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USA Hockey Delivering on Goalie Development

By Minnesota Hockey, 10/13/17, 2:00PM CDT

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In the spring of 2016, USA Hockey announced it would be undertaking a major initiative to enhance the focus on goaltender development throughout the country. While a number of American-born goaltenders have found success at the game’s highest levels, including two-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick and U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member John Vanbiesbrouck, USA Hockey recognized an opportunity to improve the quality of goalie coaching at the grassroots level.

The initial steps taken by USA Hockey were devoted to developing a national network of goaltending development coordinators.

First, Phil Osaer, who was brought on as USA Hockey’s first ADM manager for goaltending, worked with USA Hockey state and district affiliates to find coordinators for their areas. Then, they hosted the coordinators for a workshop to create a collection of best practices and a shared vision for beginning outreach at the state and local levels.

“Adding more resources and support for goaltenders, both on the national level and the local level, is a priority for USA Hockey and our American Development Model,” said Osaer. “The goaltending development coordinators will play an important role in that process, giving young goaltenders support and guidance from experienced coaches with a wealth of goaltending experience.”

Those efforts laid the foundation, and now, the second wave of the initiative is beginning to produce significant results.

Over the last year and a half, Minnesota Goaltending Development Coordinator Steve Carroll and his team have hosted six goalie skill sessions which have impacted over 100 goalies. They’ve also conducted three goalie coaching seminars to provide youth coaches in Minnesota with the knowledge to instruct goalie skills in their communities.

On a national scale, USA Hockey has been consistently producing more and more goaltender development resources for their website, www.usahockeygoaltending.com. The site now features detailed breakdowns on how to teach basic skills, including descriptions of common terms and videos, a full season development plan with a progression of practice plans and webinars with tips from some of the top goalie coaches in the country. 

With these new resources available, all coaches, regardless of what position they played themselves, now have the tools they need to help their goalies improve on a daily basis.

Add in the development and launch of QuickChange goalie gear, which provides associations with the ability to introduce multiple players to the goaltending position within a single practice, and it’s safe to say USA Hockey is delivering on its commitment to goaltenders.

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