uuurgh...

[LAXwoman24]

i totally screwed ^ my game 2day! i was sooo ready and then something went wrong. we beat them friday and today we lost by like 3! it was ALL my fault!! i let in everything--even this one cheap shot: in the 1st half, they just rolled the ball into the net...LITERALLY and i was just so slow on the uptake that i missed it--my stick got stuck or something cuz i was trying to grab the groundball in front of the net and i watched it go in!! it totally ruined the rest of my game--i couldn't focus and i was just SO out of it! this has got to be the worst game i've ever played in like 3 years--except for the game where i was sick...but that's a different story. i just can't believe i did that. WHATS WRONG WITH ME???!!!! :dummy

[nmlax22]

we all have bad games, youll be fine in your next one as long as you dont dwell on what happened today.

[btkid08]

true story...before the games go to net, squat down and sing bob marleys trenchtown rock, its freaking great

[LaxGoalieLZ]

You gotta get pumped up and physiced (SP?) out. I used to not and i would sometimes do the same thing not b able to focus but if you are pumped up you get in the game and stay aware and focused. Overall you play a much better game than if you wouldnt have gotten ready. I start pumpin my self up at least 30 minutes before the game going over in my mind all the situations and shots that i may get and picture myself stuffin every shot saving everything, making perfect and presice clears. I see every save possible and i convince myself i am the best goalie and that noone is getting anything past me. Goalie is 99.99999 percent mental if you arent in the game it doesnt matter how good you are chances you wont do as good as you could if you prepared correctly. This is the most overlooked part of being a goalie, the posotion is the most specialized in the game and needs the most individual instruction and preperation. Stretch before and after each game, a goalie should b very flexible. Do some calastetics and jog a little bit (not to the point where you are extremely sore but to the point where youre legs are under you). Practice stepping and stretch again (not as much as before but you still want to be loose), then have somone shoot on you slowly 10 upper stick side, 10 upper off hand, 10 stick side hip, 10 off hand hip, 10 lower stick side, 10 off hand low, and then 10 FIVE hole. Then have the shooter start picking up the speed a little moving around working the bouncers going in random spots for a while. IF you are weak in a spot have him shoot there more. Then have them go fast from farther away shooting all over. The point of starting off slow is to help you see the ball if you cant see the ball you wont do good it is the most important part in the warm up. Hopefully this will help you out

[LAXwoman24]

thanks so much!! i'll try that for my next game!
i think you pretty much pinpointed my problem-you see, last yr, i had this EXCELLENT coach--he knew exactly how to warm me up and i did really well during pretty much all my games: we did almost everything you named-- plyos, streching, sprints, jogging, different types of shots (high shots, bouncers, fakes, a lot of work on my weak side...plus, he had a great arm so i got used to saving harder shots than i usually have to playing girl's lacrosse...(no offense...hehe)) and a ton of clearing; he usually made me come a little bit before each game to prepare. but this yr, i have a new coach who's really great but doesn't know much about my particular position which sux cuz i've gotten almost no practice (i usually just bring my regular stick to practice and work w/ the rest of the team) i've been trying to practice in the net at home though...could you recommend any especially good goalie camps near massachusetts that go on over the summer?
:agree

[smitt5168]

try bill pilat.

[LaxGoalieLZ]

Bil Pilats, High intensity.. thers a ton of good ones out there they help a ton

[Jjaylax09]

for me, i start getting ready for my game when i wake up, even if the game is at like 7 at night. when i wake up, i lay in bed for like 15 minutes thinking about everything, from how lucky i am to be playing to how important this game is. i make sure to eat well all day and drink tons of water. 2 hours before game time i shut down mentally, i dont talk to anybody for like an hour, just listen to music. i go through every possible situation, every save every clear, every catch and every pass. At the 1 hour mark, the music turns off and i sart stretching. 45 minutes until face i start my warm up, do that for 20-30 minutes depending on how i feel. after that i walk the crease and field, introduce myself to the refs and start the pregame pump up with my team.

[jazzjon9]

i play hockey goalie and it's worse there. In lax, you let in one easy goal, remember, the score will end up 10-7 or something and one goal COULD but prob. won't decide the game. However, in hockey, scores of 2-1 are common, and if I let in one easy one, I'm in trouble. I don't try to feel powerful, I just stay calm, and I usually stop it then.

[KHSGoalie]

what kinds of music do you usually listen to? more on the metalica end or something else?

[WestSideLa X eR]

you know in lord of the rings, the orc music? I listen to that :agree

[btkid08]

dude im telling you right now...if you get to hyped up to play u start lunging at the ball, if u lunge at the ball u over stride

[LAXwoman24]

yea, i've always thought that...i usually listen to dave matthews band b4 my game, if i have time, i meditate (i'd rather be totally calm than pumped up)

[LaxGoalieLZ]

O.A.R., i just listen to anything it all depends on what mood im in. Im messin around with warm up music now, ive been listnin to softer stuff that calms me down beatles, Dylan a ton of stuff. Or i listen to Zeppelin, used to listen to metallica before games, motorhead, black sabbath just as long as its good music ill listen to it.