The Proper Way to Warm Up Your Goalies

Goalies are built different. 

They’re the first ones to say so. It takes a special kind of person to stand in goal wearing limited protective equipment while other players shoot a hard rubber ball at you at speeds up to 100 mph.

Liam Entenmann and Colin Kirst — a pair of Premier Lacrosse League goalies who took to the rapid-fire sixes discipline with the U.S. team at the USA Lacrosse Experience in Indianapolis — welcome the abuse.

“We fell in love with the position and embrace all the weirdness that comes with it,” said Entenmann, a two-time NCAA champion and USILA Division I Goalie of the Year at Notre Dame. “We’re not afraid of being the loudest guy on the field or making all the bizarre movements like splits.”

The two U.S. goalies were joined at a youth clinic by counterparts from Great Britain and Colombia to help tutor the next generation of netminders. They emphasized the importance of a proper warmup prior to practices and games.

EYE, HANDS AND FEET

1. Start with a hand-eye drill. “There are a lot of different variations you can choose from, even from Formula 1 drivers or hockey goalies,” Kirst said. “There are a lot of transferable drills from other sports that work very well.
2. Get your feet involved. “Like one-foot hops or two-foot hops,” Kirst said.
3. Finish with a ball-toss exercise like juggling. “All you really need is about five minutes with some simple drills,” Kirst said.

THROW-CATCH-TRANSFER DRILL

Setup

Pair with a partner and stand 3-4 feet across from each other. Get into a good athletic stance. Each goalie starts with a ball in their left or right hand.

Transfer

Simultaneously, each person transfers the ball from one hand to the other

Throw and Catch

Underhand toss the ball to your partner’s hand and continue repeating that motion over and over again. Catch, transfer, then throw, while maintaining good body control and focus on the ball.

Variations

Move farther apart or transfer the ball behind your back to increase difficulty.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

“Many of the drills I do today — simple hand-eye and footwork drills — I started doing when I was a youth and high school player,” Entenmann said. “There’s nothing wrong with training with simple drills over and over again. Just remember to always keep your eyes and head up, even when doing footwork. Do the drills repetitively to build good muscle memory. A huge piece of the goaltending position is mental, so it’s important to develop confidence. If you have a good warmup, you feel better about yourself. The more you are dialed in mentally, the more likely you are to have a good performance.”