How do I teach my new Goalie to cradle?

[WI_LAX_COACH]

Hey all,
I have a new kid taking up goalie this year. He's new to lacrosse, so I'm not sure how to get him to cradle properly with a goalie stick. when he tries to cradle the ball just sort of rolls around in the head.

Head - Nemesis
Mesh - 14D (maybe 12D, I forget), Hard Mesh, w/ 3 woven shooters.

I ran a search here and came up empty, so any help would be appreciated.

Ritchie Z

[CTLaxer]

Have him to line drills with your kids when warming up. You can also tie his pocket up making it smaller. When he tries to cradle it'll be really difficult and he'll have no choice but to learn how to cradle properly...it also helps with goalies who give up big rebounds.

There's no sure fire way to teach a goalie to cradle compared to any other field player. The concepts are the same the only difference is a goalie head is a bit bigger and heavier.

[smalbikpro]

our coaches taught us to just hold the stick with one hand down by the butt and hold it out because then its harder for attackmen to check your stick because its far away from them. also i dont cradle normal i use the balls momentum to spin the whole stick if that makes sense.

[TheKOB]

Usually when players start they try to move the stick and don't really pay attention to the ball...it results in the ball flying out, players looking kind of funny, and they take up the dreaded habit of the ghost cradle.

The player simply needs to develop a feel for where the ball is. My suggestion would be to keep a ball in his stick as much as possible. Goalies are probably neglected a lot because their job (and therefore what they get the most practice with) is stopping the ball, not handling it. When your guys run their first lap, give 'em balls to run with. If you do long distance running, give 'em balls to cradle while they're running. They'll eventually develop that feel that everyone thinks just happened spontaniously.

[BullintheCrease]

TheKOB probably gave the best advice. Really cradling with a goalie stick is all about wrist/forearm strength and practice. The weight of the goalie stick makes it tough to tell when the ball falls out. All you can do is practice and get the feel of it.

If the kid is a new to lacrosse and goal, I wouldn't even put him in the net for the first two weeks. Have him run line drills and do the stuff that everyone else has to do. A good goalie has to learn how to handle the stick first, otherwise he'll end up giving up rebounds and throwing the ball out of bounds.

[budman_30]

have him do some line drills and when he gets shot on have him cradel before he gives the ball back

[EricL]

If its the factory, make sure you replace it. That mesh strung tighter than a girls head. Much easier if the pocket is 2-3 balls deep.

I cradle with two hands with a goalie stick like any other stick. Just make sure he is not just twisting his wrist. Also tell him NEVER to twirl his stick, since goalies CAN score on themselves if the ball pops out of their head in goal. Also his Goalie shaft length could be too long.

[hurst022]

cut down the shaft to 35in, 2.5 ball deep pocket, and hes set, he doesnt need to cradle like an attackman he needas to learn how to do the face dodge and clear the ball.....

[WI_LAX_COACH]

Hey guys, thanks for all the suggestions. We started fall ball 2 weeks ago and he's doing much better. I've worked with him on just making sure he has the feel for the ball and to make a good clear. The Shaft on his stick is a 35inch Red(or white, I can't remember) Woodie from CSlax. We've been practicing with it for most of the summer, he jumped in with the team Eclipse, on a titan pro I think, and was firing 50 yd clears on a rope.

The mesh on the eclipse is pretty broken in. His clears are about 10 yds shorter when he's throwing with his nemi, but still on a rope to the attack men.

Thanks again for all the help!!

Richie Z

[bresdan09]

i would have him practice with a normal stick first to just get the feel of cradling and the ball is going to role around more in a goalie stick because the pocket is bigger

[UNCLax12]

Line drills. And if it doesn't get better any soon see how he is with just a normal stick and try to root the problem from that.

[THE_1protector]

im a goalie myself , i switched from playing middie. i noticed when i cradled the ball rolled around a lot. i tried the diff cradles that you can do with a reg shortie. i have my top hand pretty much at the middle of the stick and my bottom at the bottom. and i use my bottom hand do like a circlular motion. liek a short pole would cradle to prepare for a shot

[LAX383]

The key thing (to me) that you said was that this kid was new to lacrosse.

It has always been driven in to me since youth that ALL players should learn to be proficient with a short stick first.

After they learn the basics of catching, throwing, cradling, etc with the short stick, you start to sort out what positions they would be good at based on skills, speed, size, desire, etc.

Also, when I was a goalie in college my coach had me do everything with a short stick early in the season. I mean play goalie in practice and stop shots with an attack stick. This teaches footwork, body position, etc. Plus the eye hand coordination. If you have confidence with a short stick a goalie stick will seem like cheating when you switch.

In short, he will learn the basics of cradeling with a short stick faster than by giving him the butterfly net to start.

worked for me.

383

[akalata]

have him cradle with tennis balls.

[jariners]

I agree with the shorty stick advice... worked for me before becoming a coach.