Clearly goalie parents are the most sane of them all. Three solid responses already. Who would've thought?

First off, elite level goalies are at a premium at the younger ages. If you have a 10 year old goalie who is good, not decent, not slightly above average, but good, you will have been sought out by multiple tams in good leagues.

If I am reading between the lines you may have been asked to play for a good team and a bad team in a good league.

Obliviously the easiest answer is the good team, but do not discount the team chemistry, parents and coaching.

I would much rather have my kid on a team with good coaches, good kids and no locker room issues with a 500 record than a team in the same league that has a better record but a toxic locker room, or bad coaching, or bad parents.

In closing, if you have a good 10 year old goalie you are at an advantage and can pretty much pick where you want to play and should be able to get a hefty discount to boot !

I have a 10 yr goalie myself and he has been lucky enough to be on a 500 team. As a poster mentioned above he may not do a lot of high end tournaments but I think because he is in a lot of high pressure situations in a high percentage of their games it makes up for that. The boys win the games they should and compete really well with the better teams and on occasion beat them.

I think what is good for a goalie's development is to have good kids out in front of him. My son gains confidence if he makes a save and his teammates are there to clear the puck out and that's something he may not get on a bad team consistently. On the flip side he would get bored if he only 10 shots a game. He enjoys being the difference maker and having the game on his shoulders. He recently had a game where he saw 37 shots but the team lost 3-2 but he was fine with the loss cause he felt the team played great and he felt individually that he had a good game too so if you have a kid who can absorb those kinds of loses then I think a 500 team is the way to go. You just have to be honest with yourself about your child's skill level. You don't want to put him in a situation where he is overwhelmed

All Great Responses!

Another important consideration is the coach. How does he use the goalies in practice and how does he handle/view goalies? A coach who keeps goalies engaged at one end while team is working on skating/stick handling etc at the other end or are they idle the majority of the time? How does he incorporate goalies into practice? A lot of game like situations or rapid firing on shooting dummies?

I have seen it all. Typically a good coach across the board will also handle his goalies well ( par for the course), Stay away from the coaches who are dismissive if asked these questions or make comments like " They get plenty of attention at goalie training" They just don't get it!!

Goalies are a special breed. God Bless them. It sure ain't easy!


Good luck and enjoy.

Very good response, I am impressed with what the Kings offer Goalies

"Goalies are a special breed. God Bless them. It sure ain't easy!"

words to live by for any coach, parent, teammate, etc......

I have known a great deal of goalies over the years and they all are special. It takes a special kid to be able to play between the pipes.... and they are all special in their own way.

embrace the fact that they are goofballs.... it's what makes them great! It's also why they develop bonds with each other unlike any other position in any other sport.

Coaches usually don't address goalies for one main reason, they have no clue on how to coach it and quite frankly are afraid to. So they do nothing about it. All they know is "can he stop the puck?" They often say brilliant things like "don't give up any rebounds" but don't know how to teach rebound control etc. 2 suggestions I have made to coaches is this. Ask the goalie coaches about drills they can do or what to watch for in practice. Most organizations utilize goalie instructors and the head coach should know what they are reinforcing and teaching. Or, most goalies go to outside coaches. Ask the parents or ask the goalie coach what the kid is being thaught so they can reinforce the lessons. One thing a coach doesn't want to do is contradict the lessons. In other words, get involved and leave your comfort zone. Secondly, ask amongst the parents on the team if anyone has played the position. Sometimes just having someone who knows and can relate to the goalie is a big help in practice and in games. If there is a parent then they can put the kid through drills. This parent will be able to understand what is a bad goal or a good goal and be able to relate and talk to the goalie. Sometimes having this perspective can help as this parent will relate to the kid on a different level. I have found this to be a very productive method

I would second that. most coaches (HC and assistant coaches) have no clue how to develop goalies. and I agree it is difficult. it is difficult to structure practices so that goalies benefit. Sometimes it goes as far that coaches try to tell goalies to do something contradictory of what their goalie coach tells them to do.

I believe it's better to have a Defensive minded coach over an offense minded coach when it comes to goalies. I've seen both and it's pretty obvious the D coach can relate way more to the goalie.

might be true, if so I have not seen a defensive minded head coach in youth hockey. And even so, relating doesn't mean they can set up a practice so it benefits a goalie, nor can they coach goalie skills.

Don't get me wrong I am not upset about it, I just think it is a fact of hockey development.