Blog

Train with CGS in 2016

· Steve Carroll

We are getting ready for our 22nd season of helping goalies improve their skills at our three-day clinics that are held throughout Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

While a majority of the goalies at our camps are from Minnesota, we also have had a number of goalies from other states train with us.

“We came all the way from Alaska to Blaine for the camp and it was well worth the trip,” said Shannon Gulley, from Palmer, Alaska. “Callaghan had a great experience, improved his skills and just reinforced his love of playing goalie. We are already

Callaghan Gulley from Palmer, Alaska at our camp in Blaine.
Callaghan Gulley from Palmer, Alaska at our camp in Blaine.

planning on another camp next year.”

And each clinic, we work on a variety of skating and movement drills before breaking into small groups to focus on game like save situations.

“Carroll Goalie School made learning advanced goalie skills fun for my son,” said David Reinsbach, from Shakopee, Minnesota. “The coaches ran drills I had not seen before at other goalie schools. They also made an effort to connect with all the participants!”Group

And then we typically finish each session with a game that the goalies really enjoy.

“I would highly recommend the Carroll Goalie School!, Katie Aafedt, Edina, Minnesota. “My son absolutely loved going and is still talking about the coaches vs goalies game they played every day at the end of the session. The goalies all worked hard the whole time but had a lot of fun with it along the way. We will definitely be back again! “

CGS helmet on display

· Steve Carroll

Always fun to see the Carroll Goalie School helmet that’s on display at the Wild restaurant in Terminal 2 of the Minneapolis-St. FullSizeRender 4Paul International Airport. Others helmets on display include those worn by NHL’ers Don Beaupre and Bob Mason.

50 of state’s top goalies train at Dave Peterson Goalie Camp

· Steve Carroll
IMG_3307
There were 50 goalies at the camp, 25 on the ice at one time.

The 2015 Minnesota Hockey Dave Peterson CCM High Performance Goalie Camp was held Aug. 6-9 at Augsburg College. The camp provided 50 of the state’s top high school goalies with a unique goaltending experience. The 25 boys and 25 girls, who received invites based on their participation in the CCM High Performance programs, were exposed to four days of specialized instruction on and off the ice.

The goalies got 12 hours of on-ice instruction and a number of classroom sessions on topics such as mental skills development, vision training, yoga and hockey opportunities after high school.

IMG_3421
Coach Carroll served as director of the Dave Peterson Goalie Camp.

I help start this camp in 2005 and for the 11th year in a row I served as director. I thought it was extremely important that Minnesota Hockey provide a high-level skill development opportunity for boys and girls in this age group. These are highly motivated athletes who are determined to improve their skills and overall game so they can help their high school teams achieve success. Many of the participants also have set their sights on playing college hockey.

The camp provided goalies with an opportunity to learn the latest techniques and strategies from a combination of Minnesota’s most well-respected and talented college and high school goalie coaches. This year, 15 coaches ran drills throughout the camp.

We also had four Minnesota college goalies on the ice helping out as counselors and demonstrators. The goalies currently play at the NCAA Division I and III levels. They represented the following hockey programs: University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, St. John’s University and Gustavus Adolphus College.

 

CGS helmet on display at new Wild Restaurant

· Steve Carroll

A new restaurant opened Dec. 10 in Terminal 2 of the Minneapolis-St. Paul international Airport and it has a hockey theme.

Included in the Minnesota Wild restaurant is a goalie helmet display, which features a helmet painted with a Carroll Goalie School logo, an Edina Hornet logo and a Minnesota State, Mankato logo, two schools I played goalie for. How cool is this? It is one of eight helmets on display at the restaurant.

CGS helmet in display at Wild restaurant.
CGS helmet in display at Wild Restaurant.

How did this happen? A few months ago, I was contacted by a friend who works for the Minnesota Wild. He asked if I had a goalie helmet I could loan to them for the display.

I told them I had two helmets available, but they both were decorated with a CGS logo. They were fine with that, so I gave them my helmet to display for two years.

The other helmets that are part of the display include two worn by former North Star Goalie Don Beaupre and one worn by current Minnesota Wild goalie coach Bob Mason.

