I learned from scratch about 15 years ago. I have worked tremendously hard and put in a lot of effort to become the world's most okayest beer league goalie.
So I'm not going to speak about how to goalie. I don't feel I'm qualified to do so.
However, I can give you tips on how not to goalie and list out the mistakes that I made.
- Buying goalie gear, strapping it on and heading out to your first game. You're gonna have a bad time. Bye bye groin muscles. Take basic skating lessons before doing anything.
- Wearing a random and cheap goalie helmet off the shelf from Sportchek/Kijiji. Want to see what double vision feels like after a slapper to the head? That's how you do it! A brand new/lightly used protective helmet is going to set you back at least $300. Sorry.
- "I played baseball extensively as a catcher. It's gonna be good." False. Bye bye groin muscles. Google Maria Mountain and start stretching to build those muscles... because you've likely never used them to the extent the position requires.
- Buying new and cheap. You're gonna have a bad time. New and cheap doesn't exist (maybe it does for pants and the blocker... arguably skates/stick). New and cheap falls apart easily, ill fitting, thin, etc... Used, cheap, good and clean is also rare. Goalies are filthy animals. Be patient on Kijiji, but 90% of it is pretty much garb/overpriced. Try posting on the Alberta Goalie Network on Facebook to see what people have. The Hockey Shop in BC (also online) has interesting Black Friday deals typically. If possible, spend the money, buy it once.
- Joining a team right off the hop. You're gonna have a bad time. If you can, spend some time/money with World Pro/Top Prospects goaltending camps/sessions to get the basics down after skating lessons. It's not nearly as easy as it looks.
I could keep going, but those are some of the major things.
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