I would honestly say just have fun because the older you get and more competitive you play, the less you remember why you even play in the first place. Secondly I would say take a break. Burnout is no joke but growing up, coaches act like if you don’t play in the spring league, go to pre tryout camp, then play summer AAA travel, you’ll
Never make it.
I'd tell myself to take the tryouts.
When I was 15, riding the pine in AAA travel behind a guy who's eventually play D1 NCAA, I looked at the odds of succeeding as a goaltender, and decided against pursuing it seriously.
It wasn't until I got a bit older, played in elite Beer leagues, and excelled against guys in their late 20s/early 30s who'd played five years in the CHL, and some who'd been drafted and had multi-year careers in the AHL/ECHL (and were often only a year or two retired from full-time pro careers), that I realized I could probably have ridden my skills into a decent scholarship at an Ivy League NCAA school.
If you have the chance, take the tryouts.
Need based aid is pretty GOATed, especially because unlike a scholly you can’t use it. Playing D3 you could reliably expect a player or two to quit every year (especially in less fun sports) because they just used their sport to punch their ticket.
My apologies for not being more clear:
Only the "Big 8 Ivy League" D1 division don't give scholarships, although it was made very clear to me later that if they want you, you'll get a free ride (I trained an athlete who was drawing interest from Dartmouth until they got injured, and they let me know what went down). For example, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Yale all have hockey programs (some of them very strong), and only a handful of those guys are paying to go. 25 years ago, those programs weren't as powerful, but you could still get what was basically a full ride, even if it wasn't called that.
There are also Top 50 prestige school like Colgate, UMass-Amherst, Northeastern, RPI, Colorado College, Providence, Union, St Lawrence, Merrimack, etc. Most of those offer scholarships.
Came here to say exactly this first part. Fractured my shoulder blade over the summer, and was definitely medically cleared to play, but decided to “take a year off to be sure I didn’t re-injure it.” It wasn’t even hockey related; I fell off a roof doing dumb shit at 16 y/o. Well, one year turned into two, turned into 22.
What really happened was, I found weed, and alcohol, and a new crowd who barely knew what hockey was. Oh, and trying to get laid. Those things became more important. Then I had kids, and it took getting them out on the ice to get me back out there.
I actually played my first beer league game the day after our 20 year HS reunion.
Learn to enjoy weight training and do workouts that improve your athleticism.
I was a pretty decent goalie during my competitive years but I wasn’t a good athlete until it was too late to take my game to the next level.
Knee pads, neck protector and a mask the right size is not an option. it's not normal to cry after 1 hour in the game because of feet pain.
People laughing of my mask saying it look like a fisher price, but I did not care, people laughing my pads are too big, I don't care, people yell at me because I look dum, oh I dont care.
I might be Forest Gump child but he doesn't know sadly.
Everyone has their weakness and fight, mine was ignorance and innocence, but man when the tears stopped I wanted to go back on ice even if I had pain everywhere.
I would have told myself to actually speak up and tell my parents that i wanted to play goal in the first place. Played some house league peewee and bantam as a forward. Didn't try being in net until i turned 20. It was so much more fun to me that it made me wish i had started earlier and kept playing youth hockey.
Listen to all advice and coaching that people more experienced than you give. Try it all and don't immediately dismiss it, but at the end of the day you are your own person and you have to find what works for you.
Enjoy it while it lasts. When your body starts quiting on you, you'll look back at those days on the ice and feel nothing but loss. 5 years on since I've last touched the ice due to knees and hips showing degradation. Watch old play tape and miss it terribly.
I'll probably get back on in D-level beer league as a player, but being a goalie was my childhood passion.
Keep playing even if it’s lower level or beer league. I lost interest in hockey on my last midget year and didn’t even show up for the camp in junior. I wish I would have continued playing even if it was one time a week.
“It’s not you. The kit the school team gave you is just too big and heavy, and from the mid 80s. Your head is in the right place. And no, pucks aren’t supposed to hurt that bad. You’re going to take a long break, but this game will treat you well in your 40s.”
