294 Parents: the way we talk about goals and goaltending is hurting goalie development

I'm probably gonna be beating my head against a wall here pointlessly, gentlemen, but today, I would like to say that it is time to change the dialogue around goals and goaltending. Couple of weeks ago, you heard me get a little bit heated, little bit grouchy about all the online commentary about Jordan Binnington. People were labeling the goals that he'd given up at the Four Nations this week, and they were there's a lot of talk about asking people to replace him and, bring somebody else in. He just wasn't good enough for Canada. Look, when you give up two goals, it's a good game no matter how you slice it.

But we always find a way to turn it into a big national debate saying there's no such thing as a good five hole goal as if nothing else in the game matters. I said before that this kind of talk is bad for goalie development and I stand by that. Today, I would like to expand on why and how it applies to you as a goalie parent, as well as to goalies and coaches who are listening. We, of course, are in a unique position because every mistake we make is dissected. And I'd be preaching to the choir if I went too deep into that, of course.

We all know a winger can make 10 mistakes in a game and keep getting his shifts and a goalie makes a couple and suddenly he's down two nothing, might even be sitting on the bench. And everybody in the building is convinced he should have stopped both of them. So let's first go back to my point about Jordan Binnington. If you hop online and start calling out goals while demanding a replacement, you are feeding into the culture of negativity. As a fan, I get it.

It's your right, and I get that that debate can be kind of fun. But as we've said before, this is exactly why Kevin created ProReads. It's to counter all that negativity and let goalies explain what they saw, why they did what they did, and to celebrate the things they did well. So how does all this talk hurt development? Well, for starters, because negativity is really easy and people love to join in.

People echo the negativity. More people pile on and before long, this behavior becomes the norm. It has become the norm. And I know the argument. These guys get paid millions.

They should learn to deal with it. I don't agree with you. But even if you do believe that, here's the real issue. That kind of an attitude trickles down. So the way we evaluate pro goaltender seeps into every level of hockey, junior hockey, minor hockey, right down to the youngest kids.

Parents, coaches, and even worse, other players start doing the same thing. Evaluating a goalie is just all about finding out what he did wrong. So who would want their kid to be a goalie in that environment? You can tell me all day that this kind of criticism builds character and makes kids stronger on and off the ice. Sure.

Maybe to some extent that's true. But what about the ones who get too much of it? They quit. What about the ones who see it happening and think it's all too much? They don't even start.

A lot of goalie coaches struggle with this too, I have to say. They spend a lot of their energy telling goalies what they did wrong. The ones who come out to a team practice, stand in the corner, watch a drill, every time they get a break, they come in. Well, if you just done this, you would have stopped that one. You just set your feet.

If you just had a better stance, if you just held your glove this way, every goal comes with another explanation and it's all negative. Now I am not saying this is every coach at all. There's a lot of great goalie coaches out there, but it is out there. I probably talk about my son too much guys, but here we go again. I was watching Maddie's game last night and, the Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary was interviewed and he said something that I love.

Not talking about the goaltending. He said, sure, you can point out mistakes, but we've got to catch these kids doing things right and build on that. And that sort of sparked me thinking about this today. To me, that's it right there. We need to change the culture.

We need to be better examples to the kids and to the parents. So instead of hopping online to list mistakes, let's talk about what goalies are doing well. More more stuff like ProReads. And I don't just mean the crazy saves we all love. Like, that's great.

Let's celebrate those. But if you wanna show me your goalie expert, tell me how well a guy skates. Tell me how well he stays in position. Tell me how well he reads the play. Should have had that one that went five hole.

Come on. Give me a break. How is that helping anybody? So parents, the takeaway for me today is twofold. One, please don't feed into this at the rink.

Whether it's pointing out flaws in your kid's goalie partner, the kid playing at the other end, or even your own child, announcing mistakes is not helping. Don't dissect the game with your kid, except to highlight what they did well. Your first conversation after a game should not be about how they could have stopped goal number one, two, or whatever. Catch them doing something right and build off it. I'm not sure what if you're not sure what to say, if you don't think you know the position well enough, well, keep reading InGoal.

Lots of great stuff out in there you can learn from as a parent. Take one of the certification coach courses from USA Hockey or Hockey Canada. And if you want, you can even give me a shout, and I'd be happy to give you a few good things to say. Coaches, I'd say the same thing. In practice, focus on what they do well and build on that.

If you've got a goalie struggling with depth, when he gets it right, jump all over it. Give him high fives. Give him positive reinforcement and ignore the rest. See what happens. Goalies, you too, after a gamer of a practice, ask yourself what you did well.

Think about all the goalies we've had on the podcast who talk about journaling, like Connor LeCouve last week. They spend more time and energy focusing on the positives, so give it a try. When you can take a loss, when you can give up more goals that you'd like, and you can still walk away saying, you know what? Obviously, I wish we'd won, but I feel pretty good about how I played today. Then you know you're on the right track.

And for all of us, let's create a better environment for goalies. Be the example. Yep. I know if we do that, more kids might be open to playing the position. And more importantly, our own kids might enjoy their time at the rink a whole lot more.

I don't think we should ever talk about goals.

I don't really unless it's brought up to me.

I got a challenge for you.

What's up?

Come watch me play and see if you can find anything positive to say.

Woody, you sure look like you're having fun out there. Woody, that gear is beautiful.

Woody, the restraint you showed not smashing your stick after the seventh goal was remarkable.

Yes, sir.

I don't mind goalies get mad every now and then. Like, players do it all the time. Why can't a goaltender show emotion and let it out.

As long as they know how to reel it in and they're not consumed by it, I agree with you completely.

I'm thinking the player who does it, slams the gate, is able to let it go, the same philosophy, but we don't judge them.

Don't we always talk about letting your emotions out and talking about things that are bothering you and so on? Like, that there might be something kind of cathartic about that so that you can get resettled.

Although, again, it is it is a line. You you can get so worked up and angry, and then it it can build tension. You know? You even screaming. I I tend to drop the odd f bomb rather loudly, but even, like, you can feel, like you're letting it go, but also it creates like that anger and that tension.

We don't want that.

We also wanna be that person that can be sort of water off a duck's back and not even let those things get to us in the first place. I'm probably contradicting myself here, but it's it's probably not so much about not getting upset. It's just not even letting ourselves get to that point in the first place.

Yeah. I'm not good at that.

No. A little bit of Zen. Woody needs some meditation in his life.