Interview with Goalie Academy's Darren Hersh (Part Two)

What are the 3 most important things a goalie can do off of the ice to reach the next level?

1. Learn how to develop and maintain a good, positive attitude.  This obviously has to do with the mental side of the game.  If a goalie can develop a good attitude toward learning and being coached, to his/her approach to practice and games, and ability to stay positive, they can a long way in the game.  Too many goalies simply have a bad attutude toward things and they allow external things that are out of their control to constantly bother them and it really effects their play and eventually their career....and maybe the rest of their life.

2. Off Ice conditioning is crucial!  I have recently seen kids make huge strides in their on-ice development once they started to work on their core strength.  There are several developmental plateaus that players will have to work through in their hockey careers.  In the early ages, they are usually skill technique related, then mental maturity, and then physical maturity.  As they age, plateaus and slumps are usually primarily mental and they involve attitude, focus and consistency.  Concerning the physical maturity, work on core strength can really help players through that particular plateau within months or even weeks!

3. Do your homework!  Not only with school to get solid grades in order to give yourself prep school and/or college options, but also do your homework on the schools and/or junior programs that you may want to go to.  It is best to see from where junior programs and schools are recruiting.  See their current rosters and see where their players played before going to their current team.  You will often see patterns in where these teams recruit, so you will know what route you will want to take.  Do research on the coaches to see if it will be a good fit.  Also see what the goaltending situtation will be.  If the team already has two good, young goalies, you may not fit into that team's plan in the near future and you may have to look elsewhere.  Again, do your homework! 

In your opinion how important is weight training to developing a goalie as they get older?

I'm not sure about actual weight training, but off-ice conditioning and core strentgh training is incredibly inmportant.  Goalies can do all kinds of things to assist with agility, hand-eye coordination, balance, explosive movement, flexibility, and strength trough off-ice training.  It does translate to more effectiveness on the ice!

We know goaltending is 90% mental, how do you coach this part of the game?

There are many aspects to dealing with the mental part of goaltending, such as developing a positive mental approach to practices and games, getting through slumps and getting over bad goals and bad games, dealing with teammates, fans, parents, and coaches, and also handling success.  So many times we are dealing with these situations when they arise, because it is often very difficult for athletes to understand what you are trying to relay when they have never experienced it for themselves.  In general though, I like to try to get goalies to live in the moment.  I think many athletes mentally drain themselves by over-thinking things.  I used to think about games too much, so much so that I played the game two or three times in my head before I played it and I was often exhausted by game time.  It is a better approach to relax and take the mind off the game, so that you are mentally fresh and can just focus on the moment when it arrives and deal with things as they happen.

At what age do you think goalies should specialize?

Personally, I believe that goalies should learn the game of hockey as well as possible, because once they are a full-time goalie, they are the quarterback.  The goalie needs to know what a shooter knows and what a shooter is likely thinking, just as Peyton Manning can read a defense in football.  Playing out until they are a second year pee wee, if possible, is a great way to learn the game inside and out, which will help them be a more effective goalie.  Now, the reality is that some of the better younger goalies will not be able to play out, especially if they are on AAA teams.  The higher level teams seem to want the goalies to be specialized already by squirts.  So how can you get around this?  Play more hockey.  Play house league as a forward.  Play out at stick and shoot or pick up hockey.  Play street or inline hockey as a forward.  Do whatever it takes to become the well rounded student of the game that you need to be to gain hockey sense.

How often do you feel young goalies (pre-high school) should be skating per week?

If players love the game, you won't be able to get them off the ice!  People talk of burnout, which certainly exists for kids who are pushed into doing things they don't want to do, so they aren't enjoying it.  However, I still skate a minimu of four hours a day and I get tired, but not burnt out.  If a player wants to skate every day, then they should.  If they don't, then don't.  I think it is up to the player, but the better skater you become the better player you will become and that especially is true for goalies.  Goalies have to skate laterally and backwards almost as fast as aplayer skates forward and that isn't easy.  It takes hours of practice.  However, if doing that is a chore, then the player will likely not be able to achieve very lofty goals.  I used to skate Mondays with a house team, Tuesday at travel practice, Wednesday with a different travel team (just doing drills without equipment on), then Thursday at travel practice again, Friday was off, then Saturday and Sunday with a game and even a few hours of public skating if we were home.  Again, that was something that was ever a chore...it was fun!

How important is exposure for a high school goalie looking to reach college level? How much of their time should they spend at camps working on their craft and how much time should they spend playing in showcase tournments, etc...?