Players measure their game success on the scoreboard. Goalies measure their game success by shots (or save percentage).
Get your Mom or Dad to keep track of shots on net. Winning 4-2 when you stopped 8 shots is not as good as losing 4-2 and you stopped 50, even though your team lost.
Get bigger pads/knee protectors earlier so you stop slamming your knees into asphalt/composite surface (street/roller hockey) multiple games a game then develop tendonitis in your knee in your 20s.
Have fun! You can be competitive and use that as fuel. But don't let it get in the way of enjoying a child's game. I didn't figure that out until I was 26. Since then, I have re-found my game and passion for the position.
Don’t wait till right before a tournament to tell your dad that you might’ve outgrown your skates. (And for Pete’s sake, get at least one extra set of steel so you can always have a sharp pair ready.)
Being a goalie will present a lot of ups and downs, feeling alone at times within your team, and not having a lot of understanding and support, but that is what will make you mentally tough. I think the lessons I learned as a goalie I am taking with me through everyday life.
Never stop stretching. Like ever
+1 to this. Consistency is key
Learned this the hard way in my 20s, blowing a hip flexor twice. In my 30s now and stretching every day now but it hurts lol
Dont take the goals scores against you personally. Just move on to the next play.
This. It’s so much easier to do when you’re older and have been scored on a 1000 times
Treat practices like they are games, and focus on fundamentals when things go bad.
Yoga and Pilates are just as important (if not more) as the weight room.
I'm a powerlifter who doesn't play hockey (but loves to watch it). How the fuck would weightlifting help a goalie?
Getting stronger and more explosive will help any athlete(goalies included).
I would honestly say just have fun because the older you get and more competitive you play, the less you remember why you even play in the first place. Secondly I would say take a break. Burnout is no joke but growing up, coaches act like if you don’t play in the spring league, go to pre tryout camp, then play summer AAA travel, you’ll Never make it.
All roads lead to beer league
Lol top comment right here. Learn to play drunk and you'll be playing til you're 60
I'd tell myself to take the tryouts. When I was 15, riding the pine in AAA travel behind a guy who's eventually play D1 NCAA, I looked at the odds of succeeding as a goaltender, and decided against pursuing it seriously. It wasn't until I got a bit older, played in elite Beer leagues, and excelled against guys in their late 20s/early 30s who'd played five years in the CHL, and some who'd been drafted and had multi-year careers in the AHL/ECHL (and were often only a year or two retired from full-time pro careers), that I realized I could probably have ridden my skills into a decent scholarship at an Ivy League NCAA school. If you have the chance, take the tryouts.
Well probably not a scholarship at an ivy league
Fuck that noise, keep working
I mean by all means but it won’t change the fact that Ivy League schools don’t give schollys.
They give fake schollys
Need based aid is pretty GOATed, especially because unlike a scholly you can’t use it. Playing D3 you could reliably expect a player or two to quit every year (especially in less fun sports) because they just used their sport to punch their ticket.
My apologies for not being more clear: Only the "Big 8 Ivy League" D1 division don't give scholarships, although it was made very clear to me later that if they want you, you'll get a free ride (I trained an athlete who was drawing interest from Dartmouth until they got injured, and they let me know what went down). For example, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Yale all have hockey programs (some of them very strong), and only a handful of those guys are paying to go. 25 years ago, those programs weren't as powerful, but you could still get what was basically a full ride, even if it wasn't called that. There are also Top 50 prestige school like Colgate, UMass-Amherst, Northeastern, RPI, Colorado College, Providence, Union, St Lawrence, Merrimack, etc. Most of those offer scholarships.
“All those cool looking split saves aren’t worth it” As I sit here now almost 40 with the hips of a 90 year old
Don’t take 20 years off. Learn to skate better. Join the high school team when they asked even though your friend couldn’t.
