior Hockey Prospect?
How Important Is Size at U16–U18?
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