flinching

[kjglacrosse19]

im a goalie adn often on shots from 5 or 6 yards adn closer to the goal, i flinch which causes me too loose track of the ball for a split second, many times ending in a goal instead of a save. idk why i do this, its not that im afraid of the ball....anyone have the same problem? anyways, if anyone has any tips or drills i cood do to prevent this plz post them

thx

[iplaylax22]

have people throw on you alot from that range. your probably just not use to those kinda of shots. Repetition is key!!!

[Tridentslax]

Our coach (a goalie from Oswego U) has our goalie in the cage with no stick and someone throw a ball with their hands at him from a couple of metres away to cure flinching, we particularly aim at his helmet. Its helped him a lot.

[stinisonfire]

How long have you been playing goalie?

[spenny]

have someone shoot tennis balls at you. ive done that with my goalies when they are ball shy, eventually you will get used to getting hit and it wont bug you.

get someone HELPFUL to do this, not someone who just wants to bean you.

[fossil8412]

Here's a drill for you:

One of my coaches (the a-hole one) took our goalie's stick away to help him learn to block shots with his body. Coach then proceeded to fire shots at his shins and make him block them with his shins. Can you say OUCH! Now he doesn't flinch, but he never really did.

[holyschnikes101]

have someone shoot tennis balls at you. ive done that with my goalies when they are ball shy, eventually you will get used to getting hit and it wont bug you.

get someone HELPFUL to do this, not someone who just wants to bean you.
exactly. thats what my team does.

[kjglacrosse19]

thx for the tips guys...btw ive been playign goalie for 4 years adn i played middie 4 years b4 that

[stinisonfire]

Its all a matter of nerves. Like Xeclipse said, just look for the ball and watch it come out of the stick. You have to learn to anticipate the shot, but not neccessarily jumpy. Being jumpy can make you guess, which is something you don't want to do. DO NOT listen to Fossil, because that is probably the dumbest idea I have ever heard of, and his comment should be either erased from this discussion or bronzed for sheer stupidity.

[spenny]

actually playing without the stick is ok, i make my keepers do it all the time, but i would be beaning the keeper with real lax balls