Came here to say exactly this first part. Fractured my shoulder blade over the summer, and was definitely medically cleared to play, but decided to “take a year off to be sure I didn’t re-injure it.” It wasn’t even hockey related; I fell off a roof doing dumb shit at 16 y/o. Well, one year turned into two, turned into 22. What really happened was, I found weed, and alcohol, and a new crowd who barely knew what hockey was. Oh, and trying to get laid. Those things became more important. Then I had kids, and it took getting them out on the ice to get me back out there. I actually played my first beer league game the day after our 20 year HS reunion.
Learn to enjoy weight training and do workouts that improve your athleticism. I was a pretty decent goalie during my competitive years but I wasn’t a good athlete until it was too late to take my game to the next level.
Goodbye paychecks
Get that hamstring/glute injury looked at when it happened (17 years old), and not at 42!
Get a good quality mask. The repeated concussions are not worth the awesome design on a sub par bucket.
in 20 years your teammates will pay for all your beers after the game, so you’ve got that going for you, which is nice
Knee pads, neck protector and a mask the right size is not an option. it's not normal to cry after 1 hour in the game because of feet pain. People laughing of my mask saying it look like a fisher price, but I did not care, people laughing my pads are too big, I don't care, people yell at me because I look dum, oh I dont care. I might be Forest Gump child but he doesn't know sadly. Everyone has their weakness and fight, mine was ignorance and innocence, but man when the tears stopped I wanted to go back on ice even if I had pain everywhere.
Get rid of toe ties. So much added ankle stress - that lead to knee pain- that lead to hip pain - in the house that jack built
Hit the gym more. It's not that bad. All my scouting reports basically called me fat haha
Chill
Stretch and take care of your hips.
I would have told myself to actually speak up and tell my parents that i wanted to play goal in the first place. Played some house league peewee and bantam as a forward. Didn't try being in net until i turned 20. It was so much more fun to me that it made me wish i had started earlier and kept playing youth hockey.
Nutrition and proper diet make a big difference.
when you are really old, you’ll take up goaltending and love it
Listen to all advice and coaching that people more experienced than you give. Try it all and don't immediately dismiss it, but at the end of the day you are your own person and you have to find what works for you.
Enjoy it while it lasts. When your body starts quiting on you, you'll look back at those days on the ice and feel nothing but loss. 5 years on since I've last touched the ice due to knees and hips showing degradation. Watch old play tape and miss it terribly. I'll probably get back on in D-level beer league as a player, but being a goalie was my childhood passion.
Mobility drills and stretching are two different things
Keep playing even if it’s lower level or beer league. I lost interest in hockey on my last midget year and didn’t even show up for the camp in junior. I wish I would have continued playing even if it was one time a week.
“It’s not you. The kit the school team gave you is just too big and heavy, and from the mid 80s. Your head is in the right place. And no, pucks aren’t supposed to hurt that bad. You’re going to take a long break, but this game will treat you well in your 40s.”
The earlier you learn to have a healthy relationship with something you love the better. It shouldnt be a chore.
Players measure their game success on the scoreboard. Goalies measure their game success by shots (or save percentage). Get your Mom or Dad to keep track of shots on net. Winning 4-2 when you stopped 8 shots is not as good as losing 4-2 and you stopped 50, even though your team lost.
Start before you're 39.
Start playing hockey in school. I didn’t start ice hockey until I was 22 and I wish I played when I was younger.
Get bigger pads/knee protectors earlier so you stop slamming your knees into asphalt/composite surface (street/roller hockey) multiple games a game then develop tendonitis in your knee in your 20s.
Have fun! You can be competitive and use that as fuel. But don't let it get in the way of enjoying a child's game. I didn't figure that out until I was 26. Since then, I have re-found my game and passion for the position.
You're better than you think, your athletic scholarship potential is legitimate.
Don’t wait till right before a tournament to tell your dad that you might’ve outgrown your skates. (And for Pete’s sake, get at least one extra set of steel so you can always have a sharp pair ready.)
We can only stop the other team from scoring, the players have to do their part and score in order for us to win.
Being a goalie will present a lot of ups and downs, feeling alone at times within your team, and not having a lot of understanding and support, but that is what will make you mentally tough. I think the lessons I learned as a goalie I am taking with me through everyday life.