Episode 370 Parents: Minor Hockey Goalies Should Split Every Game

Daren, when our son was 11 or 12 years old, he played for a head coach who had no goaltending experience, and he announced at the beginning of the year that the two goalies would split every game right down the middle. Neither goalie really loved it. They both wanted to play the whole game, but in retrospect, I think it was actually really good for both of them and and for us as parents. One weekend that season, we drove a thousand kilometers to watch him play hockey. And on the way home, I was very thankful that both kids got to play.

And and that's where I land on today's question, which came from a parent who reached out. He runs a goalie committee for the local association. You know who you are. I did not ask permission to use your name. We've actually had some back and forth in a Zoom since then.

They worked hard at being a goalie friendly association and it's paid off. They went from not having enough goalies to now having two and verging on a problem of having too many. A nice problem to have. Really good problem. But now they're asking me how to split games.

He actually laid out his options really well. He had a good plan in place which was for the youngest kids, switch every few minutes. But people say goalies never find a rhythm that well that well. Maybe you could switch at the half and but then the parents are saying, well, then the hot hands getting cut short and the cold body's never getting warm and so on. Some, of course, wanna switch every other game, and then you break the rule that the kid who comes to the rink should play.

So his conclusion, of course, what was that there isn't a right answer for every team, and and I might get in a in a minute to what they're doing. But before I do, I wanna start with the part that I personally am not flexible on. I do not support a starter and a backup in minor hockey. I really struggle with it at any level where families are paying a lot of money for their kid to play hockey. I know in junior hockey, it's the norm.

But before junior, if you have two goalies, I believe they should both be playing. Not necessarily every day, of course, when when they get to that age. Steve Thompson, of course, who runs goaltender development for USA Hockey has said on this podcast that other people in other sports do not believe that we let kids drive two hours to sit on the bench. He said, and I quote, they say that's like child abuse. If you're a youth athlete playing a sport you love, you should play every single time you go to the rink.

And then of course, there's Brian Daccord who mentioned of Kevin mentioned a few minutes ago. He's the director of goaltending for the Detroit Red Wings and, of course, Joey Daccord's father. He had two coaches, two of Joey's coaches tell him growing up that full games were better for goalies. So he said, quote, your son plays on the team too. If he plays every other game, my son will play every other game too.

Of course, the coach's response was, well, that's impossible. To which Brian said, well, there you go. It's youth, it's development, it's sports. I'd be willing to bet on the way growing up, Joey probably could have laid claim to being a starter on some of these teams too, but Brian was not putting that ahead of anything else. Of course, there's a bonus that people miss.

Alex Auld, who has coached youth hockey for a while, made the point that a goalie who plays the whole game is the only player who gets no coaching during the game. Skaters hear something from the bench after every shift, so a switch after I think Kevin it was ten minutes he was doing, he would swap his goalies. One guy comes in, has a little chat with him on the bench, send him back in after ten more minutes. So how should you split it? As I said, the association I was talking about sent me their plan and I wouldn't change it much.

For the youngest squirts, they were swapping about every six minutes. Keeps those little kids busy and engaged in the game. As you move up, they start swapping every period. Nobody ends up sitting cold for more than a period and the goalie gets to start on a face off at center ice when he comes in. Half a game as you get a little bit older works as well at just about any level in fact.

And then as you get to the highest levels, it is reality. It's time to start alternating full games as long, at least in my opinion, is that it's an even split. Now, of course, the objections. Rhythm is a real thing. My son and his partner when they did this would tell you that.

But every goalie has to learn to come in cold eventually, and it's better to learn it at eleven than it's 17 in a playoff game. The hot hand, well, at this age, I'm not sure it's a reason to change the plan. The plan protects the kid who isn't hot that day as well. And the next week, that could be your kid. If if that kid's struggling, he doesn't have to face the embarrassment of getting pulled because you know halfway through the game, you're gonna be making a switch anyway.

And pulling young goalies is is a whole topic all to itself. Which opinion you you or excuse me. Which option you choose to pick matters a lot less than this. I would say decide before the season, tell the goalies and the parents and stick to it. Don't just sort of spring this on them and and have it suddenly happen.

Call it a guideline though. That was one thing I did tell our friend who wrote in. Don't call it a policy because that's something that get people's backs up really quickly. And I certainly wouldn't die on this hill. Any of these though beats a kid sitting on the bench all the time for a game.

So parents, ask about the plan in September, not January. Treat the other goalie as your kid's teammate because that's exactly what they are. A thousand kilometers in our case and they both got to play. That's the whole point for me.