I am a father of an 8-y.o. mites player who is extremely enthusiastic about the goalie position. He played cross-ice last season and actually looked pretty good between the pipes for a 7-year-old. What's more important, he enjoyed it immensely. At the season's end he was really looking forward to trying out for a travel team.
Trouble is, we have received some discouraging words from the travel coach of one of the teams we were thinking to try out for. He told us that it is way to early to concentrate on the goalie position and that his team will not have a dedicated netminder -- they will rotate the position instead. The reasons he gave me sounded pretty good and I am sure most of you are familiar with them.
The coach of another team, though, was quite enthusiastic about a mite goalie who actually wants to play the position. He also told us that his team is running preseason and in-season goalie clinics for free.
My son has tried out for both teams (as a skater for the first and as a goalie for the second) and made them.
Now we are thinking about what to do. On one hand, I get all the reasons for not concentrating on playing goal now. On the other, since it's all about my son enjoying himself in the first place, I can't ignore the fact that he really, really enjoys playing goalie. He doesn't enjoy skating out nearly as much, mainly because he isn't as successful at it. He will talk forever about the glove saves he made and is actually enthusiastic about working on his stretching and all the scary things like that.

What are we to do? Is it physically possible for a kid to concentrate on playing goal at the age of 8 and grow into a decent squirt/peewee netminder? Or should I make him skate out? (I really hate to push anything on him, though.)

I don't think it's necessarily all that bad of a thing, provided you keep somethings in mind along the way which could a long way to help offest many of the reasons give for not concentrating on goal now. So, in no specific order, my suggestions/input:

* Be aware that there are many coaches at the mite/squirt level who would also be enthusiastic about finding a kid who wanted to play goal all the time. Why? Because they are hard to find at that age and most teams struggle to find goalies. Having a player who wants to play makes the coach's job easier and he doesn't have to worry about rotatating players in net (some who may not want to do it). Most young players are more interested in scoring goals than stopping them. Bottom line - take that coach's enthusiasm with a grain of salt.

* Find out about the person(s) running the goalie clinics (qualifications, frequency, etc.). Many times such clinics/goalie coaches fail to materialize, aren't as frequent as expected, or aren't led by a qualified coach. Ask what type of drills the coach will run in practice and make sure the drills do more than treat the goalie as a target. Probably more important as he gets older to have the drills mimic game situations when possible. The more engaged the goalie is in the practice the better - helps development and keeps things from being boring.

* One big risk is burnout. You can help avoid that by not having him play goal year round. But, be wary that coaches will put pressure on him to play on spring/summer teams as they always seem to need goalies.

* Encourage him to play other sports in the spring & summer. Will help fight the burnout issue and will allow him to develop other muscle groups and athletic skills. Soccer is good cardio workout and can help with footwork. Baseball is good for hand-eye coordination, as is lacrosse. Let him skate out playing inline/roller hockey.

* Another risk is repetitive use/stress injuries. Playing one sport, especially one position, all the time can cause the same muscle groups & joints to be used far more than others. Another good reason to play other sports. Check with a pediatric ortho doc and get their input. Goalies are especially prone to hip & lower back problems.

* Don't ignore the importance of skating & puck handling skills. Many times I've seen younger goalies not worry about that since they are in goal all the time. Encourage him to skate out frequently, be it at public skates, drop-in hockey or on roller blades around the house. Encourage him to work on his stickhanding with a ball in the driveway.

* A big part of playing goal is the mental aspect, both the mental toughness and the game situation awareness & anticipation, especially as he gets older. One benefit to skating out on occasions is that the goalie can see the game from the skaters perspective, which can help with the game situation awareness (begins to think like a scorer). If he's not skating out, take opportunities when watching games (live or on TV) to talk about how the teams set up plays, back door, stuff, etc.

* The toughest thing for young goalies is often times the other players & their parents are new to the game. Consequently, the goalie tends to get more of the blame when a goal scored, and as the goalie parent don't be surprised when the other parents turn and look at you when a goal allowed by your son. Knowing this you can work with him to expect it and be prepared to keep him confident.

FWIW, my son didn't play goalie fulltime until 2nd yr squirts (but he didn't start hockey until 2nd year mite). He played other sports in the spring up thru his first year of midgets. He rarely played goal over the spring & summer (outside one goalie camp) - skated out in roller hockey. He skated out at open/drop-in hockey all the time (during the season & summer). Lived on his roller blades & was rarely without a stick & ball around the house. Not surprisingly, the strengths most coaches/scouts point out about him now as a goalie include his skating ability, his quick feet, his athleticism, his anticipation & game awareness. He was offered (and accepted) a full DI NCAA scholarship several weeks ago, and I can say with 100% conviction that I don't think that happens if he had only played goal all the time and had not done the other things.

After all this rambling, I guess my advice would be: if you approach his playing goal fulltime aware of what the risks are and actively work with him to take steps away from practices/games to offset those risks he should be ok.

Wow, what an insightful and informative response. Thank you very much!

The goalie training they are offering is with GDI, which is supposed to be a pretty well-known organization. My son attended a 7-week/once-a-week skills clinic in which a GDI coach worked with the goalies and the training was mostly about proper skating: skating out and back in on breakaways, lateral movement, pad slides and so on. Seemed to be good stuff from where I was watching.
As part of their agreement with the team, they are offering two hour-and-a-half clinics in the summer, a two-day minicamp and some in-season training, which I think will be once every three weeks or so. Is this good as far as frequency?

Thanks so much about all the advice. I will definitely have him play another sport in the summer. And I am surely preparing him for all the mental difficulties of the position.

Yeah, GDI is a good group and that would be a good frequency. You're fortunate to have that option locally, be smart to take advantage of it. Most areas, the local goalie coach ends up being 'Johnny's dad who played goalie as a youth and can be there when he's not out of town for work' kinda deal.


And no problem and best of luck to your young goalie. Enjoy the ride!

Thanks again! We will.

It is never to early to choose. My daughter has been skating since she was 3 years old. From the first time she stepped out on the ice, the first thing she said to me was"take me to the goalie house"(crease) She has never played as a skater. If you ask me goaltenders are born, not made. She is now 10 years old and playing squirt AA hockey with the boys and excelling at it! If your son really enjoys playing goalie and seems to have the most fun , never let a coach or anyone else discourage him. Good luck and have fun.

Fangers offered some great advice. I'd definitely follow his recommendations.

My son has attended GDI camps and they are a first rate organization and offer excellent training. You might also try to find a local college goalie or pro who can work with him one on one a couple times a month. My son has developed a strong friendship with a couple college players. They've helped him learn to deal with a big loss, understand how to be a good backup and bug him to do well in school too.

My son bugged me to play goalie since he began skating at 6 and started playing goalie part time last year when he was 7. At Christmas last year one of his coaches told me I had a goalie. they said he worked hard and had fun playing out, but when you put him in goal he works his butt off and has a giant grin on his face the whole time. He started playing goal full time and loves it. Now he's 8 and playing A and AA squirt travel and doing really well.

Goalie is a weird position and being a goalie parent is different too. I'd advise you to become good friends with other goalie parents. They're a great resource for information and the only other parents who understand what your child and family will go through.

Most of all, make sure your child is having fun. Good luck.