246 Parents: The Net Pegs Keep Coming Off And Everyone Is Upset With My Kid
The audio segment published here takes you directly to the Parent Segment from this episode.
This week Woody and Hutch answer the question we’ve seen so many times on Facebook about what to do when the net pegs keep coming off and the referee is upset with your goalie.
- Modern post-integration techniques like the RVH put constant pressure on goal posts, making net pegs coming loose a common and growing problem in youth hockey.
- Referees may warn or penalize a goalie for repeated net dislodgements, even when the goalie has no intention of displacing the net.
- Associations should invest in higher-quality peg systems that better withstand the demands of contemporary goaltending techniques.
- Goalie parents cannot control fan complaints, coach yelling, or referee decisions — redirecting that energy into a positive mindset is the most effective response.
- Hutch frames the net peg situation as a mindset lesson: a goalie's calm response to unfair pressure is a competitive advantage, not a weakness.
We’ve all been there before. The net pegs won’t hold. The other team gets angry. The opposing coaches yell and yes, even the fans start pointing finger, once again forgetting these are kids.
The referee may try squirting some water on the pegs which makes no difference. After the net is dislodged a few more times, as the frustration in the building increases, the referee warns the goalie – one more time and I have to give you a penalty. Nevermind that it wasn’t intentional, the referee succumbs to the pressure and takes it out on your kid.
That happened 20 years ago and it happens even more today as goalies using modern post-integration techniques like the RVH are constantly pushing off the posts, controlling slides with them and even trying to use them for leverage to push up and elevate to cover the top of the net on sharp angle plays.
Nobody likes to see their kid the centre of so much negative attention. We all see our young goalies are just trying to do their job.
So what can you do?
This week Woody and Hutch tackle this question from different angles.
Woody, who is prone to the occasional bit of frustration, takes a preventative approach – there are peg systems that do a better job. Associations need to invest in them to let their goalies develop, playing the way the game is played.
Hutch turns it into a mindset lesson for parents and goalies.
While Woody’s solution is a good one – it won’t help you in the moment.
There is nothing your anger and frustration can help. There is nothing you can do to stop fans from complaining, coaches from yelling or players from pointing fingers. And even if the referee is in the wrong on how they deal with your kid – again, there is nothing you can do that will help.
So Hutch suggests that we all smile and move on. It’s more than ignoring a problem, it’s turning that problem into an opportunity and knowing that your response will give you an advantage – and that’s worth smiling about!
He describes it as a goalie superpower for so many situations.
If you get angry as a goalie then the others gain an advantage. Your focus moves from the puck and the play to the problem. And that is of no help when it’s time to make a save.
BUT if you smile and see this as your opportunity then you gain the advantage. As the opposition gets upset they lose focus. As they see you smiling they will often respond by becoming more upset. And when you see that happening – you’ve got the edge. So enjoy it.
And as a parent, while it takes a long time for you and your goalie to learn this important skill, you can start to smile because you know as others around you are growing impatient and angry – your goalie is smiling and loving the moment and the opportunity that they have.
It’s not easy to develop this skill. There will be times the net comes off and far too many seconds later it will go in and be called a good goal. Indeed Hutch mentions in this episode one such occasion where a net was off a full 14 seconds before what was called a “good goal.” And while it’s hard to smile and move on there – anger does nothing but hurt. But if you can put the problem behind you it’s a bit more reinforcement that your mental strength will set you apart from others and help you make the next save.
Give it a try next time things feel like they are going sideways.
Make smile and move on your goalie superpower.
Have a listen and let us know your thoughts below. If you have a question you’d like to hear us discuss, hit us up at parents@ingoalmag.com.
Episode Transcript
Alright. Not much. But what hey. You know what I wanna know? What's happening?
Because we got a new segment. I wanna get back to it. Yeah. Enjoy the lot, the first two. So what's happening with like, what's the question du jour?
What's happening in the, goalie parent world that we can help people with? Well, you, not me.
Well, it's well, yeah. Because I guarantee in this situation, you'd be going snap tastic, Woody. Saw a parent post a question this week. Question statement. They were upset because their, their goalie was involved in a in a tough situation that we've all faced before.
The net coming off repeatedly happens in minor hockey all the time. And, I know, Woody, you've got some technical solutions, to the net coming off, and you've helped some associations with that. But but this parent was upset not only that it was coming off repeatedly, but that the referee was giving their kid a hard time, threatening to give him a penalty. Presumably, ref thought maybe it was happening on purpose. Or I look.
I've even heard referees say, well, I'm it might not be on purpose, but I'm gonna have to give you a penalty anyway.
Well, I'm gonna go I'm gonna get snap tastic before we even get like that. Just blood is boiling hearing that crap.
It's probably happened to you in beer league. I've seen you go snap tastic.
