Our core values:
A good coach can make all the difference to your goalie
We believe in making hockey fun
We believe mistakes are essential to learning
A good coach can make all the difference to your goalie
We believe in making hockey fun
We believe mistakes are essential to learning
A good coach can make all the difference to your goalie.
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We believe in making hockey fun.
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Caruso Hockey is different from other goaltending services because of our unique and individualized approach for each goaltender. We do not believe in an one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we custom-tailor instruction based on your goaltender's age, physical abilities, hockey aptitude, and personality.
One of the most important foundational skills that a goalie will need to master is skating. Skating We're experienced with a variety of goaltending styles, but also stress save techniques. We teach save techniques, not a particular style. We give the tools to put in your toolbox and help you learn when to take each tool out. Goaltenders need to be flexible - literally and figuratively! We believe it is important to teach and develop the psychological and mental aspects of hockey. Research shows us that as a player gets older, their physical abilities remain pretty stable and that psychological factors are more likely to affect performance. Caruso Hockey mindfully teaches and trains our athletes to be mentally prepared for the stressors and anxieties that impact motivation and overall performance. |
Caruso Hockey creates a positive, supportive and engaging environment that keeps our athletes coming back the next day, week, month, and season. We help our athletes to enjoy all aspects of hockey: skating, stretching, skill development, conditioning, and competing. We also know that athletes who are praised for their effort
come to view their abilities as something they can control and
change. These are the athletes who will be motivated to train hard
and expect results based on the effort they put in. We believe effort and work ethic will get you farther in life than raw talent.
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We believe Mistakes are essential to learning.
A good goalie knows how to stop the puck; a great goalie knows how to get up and keep playing after a puck goes in. We work from a positivity-based model where athletes are praised often and authentically for what they are doing right and their progress on new skills. Our error correction is gentle; we believe that discussing and modeling error correction with sincerity and a calm demeanor is the best approach for our athletes.
We know that mistakes are necessary steps to learning and improving. When goaltenders make mistakes, they need to learn to readjust and let the mistake go. Too often, goalies begin to focus on it. They become so focused on what went wrong that mistakes start to snowball. Frustration hits and they don't know how to get out of this stress spiral. That's why goalies need support in their mental development as well. We will help your goalie learn relaxation techniques, self-talk, and acceptance of constructive feedback.
No goalie can make it big without quality physical skills, yet just having quality physical skills is no guarantee of success. Mental skills are equally important." Mitch Korn, Washington Capitals goalie coach
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There are certain things to look for when teaching a beginning goaltender. The first and most obvious is skating skills. In order to be a good goaltender, you don’t necessarily have to be the fastest skater on the team, but a goaltender needs to be extremely agile and have great balance. Before you decide to put a goalie in the net I suggest that your goaltender be comfortable with their skating skills. This is the main reason minor hockey programs will wait until the ages of 8-9 years of age before allowing a child to become a fulltime goaltender. It is important for them to develop their skating skills as a player, in order to become good goaltenders." - Corey Hirsch
Kid-Sized Instruction: Kids look at goalies in the NHL and try to learn from them. They want to look like the next Ryan Miller or Jonathan Quick. What they sometimes don’t realize is what a grown adult goalie can do is very different from what a youth goalie can and should be doing.
“My philosophy for these young goalies is that I want them to learn how to react and not just drop and hope they stop the puck,” said Schwab, a former NHL goaltender who also helps coach in Seattle’s Sno-King Hockey Association, one of USA Hockey’s Model Clubs. “These kids see NHL goalies who are 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-4 that are able to be in proper position, and because of their size, drop down for an easy save.
“These kids, because they are so much smaller, there is so much net available and they are not successful.”
Remind your players that even those NHL goalies learned the proper way to make a save before playing the way they do. Simply dropping down isn’t going to always make the save.
Caruso Hockey
not just an on-ice coach
mentor off -ice (availability)
whole child (not just hockey)
We know that mistakes are necessary steps to learning and improving. When goaltenders make mistakes, they need to learn to readjust and let the mistake go. Too often, goalies begin to focus on it. They become so focused on what went wrong that mistakes start to snowball. Frustration hits and they don't know how to get out of this stress spiral. That's why goalies need support in their mental development as well. We will help your goalie learn relaxation techniques, self-talk, and acceptance of constructive feedback.
No goalie can make it big without quality physical skills, yet just having quality physical skills is no guarantee of success. Mental skills are equally important." Mitch Korn, Washington Capitals goalie coach
"
There are certain things to look for when teaching a beginning goaltender. The first and most obvious is skating skills. In order to be a good goaltender, you don’t necessarily have to be the fastest skater on the team, but a goaltender needs to be extremely agile and have great balance. Before you decide to put a goalie in the net I suggest that your goaltender be comfortable with their skating skills. This is the main reason minor hockey programs will wait until the ages of 8-9 years of age before allowing a child to become a fulltime goaltender. It is important for them to develop their skating skills as a player, in order to become good goaltenders." - Corey Hirsch
Kid-Sized Instruction: Kids look at goalies in the NHL and try to learn from them. They want to look like the next Ryan Miller or Jonathan Quick. What they sometimes don’t realize is what a grown adult goalie can do is very different from what a youth goalie can and should be doing.
“My philosophy for these young goalies is that I want them to learn how to react and not just drop and hope they stop the puck,” said Schwab, a former NHL goaltender who also helps coach in Seattle’s Sno-King Hockey Association, one of USA Hockey’s Model Clubs. “These kids see NHL goalies who are 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-4 that are able to be in proper position, and because of their size, drop down for an easy save.
“These kids, because they are so much smaller, there is so much net available and they are not successful.”
Remind your players that even those NHL goalies learned the proper way to make a save before playing the way they do. Simply dropping down isn’t going to always make the save.
Caruso Hockey
not just an on-ice coach
mentor off -ice (availability)
whole child (not just hockey)
Because the demands on the goalie are mostly mental, it means that for a goalie the biggest enemy is himself. Not a puck, not a opponent, not a quirk of size or style. The stress and anxiety he feels when he plays, the fear of failing, the fear of being embarrassed, the fear of being physically hurt, all symptoms of his position, in constant ebb and flow, but never disappearing. The successful goalie understands these neuroses, accept them, and put them under control. The unsuccessful goalie is distracted by them, his mind in knots. His body quickly follows.” – Ken Dryden