This is our series Ask the Goalie Dad where our anonymous goalie parent shares his experiences with you.  Of course every situation and every family is different but we hope that be sharing his experience he will give you something to consider as you deal with the ups and downs of supporting your son or daughter. As always, hit us up in the comments below so that we can all learn from each other. You can send your questions – and they will remain anonymous – to [email protected]

 

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Answer: I feel your pain. In fact, we (collectively, all goalie parents) totally understand your situation. We all want our goalies to get the best training and improve with the help of the best coaches available. But as you point out, all this training is not free. Not even close.

In the last ten years, I have seen a steep rise in the use of private goalie training for youth hockey goalies. From a purely developmental perspective, this is a good thing. For too long, goalies were left to their own devices, having to come to practice only to feel like human net filler for coaches who geared practices to their forwards and defensemen. 

But now goalies can not only get training from their club’s goalie coach during team practice, but a plethora of private goalie instructors have cropped up all over the place to help your young goalie improve their game. Depending on where you live, and how in demand the coach is, these private sessions are typically charged to you by the hour and, as you point out, they can cost in the $100 an hour range. 

Here are five ways to reduce your private goalie training costs in a way that doesn’t destroy your dreams of someday buying a snowbird condo in Florida doing something besides driving from rink to rink, while still giving your goalie that extra training that the position demands:

1. Determine how many times a month you can afford privates. Just because Johnny, Jenny and Jimmy Goalies are taking privates twice a week doesn’t mean that you have to (or can afford to). I would tell your child that you have a limited budget, and you want them to focus on quality over quantity. This will help them understand they need to make the most out of these sessions. Also, after having the “talk” with them about money, determine what you can afford. I would say that a reasonable starting point for a 10U+ age goalie who is playing travel hockey is a minimum of once a month during the season. But this truly is a personal decision only you can make.
2. Just because a coach says his price is $120 an hour for a solo session doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t  train more affordably. Perhaps the coach has a few other clients in the same boat and can offer $40 an hour for a three-goalie session. Maybe even you can gather with some other goalie parents and approach a coach with this idea. Since I have a son and daughter goalie, I have often paid a lower per-goalie rate by bringing the instructor two students rather than one. 
3. Sign Up for Group Camps. I am not a big fan of those giant Herd Camps where you have 40 goalies on the ice at once working 10 different stations packed onto the sheet. But camps where there are 10-20 goalies on the ice at once can be very productive and a lot less expensive than private lessons. Just make sure that the Head Coach of the camp has at least one co-coach per every ten goalies – many will have one at every station. That way, your goalie is more likely to get some private-ish level of attention during some stations and drills. 
4. You Be the Private Coach. I understand that not every goalie parent is like me. I played college and some pro hockey and actually coached my kids when they were learning to play the position. So I will periodically take my two goalies out myself during $10-an-hour Stick times at the local rink. I steal drills from InGoal or my favorite social media goalie account, or from other coaches, and run the drills myself. If you can’t even skate let alone coach, draw up a practice plan with your goalie and online drills you have found, and give it to your goalies and maybe you can pay a kid $15 to shoot on them. You can also have them run through drills and video them on your phone – there’s a good chance they will see themselves some things they can work on. Creativity is king.  You might surprised with the results. 
5. Try Video-Only Goalie Coaching. Thanks to technology, many coaches are offering video review and analysis of games for goalies. These can be cost-effective because the coach doesn’t have to cover their ice time fees when charging you. For the younger generation raised on video games and Snapchat, I find visual-based coaching really connects the dots for young goalies. Also, these coaches can correct technique and offer drills to work on during the week. These video sessions also can be done in conjunction with an on-ice instructor. Of course, this depends on your budget. 

 

Editor’s note: It’s not easy – we understand! But don’t worry. Your child can be a goaltender and love the position without breaking the bank on private training. In fact, it’s one reason we started InGoal Premium – to bring you teaching resources affordably. And whatever you do – keep developing your child’s raw athleticism as well. Soccer, baseball, tennis, shoot hoops in the driveway, other sports help them on the ice as well.  It’s an affordable way to help them become better goaltenders. And if you are worried your kids are missing out – take solace in knowing that scouts are increasingly looking for goaltenders who can stop pucks based on their raw athleticism knowing it means they have a higher upside in the long run!

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

We need your questions! We’re excited about this new column but it will only be as good as you help us make it – all questions will remain anonymous so ask away!
Please send them to [email protected]