Warmup Drills for Hockey Goalies

As far as hockey goalie warm ups are concerned, they’re vital to success both in practice and as the game progresses.

Goalie warm up drills can vary from skating warm ups to shooting warm ups. In this guide, we’re going to teach you how to properly warm up a hockey goalie, as well as give you a few warm up drills for goalies that can be used at every level of play.

How To Properly Warm Up A Hockey Goalie

Unlike our forwards and defensemen, goalies do not have the luxury of “warming up” as the game gets underway. Sure, as play settles in so will you, but a mistake as a goalie often results in a goal.

There are a variety of warmup routines for goalies out there, but more often than not building your own is the best route to go.

For coaches reading this, it’s critical to understand that goalies MUST get time to properly warm up before games and practices. A goalie who starts without properly warming runs the risk of developing bad habits, or worse, potentially injuring themselves.

So how do we properly warm up as a goalie?

  1. Off ice warm up routine
  2. Edge work skating drills
  3. Tracking drills to get eyes and hands working together
  4. Advanced, progressive skating drills
  5. Situational shooting drills