Podcast Segment for Parents – Episode 259

Check out the YouTube version of the Gear Segment over at the InGoal page. We've got our Sense Arena feature interview coming up with Phil Osear. We've got we've our parent segment brought to you by Stop It Goaltending U, the app. I wanna get into this. Can we do the parent segment now?

And I just wanna or would you rather do it after Phil? Because there there's a connection between the between the two

segments. Only slightly. Only slightly. So I if we do the parent segment now, we're just teasing him a little bit.

Okay. Let's do that. Stop It Goaltending U app. Awesome stuff. You you talk about going down, and Hutch made this point.

It's a rabbit hole with Woody. It's an it's an ant colony on Stop It Goaltending U, the app, because you can go all different places on that wonderful, tool for goaltending that is now working with the InGoal Magazine.

Yeah. No. And and it kinda fits Hutch's theme this week. Why should I let my son or daughter be a goalie? Because you get to access really cool stuff.

Beyond the pads, beyond the gloves, there are so many resources out there for goaltending. And I would say that none better than InGoal Magazine. And, of course, what happens when you get right right there with us, like like, the two titans of the industry would be the Stop It Goaltending U app. And now when you buy the Stop It Goaltending U app, you get immediate access to a subscription to InGoal Magazine, ingoalmag.com, and all our unique content. The guys at Stop It Goaltending U, Brian Daccord and his team, they have and this is the beauty too.

It doesn't if if they love it, you can go down the rabbit hole or in my case, the ant farm, whatever Hutch wants to call me with my deep deep dives. You can dig in as much as you want and spend as much time as you want learning new things through the app. Or on a continuous basis, you can just do a minute a day with their quick hits. You can dive into every different level, every different sort of discussion point, and you can just take it a bit a day at a time. Either way, whether you deep dive or just spend a couple of minutes a day, you're going to become a better, more intelligent, more well rounded goaltender as a result.

There's so much in there, and it's not designed to keep you this isn't this isn't a social media app where the algorithm just lures you back in like you have to keep coming like it's addictive. You can really if you want, just get in, get better, and get out. Immerse yourself in goaltending like the options are all there. It's a great tool for young goaltenders. It's a great tool for parents and a great tool for for goaltending coaches as well.

So Stop It Goaltending U. The app now teamed up within InGoal Magazine. A subscription to the other and no better way to get better as a goaltender than our partnership.

So somebody has a young son or daughter and they wanna play goal and you're researching the heck out of this and you've come across InGoal Radio Podcast. They want the answer. Why let little Johnny, little Susie play goal?

Well, I'm gonna ask you that question in a second, Daren. But it it was sort of led by listening to Phil's, interview today, and I'm hoping we can turn this into a little bit of a back and forth with us and with the listeners, and I mean that over time because I think this is such as an important topic. And and, I I won't get into why Phil's interview, tweaked this for me. I think you'll hear that when when you listen to it later today, but it's a problem everywhere. We don't have enough goaltenders and often we hear about the elite side of things, worrying about who's the next great goaltender for Canada, for The United States and so on.

And sure, if we want great goaltending, we need more goaltenders. If we want great players, they have to face great goaltenders. So this is a development issue for all of hockey. More importantly, I just believe that goaltending is incredible. And just like any sporting organization like tennis or pickleball or golf or whoever wants their numbers to grow for the same reason.

They want people to enjoy their great sports. I want more kids to enjoy the great position of, being a goaltender from house league all the way up to beer league. And it's not just about the NHL. So what can we do about it? The quick change gear that USA Hockey is trying, awesome idea.

Let more kids try the position. Small ice games, that's awesome because a five year old kid does not wanna be all alone on the ice 200 feet from where the action is happening. There's all sorts of great solutions out there, including trying to look at, you know, how we're gonna make this position more affordable. We need to keep working towards all of those things. But I wanna ask today, as we've mentioned, why do you let your son or daughter play goal?

Flip that for a second. It drives me crazy when I hear people say, including in interviews on our show, I'd never let my son or daughter play goal. And even when it's said half jokingly, guys, I think it sort of reinforces a stigma that hurts all of us. Not to mention the old goalies are crazy one. I think it hurts all of us.

And I don't just mean goalies because, again, the game needs goalies. So we need to try and stop all that. And for me, beginning the conversation in a more positive way that we can work towards is to ask that question, why do you let your son or daughter play goal? Now look, the overwhelming answer, especially on this show because I'm preaching to the choir, is probably gonna be because they wanted to and I want them to be happy. Absolutely.

That's the perfect answer and that's I hope what your answer is. But beyond that, let's just frame it now. What if you were talking to a parent who is against it? What are the positives? I'm only gonna bring up a couple of them.

