"Stand-Up" Goalies are Dinosaurs
In the late seventies when I learned to play hockey, no coach was teaching anything but traditional, stand-up goaltending technique. This method focused on mobility, challenging shooters and above all else, going down to the ice only when players were in your crease with the puck.
 |
| Stand Up |
Today nobody teaches or uses anything but some variation of the Butterfly technique and there's a good reason. Net coverage with the Butterfly is vastly superior with the bottom portion of the net almost completely covered. Today's light-weight materials used in goal pads allows the drop-down/pop-up movements more viable than the heavier and bulkier old-school pads.
 |
| Butterfly |
As for me, while some of my old-school techniques are starting to come back to me, the reality is that these heavy, old pads have to go and I've got to begin learning a new style of goaltending. I plan to begin integrating the Butterfly style into my game and it will begin with using a hybrid pad that is constructed in a way unfamiliar to my game.
I should have my new pads later this week and will post about my transition.