[DRTDVL]

A good team/player should catch onto the fact that your ball shy and they should start rifling in shots towards your body, with the intention of getting you uncomfortable in the goal. We thats why i tell my teammates to do. The ball shy goalies will move out the way making it harder for them to make saves and also openning up the net for people.

The minute you have someone uncomfortable in the pipes, you basically have the game won as easy saves become hard.

I might be sounding harsh, i don't mean to be cruel it's just i don't mind being the coach no one likes if it makes them a better player... In the end you will get what i'm trying to tell you and then you get to inflict it on new goalies!!!!

This is how i would lay out the drill for a new goalie like me...

1) get a bunch on tennis balls.
2) get the goalie in the net with a shaft
3) throw the tennis balls at him straight on (thrown by hand not by stick) and making sure he/she steps to the ball
4) work up the speed on the tennis balls and start aiming for different places, i.e. off hip, off shoulder, feet, head
5) start throwing tennis balls with a stick
6) start with lacrosse balls thrown lightly by hand, aiming for chest pad (no shaft)
7) repeat steps 4 and 5 with lacrosse balls
8) shooting practise for the team (goalie with full stick)

[Atmosphere]

That is like what we did at the Goalie School. We had a compition sorda where a coach with throw tennis balls at us. We would have to block them with our sticks flipped up side down. It is hard to do so it was making us block it with our bodies.

[DRTDVL]

You guys are lucky you have lacrosse camps and schools... I'm lucky if i get a shooting practice (2 in 3 years - i think our coach completely forgets about the goalie and needing to face actual game speed shots).

[Atmosphere]

Well its called the goalie school its actually just an overnight camp. You can always walk the line thats what I do if I have nothing to do in practice.

[DRTDVL]

[Atmosphere]

Is that Chuck Norris?

[brgoalie36]

It rather simple... The more you get use to something the less afraid you are of it...

That is true but getting used to it should not involve having a solid rubber object thrown at you with no other way to stop it then with you body. yes i do realize a body save will occur multiple times but doesnt it happen so fast that you dont have a decision of whether to step in front of the ball?

[Atmosphere]

Watch the semi-finals Brian Dougherty, he uses everything he can to stop the ball.

[DRTDVL]

Originally Posted by brgoalie36

It rather simple... The more you get use to something the less afraid you are of it...

That is true but getting used to it should not involve having a solid rubber object thrown at you with no other way to stop it then with you body. yes i do realize a body save will occur multiple times but doesnt it happen so fast that you dont have a decision of whether to step in front of the ball?

Man i'd love to play on your team then... I'm probably making a good 1/4 - 1/3 of my saves body saves... Even if you don't you still need to be ready for them, it's part of the position. And until you accept that this is a training drill and your not facing 80-90+mph shots on your body (which does happen) your not going to be able to play at your best.

Its all about their shooting position and where the shoot, and how fast they shoot, do you have time to move your stick to it?

How old are you? I'm just wondering as wondering to the speed of the shots you face... We have a few junior players on our team (under 17's) and you can tell the shooting speed differance, much slower allowing more time to react with the stick. Once the older guys start shooting it's much much faster so you end up making more bodysaves.

[Atmosphere]

Originally Posted by DRTDVL

We have a few junior players on our team (under 17's) and you can tell the shooting speed differance, much slower allowing more time to react with the stick. Once the older guys start shooting it's much much faster so you end up making more bodysaves.

That is true when people start to get older the shooting speed gets higher. So the goalie has to step it up a notch too, and save it with what ever they can.