I am a lacrosse goalie, what are some good workouts to help improve my strength and skill?

Question

I want to know workouts that will benefit being a lacrosse goalie.

Answer 1

Hi There,

I think the biggest concern is your reflex skills, here are some excercises i did to strenghten my reflexes.

Walk the line: Instead of doing basic ground ball drills, you should do this, This excercise takes place on the perimeter of the box, you first make a motion as if you were saving a top right(or top left depending on how you hold the stick) you should just imagine you were making a save and stepping with your strong foot first, and then bringing in your back foot to meet you.  then you imagine your makin a shot to your weak side(do same as strong side) and finally you make a motion as if you were saving a bounce shot, here you step foreward and act as if you were kneeling like you needed to get low to save that shot!... this may sound monatanous but if you stick to it, it will definitly help

Another excercise that I used to continuously do involved a partner, and a large flat wall(a wall ball court would work best),  You should have your back facing the wall and be about 10-15 feet away.  A partner is needed because while your back facing away from the wall he will throw the lacrosse ball against the wall, as the ball hits the wall he should scream out "SHOT" and you turn around as quickly as you can and try and make a save,  This drill is good because it not only should keep you on your toes, but as well as training your eye to pick up where the ball could be (hint: you may or may not want to wear your equiptment im not sure if your a boy or girl, but as a men's lacrosse goalie that can hurt, i also would trust the person your doing this with because you want to make sure the ball is being thrown at the wall at a reasonable speed and s/he is not just cranking it)

Finally i would have a couple people do quick stick drills within the crease around the goal, here one,two,or three people just toss the ball around at close range and try to score on you. if you ever have had alot of action on the crease this teaches you to step out to your oppenent as well as knowing your angles around the crease.

Being a goalie your biggest strength is your legs because you should stay in the crouch position, i would probably run hills and just work on making your legs stronger.

I know this seems like alot but i hope it offered you some insight on how to improve your skills.... Also a goalie camp or lacrosse camp is a good option to think of.. Good luck!