Articles | Future Pro Live

Set the Bar High

Posted by rob.liddell on May 4, 2012

Setting proper goals for players and knowing exactly what you can expect from them in return is a common pitfall amongst coaches. Every once in a while, however, I run into a student who has clearly benefitted from coaches who know exactly what they're doing in that regard. This was exactly the case this past week when I came across a young, first-year tender whose cognitive ability was truly astounding.

Adapt or Die

Posted by rob.liddell on April 7, 2012

Hi all, The idea for this article was actually sparked by a conversation I had with a parent today about the strengths, weaknesses, and differences of styles/philosophies of tending goal. There are too many permutations of the modern game to count, so today I'm going to concentrate on the two major philosophies of movement and go from there.

angle, depth, hybrid, movement, push

Intensity and Practice Habits

Posted by rob.liddell on March 30, 2012

Breaking Out of a Slump

Posted by pete.gibb on March 28, 2012

Every goaltender has gone through a period of time when things aren’t going his or her way. No matter what you seem to do, pucks are finding the back of the net. Many thoughts can run through your brain… “Why is this happening to me?” or “What am I doing wrong?” or “Is the coach going to sit me, or worse?” These negative thoughts are only natural, but avoidable through proper mental training.

Under Selling

Posted by jkaleniecki on March 27, 2012

For any parent, the success or failure of their child in sport is more times then not a personal sense of pride. All parents want their kids to succeed to a certain level in all things in life. Some parents are more realistic then others; some want their child to succeed beyond their work ethic or capability, while others do the opposite and place the bar so low that their child is doomed to be an underachiever. In the occupation of coaching we face our share of the over-realistic parent.

Success Never Rests

Posted by dave.desander on March 22, 2012

Every goalie in the NHL has one thing in common. They’re never satisfied with their current level of success. Over the duration of a long NHL season, goalies will often fall off the wagon of their normal success and find themselves in a slump. The typical fan would say an NHL goalie might be “content with making millions of dollars, regardless if he was winning or not.” Or my favorite, “He’s already been paid, why should he try to win now?” However, true competitors are never satisfied with the present success. They’re always hungry.

flexibility, movement, stick, traffic

Skinny Block Butterfly Analysis

Posted by jkaleniecki on March 16, 2012

Generally speaking, there are two types of saves goaltenders make in the game of hockey. The first is a reactionary save, or one where the goalie actively makes the save. The second is where the goalie gets hit accidentally, or in a blocking mode of play. Both types of saves have a specific time and place of proper deployment and should only be used in those specific situations.

active stick, aerial angle, butterfly block, butterfly closed, butterfly save

Equipment Conundrum

Posted by jkaleniecki on March 7, 2012

It is a well known fact that each year the NHL evolves. Some times there are big changes while other times the changes are small and seemingly unnoticeable. As the game continues to change, everything else has to change with it. The purpose of this article is to discuss not a change, but rather a lack of change that is causing a direct correlation on how goals are being scored. It is no secret that hockey is becoming and has become faster. What would have been allowed years ago in hockey is now a one way ticket to the sin bin.

butterfly block, butterfly style, equipment

Taking Ownership of Your Own Destiny

Posted by rob.liddell on February 28, 2012

The only way to achieve excellence in goal-tending, and life in general, is to expect excellence from yourself. I'm a firm believer in goal-setting, and the power of the mind-body relationship. This begins with taking ownership of your own destiny. In terms of goal-tending, this starts with the ability to admit your mistakes and analyze them appropriately. Admitting your mistakes is an integral first step in becoming a better goalie. This does not come from placing blame on anyone but yourself.

Lateral Movement and Stick Placement by Carl Howell

Posted by jkaleniecki on February 13, 2012

Here is an article by a guest author Carl Howell on the mechanics of lateral movement and proper stick placement. I have seen several young goalies around the state use the " hop " to skip across the crease to gain a new position. I don't mean a power shuffle hop, they use a multi-step process to move rather than using the power shuffle, T-push or drop step T-push. This reminds me of the goalies ( not many left anymore who do this ) who were taught highly exaggerated foot movements to excecute a simple T-push. Steve McKichan and I refer to this as Goofy Feet.

quickness, shuffles, stance, stick discipline, stick saves, t pushes

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