A LAX Newbie Says Hey, Offers Help 4 Help

[lax-itive10]

Hey Guys & Girls (or "ya'll", since I'm Southern),

Like some other people who've posted, I'm totally new to LAX, so I comb over the posts, read, and learn. I spent 9 years as an inline/ice hockey goalie, and use some of those skills in combo with the #1 recommendation of playing wall ball like an new religion. So far, so good. Play on a co-ed, "no contact" pickup type of team with a mix of vets and virgins with some gear I got a deal on (Brine Money stick, Gait Chaos gloves, baseball type CP and my old ice goalie mask). As the case is, I might be picking your collective brains for tips on drills or how to play certain situations; in return, since I'm a NASM-CPT, any questions regarding conditioning or workout programs, just drop me a line and I'll advise for free. Thanks; looking forward to getting smarter about the game....

[stinisonfire]

I'd recommend reading over every thread that doesn't have to do with stick set-ups..

[W.E.Lax]

Hey Guys & Girls (or "ya'll", since I'm Southern),

Like some other people who've posted, I'm totally new to LAX, so I comb over the posts, read, and learn. I spent 9 years as an inline/ice hockey goalie, and use some of those skills in combo with the #1 recommendation of playing wall ball like an new religion. So far, so good. Play on a co-ed, "no contact" pickup type of team with a mix of vets and virgins with some gear I got a deal on (Brine Money stick, Gait Chaos gloves, baseball type CP and my old ice goalie mask). As the case is, I might be picking your collective brains for tips on drills or how to play certain situations; in return, since I'm a NASM-CPT, any questions regarding conditioning or workout programs, just drop me a line and I'll advise for free. Thanks; looking forward to getting smarter about the game....

southwest va isnt that southern...but like the ^^post, look at some of those goalie megathreads. it will help u out ALOT

[OldGoalie]

Welcome to lax, and to goaltending. You have chosen wisely (or at least those of us in here will think so.)

The stickies in this forum are useful, as are a couple of good DVD's and books:
"The Ball Stops Here" by Bill Pilat (DVD)
"Lacrosse goaltending" by Jon Weston (Book)

Good luck!

[lax110]

Google search "Weston Lacrosse, Goalie Man". This will give you good tips and drills you can do

[THALAX]

southwest va isnt that southern...
People in southwest Virginia are pretty southern...



Anyways, I suggest purchasing Bill Pilat's "The Ball Stops Here" DVD. I bought it when I first started playing goalie, and it gave me a lot of very helpful information that I still use today after 4 years of playing goalie.

[DonnieUtah]

Google search "Weston Lacrosse, Goalie Man". This will give you good tips and drills you can do

+1, these vids have helped me quite a bit (http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&safe=off&rls=HPIA,HPIA:2006-21,HPIA:en&q=goalie+lacrosse+training&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iv)

[lax-itive10]

Hey All,

Thanks to everyone who've responded, and if you've ever been to Roanoke, W.E., you'd see the good (ha! and bad) side of the south.I'm ordering the Weston book this week....I've even been watching save highlights on YouTube to give me an idea. One thing I love about lax goaltending vs. ice hockey is how goalies are an active part of the offense, plus you can hit people, too....now that's fun! But here's question #1: in some clips, I've seen goalies make a break to the back of the goal and go around...is this a scramble for more pass options or does is this some sort of specialized offensive play?

[wolfenburg]

Welcome to lax, and to goaltending. You have chosen wisely (or at least those of us in here will think so.)

[...]

Good luck!

Are you mixing up insannity with wisdom?

[OldGoalie]

But here's question #1: in some clips, I've seen goalies make a break to the back of the goal and go around...is this a scramble for more pass options or does is this some sort of specialized offensive play?

It's generally the former. Since you only have 4 seconds in the protection of the crease to get rid of the ball once you save it, sometimes you need to safely escape to the open field when you don't have great pass options. Going behind the cage, where there are usually fewer riding attackmen/middies, buys you more time to set up a good clear.

[OldGoalie]

Are you mixing up insannity with wisdom?

Is there a difference?

[lax-itive10]

Well, again thanks for all the info...I never knew Roanoke College had such a distinguished lax program...and here I am living right here in the middle of it. Pilat lives about 15 mins. away from me, or at least that's how long it takes to get to Salem from my house. Living right here in VA, a lax hotbed on my doorstep, with UVA a 2 hour drive away. Must be these new lax gods smiling favorably on the recently converted...

[wolfenburg]

In addition it is less worst to loose the ball behind the cage then right infront of it, so it is the sfer way to go behind and take some time ...

[lax-itive10]

Alright fellas, here's question #2: other than the stick mesh, where do most other saves happen from? Off the gloves like a box goalie might, or off the CP like a hockey (i.e. me) goalie might? I realize the stick head is where you want to make ball contact for obvious reasons, but my instant reaction is to try and "catch" one in the gut...might not be the best plan of action. But may still be better than dropping into a butterfly all the time and exposing the whole upper 2' X 6' of the net. And seriously, how often do the shins get knicked? I know it's macho to go without shinguards, but I saw a pic of Philly's Doc Dougherty with a single pad on his right shin. Just being proactive about safety or not needed?

[bmxinspired]

he was probably injured at the time of that picture. anyways shins arent just going to get knicked there going to be shelled upon as is every other part of your body. get your self prepared for the toughest and greatest position in any sport :)

[lax-itive10]

Thanks man, very heartening to know; what's good is they'll never see me wincing underneath that mask....

[OldGoalie]

Depends on where the shot comes from. In close on the crease, you will take some off the CP, shoulders and the helmet. Those don't usually hurt. But yeah, shins can take a beating in this game, especially in practice where you see a lot of shots. The most fun, however, is getting it right in the fleshy part of the thigh! Yum...