It may have happened to me in beer league in the old days, but I got my own pegs now. I'm the only guy that shows up for beer league with his own pegs because he's tired of that crap.
No doubt. Look, it's it's maddening. And and I'm not gonna suggest that I'm better than anybody else in my response to it. I once watched a goal go in on my son when the net had been off for a very long time. How long?
I'm a crazy goalie dad, Woody. So I went home and I checked the video out and I actually timed it. The net had been off for fourteen full seconds before the puck went in the net and they called it a goal. Drives me nuts. And in the case of this parent who's asking, technically, the ref cannot give you a penalty unless they're convinced that it's that it's on purpose.
They can't do it just because the game's getting delayed five, ten, 15 times with the net popping off accidentally. But I don't really wanna answer this parent question in this way, Woody. I wanna come at it in a different way. I want to suggest that when something bad like this is happening and it might be the pegs coming off and there could be 14 other things that you take it as an opportunity to work on you and your goalie's mindset. Remind them that it's an opportunity.
How could the net pegs coming off and a ref being upset be an opportunity for you? I bet you're thinking, Woody.
Oh, yeah. Because I'm thinking how do I break the referee's ankles?
Gosh. An opportunity to go crazy. You have to look at it and say, there is nothing you can do about it. There's literally nothing. There's no amount of being upset that's gonna change the situation.
It's not gonna make the pegs stick. It's not gonna make the refs be happy. It's not gonna make the other parents from the other team that are screaming inevitably about your goalie knocking the net off on purpose. There's nothing you can do. So we always talk about controlling the controllables.
Here's what I say. If the ref's upset, smile at them and move on. If the net comes off, smile and move on. Even if it's five or 10 times, you just keep smiling, keep moving on. If the parents in the stands are screaming, you can smile too and show your goalie what what should be done.
Why am I saying that? Because I think smile and move on is a superpower for you as a goalie. I think maybe I'm auditioning for a guest segment with Pete Fry here, but I mean it. Why do I say it's a superpower? Because you know as a goalie that in this situation, everyone else around you is getting upset.
The ref's angry. Most importantly, the other team's angry. They're probably pointing at the goalie saying it's all their fault. The other coach is screaming. The parents are screaming.
But you know that you're not upset and that gives you a massive advantage over everybody else on the ice. If you get a penalty, smile and move on. It's just gonna tell you that you're the strongest person on the ice mentally and that's gonna get you through the situation that's there. I really, really, really believe that facing things this way is the best way to handle difficult situations because you know inside of you, if you can do that, you're stronger than the competition and you're gonna do better. You won't get it right the first time, Woody.
You won't get it right the fourteenth time, but eventually, you're gonna get known for your incredible mental strength and it's gonna give you an advantage on the ice. So if the pegs come off, it's a chance for you to be a better goalie.
Yeah. We're past me being mentally.
You don't buy it?
Yeah. No. I mean, it doesn't work for me. I think that that that ship has sailed for me, but maybe I'll try it next time. Although, again, I would just as soon get better pegs.
And I think every minor league hockey association should probably get some pegs that actually allow goalies to play the position the way they're supposed to. The absurdity of beer league pegs at any level. And if I'm not mistaken, this parent thought there might not have even been a peg in the net.
Yeah. I mean, look, all sorts of crazy things happen, but I agree with you. We've both seen
I actually like your approach. I'm I'm gonna hand you this one.
We've both
And there is nothing you can do. You're right. There's apps, so you might as well smile and move on. And then after you talk to your association and find, why don't you have better pegs?
Yeah. Absolutely. Woody brings his own pegs to beer league, everybody.
I do. Yeah. Bring it to my Monday night skate. Referees love me. To the point where the league actually purchased a bunch of sets, as did the junior B league in the area, through me at the time of the pegs we were using. The league I play in purchased sets for every net.
The only problem was goalie stole them and they ran out.
So parents, teach your goalies the superpower of smile and move on. And after you've smiled in front of your kids and taught showing them how it should be done, you can quietly send Woody an email and figure it all out from there. You you two can get upset together and you can find a solution for your association.
Yeah. Save the venting for me. Just come vent to us. How do they get ahold of us if they got a vent about anything or any questions, Hutch?
If you agree with me or you agree with Woody or you've got another question that you'd like answered in this segment, parents@InGoalmag.com. Real simple. And our parent coordinator will deal with that.
We have a parent coordinator?
Yeah. It's me too. Remember you were talking earlier about family owned businesses?
Hey, listen. I'm not the adult in the room. There's no question there. So I'm definitely not the coordinator.
Oh, yeah. We we we could have a thousand emails. They'll all just point to your inbox or mine, but we'll sound like a really big store, not a small family owned business.
That's the key.
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