We just completed our first summer camp of the year and it was a huge success! It was sold out with 20 goalies from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. The session was called Focus on Youngster prepares to make a save during Carroll Goalie School.Fundamentals and we spent the better part of the weekend working on the key fundamental movements and techniques the goalies need to be successful.
Our goalie camp is sponsored by Brian’s goalie equipment and every goalie received a free hat and souvenir poster.
Another cool thing about the weekend was a reporter from the Richfield Patch, a community-specific news and information platform, was there to take pictures and write an article.
You can read the story and see pictures from camp here.
We have more weekend sessions scheduled for August and September. Register today at www.carrollgs.com for best selection.
Our first summer camp is underway at Richfield Arena. It’s called “Focus on Fundamentals”.
Youngster makes a save at Carroll Goalie School.
All of our goalie development programs are directed by Edina, Minn., native Steve Carroll, who has more than two decades of goalie coaching experience and has personally trained more than 2,200 Minnesota college, high school and youth goalies since opening his school in 1995.
“The goalie position continues to evolve, but one thing that remains the same is that fundamentals are the still the foundation for success,” said Carroll. “We’re proud of the reputation we’ve earned for developing quality, fundamentally solid goaltenders.” Here is what camp t-shirts look like.
The Carroll training programs are conveniently held on Friday nights, and during the day on Saturdays and Sundays at Richfield Arena and Schwan Super Rink in Blaine.
“Our coaches do an excellent job of explaining, demonstrating, and reinforcing the proper skills and techniques used in today’s game,” Carroll said. “We enjoy sharing our knowledge and passion for the goaltending position with the boys and girls who attend our camps.”
And parents of participants are impressed with how the Carroll program is making a difference in their child’s game.
“Wasn’t really sure what to expect when we arrived,” explained Glenn Jackson, whose 11-year-old daughter attended a Carroll camp for the first time last summer. “By Sunday, the school was all my daughter was talking about. Your experience shows. The coaching staff was awesome. They were patient, personable, well-organized, and excellent teachers who made the sessions challenging and fun.”
Amanda Franklin, a goalie parent from St. Paul whose bantam-aged son attended an advanced program said, “I can’t thank you enough for all you have done for my child. There was night and day difference in his goalie movements and approach to the game. He is much more self-confidence and his coaches couldn’t believe the improvement. He is so excited about being a goalie and can’t wait to see you again.”
More information about the Carroll Goalie School is available at www.carrollgs.com.
During the winter, the Carroll Goalie School provides goalie development programs for several youth hockey associations. One of the association’s we work with is the Woodbury Area Hockey Club. They recently presented me with a nice certificate of appreciation for helping with their goalie development program.
We’re excited that they have invited back again in 2011-12 to work with their goalies and coaches.
I was watching a game at the Minnesota Hockey High Performance Festival in Plymouth, when an evaluator asked me what I look for in picking the best goalies.
I told him I look for goalies who can move about the crease and a goalie who competes. He replied, what do you mean? I told him that goalies need to be able to skate like no one else on the ice, with power and precision, and they also need to be able to move laterally both when they are on their feet and when they are on the ice.
I think what really separates most goalies at this level is their desire to compete. It is often easy to see which goalies are battling out there and determined to make as many saves as it takes to keep the puck out of the net, and the ones who are lost after making the first save figuring their job is done.
I added that many goalies at this level are good with their crease movements, but struggle with the desire to compete.
That’s because somewhere along the way, the instinctive or competitive part of their game disappeared. They became consumed with thinking about what save selection they were told to make in certain situations instead of reacting to the shot they were facing and making the appropriate save selection. When the competitive piece is missing from a goalie’s tool box, it usually doesn’t work out very well.
And I added that another thing I look for is goalies who not only stop the puck, but also control it once they make the initial save. Does the rebound go into the corner, does the goalie smoother the puck, of if it gets away, do they get their body in position to make the follow-up save?
As an evaluator you need to find things that separate the group. If you focus on skating/movement, desire to compete and ability to control the puck, it makes it easier to select the top goalies.
He thanked me and told me this insight would really help him with his selections.
Check out the new promotional video for the 2011 Carroll Goalie School. Our popular camps are held on weekends in July, August, September and October at Richfield Arena and Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota.
I was recently selected as one of the 10 greatest players in Minnesota State University, Mankato hockey history. This video segment aired on TV during one of the Mavericks home hockey games. I am humbled by the honor.
Coach Carroll was a Top 10 Finalist for inaugural Hobey Baker Award.
We were finishing up a team meeting following my senior year at Mankato State in 1981, when I was informed that I had been selected as a Top 10 finalist for a new award honoring the best player in men’s college hockey.
It was called the Hobey Baker Award, named in honor of a standout athlete from Princeton University. While I had decent credentials during my career with the Mavericks, I still had a hard time believing that the selection committee would consider me, a NCAA Division II goalie, as one of the ten best players in all of men’s college hockey. It was an unexpected and humbling honor.
