Terry Kadsan wrote:
 
>Goalies need to be motivated in a special way.  What does a coach tell
>every player to do on his first shift?  Throw a good check.  Hit
>somebody.  Why?  To keep all that energy flowing and to settle the
>nerves.  But as a goalie, I sometimes have to wait three or four (game)
>minutes before I even touch the puck (and that may just be an icing).
>I'll say it again.  Goalkeeping is 100% different from what skaters
>do.  It's a sport in and of itself.  So why would you want to coach
>goalies the same way?
 
I think we have a failure to communicate here. I think you're talking about
the process of coaching and I'm talking about the theory. I didn't mean that
the coach should use the same process to coach all of his/her players.
However, consider Mike Keenan. He likes to use public embarrassment to
motivate all of his players, skaters and goalies alike. They don't call him
the hook for nothing. Of course that's why Cujo doesn't play for him
anymore.
 
OTOH, your argument is a non sequitur because it wouldn't hold for third or
fourth line players either, regardless of whether they were forwards or
defense(men, women, people).  Coaching is coaching. The key is to get your
players to focus and perform, regardless of position. While a different
process may be needed to coach a goalie vs. a skater, the purpose of
coaching is exactly the same. Get your player to play well.
 
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