If you were to sum up my camps in one word I would want that word to be "simple." My goal is to make things as simple as possible for all my goalies. The reason being that simplicity breeds consistency. And, as a previous article of mine states, consistently good play breeds confidence.

Playing the position with a simple frame of mind starts with the way you think about the position. I have learned in pro hockey that things need to be automatic. I have limited time to think with the high speed of play. It is because of this that I have developed a theory about goaltending as a process. Having a save-making process allows my mind to recognize a situation and use the proper save-making process. Practicing my save-making process allows me to play in a consistent manner. I am confident in my process and can keep the rest of my mind clear to expand my knowledge and play.

If you already use the thought of goaltending as a process, look to simplify that process. Try and find all the extra movement in your game and eliminate it. Strip away all the unnecessary things you do, and get down to the bare minimum. Remember, your save-making process can only get quicker if you can find ways to combine, or even eliminate, steps. The end result of our consistent save-making process is confidence. Practice your process until you have mastered each and every step. Be confident in the process. THAT should be your focus. Not whether or not you feel good. Believe in the process.

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Confidence seems to be the holy grail of pre-professional goaltending. First off, I think people have the wrong definition of confidence. To most people, it is how good or bad we feel on any given day. This definition puts a lot of pressure on us. We end up doing things to force ourselves to feel good at all times (loud music, superstitions, etc.); all because if we don't "feel good", we won't play well and people will label us as inconsistent and unreliable. Supreme confidence becomes the main ingredient to creating a great goalie.

The reality is that goaltenders shouldn't derive their confidence from their gut feeling. We're all human beings that make mistakes and feel emotion. I find it rather presumptuous that you can only play at a high level if you show absolutely no emotion and have supreme confidence in yourself. How do we get kids to sign up, then? Do we have to put them all through rigorous mental testing when their younger to see if they are even fit to play goalie? C'mon! If that were the case, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this today.

At the risk of sounding redundant, confidence is the product of consistently good play. Making the right play 99% of the time makes us feel good. The reason why we should make that play with 99% success is because we should have practiced the skill so much it feels like second nature. It should be simple for us. Simplicity is the name of the game. It's harder to put together a 40 or 50 save game when you are making complicated saves. Find ways to simplify your save-making process and you will find your consistency and confidence will increase.