How To Pick The Best Lacrosse Goalie Camp
There is a lot to consider when finding the best lacrosse goalie camp for you or your goalie. There are a lot of choices out there and they are only getting harder and harder to make. But having been to a bunch of lacrosse goalie camps growing up, as well as interacting with many lacrosse coaches who put on these camps, I want to give you some tips to help you make the most out of your lacrosse camp experience.
Multi-Position Lacrosse Camp or Goalie Specific Camp?
Back in 2015 I wrote a very popular blog post that addressed, “What camp should my lacrosse goalie go to?” One that has all positions or a goalie specific camp?
The answer isn’t easy. But my suggestion is if you are going to a goalie specific camp you need to go to one that has a very high coach to goalie ratio. I find that lacrosse goalie camps that have a ton of lacrosse goalies are fun to be around but the level of shots that you see, and the exposure that you get is limited. My suggestion is to find a small camp where you can interact with the coaches and the shooters as much as you can.
That being said, I am still a fan of going to a multi-positional camp and here’s why:
1) More exposure to high quality shooters: As a lacrosse goalie one of the main things we are trying to improve is our “shot library”. This is that library you have in your head that allows you to know where shots are going as they are being shot out of a players stick. At a goalie specific camp you are getting shot on by other goalies (who aren’t the best shooters) or by a tennis ball machine that doesn’t replicate an actual lacrosse stick at all. You don’t want that. You want exposure to shooters, and preferably ones who are better than the ones you see on your home team.
2) More exposure to other coaches: At a multi-positional camp you will see a higher number of coaches and collegiate level players. Most camps bring in coaches from all over the country. Your opportunity therefore to ask these coaches questions, and to improve your game, is quite high. And with that, your chances to network with those coaches to learn and to improve is also greater. I learned the most tips while at multi-player camps. My roommates at these camps were some of the best
players in the country at the time. I could grill them on shooting technique, what they saw when they shot on me, and what they thought my strengths and weaknesses were. It was pretty cool.
3) Better game situations: At lacrosse goalie camps a great time filler is to have full-field games with ten goalies on a side. I never really understood this because lacrosse goalies are some of the worst stick handlers on the field. Now that isn’t true all the time, but I think you’d agree that having ten guys on the field playing with lacrosse goalie sticks is a bit cumbersome. Getting shot on by a player shooting a goalie stick is not the same as having someone rifle the ball at you with a short stick.
Now that being said, I’m all about the “goofiness” of camp and having a little fun and would say this is something that falls into that category and can be fun. People tend to hire me because they want quick, serious answers, so my mind tends to not waste time. But at camp, you need to break it up a bit, AND it shows the importance of being able to use your stick out in the field a bit.
Ultimately, you’re going to get better shots, and therefore more realistic game scenarios at a multi-positional camp. It will be more like your game scenarios you see during your season.
4) More opportunity to be one of the best at the camp: Let’s face it, there are less goalies at a multi-positional camp than there are at a lacrosse goalie specific camp. So your opportunity to be one of the best, if not THE best at a camp is higher. It is an advantage on your resume to say, “I was the #1 goalie at the (name- your-university) lacrosse camp last summer.” That’s a much better position to be in than being at a camp with hundreds of goalies.
5) Being a great lacrosse goalie has a lot more to do than just stopping the ball: At a multi-positional lacrosse camp you’re going to be able to work on other aspects of your game that you wouldn’t be able to work on at a goalie specific camp. Namely, your ability to communicate with your defence. This is a big part of becoming a great lacrosse goalie and one that you ‘re not going to be able to fully develop at a goalie specific camp.
So these are a handful of reasons why I feel lacrosse goalie specific camps are not really the best option when choosing a camp for the summer. Remember, you’re trying to do everything you can to fully develop your game as a lacrosse goalie. Every time you step on the field you want to the most opportunities to expose your game so that you can become a well rounded lacrosse goalie. That’s why my suggestion is to pick a multi-positional lacrosse camp where the numbers of goalies
is low, and you have the most opportunity to develop your game.
Good luck.
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