Lacking goalies

[seclr]

This is my third year coaching Girls' Youth Lacrosse, my first as "Head" Coach. I volunteered to help two years ago when my daughter became interested. This team is a a group of 30 in the 7th & 8th grades, ranging in experience from first to fifth years.

The problem I'm facing right now is I only have one goalie. Ideally I need three because of the way we're splitting the numbers. We've been practicing off and on for about three weeks during this pre-season and, in spite of mentioning it several times, no one has stepped forward.

We even have someone who has volunteered to be a goalie coach. When she played in middle school she was one of the best goalies in the area. It is so rare to have that kind of focus for this position that it's very frustrating there is no apparent interest (or they're afraid of it?).
I've talked with my daughter about it and she feels it's because of the pressure put on the goalie as "the person who missed the shot." It's one of those things that I haven't been able to dissuade her of even though she recognizes that everyone is on D when we don't have the ball.

I could simply pick a girl each game, thereby making 29 girls very happy and one probably pretty pissed off (and if she refused I get a wholenew set of problems).
But instead, I'm thinking of simply playing the second half of the first game (in about two weeks) without a goalie at all. And I don't mean we'd tip the goal so the base is up--it would be completely open.

Any thoughts or feedback? I know a lot of clubs have similar problems and I'd be interested if any one has tried this idea or what else might work.

Thanks.

[NHLaxDad]

I think all of us have this problem. My "deal" with them is that if they play goalie half the game, they play whatever they want the other half. I also promise them that I'll give them extra coaching time. If that doesn't work, they ALL have to take turns-sometimes someone actually likes it.

[Laxking31]

Goalie's are always the one who get blamed for a goal, but you can tell them that if it went passed the goalie, then it went past evryone else too. That might make them less hesitant to step in goal. Or at least they would be a little less nervous

[TRSgoaliechick]

yeah tell them it gets through 11 people before them...um...and if they ask about the bruises tell them they dont hurt and that their cool battle wounds...no offense to your girls, but i would use the slowest.....my coaches picked me and i am so slow but when you get me in the goal....you better watch out!

[CTLaxer]

What I have ended up having to do sometimes is tell the team that unless someone steps up, I will choose a player(s) to be goalie and they don't have a choice in the matter.

Goalies should be your best athlete and best stick handler. They are the superstar of the team. Stress this to your kids cause there's always an ego this will appeal to. Also, stress to them that if they don't have a dedicated goalie(s), no matter how good the rest of the team is, they will never be the best.

Hope this helps.

[laxgirl0108]

IMO, you dont necessarily need the fastest runner on the team if thats what you mean by the fastest to be in the goal, but i would agree that you need the quickest hands and good stick skills. but more than anything they need an unwaivering desire to play, because no goalie is good when they first start, and some goalies give up. i wouldnt necessarily take your best all around player and put her in the goal-she is probably needed on the field, and thats not fair to her just because she is at the top of the team to be forced into the goal. the goalie position is mostly mental, so get everyone to try it out and see who really likes a challenge and is willing to stay positive, put in the work, and be a leader on the field. something that might appeal to the players if you need a goalie is saying that the goalie position is the most important position on the field, is a leadership oppurtunity, and takes a special type of person/player. hope that helps!

[ques]

youth coaches are to blame for this problem. (not all but lots) in any sport where there are keepers the younger aged youth coaches stick their weakest player in goal because they have nowhere else for them, well at least in their minds. So what this does is make the goalie positioin a non desireable place to play. You rarely see youth coaches building up the position. IMHO

[laxgoalie89]

yeah...thats what happened on the freshmen field hockey team this year...there were like 20 of them but most with no experience or little...so the coach just picked 2 bad ones and told them to be in goal.

in our lax team i just hate how us goalies dont get practice time or coaching time really....i mean she goes: okay gear up and practice some stuff......when you're done tell me and we'll do drills..
^^hows that suppose to help me so after like 20of doing nothing i tell her and then she figures out some drill for the team. it sucks that she doesnt spend time coaching us. plus she never complements or criticises us so no idea if we need to improve or do what.

