Without a proper stance it is almost impossible for a goaltender to learn all the right saves, moves and basics of goaltending. We will try to give you the right idea of the proper stance and a detailed checklist on how to build a proper stance.

The older the goalie is, the more the coach should try to cater to his/her own personal style, that has been developed over the years, and try to bring the best and most effective ways of the style out while trying to fine tune the stance etc. instead of trying to change the goaltender's style to something totally different.

When you are coaching young or beginning goalies, the stance should always be taught the same way. Do not do any modifications over the first few years.

A proper stance should be built the following way:

• Start by setting the goalie just to stand normally and relaxed
• Set feet roughly to shoulder width apart

• Bend the knees slightly to a natural feeling angle where the goalie has good balance
• Roll the back forwards so that you reach the well balanced position demonstrated in the photos on your left
• Bring the stick in front of you (30-40cm / 12"-16") in front of the skates so that the blade is centered between the pads with the whole blade on the ice. If the goalie has the wrong size stick or wrong lie it will ruin the stance since the goalie has to adjust his/her stance to accomodate the stick.
• Position your gloves at knee height off the edge of your pads and on a plane out in front of your body. The glove must remain open and square to the puck at all times.
• Keep your shoulders, hips, and feet square to the puck at all times.

The toughest shots to stop are the low drives to the bottom corners. By setting up low to the ice the goaltender gives himself every opportunity to rapidly descend into the butterfly and cover the bottom corners. The goaltenders gloves should be positioned at knee height off the edge of the pads and on a plane out in front of the body. This allows the goalie to move his hands independently of the body and improves his field of vision by permitting him to watch the puck from the shooters stick all the way into the blocker or glove. Proper positioning of the gloves also puts the goaltender in a balanced position giving him the ability to respond to a shot in any direction.

One of the biggest mistakes a young goaltender can make is to hold his catching glove too high. Goaltenders who hold their glove too high are often forced to drop their glove down in order to make a save. This makes it increasing difficult to control the glove since the puck is moving upwards from ice level while the glove is moving in the opposite direction. It is much easier for a goalie to lift his glove up to take away the top corner than it is to lower the glove to stop shots at knee height.

As a goaltender, your stick is your most important tool. Therefore, the position of the stick in the set position is crucial to your success. Just like the hands, the stick should be brought forward and away from the body so that the goalkeeper doesn't kick rebounds out to opposing shooters. This allows you to meet the puck in front and ensures that you will not fall on your stick when going down into the butterfly. The stick should also be held on a slight slant so that it can be moved in a semi-circle. By moving the stick in a semi-circle rather than a straight line, it is much easier to keep the stick on the ice on low shots, especially to the blocker side.