GOALIE SKATING COMES BEFORE GOALIE SAVES.™ A female Goalie who can move with balance, control and purpose gives herself a better chance to arrive square, recover efficiently and stay connected to the play.
Goalie Coach Gail™ treats skating as the foundation of the position. The goal is not to make a young Goalie look advanced. The goal is to help her understand what the movement does, feel when it works and repeat it with confidence.
COACHING IS TEACHING™
LEARN BEFORE YOU TEACH.™ The Coach should understand the purpose of the movement before asking the Goalie to copy it.
EXPOSURE IS NOT LEARNING.™ Seeing a movement once is exposure. Doing it once correctly is not mastery.
A LESSON IS NOT TAUGHT UNTIL IT IS LEARNED.™ The Goalie should be able to repeat the movement, explain what it helps her do and use it under increasing pressure without constant reminders.
Goalie Coach Gail™ Development Path
U7–U9 • U10–U12 • U13–U15 • U16–U18 • Junior
U7–U9 — Build Balance Before Complexity
Lesson
Start with stance, shuffles, stops and simple edge control. Ask one simple question after the rep: “Did you arrive balanced?” The answer matters more than how fast the Goalie moved.
Practice
Use short crease movements without shots. Move to an angle, stop, hold the stance and reset.
Common Mistake
The Goalie tries to be quick and loses balance. Slow the movement down enough that she can feel the difference between arriving stable and arriving rushed.
How to Recognize Mastery
She can repeat the movement while keeping her shoulders level, feet underneath her and stance available for the next play.
When to Move On
Add a puck only when balance survives repeated movement.
U7–U9 takeaway: BALANCE FIRST. SPEED LATER.™
U10–U12 — Connect Skating to Position
Lesson
Now help the Goalie connect movement to angle. Ask: “Where is the puck, and where does that mean you need to be?” The movement should solve a positioning problem.
Practice
Use several puck locations around the zone. The Goalie moves to each angle, gets set and briefly identifies what she is protecting.
Common Mistake
She reaches the correct spot but continues drifting. Rebuild the final stop so control becomes part of the movement.
How to Recognize Mastery
She can move from angle to angle and arrive stable enough to face a controlled shot.
When to Move On
Add slow shots when she can explain the positioning choice and repeat it physically.
U10–U12 takeaway: KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING AND WHY.™
U13–U15 — Choose, Don’t Just Copy
Lesson
At this stage, the Goalie should begin deciding which movement fits the play. Gail can ask after a rep: “Why did you choose that movement?” The purpose is understanding, not a quiz for the sake of a quiz.
Practice
Move the puck around the perimeter and occasionally change direction. Let the Goalie choose shuffle, T-push or recovery movement based on what she sees.
Common Mistake
She defaults to her favourite movement even when another option would be more efficient.
How to Recognize Mastery
Her movement choice begins matching distance, pace and pressure without the Coach naming the answer first.
When to Move On
Add faster puck movement and controlled shots when correct choices remain consistent.
U13–U15 takeaway: UNDERSTAND THE PLAY. CHOOSE THE MOVEMENT.™
U16–U18 — Use Early Reads to Reduce Panic
Lesson
The Goalie should begin seeing skating as a way to create calm. Earlier reads allow earlier movement. Earlier movement creates more time to arrive and get set.
Practice
Use east-west plays, low-to-high puck movement and second-shot recoveries. After difficult reps, ask what information was available before the Goalie had to scramble.
Common Mistake
She relies on athletic recovery instead of earlier recognition. Athleticism is valuable, but it should not be forced to repair every late read.
How to Recognize Mastery
She arrives earlier, stays composed longer and needs fewer desperation movements to remain in the play.
When to Move On
Add more deception and traffic when controlled movement survives faster decisions.
U16–U18 takeaway: READ EARLY. MOVE WITH PURPOSE.™
Junior — Make Movement Part of the Complete Goalie Read
Lesson
At Junior, skating cannot be separated from Hockey IQ. The Goalie reads puck location, screens, threats, passing lanes and recovery options, then selects the movement that gives her the best chance to stay connected.
Practice
Use unscripted competitive sequences. Change puck direction, add traffic and create second chances so the movement solution cannot be memorized.
Common Mistake
She performs technically sound movement without adapting to the actual threat.
How to Recognize Mastery
She can explain the read, choose an efficient movement and arrive set often enough that movement supports the save rather than competes with it.
When to Move On
At Junior, progression means increasing pressure and complexity while keeping the same movement standards.
Junior takeaway: LET THE READ CHOOSE THE MOVEMENT.™
GOALIE COACH GAIL™ TAKEAWAY
DON’T TEACH MORE. TEACH BETTER.™
LEARN BEFORE YOU TEACH.™
A LESSON IS NOT TAUGHT UNTIL IT IS LEARNED.™
As always, thank you for being part of The Hockey Resource Community.
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