When you look at the list of finalists, it was clear from the beginning who would be winning the award. And no one couldn’t argue with the choice. Neal Broten was named the winner of the first annual Hobey Baker Award. He was a star at the University of Minnesota who already had an Olympic gold medal and a NCAA championship on his impressive hockey resume.
I was invited to attend the banquet which was held at the old Decathalon Club in Bloomington. The guest speaker was Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.
At the banquet, I got to meet Neal Broten. I had played against him in high school when my Edina-East team defeated Roseau in the quarterfinals of the state hockey tournament. We talked about that game for a bit, but not for very long.
It was huge thrill for me to meet Neal, who of course continued on to have a magnificent NHL career.
Being named a Top 10 finalist for the first-ever Hobey Baker Award means more with each passing year. It is something that I will always remember!
By the way, did you know that 1980 Olympian and Richfield, Minn., native Steve Christoff served as the model for the the Hobey Baker Trophy?
Top 10 finalists for first Hobey Baker Award
Pos. — Name — School — Hometown
LW – Sandy Beadle, Northeastern University, Regina Saskatchewan
C – Steve Bozek, Northern Michigan University, Castlegar, British Columbia
C – Neal Broten, University of Minnesota, Roseau, Minn.
G – Steve Carroll, Mankato State University, Edina, Minn.
C – Mark Hentges, St. Thomas University, New Hope, Minn.
C – Tom Lawler, Merrimack College, Andover Massachusetts
G – Bill Provencher, Bowdoin College, Lewiston, Maine
D – Ed Small, Clarkson College, Ottawa, Ontario
G – Rick Strack, Plattsburgh State University, Lake Placid, New York
LW – Steve Ulseth, University of Minnesota, Roseville, Minn.
The 2011 NCAA Women's Division III Ice Hockey Championships were played at Rochester Institute of Technology.The Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team participated in the 2011 NCAA Division III women’s hockey tournament March 18-19 in Rochester, New York.
It marked second consecutive year the Gusties qualified for the national semifinals.
Gustavus defeated UW-River Falls 4-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals to advance to New York.
In the national semifinals, the Gusties lost a heartbreaker to Norwich University by the score of 5-4. The Cadets won the national championship a day later. In the third place game, Middlebury defeated Gustavus 5-0.
Despite the two losses, the Gusties had a great season, winning the MIAC regular season title and the MIAC playoff championship. Gustavus finished the year with a 22-5-3 record.
I serve as the goalie/assistant coach of Gustavus, a role I have held for the past 10 years.
Carroll Goalie School's booth at 2011 Let's Play Hockey Expo in St. Paul.
Spent at good part of the weekend at my booth at the Let’s Play Hockey Expo in St. Paul. The two-day event attracts thousands of people each year. It was great to see everyone who stopped by to say hi. My former high school coach – hockey legend – Willard Ikola, and former Rochester great and Stanley Cup winner Shjon Podein were among the hockey folks who I visited with at my booth.
Edina goalie Steve Carroll makes a save during the state high school championship game against Rochester John Marshall.
Like many of you, I grew up dreaming about playing in the state high school tournament. My dream came true during my senior year at Edina-East High School as we beat our crosstown rivals from Edina-West to advance to the state tournament. I remember the awesome experience like it was yesterday.
We had a very good team that include several seniors who would go on to play Division I hockey at schools like Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan Tech, and Notre Dame. I went on to play at Mankato State, while another senior classmate continued his hockey career at Gustavus. I was the fortunate to get the staring nod in the three tournament games.
The tournament was played at the St. Paul Civic Center, which featured the glass dasher boards. It was also an eight-team tournament back then — no AA and A.
Our opening night game was a classic match-up as we faced off against Roseau and a guy named Neal Broten. We came into the game with a 23-1 record, (only loss was to Burnsville) while the Rams entered the contest with a perfect 23-0 mark!
It was number 1 against number 2 and from what I remember it was a barnburner. The Hornets skated with a hard-fought 2-0 win. Turns out, it was one of the few times during his legendary high school hockey career that Broten was held without a point.
In the semifinals, we squared off against the “Big Orange Machine” from Grand Rapids, which was the two-time defending state champions. The Indians as they were known back then, featured a number of future Division one hockey players including guy by the name of Don Lucia. This too, was an exciting back and forth high-scoring game. When the final buzzer sounded, we escaped with a thrilling 6-5 win.
That put us into the championship game against Rochester John Marshall. The Rockets featured a goalie by the name of Paul Butters who stopped just about everything they threw at him and the high-scoring Lecy brothers. The squad from southern Minnesota was just too much for us that night as they captured the title with a 4-2.
Even though we lost in the championship game, having the opportunity to play in the state tourney is something I will never forget. It was quite a weekend!