I'd like you guys to come up with your own, but I'll share a couple of mine. It's the safest place on the ice. I'm thankful that our son is a goalie every time we watch a hockey game for that reason alone. I'm not saying it's perfectly safe, but the gear's better than it ever was. Pucks don't hurt like they used to.

In fact, I completely understand where it came from. We had maskless goaltenders. That was crazy. Even having your younger kid play goal in road hockey is safer safer today. But now you watch a game, guys, in the playoffs, we see so many players out there soaking shots in front of the net.

Who's the crazy people in the game today? Who's risking getting hurt from a shot now? Not the goalies. Goalies aren't getting run head first into the boards. They don't have to live in fear of that blindside hit in the open ice.

They rarely have to deal with a fight or even a scrum after the whistle. And again, there's challenges we know, but overall, I don't go to the rink worried about my kid's safety. So that's one. Another thing I tell other parents is that I think goalies develop incredible personal skills. We often hear people talk about the lessons that the game teaches us that are gonna help you later in life.

Dealing with pressure, being the last line of defense, coming back after a goal or a tough game. Forwards and defense just don't get the same opportunities in that regard, and that is one of the things that makes it tough, but I think it's one of the things that makes it great.

Hard work, perseverance, working towards a goal, all kinds of things like that. And again, I'm preaching to the choir, but I think anybody would tell you that goalies get those lessons more than any other player on the ice. Dealing with pressure, being the last line of defense, coming back after a goal or a tough game. Forwards and defense just don't get the same opportunities in that regard, and that is one of the things that makes it tough, but I think it's one of the things that makes it great. I hear a lot of people saying that's the reason they don't want their kid playing goal.

But guys, does football have a problem finding quarterbacks? Do they not face the same kind of pressure and scrutiny? Does baseball have a problem finding pitchers? I know for the young kid levels, they do a little bit, but there's a lot a lot of pitchers on rosters in the major leagues. We don't have a problem finding them in that respect even though it's a huge pressure position just like being a goaltender.

So that's my second reason I tell other parents. The third one, I think it's amazing that you're part of an exclusive club. You're doing things that others don't wanna do and maybe I'm arguing against myself a little bit here, but the exclusivity and knowing that not everybody can do what you can do is kinda special. The game within the game, I think, is special. Seeing two goaltender skate past each other mid game, tap gloves as they're going for a break or something.

I think there's pretty something kinda cool about the goalie union and that group that we're part of. As players are out there on the ice, scrumming and chirping each other, and we like to get involved in that a little bit too. There's this special mutual respect amongst goalies that I really love. So so those are three, and it's fun. There's number four for you.

And obviously, this should probably be reason number one, whether it's shutting down a breakaway, a great windmill save, the cool gear Woody mentioned. We've heard our guests tell all the reasons why they started playing goal. And Woody, I'm so glad that you asked that question of almost every guest because I think we should reinforce on why they wanted to be a goaltender. It's just plain fun. Sense Arena that we will talk about, I think it's awesome.

It's an unintended benefit is that we can get our parents. We can get other kids to try it. Sense Arena, think you should toss in a windmill save competition to illustrate how fun being a goaltender is. That'd be pretty cool. So those are reasons I tell parents who mention that they don't think that their kid should be a goaltender.

I would love to know what other listeners think. Please email me podcast at InGoalmag dot com. We are gonna keep up on this theme and how we can recruit more goaltenders. Tell me your reasons. Kevin and Daren, what do you think?

I love being part of every game, every play. I I think that's Yes. That's really neat that you're not waiting for three shifts for your kid to come back out on the ice when you're when you're and I know there's tandems and your kid's not gonna play every game. But at the younger levels, there's usually only one goaltender. You can watch your child play every minute of every game and get that experience, on on the ice and and be able to learn the game in that regard.

Not be if if they don't be a goaltender forever, they still are learning the game from a firsthand perspective.

And I do think Hutch mentioned the small area games and some of the initiatives by USA Hockey. Listen, I got a I got a front row seat for some of the things that they're working on and doing down there. And I think it's important because a lot of the pushback is, you know, especially at the really young ages, that puck does go down to the other end and it stays there, the little pack following the puck around for a long time and your kid's and, like, that's you know, we see the video as a parent's bit. This is why you don't let your parent your kid be a goalie in the video of the kid just sitting there bored talking to himself for the whole game. So I think we need the adults to get out of the way and let some of the people that have studied this do their thing in terms of the importance of small area games.

