Question: I have two goalies on my high school team, one is a sophomore and is relatively new to the position and has a great eye for shots and makes a lot of big saves. he has put in a lot of work during our off-seasons to improve his play. his only knock on him is that due to his in-experience, he has trouble seeing open players on clears. he can pass well, he just has trouble seeing open players. the other goalie is a junior who has played the position since he started so he knows where to look on clears. he can stop shots but doesn’t have the same talent as the sophomore. in your coaching experience, which goalie would make the better main-man?
Answer: This isn’t an easy answer as there are a lot of factors that you as a coach have to weigh. That being said, if they are in fact equal with the exception of the clearing I would always go with the younger goalie in the hopes that he is going to be a better goalie once that problem is fixed.
Who Stops The Ball Better
First off: Who is the better ball stopper? This is really where you need to start. If a goalie is a good clearer but he/she can’t stop the ball it doesn’t really matter how well he clears if he can’t stop the thing.
Secondly: Clearing is a team game. What I find is that goalies who have clearing issues but who have good stick skills need to do a couple of things: 1) They need to relax once they have the ball. Use the full four seconds (especially the first two seconds) to let the team clear and get to their positions, whatever those are for your clear.
2) He needs to think ahead. If he is only focusing on stopping the ball, but his brain shuts down after that, he needs to gain some solid experience completing that part of the game. Keep in mind that most practice drills end with a goalie stopping the ball, not clearing the ball to midfield/restraining line, etc.
Coaches Can Make a Difference on the Clear
I view most clearing issues as a coaching issue. If he’s not seeing the open players, why is that? Is it because he’s just not seeing them? Or is it because they aren’t consistently in the same places? Clearing is a team game, similar to playing football. Players run to certain spots and the quarterback expects them to be in those spots at a certain time. Granted, defensively players end up all over the field, but once the goalie yells “clear!” his teammates need to get to there “places” quickly and efficiently. Defense to the sides, long pole up towards midfield away from the bench, middies to the middle of the field, etc. (I’ve got an easy clear for goalies as a you tube clip. Just search for “LacrosseGoalieGuru” at YouTube. You’ll see the clip on Easy Clears for Most Goalies”)
Defence Doesn’t Stop Until The Ball Is In The Offensive End
When I play on club teams one of my biggest pet peeves is after making a save, half the team jogs up the field because they are tired, or change to the bench, or don’t look at the goalie. All of these things really screw things up for the goalie because we’ve got a limited time in the cage, and most players don’t realize they are open. As a goalie you need to make a pass when it’s available. Not when the middie thinks he’s open.
Tell Everyone Where To Go On The Clears
Go over your clear with your team. Emphasize the basics: Middies here. Defence here. One middie down to the restraining line away from the bench. Pole up to midfield. Always look at the goalie.
He needs to recognize a couple of things right away: 1) Is there a middie open right away? 2) Is there an attackman in my face? (If there is there is a pole open) 3) If no one is in my face, and no one is open, I’m heading out the back of the crease to complete a controlled clear. 4) Where is the two on one?
That’s it.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need any clarification as this is pretty detailed to write in an email. That you tube video will help too. Video is here. Easy Goalie Clear.
Good luck,
Jonathan – The Goalie Guru
I feel that the clear is one of the goalies most critical responsibilities. If you step back a bit and formulate your defense’s primary objective, and your goalie’s role in fulfilling that objective, then priorities may become more clear. This may be an oversimplification, but I feel that the defense’s primary objective should be stated as to gain possession of the ball and get it to the offensive end of the field. Every piece of the defensive scheme should fit together to further that goal. A goalie who makes great saves, but can’t get the ball to the attack, isn’t helping the defense to reach that goal. To state it in terms of a different goalie issue, a goalie who makes great stops but has trouble controlling rebounds so that the offense gets multiple shooting opportunities on too many possessions also fails to achieve the ultimate objective. To assess these two goalies, you have to look at the net equation, and not at just one variable. The younger goalie who stop 60% of the shots he faces but fails to execute on the clear 25% of the time does not compare favorably to a goalie who stops 50% of the shots but clears at 100% efficiency (as he should).