Read 'Em and Beat 'Em: How Goalies Can Gain an Edge on Shooters

Mike and Andrew Gvozden have succeeded at the highest levels in lacrosse. Mike Gvozden won a national championship and started for three seasons at Johns Hopkins. Andrew Gvozden was an All-American at Hofstra. Both played goalie.

But even they marvel at how far the position has come since their time between the pipes. “I think we’re in a goalie renaissance right now,” Andrew Gvozden said.

That’s why, in 2018, the brothers decided to take a fledgling private instruction side hustle and turn it into a full-fledged business. They lived in California at the time. What started with a crop of youth and high school athletes in the Bay Area and Los Angeles grew into a nationwide tour working with more than 1,000 goalies in 19 cities.

The next year, Andrew Gvozden moved back east to Maryland to focus on scaling the business. And just like that, Goaliesmith was born.

Now the preeminent goalie training company in lacrosse, Goaliesmith stepped up to support this edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine with a series of tips and tutorials tailored to those who want to master the most difficult and demanding position on the field.

The brothers modeled Goaliesmith after the high-intensity, maximum-repetition workouts they did with goalie whisperer Mike Bellotte, who coached them at Severna Park (Md.).

“Mike and I would suit up and see shots for two hours,” Andrew Gvozden said. “Then he’d take us to downtown Annapolis and buy us wings.”

The Gvozdens never forgot the sense of community they felt during the Bellotte sessions. That much is evident in the community they’ve built themselves. Coming out of the pandemic in 2021, the flagship Goaliesmith Experience event quadrupled in size. Last year, they established Goaliesmith headquarters in Baltimore complete with a training facility. They’ve worked with more than 5,000 goalies and now employ a staff of coaches and experts in multiple disciplines.

Last year, they launched Goaliesmith Pro, a virtual learning platform with drills, training techniques and coaching tips. The company also provides remote coaching and recruiting services. Check out these and other offerings at goaliesmith.com.

We're partnering with Goaliesmith on Goalie Week, a series of informational and instructional articles and videos geared toward the most demanding position in the sport. 

Read 'Em and Beat 'Em

Reading shooters in one-on-ones is a skill that always needs sharpening.

If you feel like your reads are off, one way to make it simpler is to cut the goal in half right and left. This will allow you to get your timing down much quicker and notice whether you’re getting beat more to one side or the other. It also plays into the lateral movement we teach.

Goalies who approach it like a blank slate where the shooter has endless options tend to match stick-on-stick or wait for the shooter to move and react, which leaves you wondering why you can’t make these saves or reads.

We teach “read ‘em and beat ‘em.” Read the body language and go early to where you think he’s going. Simplify it. Cut the goal in half and just try to read right or left. The shooter’s shoulder and arms will tell you where he’s going.

If the shooter extends their arms, expect a shot to the far side.

If the shoulders rotate across the body as the stick stays close, expect a shot to the near side.

4 Corners 1v1 Warmup

• Empty a bucket of balls with a feeder at goalie’s side right.
• Set up a shooter 5-6 yards out in the center.
• Feeder passes to shooter for series of quick sticks as goalie repositions and reacts.
• Start with top right, then bottom right, bottom left and top left.

Work on taking a drop step to position yourself quickly and efficiently.

Most importantly, go early. As the shooter’s shoulder is engaged, commit to the corner they’re going to.

With each rep, face the passer, drop step, read the shooter and go early.

To make it more competitive, have the shooter increase quickness of their release, target multiple corners or see how many saves you can make in a row.