December 31, 2003
photo
Herald photo by Carol South
A goalie fields puck after puck launched from a puck machine Saturday morning during a goaltending clinic at the Howe Arena that drew 15 young goalies.

Players learn netminder nuances

Between the Pipes goaltending clinic held at Howe Arena

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       Puck after puck, the relentless machine kept them flying steadily at the goalies in training.
      With stick, skates, gloves, and padding they fended them off - or tried to - until the crease and surrounding ice was littered with pucks. (With some resting ignominiously in the goal.)
      For the 15 participants in the Between the Pipes: Goaltending Clinic Saturday morning, their turn with the puck machine was just one stop on a circuit of four training areas. Held at Howe Arena and sponsored by the Grand Traverse Hockey Association, the clinic allowed new and veteran young goalies the chance to hone their skills.
      From agility drills to handling deflections off the boards, from lateral movement drills to defending against breakaways, the goalies delved into all aspects of the position.
      "I learned a lot, learned on breakaways that you don't want to make the first move," said Billy Vermetten, 9, a member of a Squirt A travel hockey team.
      Vermetten has been playing hockey for three years and is beginning his first year as a goalie. This is the second goalie clinic he has attended to help him learn the moves and hone his instincts.
      "I like being goalie because stuff is coming real fast at me and I have to block it," said Vermetten, who dons 35 pounds of equipment for his role of stopping an object that can travel up to 105 mph.
      Pals Miki Smith, 13, and Becca Cline, 14, also attended goaltending clinic, determined to gain the skills needed to succeed in this largely male-dominated sport. Smith, a seventh-grade student at East Junior High, is in her third season of the sport and her second as a goalie. She noted that the reflexes needed to stop the high-speed pucks are ingrained with experience.
      "It all comes naturally after a while," noted Smith, who also plays soccer. "The most difficult part of the clinic was the puck shooting machine."
      Cline, a newcomer to the sport this year, appreciated the clinic's help with her biggest challenge: handling rushes.
      "Rushes are probably the hardest because your defenses aren't there," said Cline, a ninth-grade student at East Junior High. "We also did the T-slide, the glove save and the blocking save."
      In addition to pride at participating in the rough and tumble world of hockey, Cline pointed to one thing that keeps her on the ice.
      "Hockey is a real adrenaline rush," she said.
      Traverse City West Senior High goalie coach Chris Galton organized a series of monthly goaltending clinics for the association. For this clinic, Galton recruited help from Todd Lightfoot of Calumet and Bob Fernandez. He also had some Titan players on hand to help with the breakaway drills.
      A former juniors player in Canada and a semi-professional player, Galton designed the clinic to help the aspiring goalies learn the basics as well as more advanced aspects of the sport.
      "There's a lot that's involved with goaltending and there's a lot of people that don't quite understand it," Galton noted. "That's why I'm doing these clinics because when I was younger I had to go away to Canada to get this."
      Galton began playing goalie while on a Squirt travel team, donning the pads one day when the team's regular goalie was hurt. He continued in the position until a knee injury ended his professional dreams, but not his vision of helping others master this crucial position.
      "My kids are starting to play hockey now and I noticed there were some things that I wanted to do that I didn't get at their age, which I wanted them to get," he added.
      In coordination with the Rick Heinz Goalie School, run by a former National Hockey League goalie, Galton also plans to teach five-day goaltending clinics geared to kids this summer.
      "Goaltending is a very mental sport, about 80 percent mental, and full concentration is required," Galton said. "Repetition and also the rush and reflexes drills do help kids develop quicker reflexes."