Look for the goalie helmet display when flying in and out of Terminal 2.

Goalie presentation at USA Hockey Clinic

· Steve Carroll

In early September, I gave an hour-long presentation on goalie development at USA Hockey’s Level 4 Coaching Clinic in Bloomington. There were more than 220 coaches in attendance.

I was invited to speak at the clinic, because in addition to my goalie school and coaching duties with Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team, I also serve as USA Hockey’s Minnesota District Goalie Coach-in-Chief.Screen Shot 2014-09-13 at 1.14.02 PM

My message to the coaches was clear. They need to change the way they currently work with their goalies, so goalie development becomes a priority instead of an after thought.

I explained ways they can help their goalies during practices and showed them video clips of some of the skating/movement techniques used by today’s goalies.

The coaches did a good job of paying attention and asking good follow-up questions. Most of them realize that goalie development is the weakest part of their coaching portfolio and they want to become better overall coaches.

I hope I was able to provide them with a better understanding of goalie development so they feel more confident coaching the most important players on their team.

Is your goalie ready for tryouts?

· Steve Carroll

Now that it is September, it’s just about time for tryouts. Is your goalie going to be ready? Do they feel good about their game?

At CGS, we help goalies of all abilities take their game to new levels by building individual skills, techniques, athleticism, consistency and self-confidence. This is our 20th year of helping goalies. I invite your goalie to join us at one of our remaining weekend camps to experience first hand what the CGS program is all about.

Goalies who attend a CGS camp gain a competitive edge and thrive in our positive and fun learning environment.

“You could see a big improvement in my son’s skills from the first day to the third day – he got better,” explained Steve Debus from Northfield. “The coaching is done in an environment where I think it’s fun. I thought your camp was terrific.”

Our coaches are passionate about goaltending and do an excellent job of explaining, demonstrating and reinforcing the proper techniques used in today’s game.

“I can’t thank you enough for all you have done for my daughter,” said Julie Charles of Maple Grove. “You have made a night and day difference in her confidence, skills and overall approach to the game. She is so excited about being a goalie and can’t wait to train with you again.”

Watch our video to learn more.

Convenient online registration is available at www.carrollgs.com.

CGS is sponsored by Brian’s Custom Sports.

Guest speaker at USA Hockey coaching clinic

· Steve Carroll

I wear many hats during the hockey season including serving as USA Hockey’s Minnesota District Goalie Coach-in-Chief. That means, among other duties, I am frequently invited to give presentations about goalie development at coaching clinics throughout Minnesota.

Today’s assignment was to present a one-hour goalie development seminar to the 100+ coaches attending a Level 4 clinic in Bloomington. I touched on a variety of key topics during the presentation including drills and tactics.photo

As usual, my message to the coaches was clear – they must change the way they currently do business to make goalie development a priority with their team,  instead of it being an after thought. They all seemed to agree and assured me that would work on doing things differently to help with the development of their goalies.

Here is an article I recently wrote for Let’s Play Hockey newspaper explaining ways coaches can help develop their goalies.

Too late to play?

· Steve Carroll

The other day I talked with a goalie parent who wondered if it was too late for his 14-year-old to start playing goalie.

My response was, too late for what?

If a child has interest in playing goal, in my opinion it’s never too late. Who knows how it is going to turn out. If possible, you want to give your children a chance to chase their dreams.

The key is for the parents and child to manage the expectations.

Will the late start affect whether the child makes their high school team? Maybe..maybe not…who knows..Should that be a goal in the first place? There a plenty of benefits for participating in a team activity regardless of what level they play at.

Maybe the teenager will fall in love with the position and continue to play the game when he is an adult. Again, who knows.

After our discussion, the parent emailed me back to let me know that he is going to let his teenager start playing goalie this summer and register for a team in the fall. He also added that he was going to enroll his first-year goalie in our summer camps to learn some goaltending fundamentals.

I think it’s great! I look forward to working with him! And I would guess he’ll be eager to learn!

 

What does it take?

· Steve Carroll

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.

Maverick honor

· Steve Carroll

http://vimeo.com/22919619

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.

Latest News

CGS clinics help goalies prepare for tryouts