Too many players go from showcase to showcase or tryout to tryout and they never work on the things that cause them to get cut or overlooked.  Exposure at these events is certainly important and can be a big help to being seen and even recruited.  However, never forget that you constantly need to develop your skills and improve.  I coach minor league professional players who played high level college and junior before turning professional and they too still need to constantly work on skills to try to move up to the AHL and the NHL.  Skill development and skill maintanence is a never ending process!

Also, going to camps is a great way to be seen by coaches.  Go to camps where prep school and college coaches work in the summers.  At these camps, coaches get to see you for an entire week in some cases and they get to know you off the ice as well.  If you are a great kid and a solid hockey player, it can put you on their radar.  Back in the day, I went to a hockey camp for several years in a row, which lead to my going being recruited to prep school.  From that camp, I also received letters from nearly every college coach that was at the camp.  To this day, I still coach at hockey camps with two of the coaches from that summer hockey school, who are now with NHL teams!  Connections that you can gain from camps can last a lifetime!

What are the biggest things high school and junior goalies should be doing to get themselves noticed by college coaches?

Goalies need to let these folks know that they are out there and that they are interested in their schools.  Do not expect that coach from the college of your dreams to walk into your rink and tap you on the shoulder.  How do they know that you are there?  They don't.  They are very busy people and most schools have very limited funds for coaches to be traveling all over the USA, Canada, and Europe.  So, goalis need to 1. develop and play at the highest levels that they possibly can for their age group whether that is AAA or prep or junior hockey, 2. they need to write coaches a short letter or email letting them know that they are interested in their school as a student athlete, and 3. they need to go to camps where coaches teach and they need to get to tourneys and showcases where coaches will be to scout.  Again, do your homework and find out this information.

What are 3 things that the average head coach could do to better develop his goalies when planning practices?

1. Get a good goalie coach to help at practice!  Most coaches didn't play goalie and they do not show much interest in learning how to coach them.  So the best alternative is to find a coach who has a reputation for developing talent and get him or her to work with the goalies at practice.

2. Create a practice plan that allows goalies time and space to work on goalie specific skills.  This happens at the pro and college levels all the time, but is really lacking in minor hockey.  Goalies are a very important part of the team and they need to get more out of practice than just being a target for the forwards and the d-men.

3. Open a dialogue with the goalies to see what they may want to do at practice.  Coaches would be surprised by what young goalies know these days.  Many have coaches and have gone to camps.  They will know what to do to help themselves improve if coaches allow them to tell them and show them!

What are the 3 biggest mistakes head coaches make dealing with their goalies, either in game or during practice?

1.  They are not fair.  Coaches say that they treat the goalies the same, but they often treat them very differently.  For instance, I always hear my goalies complaining that they don't know who is playing the game before warm ups.  What other players on the ice don't know that they are playing until after they step on the ice?  That's easy, NONE!  Why play head games with the one player who will be on the ice the entire game? Coaches need to be upfront and fair to the goalies, because they do not want to mentally lose this important piece of the puzzle.  You need to goalie to be "on board."

2. Coaches too often panic when goals are scored against and they pull the goalies too much.  Eventhough it is sometimes very difficult, coaches need to show confidence in their goalies especially.  It is a tough position with a ton of pressure and young goalies need to learn how to deal with things through experience.  Yes, at times they will fail, but the coaches need to allow them to fail so that they can learn.  Again, don't do things that will make you lose your goalies mentally.  You need them to be enthusiastic leaders on the team.  A disgruntled goalie isn't good for anyone.

3. Don't feel that you need to provide the goalies with information if you don't know or are unsure of the correct information.  It is OK to not know about goalies.  Instead find out from trusted sources or hire a coach who does know.  I always tell coaches to consider the Hipocratic Oath that doctors subscribe to and that is "First, do no harm."  Often no advice is the best advice.

Do you have any words of wisdom about how to deal with a back-up goalie who thinks they should be getting more playing time?

One of the toughest things about playing goalies is that it really has to be decided based on practice.  This is unfair, but I don't see an alternative.  All I can say is to be up front, honest, fair, professional, and offer advice, assistance, and opportunity for the player to earn playing time.  Put the ball in their court and make sure that they know that they are part of the team and that you are also on their side.  These players need to feel that they are contributing.  If a coach does these things, then they may even be able to develop a goalie who can be an asset instead of a liability.

What made you want to be a coach?

I've had some great coaches that mentored me and I want to stay involved in the great game of hockey.

Which one of your coaches made the biggest impact on your career? How/why?

Cap Raeder had the biggest impact on me, because he really helped me develop my skills and he was instrumental in getting me to my prep school team.  Once at prep school, Charlie Corey was another superb teacher of the game and a hige influence off the ice as well.  He was tough, but we all knew that he cared about us a great deal.  In youth hockey, Doug Yingst, the current Hershey Bears' GM, spent a ton of time shooting pucks on me in practice.  He took the time that other youth coaches never did and it was a huge help.

