Footwork: The Foundation Nobody Talks About Enough

By Eldon 'Pokey' Reddick | Hockey Horizons Mentor & Former NHL Goaltender

I'll say it plainly: the best save a goalie ever makes starts with their feet. Not their glove. Not their stick. Their feet. Footwork is the foundation of everything — positioning, movement, recovery, rebound control. If your feet are wrong, everything else you try to do is fighting an uphill battle.

When I was coaching junior goalies, I would watch them for exactly one thing before I evaluated anything else: how their feet moved under pressure. Could they push efficiently? Were they square when they arrived? Did they recover their stance quickly after a challenge? Those answers told me almost everything I needed to know about how their game would hold up when the stakes got higher.

Good footwork is trained, not natural. Nobody is born with the t-push mechanics and edge control it takes to play goal at a high level. You build it through repetition, through drills, through dedicated work away from full practice. And here's the thing — most teams don't spend enough time developing goalie-specific footwork because most coaches don't know how to coach it. That means this is on you.

What to Work On

Focus on three movement patterns in every footwork session: your t-push (both directions, at game speed), your shuffle (tight, controlled, staying square), and your recovery push after a sprawl or butterfly. Each of these should be smooth and efficient. You should not be muscling your way through them — you should be using your edges and your body mechanics correctly. If a movement feels like work, you're probably doing it wrong. Find a goalie coach who can diagnose and correct your mechanics. This is not something you figure out on your own.

At Hockey Horizons, we understand that goaltending is its own world — technically, mentally, and strategically. Pokey Reddick works directly with goaltenders and their families to navigate development, team selection, and the junior and college recruiting process. If you're serious about your goalie's future, reach out to us at hockeyhorizons.com.

For guidance on the complete development picture, visit us at hockeyhorizons.com.