Glove Hand

The fundamental concept of a quality glove position is that the humorous bone hangs directly down from shoulder socket. The forearm then is extended out in a loose manner, in front of body so eyes can see puck on the blade of the stick and their own glove in their peripheral vision.

This primary point will impact the success of your glove save greater than the sum of any of the following. Therefore it is crucial that the arm and hand positioning is done in such a manner and reinforced regularly.

The hand out position allows the goaltender a greater opportunity to catch the puck well in front of their body. This is ideal in that it gives space for the goalie to catch up to the puck if needed and it also allows the goalie to maintain visual contact with the puck from the point of its release and along its path to the glove.

In addition, the closer the goalie can place their body or piece of equipment towards the point of the puck’s release the less time the puck has to reach the vertical angle required to find the top portions of the net. Therefore if a goalie is holding their catch glove out in front of their body they will be covering vertical angle and have less area to defend and less area to move their glove to.

Due to the manufacturing of gloves where equipment suppliers are placing the opening of the glove slot and pocket of the glove in a way for the fingertips to be facing towards the ceiling. Teaching goaltenders to hold their catch gloves with their fingertips slightly up or in an 11 o’clock position is key. This positioning will allow goaltenders to catch pucks with a thumb to the chest motion or pinky to the hip motion (wax on wax off) rather than scoop the puck or absorbing the puck by drawing their hand backwards.

Hands should be held out and in front, maintaining their general distance and plain, despite all movement. This should be accomplished without creating stiffness in the arm’s muscle groups. Think about carrying a glass of water while walking and keeping it from spilling. It is this balance between stiff and loose that needs to be executed in order for your gloves to be out, stable and still loose.