Trying to catch up on my Q&A this week, so here is another video response. This question was from the Dad of a young goalie who was having trouble squeezing his glove closed so here are some off ice exercises for hockey goalies to improve their glove hand strength.
Hope this helps – thanks for the question. I will try to dig up a photo of me in my t-ball uniform and post it later this week.
Cheers,
Maria
PS – if you are a goalie who needs more than just work on grip strength, then you should check out my complete off ice training program for hockey goalies – Ultimate Goalie Training.
Okay – I understand, you want some more energy system development exercises. I will put that on my list of topics for sure. Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Maria
Thanks you very much Maria .. i am I am very grateful for your willingness. Yes, i saw these videos befor .. i saw a lot of videos of you ..because i think that you do a great work. But I was thinking exercises than any sprints or jumping hurdles. Understand me ? Thank you very much again …
Hello Riso,
I think your english is great – very well done. Riso, I am going to refer you to some of the articles on this site – Hockey Training Articles and my off ice hockey training channel over on YouTube. I hope these help give you some ideas. Let me know what questions you have.
Sincerely,
Maria
Maria its the great when somebody make these exercises for goalie like you … sorry if i do some misteaks in text but i am not from USA . i would ask about excercise to imrove a dynamics of legs. and I am greatful for this video (strange in a glove hand) because my glove hand is slower than i would like .. i must improve it
….
thanks in advance
As always, Maria has great advice and instruction on how to resolve a goaltending issue.
Having operated Puckstoppers Goalie Schools for 23+ years and seen thousands of goalies at our Training Centre, this is something I often see (kids who can’t close their glove). I was also Head Buyer for Source for Sports fo 17 years and Head of their Goalie Committee for many years as well, so I know goalies and their equipment pretty well.
I also know that one of the most common reasons kids can’t close their gloves is not strength related, although that certainly is sometimes the case and Maria’s advice will help in many situations.
What I often see is kids with smaller hands, wearing gloves that are too big or too protective for them. Bigger is not better and top end gear is not effective for younger players who cannot properly use it and simply don’t need it.
Its very important to properly size all equipment, but the glove is one that really causes problems with rebound control and hampers the stability aspect if too large. The palm area is designed to ‘break’ or ‘fold’ at the mid point(like your hand) and the plastic used in this area for protection and shape of the glove, simply cannot be closed if the hand does not ‘sit’ into the inner glove properly.
The result is the same for a glove that may fit properly, but is designed for an older player. This is because the palm materials will be thicker to afford better protection. The result is that a younger child simply won’t be able to close the glove because they are over protected.
Very common problems that I see all to often in working with goalies of all ages.
Hope this offered some insight into other possible causes.
Keep up the great work Maria.
Chris
Thanks Frank – I am glad you are finding some useful info here. I will share with you my personal philosophy for youth athlete development – basically it is to let them play. My suggestion is to get him involved in a fun summer sport such as lacrosse or soccer. He will get in a great run, work on his speed, improve his agility and most of all have fun! You know how quickly he is growing up already and if competitive hockey is meant to be a part of his future, soon enough it will be consuming his life and yours. Enjoy this time with your son – get him involved in a recreational sport, foster his love of all sports, go camping together – enjoy the time. I hope this helps Frank!
Cheers,
Maria
PS – One of my mentors, Mike Boyle of http://www.hockeystrengthandconditioning.com posted a blog on this topic a few months ago and I largely agree with him as well – he is a little more blunt, but we share a similar message. You can check it out here if you wish – http://mboyle1959.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/summer-training-for-nine-year-olds/
Hi Maria. I THANK you for these great tips and strategies.
I wanted to ask you what type of exercises a 9 yr. old goalie (my son)can do to make him faster and more powerful while in net. The workouts I know for older boys do not work.
Sincerly,
Frank Tenuta