Turn Learning Resources into Improvement ‘Check Boxes’

When it comes to getting better at anything — whether it’s making a save in the crease, sharpening technical movement, or becoming a more effective leader for your teammates — one truth stands out: improvements critically rely on information.

Information is the foundation that tells you what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change. Without it, effort alone can end up being misdirected.

Here are three essential sources of information every goalie should use to keep moving forward:

1. Video Review: Seeing the Game Through a Clear Lens

Watching video of your drills and game play provides undeniable feedback. What feels right on the ice doesn’t always look right. Video gives you a clear lens to spot technical flaws, inefficient habits, and missed opportunities. By identifying those weak links, you can step onto the ice with a clear plan to correct them.

2. Coaching Feedback: An Outside Perspective

Even the sharpest self-awareness has blind spots. That’s where coaching feedback steps in. A coach sees the details you can’t always catch — from alignment issues in your stance to late reactions on puck releases. Listening, applying, and following up on this feedback accelerates improvement and ensures you’re not practicing mistakes.

3. Learning Resources: Expanding Your Knowledge

Information doesn’t stop with video or feedback. Resources like the Goalie Toolbox give you structured knowledge, skill keys, and learning plans to build intentional reps. Understanding the why behind a drill or a skill prepares you to correct errors faster and build consistency.

Turning Information Into Action

Information is only powerful if you apply it. Every practice becomes more effective when you step on the ice already knowing:

a. What you struggled with last time

b. What your coach pointed out

c. What the drill is designed to teach

This approach eliminates guesswork and creates a direct path to measurable improvement.

Final Thought

Effort without information is like skating in the dark. When goalies commit to gathering, understanding, and applying information, they create the conditions for real, lasting improvement.

Improvement isn’t luck — it’s informed action.