How can coaches improve their coaching skills?

Coaches need to be students of the game!  They need to read, get videos, talk to other coaches, find mentors, and generally expand their hockey horizons as much as possible.  I love going to different camps and coaching with different guys to learn what they do and to see what I can take from them.  Just as player skills must always be worked on, coaching skills need to be enhanced all the time.  Find teams that are successful and find out what that coach is doing.  Find coaches who have made it to high levels and find out what they know.  If you are going to coach, why not do it the best you can?

What would be your initial advice for someone who loves hockey and decides to start a business to make their income through the sport?

Be ready to work!  Hockey has a lot of competition, because a lot of people want to make it a living.  However, once they find out how much work it is, they often get out of it before they really reap any true rewards from it.  I think you have to be patient, be ready to work hard, and also approach it in a smart way.  It is not always best to jump right into a full-time hockey job, because it takes time to build a name for yourself.  Even very accomplished players have not had as great coaching careers compared to lesser known guys, because playing skills and coaching skills are very different.  So, it is often best to start part-time with hockey to make sure you can pay the bills while building a name.

What are some of the positives and negatives of synthetic ice?

The positives of synthetic ice that many may not know is that it is a great work out and can have a very positibve impact on the explosiveness of your movement.  Many strength coaches and power skating coaches use resistance training to development explosive movement and speed in their athletes.  Well, synthetic ice has that friction built right into it.  So practicing on synthetic ice can help goalies' lateral movement a great deal.

Synthetic ice is also way cheaper than real ice, so making a business training hockey players is far better with synthetic ice.

The biggest negative is that you get plastic shavings on your gear that you have to vacuum off after playing, but that really isn't a big deal in my opinion.

What is your job requirements when looking to hire a new coach?

The Goalie Academy really only hires goalies who played at the collegeiate level.  At this point, the vast majority of our new hires played NCAA D-I.  We like guys who not only know the game and the position well from a playing experience stand point, but we want guys who can communicate exceptionally well and who can relay their ideas to the younger goalies.  We feel that the college guys are best at doing this.

Other than that, we want guys who want to coach goalies.  You can't fake that enthusiasm and we want that kind of positive energy!

What is your favorite part of making your living through hockey? Least favorite?

My favorite part of a hockey job is that I can't wait to wake up every morning and make the business and the goalies better!  I never get tired of it.  I'm always thinking of new ways to do things and new ways to promote The Goalie Academy and the goalies we train.  It is long, long hours, but I never have enough time to do everything I want to do.

The least favorite thing is never having enough time to do what I want to do with the business!

What are three expenses/challenges that someone starting a hockey based business might not realize?

1. You have to do the work yourself and much of the work doesn't create revenue.  Many people go to their jobs everyday and get paid to do things that really don't create money for their company.  Well, as an entrepreneur, you will have to do those jobs and not get paid for them.  Things like scheduling, web updates, and marketing.  In fact, it will cost you money to do things!  You will get paid when you give a lesson or do a camp/clinic, b ut all the work that leads up to those events will go unpaid.

2. There is a lot of competition and more every day.  Do your thing well and produce results and you can do well.  But be sure that someone will always come by and try to take your business away from you especially if you are doing well.

3. Good help is hard to find!  A lot of people want to make hockey their job, but I have found that few are willing to do the work it takes to stay with it.  To grow and to build the business, you will need good help and those folks are not easy to find.  If you find a few, be sure that you hang onto them!

How do you use technology, including but not limited to the internet and social media in your business? (marketing or otherwise)

Video is the best to teach goalies at all levels.  Showing them what you see is a huge tool and we use it all the time.  We use the internet to promote what we do through our web site and we also use Facebook a lot to promote our events, stay connected with our clients and once in a while find a new student.

Any last words of wisdom for goalies, coaches, or hockey business owners looking to take their skills to the next level?

For coaches wanting to make a business and living from it, don't be afraid to make changes.  If things are not working, then do something else.  It is OK to fail, but don't make the same mistakes over and over again.

Same for the goalies.  My favorite saying is, "If you do the same thing over and over and expect different results, then you are insane." -Albert Einstein.  Make adjustments and find what works!

Is there anything you'd like to promote, plug, or suggest people take a look at?

www.GoalieAcademy.com  Also our DVD of goalie drills for on-ice practices is a huge help for both goalies and coaches!  It is very inexpensive at $24.99.  It has drills for goalies to do alone, to do with their goalie partner, to do with one shooter or coach and to do with entire teams.

I can vouch that the drill book is phenomenal. I obviously use the goalie stuff, but I use alot of the shooting drills for my forwards and the team warm up drills/practice plans all of the time. Thanks Darren!