Yesterday In Day 1 of “The Netminders”, I showed you examples of the kinds of shots you can get when focusing on the Goalie.
Today, I want to show you how just how alert and ready the Goalie really must be during the game.
To me the recipe for a good goalie is very simple.
– One part supreme confidence coupled with titanium mental armor plating.
– One part lazer like hand/eye coordination and precision.
– One part extra sensory keen awareness of his surroundings.
– One part super human athleticism and flexibility.
Look, in essence, the Goalie is in many ways the equivalent to the Quarterback in football and the pitcher in baseball. They may not necessarily be the leader of their respective teams, but the game is very reliant on performance of that one person.
How good is a QB if he can’t shake off mental mistakes like an interception or a series of bad incompletions? How good is a pitcher if he has allowed several hits or a few home runs?
You cannot allow your confidence to be shaken. You have to be able to shake those kinds of things off, just like a goalie has to if he’s in a situation.
Both the QB and pitcher have to be pinpoint accurate in their throws. If you think about it, the situation is just the same, but in reverse, the Goalie has to also be as pinpoint accurate. A wrist shot alone can travel upwards of 80-90 mph and a slapshot upwards of 100+ mph. You have to be able to have the hand/eye coordination to keep your eye on a 3″ plastic disc moving that fast and stop the damn thing.
Now on to the pictures…
Woody Bass III 