Stealing is Good...Man Down That Is

Here is a trick that a goalie can try and can potentially have a huge effect on a game if done right. When your team is in a man-down situation, take a look at how the opposing team is set up before the whistle is blown to play. If the opponents man-up offensive set has a player directly behind the net, this could be a very good opportunity for you as a goalie. Usually the team on offense in a man-up situation passes the ball around to everyone once before starting a play. And usually players just pass the ball with out really thinking because they are so used to doing this in the current situation. As the ball is being passed to that player standing directly behind the net, the goalie has the opportunity to run out and steal this pass.

If you successfully make this steal, get ready. Due to the fact you are man-down, there will be opponents all over you. Plus, you won't have many options to pass to on your team. So most likely, get ready to heave the ball all the way to other end of the field. If done successfully this can ruin a man-up opportunity for the opponent and could change the momentum of the game.

WARNING: If teams know that as a goalie you like to do this, they could fake the pass to behind the net and as you run out of net to grab it, they could score. So watch out.

Chronic Guessing Syndrom and Lacrosse Goalies

There is a common problem with lacrosse goalies today of all ages and skill levels - they guess too much! This means as an opponent winds up to shoot, the goalie is already stepping towards this shooter. So before the ball is even out of the shooters stick, the goalie is making his/her move. The problem is that if the shot is to either side of the goalie, it is tough to make the save because their momentum is already moving forward.

Want to know if a goalie is a "guesser"? You can find out when you are warming them up. As you are in the shooting motion, keep winding up with out actually shooting the ball. If the goalie starts to move towards you or lean too much forward, they are suffering from CGS (Chronic Guessing Syndrom). And guessing is very bad for lacrosse goalies because they need to have their movement towards the ball and not the shooter. Moving towards the ball gets the goalies body behind it.

If a goalie does suffer from CGS, don't worry, there is a solution. Everytime the goalie is getting warmed up, keep winding up like you are going to shoot, making the goalie wait and wait. This will make the goalie get used to waiting for the ball to actually come out of the stick. Do this a little each practice and it is should help.