An ongoing segment The Lacrosse Coach aims to give guidance to to young and veteran coaches alike. Whether this is your first season coaching or your 20th you're sure to take something away to improve your team or tweak a drill. Below, current Scotland National coach John Kenney explains how teaching your goalie communication through various drills can help you to develop the skills necessary to produce a goalie that will contribute to the success of your team.
By Coach John Kenney
Part III — Communication and Coaching the Goalie
Communication is probably the most important aspect of coaching goalies. The goalie wears the weight of the team on his shoulders. All goalies, regardless of ability, know when they let up a bad goal or an easy one or a critical one.
1. The best way to coach a goalie is to provide motivation through the mistake. A coach must be able to distinguish mistakes made by the goalie; that is, was the goalie mistake due to poor technique? Poor effort? Lack of attention? Lack of Team Communication or due to stage fright and pressure? In each case, the goalie must identify the issue and provide the means for the goalie to correct it. It may be helpful for the goalie to mimic the 7 basic saves after a goal and before the faceoff to reacquaint the goalie with proper technique.
2. Do not yell at goalie for letting in a bad goal during a game. The goalie must be intently focused on the next shot and not trying to decipher the coach’s tirade from 50 yards away. If one absolutely needs to vent to a goalie – use practice time to offer a stern word of admonishment. This way the goalie is at least prepared for the tirade, should it unfortunately occur during a game.
3. Before a starting goalie is “yanked’ in a game, he should have been yanked at least once during practice or preferably a scrimmage. Most field players come on and go on the field and most substitutions are hardly noticed. With all eyes on the goalie, , everyone knows when the goalie is being pulled from a game. Being yanked in a scrimmage and/or practice has the same effect, but will not devastate the goalie’s confidence. Like most coaching decisions, this too must be practiced.
4. Communicate frequently with your goalie(s). A Coach should get as much feed-back from their goalie as he does from the Captains ( and maybe more). Perhaps the best way to communicate to the goalies is to ask questions such as: Is he getting the correct warm-up? Is he getting enough quality shots in practice? Does he know his strength and weaknesses? Does he know whether or not the coach is pleased with his performance? Who does the goalie think is not adjusting to the slides? What does the goalie see anticipate from the opponent’s offense?
5. A Back-up goalie’s entrance into a game is rarely anticipated and is due (usually) to either an injury or penalty. Coaches should prepare throughout the season for the inevitability to a game situation where the back-up goalie must perform in a critical state of the game and perform at a high level and react positively to the pressure of the moment. In a less competitive game or full scrimmage sub for the goalie on the Man-Down Defense Unit -forcing the back-up goalie to rise to the occasion.
Check back with IL every week for more coaches instruction from Coach Kenney as he covers a variety of topics that every lacrosse coach will likely encounter during their career.
Coach Kenney is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team. He's also a former Long Island and Michigan high school lacrosse coach earning Coach of the Year honors eight times. During his tenure he racked up 354 career victories and was also named the 2005 US Lacrosse Man of the Year. John has coached all four of his sons into top Division I lacrosse programs at Princeton, Virginia, Syracuse and Penn State while helping countless others to go on to become All Americans, State Champions, National Champions and College Coaches. He has presented to coaches from all over the country at the National Clinic and is currently the publisher of the Lacrosse Coach Newsletter.