MAX Hockey

Not on your toes, not on your heels, but juuusst right. What we mean by the balls of your feet is that athletic, ready to move stance. The weight of your body should be balanced on both feet in the slightly forward, center of your foot.

Check out the video below and watch Buffalo Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski. Think about whether he was in a good athletic stance ready to move and/or make a save.

You’ll notice he looks a little flat footed and should have been able to get across and make the save. So what happened? He got caught on his heels. What does that look like? Just like below.

Every goalie gets caught doing this and it’s okay. It’s a good lesson learned and a reminder. Do not settle into and automatically expect the shot. You’ll notice your goalie will start to sit back and transfer weight to their heels expecting the shot. It’s at this moment a goalie is frozen in position and will struggle to move laterally.

Tokarski was caught settling into the shot and struggles to move laterally. You can see he barely made any movement across the crease to make the save attempt.

So always remind your goalie to maintain that athletic stance and to not get caught on their heels settling into a potential shot. Stay ready!