Scared of the ball

[goalLAX]

Here is my problem. I am a goalie and have been for almost five years now and I am pritty good. My positioning is very good and so is my form. When taking warm up shots from far away I dont have problems, I step to and get my body behind the shot and all that good stuff, but when a shot comes from in close I crunch up like a turtle and stand still.

My questions is, does any one have any tips on how to over come this fear? Other then pelt the ball at my head until I react properly?

Any advise is welcome, thanks

[laxattack1616]

Practice with tennis balls then once you get good at that go back to lax balls. or step out of the cage.

[BigKLaxer]

My questions is, does any one have any tips on how to over come this fear? Other then pelt the ball at my head until I react properly?
I don't know, that sounds like a pretty good idea to me. JK
You should have your friends shoot on you from close up outside of practice. Get them to start off with slow shots and then they can gradually shoot faster. Not only will you not be afraid of the ball, but it's good practice for goalies.

[BigKLaxer]

Yeah...that whole pelting at the head thing is overrated because it makes you more scared of the ball. People fail to understand that being a goalie is more mental than physical. Your problem is a mental one and requires a mental fix.

Next time you've got a one on none (or any shot for that matter), watch the stick. Watch the stick. Shooter's winding up? Watch the stick. Once you get to a higher level, if you rely on your ability to pick up the ball en route to the cage, you will not save it. The same is true in close. Watch the stick. People always say not to bite on fakes. The only way to not bite on fakes is if you are so fixed on the stick that you see the head turn over instead of follow through the shot. FOCUS ON THE STICK.
I dunno, I'm not a goalie, but I heard that you have to be really really good to watch the stick. Wouldn't it be easier to keep an eye on the ball so you don't fall for fakes.

[dram183]

i think he means, wait until the ball moves then react. the problem with that is, on a crank shot or a close in one, youre not going to be able to react fast enough. if you dont anticipate where the balls going to go, then you wont save it

[THE WALL #00]

if you have good equiptment there is no chance of getting hurt. Just put it out of your mind and think if winning and being better then the other teams goalie

[tlaing22]

tennis balls work the best because you get so used to them not hurting that after awhile you dont think about it. Or just have your friends kick you in teh shins a few times.

[stinisonfire]

This thread re-enforces the idea that we do need a goalie forum. I hate it just as much as Xeclipse NON-goalies answering goalie questions. If you don't know what you're talking about; don't say it. You're hurting a goalie much more than you're helping. I can't remember what thread it was, but someone was suggesting to fire balls at a goalie's shin to get him used to it, which is one of the worst ideas ever.

But yeh, to stay on topic. Watch the ball in the stick so you know where it is going to come from. Once you get to a higher level, you won't be able to rely on guessing nearly as much.

[dlo6215]

if you have good equiptment there is no chance of getting hurt...

idk about that, but heres the thing ive realized. for me, in a game situation the thought of getting hurt doesn't cross my mind (well at least until it happens and im in pain). however, if im w/ a bunch of my friends who just go out grab their sticks and im in goal its a whole different mindset. theres something intimidating about guys w/ no equiptment winding up and cranking shots as hard as they can w/ no defense rushing them or applying any pressure. as for the being afraid, just keep doing your fundamentals on soft shots like stepping to the ball. stepping to the ball will become habit and then you will go towards hard shots as well

[oldislander33]

When you watch a good goalie playing, he doesn't flinch. When a hard shot comes, his eyes don't close. If anything, they will open WIDER.

Think about it. You can't stop what you can't see, can you?

Playing goalie successfully, in almost any sport, is based on the goalkeeper overcoming his flinch reflex. As part of our ingrained survival behavior, humans will instinctively flinch away from something coming towards you at a high rate of speed. It's natural. It's built in. If it wasn't, we would probably be extinct, and cockroaches would rule the earth.

But there are ways to train yourself to overcome this reflex. It's not easy, and it looks pretty stupid, so you want to work on this when you are alone at home. It's kind of like learning to lean into a right hook, but you can do it.

Best of all, you can do it fairly quickly. Not easy, but quickly.

Take your index finger, and hold it straight up in front of you, say 8-10 inches away from your face. See it, then look past it, at ANYTHING, (example, your TV, your Shakira poster, a widget, just pick something.) For the purpose of this example, we'll assume it's your tv in the background, directly behind your finger. FOCUS PAST THE FINGER, then move it closer to your eye. Make sure you are still looking past the finger. Move your hand back and forth, in front of your face, all the while focusing past it on the tv. Now slowly bring your finger close enough to your face so that your hand is touching your cheek, and the finger extends directly up and down over your eye. Keep focusing past the finger.

Do this with both eyes. In the beginning, your eyes will flinch and shut as your finger makes contact with your cheek or eyelashes, but keep doing it.
CONCENTRATE.
Tap your face, lightly but quickly with your upright finger, repetitively, over both eyes, until you are able to keep your eyes open throughout the exercise. CAUTION. DO NOT POKE YOURSELF IN THE EYES. Just get used to seeing something move into your field of vision, AND LOOK PAST IT!

Then take it a step further. Put on your helmet, take your stick, and start doing the same thing. Tap your facemask with the stick, all the while concentrating on something past it. Do it until your eyes don't blink everytime the stick hits your helmet. Again, DO NOT HIT YOURSELF WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO CAUSE DAMAGE. You just want to develop the muscle memory that overpowers your natural instinct to flinch in the face of an oncoming object.

Soon, with practice, you will find that when the ball is coming, you will be watching it and the player throwing the ball, instead of shutting your eyes. When you watch the ball, then you can react to the ball.

But first, overcome the flinch reflex. Learn to keep those eyes open.

I hope this helps. Keep us apprised of your improvements.

[WHEELAX2]

well put.. that almost makes my suggestion worthless, but I follow the same sentiment.. watch the stick, and almost feel as if you are attacking the ball instead of reacting to it..

[oldislander33]

Thank, wheelax. It's basically the same thing both you and he said at first, pelting himself until he learns, but hopefully this will outline the mechanics of it for him.

[Jugthug42]

Well, when your friends are shooting on you up close, dont have them stand 5 feet infront of you and just wind up the launch a ball at you. Thats not realistic, wont happen in a game. Its all about confidence. What you stop with your stick, doesnt hit you. =)

[mullengoal141]

one thing that I like to do is take warm up shots without your stick and just put your hands behind your back... save them all with your torso. and also, I'd say start with tennis balls from far awy and work your way in closer. then move back out and continue with actual lax balls.

[POCK3Ts]

i would start working the tennis balls like everyone has said i but would start without a stick and move to using a regular attack/middie stick. this forces you to move you body to the ball. then go back to regualr lax balls with a attack/middie stick and continue to step to the ball.

its all a mental game and you have to just get used to the pain and love to get hit because a save is a save and the balls not in the goal and all that means is u did you job

otherwise sorry to say but swith positions cause you could be the best goalie ever on outside shots and the worst ever on close shots. any good team will notice this in the first quarter and eat you alive with close shots. all you have to do is practice practice practice

[LaxDman62]

Im a goalie and I have taken a in a ton of tricky shots. Sometimes its very hard to stop a close shot or one thta is shot and you cant see it because somebody is in the way.