[ques]

That is to bad because even a team with one coach can work with the goalies. Just running shooting drills they can work with them. doing 7v7 drill that uses a goalie is a time to work with them. Also, remember a lot of coaches don't really know anything about that position.It is not hard to learn what needs to be done in goal. There are books and tapes and clinics that will teach a coach what a goalie should be doing. I will spend the time with my keepers at the beginning of practice while the team is doing shuttles, star or other passing drills. It is not really hard to find the time to help them, they are after all, an important part of the team.

[CTLaxer]

ques, I disagree. Goalies are THE most important part of the team if you ask me. My goalies are pampered in that sense. This doesn't mean that I cater only to them, but everyone on my team knows how difficult goalies have it and how special of a person that it takes to play the position.

[NHLaxDad]

Making the goalie "THE most important part of the team" is a little bit of a double edged sword. I have the same chronic problem as seclr. This year I had a girl who is really a great goalie, but she really just wants to score goals. She played one half of our most important game of the season, and I'm sure she let in a bunch of goals just so she would get pulled. I had another girl who is a hockey goalie who started out great, and then just decided she wasn't going to play goalie anymore. So I was stuck with the revolving goalie situation.

What I have found is that, at least in 7th and 8th grade, is that if you put SMART athletes on defense, you wind up protecting the goalie. I would say that good defenders are at least as important as a good goalie. Sadly, whereas the goalies will get in the paper, etc., defenders are rarely mentioned or given credit. You see it all the time in game write-ups; the goalie gets credit for a win, but in the stats she saw only 6 shots, and 4 went in.

On the other hand, it helps to appeal to some of their egos to make them "the most important player." That can come crashing down, though, if they have a bad day and let in a bunch of easy goals. It's hard then to blame the rest of the team.

Just my two cents; no real easy answer.

[StuffedYa713]

I think all of us have this problem. My "deal" with them is that if they play goalie half the game, they play whatever they want the other half. I also promise them that I'll give them extra coaching time. If that doesn't work, they ALL have to take turns-sometimes someone actually likes it.

This is how I started out- albeit I hated every minute of it to being with, I did get the bonus of playing first so that I wouldn't have to put on already-sweaty pads come the second half. I got to play attack every game and had a blast. Eventually I started to get better as a goalie, and I decided to stick with it.
My coach found out tht I was a soccer goalie- and thats why he put me in. Try going that route- finding goalies from other sports. If no one turns up, I've heard of coaches just going down the list of players and saying that each girl is going to have to play goalie at least once. Who knows-someone could turn out to like it.

[g04L13 iNSANiTY]

I'm in 7th grade and its my second year playing goal. In 6th grade, i decided to play goalie because we had 32 people on the team and at least half were better than me. I wanted a position where I would get noticed and feel like an important part of the team. I also wanted the extra attention. I would tell your girls that the goalies are going to get the most playing time and most attention. I'd also pick girls that like to show off a bit- like ball hogs and make them try it for a couple practices. Tell them that if they don't like it, they can choose who they think should try it. Maybe by doing it girls will want to try it to make their friends try it and someone will end up liking the position. Good luck!

[Benchwmer]

My 12 year old daughter asked me six years ago at soccer practice, if I thought she could play high school soccr. Looking into her eyes, I honestly answered, high school soccer is a speed game and no she probably wouldn't make our highly competitive high school team. Told her she could play Rec soccer, have fun with that. She didn't like that answer. I then told her if she wanted to play high school sports I had 2 words for her, Lacrosse Goalie.
She gave up soccer went to field hockey and lacrosse.
I supported her with buying her own equipment, rec teams, then Club Teams.
She is still not the fastest player, but she is out the door now off to go to the gym to work on her upper body work-outs and then to the track to do her speed drills.
Getting ready for Freshman year, playing Div 1 LAX.
BW

[laxgirl0108]

that is really impressive, hard work really does pay off