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THE BASICS - BASIC STANCE
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The most important fundamental that a goaltender must possess is the basic
stance. This is also referred to as the crouch or the ready position. All saves and
movements start from the basic stance.
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The skates should be shoulder width apart with the weight slightly on the balls of the
feet. The skates should be tilted slightly inward so the weight is distributed on the
inside edges a little more than the outside edge. The typical stance should be just a
little higher than if you were sitting in an imaginary chair. This deep crouch will allow
you to explode when you move sideways and will help you reach low shots with your
feet. Whenever a goaltender anticipates any lateral play the stance should deepen
slightly to assist in explosiveness. When viewed from the side a straight line should
be formed from the shoulders to the knees to the balls of the feet.
Here we see Mike in a nice balanced stance with a
vertical straight line through his shoulders, knees
and the balls of his feet.
I would prefer to see his gloves moved forward
closer to the red dotted line. This will get the stick
more vertical and cover more net with the gloves.
He does have a proper 12 - 16” gap between his
stick and toes.