I just got back from running a goalie clinic for the Woodbury Hockey Association. One of the rinks we use is the Harding Ice Arena in St. Paul. And that is where you can find the latest Carroll Goalie School banner ad. It’s only one of a handful of ads on the wall.
It’s another example of how the Carroll Goalie School supports youth hockey throughout Minnesota!
We are hosting a two-hour Holiday Goalie Camp on Dec. 16, from 12-2 pm at the Schwan Super in Blaine
. All goalies who register for this camp are eligible to win a free Brian’s goalie stick.
The camp is open to goalies ages 7 & older. This is a great opportunity for goalies to improve their game and build their confidence as they head into the second half of the season.
The cost is only $99. Register online today at www.carrollgs.com.
It was was quite the turnout at the USA Hockey Level 4 Coaches Clinic held recently in Bloomington.
More than 260 youth hockey coaches from throughout Minnesota and several other states were in town for the clinic.
I was invited to lead an on-ice goalie coaching clinic for the group.
Here is how it worked. They divided the coaches into four groups. I had about 65 coaches at a time for 30 minutes each. I started by showing the coaches the basic goalie stance with proper glove and stick positions.
After that, I demonstrated common goalie skating movements including forward and backward c-cuts, shuffles, t-pushes.
It was then time for the coaches to try the various movements. Across the Olympic-sized ice they went in groups of 20. It was interesting to watch them try to skate like a goalie typically does. Some coaches figured it out, but many of them struggled with the assignment.
But the bottom line was, it was a powerful learning experience for all the coaches who seemed to enjoy learning some of the tricks of the goalie coaching trade.
Hopefully they will use what they learned when their season gets underway in a few weeks.
As we roll into September, hockey tryouts will be getting underway soon. Will your goalie be ready?
If not, we can help! We have a limited number of openings left in the two pre-season camps we are hosting this month.
The camps provide perfect opportunities for goalies to improve their skills and build their self-confidence so they’ll be at the top of their game when evaluations start.
The camps are at Richfield Arena, Sept. 14-16, and Sept. 21-23.
Register online today at www.carrollgs.com.
This weekend, we are hosting a three-day goalie camp at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine. Great group of goalies in town for the camp, in fact they came from three different states to learn how to improve their game.
At the conclusion of each session, we typically play a game, goalies against the coaches. It’s a lot of fun. Check out the video following one of these games.
Spent the last few days directing the Minnesota Hockey Dave Peterson Reebok High Performance Goalie Camp. This is an invite only camp for 50 of the state’s top high school goalies. The camp was held at the Super Rink in Blaine on July 26-29.
The camp provided the boys and girls with an unique opportunity to train with a combination of Minnesota’s most well-respected and talented college and high school goalie coaches.
Seventeen different goalie coaches worked at the camp including seven who have won college national championships. That group included Steve Carroll, Edina, Mankato State University; Johanna Ellison, Cloquet, University of Minnesota-Duluth; Alyssa Grogan, Eagan, University of Minnesota; Adam Hauser, Bovey, University of Minnesota; Jody Horak, Blaine, University of Minnesota; Justin Johnson, Ham Lake, University of Minnesota; Andrew Kent, Lakeville, goalie coach for University of Minnesota women’s hockey team.
Other coaches were Mitch Baker, Steve DeBus, Steve Guider, Steve Houge, Todd Johnson, Bill Manual, Mike Moline, Pete Samargia, Sanya Sandahl, Bob Rajanen.
Mike Ayers, national goaltending coach for USA Hockey out of Ann Arbor, Mich., also helped out at the camp. He shared some observations and goalie development tips with participants and ran a station during on-ice drills.
More information about this camp is available online.
We just finished up our second camp of the season. We were in Eagan for a three-day, six-hour session. This session was a sell-out with goalies coming to town from 5 different states. (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri).
The goalies worked hard and we could see major improvements in their game by the time they went home on Sunday. And they had a lot of fun too!
We have limited number of spaces remaining in our August and September sessions. Register today for best selection at www.carrollgs.com.
As many of you know, during the winter I serve as the goalie coach for the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team, so I travel to St. Peter a couple times of week.
Well, on Monday, July 9, I made an off-season visit to campus to work with some high school goalies who were in town for a summer camp hosted by the Gustavus women’s hockey program. I put the goalies through a one-hour goalie-only session using many of the drills I use with the college goalies.
It was also my first chance to see the major renovations that are being done to the rink. The school added new dasher boards and glass around the rink. It looks really nice!
Can’t for the season to begin in mid-October.
This weekend, we opened our 2012 schedule of goalie camps. It marks the 18th straight summer we have offered programs like this.
I was on the ice all weekend as was my son David and Kevin Galbraith.
I believe if we were not providing high-quality programs, we would not be attracting goalies year after year. Goalies came from as far away as Missouri to be part of our program!
We worked with the goalies
on their skating and movement skills as well as variety of crease movements. We did some drills that focused on gloves and rebound control. We also touched on angles, the butterfly technique and breakaways. We had a lot of fun working with the kids.
Six hours of training over a three-day period is a lot for most of these goalies. But they worked hard and had fun! We saw noticable improvements in their skills and self-confidence.
Each goalie received a jersey, water bottle, Discount Card to Hockey Giant in Bloomington and souvenir poster from Brian’s goalie equipment.
Our next camp is scheduled for July 13-15 at Eagan.
Learn more by visiting www.carrollgs.com.
On Saturday, May 19, I was invited to make a presentation at the USA Hockey Level 4 Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The topic was goaltending.
While I usually present to groups like this in a classroom setting, this clinic was different. Organizers decided to have the goaltending segment part of a 90-minute on-ice clinic. It was pretty slick.
There were more than 100 youth hockey coaches on the ice during this time. They were divided into three groups. One group was taught checking techniques, one group was taught skating skills and one group was taught goaltending concepts. We rotated every 30 minutes.
I had the help of two goalies from the Rochester John Marshall High School boys team who served as demonstrators. We showed the coaches the basic stance, including catch glove and stick position. We also talked about the butterfly technique and the high school goalies demonstrated some of the lateral movements used by today’s goalies.
After that, we worked on various skating and movement skills. The session also included an opportunity for the coaches to try some of the goalie specific skills. They worked on forward and backward C-cuts across the ice and also tried doing shuffles and t-pushes. It think it was an eye-opener experience for the coaches who hopefully gained a better understanding of what it takes to be a successful goalie.
Following that workout, we discussed angle play and breakaway tactics. It was an action-packed half-hour…but it think the coaches got a lot out of the session.
I enjoy teaching coaches techniques they can use to help their goalies improve their individual skills.
