The needs of an ice hockey goalie are very specific. They need to:
· Be exceptionally powerful through the hips, especially in lateral and diagonal movements
· Be quick through the upper body, notably in independent arm actions
· Maintain a large amount of joint range of motion
· Be able to maintain a squat-like position for extended periods of time
On the surface, many of these qualities seem similar to other players. However, relatively speaking, the demands of players are more continuous. Goalies are usually required to move explosively, then rest, move explosively, then rest. Even when they’re extremely active, they aren’t usually required to repetitively move explosively in continuous actions. In other words, explosive lateral movements are usually followed by periods of maintaining a squat position or by a whistle (complete rest).
In the next couple days, I’ll go into more detail on hockey-specific jump training and goalie-specific conditioning.