Do Goalies Make the Best Coaches?

There is an interesting question. It is put out there to get people thinking and I have a few things to offer since I know this question has been asked before.

The reason I ask is because we have some very good goalies in our club, always have had. There are two on National Teams now, including the one who plays at Hawaii in the NCAA, and the ones here at home are super. It's also a popular position I always show passion and support for and am willing to train specifically. Goalies sometimes make up a large percentage of our training group and I sometimes let them play in the field to get different perspective in drills. With Carson this also gives him an outlet for his competitive abilities as he shows field players every day what they are doing wrong or what mistakes they make when playing opposite him.

Today, in a team counter attack drill, Carson played in the field and was the guy who took coach instruction and adapted it during execution. This meant 1) he was listening, 2) he understood the principles on Offence and Defence and 3) he was competitive enough to care about success. That made him stand out even if others did similar things, because he did it EVERY time.

Why was it easy for a goalie to outplay some field players? Strength, of course, in his case. Knowledge, after watching drills and games from net for 8 years now he has seen lots of breakdowns and heard coaches reinforce the corrections he wanted all along from the team. He has also watched every play develop, offense and defense, without the stress of having to cover an opponent or be breaking free of one. That is a huge difference in the learning pattern in the head, no conflict with the personal challenge that field players are stressing over.

That is why a person with coaching or teaching tendencies will benefit greatly from learning the game from the net. But notice I said a "person with teaching tendencies" because just being a goalie is not enough. All that position ensures is that you are a bit special and that you march to your own drummer. Having spent some of my formative years in net I am comfortable saying that and having that label too.

If you think that goalies are poor coaches then please let me know, I'd be curious to hear why.