Become More Consistent with a Pre-Faceoff Routine
- Use deep breathing and stretching during stoppages to release physical tension and reset your body before the next faceoff.
- Treat your pre-faceoff routine as a personal performance checklist covering confidence, energy level, and focus.
- KHL goalie Dylan Ferguson actively incorporates confidence anchoring, hype-level control, and focus cues into his pre-faceoff routine.
- Combining breathwork with mental anchoring techniques allows goalies to rest during whistles without losing competitive readiness.
- A consistent pre-faceoff routine builds overall goalie consistency by ensuring the same level of preparedness every time play resumes.
Goalie Mindset expert Pete Fry is back with more key mindset tips that will help you become a better goaltender. Pete played in the Western Hockey League for the Portland Winterhawks and the Victoria Cougars. He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils. Today he works with goaltenders of all levels, from minor hockey to professionals, helping them achieve more on the ice through developing their mental skills.
Pete will be hosting a series of in-person and online seminars this summer – full details are at the end of this article.
The moments leading up to a faceoff are crucial for a goalie, so how do you reset after that break and make sure you are focused and confident when the puck drops?
Having a consistent routine before every face-off can help you become a more consistent goalie overall by regularly dialing in your focus, proper energy levels and even confidence, allowing you to rest and reset during those breaks after a whistle and still ensuring that you are mentally and physically prepared to handle whatever comes after the play starts again.
A pre-faceoff routine is like a personal performance checklist.
Confidence? Check.
Optimum Hype Level? Check.
Focused on the right things? Check.
Dylan Ferguson, who spent last season in the KHL after playing for the Ottawa Senators the season prior, makes all three a regular part of his pre-faceoff routine:
Join thousands of goalies, parents, and coaches who train smarter with InGoal.
15+ years as the #1 goaltending resource
Already a member? Log in