Mental Rehearsal Can Improve Your Goaltending

‘Tenders Tips #8 – Without going on the ice you can improve your goaltending

Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala grabs a little practice between whistles

I took a break from goaltending after university and was away from the ice for more than ten years. When I stopped playing we were still in a world of skate saves and Patrick Roy had not yet begun his now historic career. Today, without any coaching, I now play a butterfly game, and by most accounts I do a decent job of it. Shots along the ice, once a weakness, are now a strength.  I have confidence that I can take away the pass on a two-on-one with a butterfly slide. Guys parked on the backdoor look like opportunities, not obstacles.

I’m not writing this to suggest my goaltending is anything special – it’s definitely not. But somewhere along the line in the last twelve years I have transformed myself with no coaching – and did I mention no practices – into a butterfly goaltender. How did that happen?

I have a few thoughts on that but one of the strongest ideas is mental rehearsal. I can’t claim that I have a special program for this, but I’m a visual person. I watch a good deal of hockey and I think about how particular moves are made. Over time, somewhat with intention, and somewhat without, I have incorporated all kinds of techniques into my game just by thinking about them.

So if you want an extra edge to your training, or if you just don’t get enough practice time, think about a technique and rehearse–in your mind. Imagine a play and how you will execute to make the save. Repeat several times.

Maybe your inspiration comes from something you have learned in practice or with a goalie coach. Maybe you have a great DVD on goaltending. Or maybe you’ve just seen Marc-Andre Fleury make a lights-out save. Either way, you can think your way to a better game.

You can lie down on the couch today and get up a better goalie. Think about it.