Small area smaller nets are something that was discussed as well. We can get maybe we save that for a future episode. I'm with you. There is so much fun, and sometimes the adults in the room need to get out of the way and let the kids have that fun and recognize that goaltending is a big part of the fun. And even, like, to your point, Daren, like, when there is two goalies, let them both play every game anyways.

Maybe not every minute of every game, especially at the young ages. Let them play every game. Rotate whether it's by period or by ten minute segments. We've heard it work at multiple levels. There is no need for, you know, mom and dad to pack up their young goalie and drive two hours to a road game to watch them sit on the bench.

It's absurd at a young age, and I think we do need there are so many great things about this position that I love. And the community you get being a part of it, including here at ingoalmag.com and all the other, you know, sort of tools that we talk about. There's a community feel to that. That matters to me. But I do think at the younger ages, we need to make sure we give that an opportunity to shine through.

The other part that I love is is just being part of the outcome of the game. Like, your your child has a chance to be the not score three goals necessarily, but save the game at the other end. And and if it doesn't go your way, you can blame the five guys in front, five people in front. But I I I think that's that's neat too that you you get to have an impact on the game.

I think that's huge, but we have to find a way to communicate that to people who aren't goalie parents because a lot of them don't want their kids to be goalies for the very same reason. They imagine themselves in that pressure packed situation and how they would feel. But again, everybody wants their kid to be the quarterback, so I don't see what the difference is there.

Yeah. It's half full, half empty. Right? How you how you approach that?

Yeah. Yeah. And again, I think let's keep working on all these things to make it more fun and make it better and make people want to be goaltenders. But I also think we really need to find how do we talk to the rest of the the hockey community. So let's stop the conversation about I'd never let my kid be a goaltender and let's stop the conversation about goalies being crazy too.

Let's focus on these positives.

Oh, that's a big one too. Like, you know, the the amount of times we hear, oh, you're normal for a goalie. Well, go guess what? Like Yeah. Like, well, myself being the accept most of us are.

Like, that stigma's gotta end. Same with, you know, like, throw the kid that can't skate in that. That's you know, how many there were some great stories at that at that symposium about, like, the best athlete on the team, the top scorer had to go in and play goal and try goalie and came away with an absolute new respect for it because it is one of the more physically demanding positions on the ice. Not in a negative way, in that, like, you're going to get a workout and you are going to excel as an athlete as you develop in the position.

Zach White Cloud, defenseman for the Vegas Golden Knights, told me a story. He played the goal at an outdoor practice with his buddies one time, and this was when he was in college, Bemidji. And he said his hips were sore for two days, and he was just bagged, like, sucking wind for three days. He just it was so hard. And this is the guy that top physical shape and ends up playing in the National Hockey League.

So good point. Reminded me of that story. Or if you if you are really on the fence, let your son or daughter try out NHL Sense Arena and give that a try and see if they really like it. And maybe you can come to an agreement on that side, or you try it and you realize how much fun it can be stopping pucks. That's an opportunity.

NHL Sense Arena it's a sponsor of our feature interview every week.

Sure is. And it just kinda rolls right into what I was talking about, doesn't it? Every week we talk about how Sense Arena helps you read shots, helps you read plays, helps you develop hand eye coordination, helps you become a better goalie. And look, that's all true because you can train any day, anytime without any ice. It's an incredible tool, and we know it's used right up to the National Hockey League.

But let's not forget that hockey's fun and that's why we play the game and NHL Sense Arena is no different. Putting on the headset and walking into your favorite NHL team's dressing room is fun. Playing on an outdoor rink or in the biggest rink most of us will ever skate in, seeing our name up on the jumbotron as you can in NHL Sense Arena is fun. Joining in on their competitions like the NHL Stanley Cup mode that they have right now, and it's gone on to the final round. All those competitions and things that they've added into NHL Sense Arena is fun.

There are so many features that make NHL Sense Arena fun that you almost forget your training. And isn't that what we hope for as parents? I remember guys watching a game as a young kid, and I mean, like, six years old here, and I'd be tossing a ball against the wall trying to make big saves during the game. Like, I was in the National Hockey League. I was having fun.

That kind of fun has come as far as the gear has. If NHL Sense Arena was available in the seventies, I'd have been wearing the Sense Arena headset in every break of the game I was watching, whether it's intermissions, TV, timeouts, or what have you. If I had NHL Sense Arena when I started playing goal, wow. Never would have taken it off. It's a great way to foster a love for the game and for the position.

And as Daren said, even your family can try it so you can share your love of the game as they learn what it is that you do out there on the ice. So head over to sensearena.com to learn more or to the Meta Quest store in your headset. There is even a game pass option now so that you can hop in there, give it a try without making that full commitment of a year subscription. But I really think that once you've tried it, you'll love Sense Arena.