Life of a professional Goalie Coach

I’ve been working as a goalie coach for 30+ years: last 25 years on a professional level. Very often people ask me: What do you actually do with your goalies? How does your “typical” day look like? I know that all of my professional colleagues have their own workflows. This is how I have built mine.

 The most obvious task in goalie coaching is naturally the holistic development of the goalies: Technical, tactical, physical and mental. Every goalie is unique and has different needs. Those needs have to be recognized and worked accordingly. This applies not only to the goalies in the first team, but also with goalies in reserve and top talents in the club. Everybody needs consistent attention and work to keep them developing in optimal way.

To me everything starts of an image of a “perfect goalie”. Not an existing goalie but a compilation of skills and qualities he possesses. A target for the daily work if you will. After having that image in my head, I can start analyzing our own goalies. What are their strengths and what areas need development. What’s missing and what’s the backbone in their game. A comparison between the “perfect (imaginary) goalie” and our goalies, gives me a good starting point for the training process.

 Maybe the most important task for a goalie coach is to create solid daily routines. You have to make sure that the working conditions are good and that your goalies work with high standards. In many cases the goalie coach has to be independent in organizing ice time, equipment, shooters, video material etc. Everything has to be done so that it doesn’t disturb the work flow of the team. In the end, you are responsible for the work circumstances and for the work quality of your goalies. Sometimes a battle on several fronts. With experience, it’s easier to know what is need and how to make it happen.

Typical work day

I am an early bird and normally I come to the rink before the “work day” starts. I try to get a short Gym session done to wake me up and to get ready for the day. Also, to slow down my own physical decline 😀. After the gym I normally do some “Excel Magic”: Following yesterday’s games and goalie performances in several leagues. I also keep statistics on all goals in DEL for goalie scouting and bench marking purposes. It’s important to follow up the trends in the current League where you are working in.

Normally by 9AM the actual work with the goalies starts. Warm-up, off-ice, goalie practice on ice, team practice and recovery. I film all goalie practices for the goalies and also for me to track their development. Occasionally I film parts of team practices: especially if there is something to work on tactical side or game reading. Visual feedback combined with ice practices, is a good working tool for a coach. On team practices I like to give the goalies some key points to focus on. This brings more purpose to the practice.

After the ice session I normally cut the videos for the goalies and upload them for their use. Sometimes we discuss about details in their game. After the video work I normally start planning the next days practice. I like to make plans for the next day, when I still have the previous one fresh in my head. This helps in keeping the process on track and avoid going here and there with gut feeling. Enough, high quality repetitions, is the foundation of the daily work. 

I think that the work with reserve and junior talents has to be consistent too. That’s why I try to organize weekly ice practices for them. This is the minimum in keeping the work consistent and developing the goalies. In addition, I watch their games from video and make them montages. Normally we watch some clips before their ice sessions.

Game Days

I like to give our goalies much freedom on game days. Sometimes the team has morning skate and sometimes the players prepare by themselves. Normally the goalies want to step to the ice. To me, the game day is a test on the work that has been done earlier. Part of the process. The goalies get information of the opponent in game meetings. Goaltending is based on reacting to different stimulus. When practiced enough, the reaction should happen automatically and without thinking. Recognizing different game patterns and threats is the basis for playing in systematical and optimal way. Everything is based on repetition and good daily habits.

For non-playing goalie I normally have some extra physical work. It has to be balanced between physical stimulus and being ready to step in, if needed. Fortunately, we haven’t switched the goalie that often, but the back-up has to be ready, if that happens. Sometimes the extra work is done on ice and sometimes on bike or gym.

There are many different variations on what the goalie coach does during the game. Basically, I have done all of them.

1)    In KHL and Liiga, I was always on the bench and worked on statistics. At the same time, I was able to communicate with the coaches about the game. On the bench it is easier to get a feel of team’s general mood. This is important because it has an affect on the goalie’s game too.

2)    Some goalie coaches sit in the stance during the games. This gives them a better view on the events on the ice, but also restricts feeling the mood of the team. Also, it’s not easy to be in contact with other coaches during the game.

3)    In Germany, the goalie coaches are in many cases tagging the videos for other coaches. Coaches will have the material available during intermissions. As a goalie coach you get a pretty good view on what has happened in the game and you can check replays etc. The negative part is that you are not feeling the mood in the team and you can’t communicate with the coaches during the game.

After the games I normally give short feedback to the playing goalie. Sometimes a bit longer: whatever is needed. After the feedback, starts the grinding part of the day. I rewatch the game from video and make a montage for the goalie. I like to use the TV-Feed for the goalies, because it has more camera angles in it. I like to have the montage ready before I leave the rink. Normally it’s done in roughly two to three hours after the game has ended. I want to have everything ready for the next day, so the process can go on without any delay.

I give more detailed feedback to the goalie on the next day, when emotions are down and things can be analyzed rationally. Many times, I do it after the practice. If needed, we discuss some details already earlier, so the goalie can focus on them in the practice. The process has to be smooth and without any delay. Games come on a short interval and there can’t be lag in the “Game -> Feedback -> Preparation -> Next game” -cycle.

Staying on top of development

For me it’s important to stay on top of things and to keep developing my own work flow. The big picture stays consistent, but I want to follow new trends, studies, different goalies, exercises etc. One has to coach himself before he can coach others.

My biggest source of self-development is vertical support. After finishing the education system of Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, the communication with other coaches has become the biggest source of new ideas. I am blessed to have good contacts with several of my colleagues and other coaches. Mutual sparring and openly changing ideas, drills and clips, helps us all.

I personally like to follow the goalie stats and goalie performance in different leagues. It gives me a good picture on different goalies’ consistency levels and also it benchmarks where our goalies should be. In addition, I write a scouting report on all the goalies that I see playing. This gives a good starting point, whenever the club is looking to hire a new goalie. Of course, it’s easier to follow the goalies in your own league, but additional games have to be watched to see what’s happening in the ice hockey world. One has to be on top of things.

One interesting possibility for me has been watching and working as an assistant goalie coach in summer goalie practices. Seeing NHL level goalies work on the ice, gives a good bench mark on the quality and intensity of the work. In addition, one gets tons of new ideas when seeing colleagues in their work. My philosophy is not to steal drills but to understand the ideas behind them. Only so I can develop my own skill set.

One aspect of goalie coaching is being part of the coaching staff. I have been participating in 1300+ pro level games and seen my share of pre-game meetings, feedbacks, other meetings, etc. I also have had an honor to work with many great coaches. I have tried to learn something from all of them. I can’t say that I’m smart in tactical questions but when taking part in so many meetings, I have picked up a thing or two. I try pay attention. Sometimes ideas from past teams help the current one. Just open your mouth in the coaches’ office: it’s teamwork.

This text expanded more than I expected. Sorry about that. I’m kind of an “all in” person 😀 Thank You if You have read this far. I hope, you got an idea of what the life of a professional goalie coach looks like.

Good luck with everything ✌️