Build a Box Goalie With Six Progressive Drills

Effective box lacrosse goalie training uses a progression rather than a long shooting line: establish the stance, add angle movement, introduce controlled shots, work across-floor passes, recover rebounds and finish with outlet decisions. This 60-minute session is designed for one goalie and two or three shooters. Keep shooting sets to about five or six balls, with water and reset time between sets.

Choose the first skill that breaks down; the tool identifies the drill and checkpoint to use next.

Every shot should have a purpose and a named target. Beginners should face controlled feeds before full-speed or screened shots. If technique deteriorates, reduce the shot or passing speed rather than letting the drill become a scoring contest.

Start With the Box Goalie’s Job

A field goalie often works on a larger arc and attacks the shot with the stick. A box goalie protects a much smaller net in heavier equipment, using positioning and the body as well as the stick. If that role is new, review box goalie positioning, gear and first skills before running the session.

A Lacrosse Canada-hosted community-coach manual from 2004 says goaltending skills should be taught before young players are used in goal. It also recommends beginning goalie instruction with all interested players rather than immediately assigning one child to the position (community-coach appendix). The practical lesson for beginners is to teach the position before testing it.

For every drill involving a ball, the goalie should wear properly fitted protective equipment required by the competition. Box chest protectors and leg pads are bulkier than field equipment, so movement and passing should be practised in the gear used for games (Lacrosse Canada equipment guide).

1. Build a Repeatable Stance and Reset

Setup: The goalie stands in the crease without a ball. The coach faces the goalie and moves slowly left, right, forward and back.

Action: The goalie mirrors the coach while maintaining a balanced ready position. Pause after every two or three movements to check the feet, hips, shoulders, hands and stick.

A useful starting stance has the feet about shoulder-width apart, toes and hips facing the ball, weight ready to move and the stick slightly in front. A Lacrosse Canada-hosted goalie analysis identifies square feet, balanced posture, eyes on the ball and a stick 6–12 inches in front of the feet as setup cues (Shooter Level 1 goalie analysis). Goalie styles differ, so treat these as starting cues rather than a rigid pose.

Checkpoint: The goalie can move in either direction without first lifting, crossing or untangling the feet.

2. Get Square From Three Angles

Setup: Put three cones in a shallow arc: one in the middle and one in each shooting lane. A feeder carries the ball from cone to cone but does not shoot.

Action: The goalie follows the ball and gets square at each cone. After several repetitions, add a second feeder. The feeders pass back and forth while the goalie moves, sets and calls “set” when balanced.

The goalie should move while the ball is travelling and arrive under control. Do not let the goalie continue drifting toward the passer after the ball leaves the stick.

Checkpoint: At every stop, the goalie’s chest, toes and stick face the ball rather than the centre of the floor.

3. Make Controlled Saves in Five Lanes

Setup: Use five shot lanes: stick-side low, off-stick low, stick-side high, off-stick high and five-hole—the space between the legs. The shooter begins in the middle at moderate distance.

Action: Tell the goalie the target during the first round. Deliver three controlled shots to each lane. In the second round, mix the targets without announcing them. After every save, the goalie locates the ball and returns to the same stance before the next release.

This is technique work, not a scoring contest. If the goalie turns away, loses balance or cannot reset, lower the shot speed. Move the shooter farther away when the goalie needs more reaction time.

Checkpoint: The eyes track the ball through contact, and the goalie finishes in position to find a rebound.

4. Track Passes Across the Floor

Setup: Place one shooter on each side of the offensive zone. Start with one ball and no defender or screen.

Action: Shooter A passes to Shooter B, who catches and shoots. Alternate directions. The goalie tracks the pass, moves across under control, gets square and makes the save. Begin with a catch-and-pause. Progress to catch-and-shoot only when the goalie consistently arrives balanced.

Add deception later by allowing the receiver to return the pass. The goalie must read the ball rather than guess where the drill says the shot should come from.

Checkpoint: The goalie reaches the new angle with the feet underneath the body. Crossing the feet, lunging early or sliding past the angle means the sequence is too fast.

5. Find the Ball Through a Screen

Setup: Put a stationary screener outside the crease and a shooter in the middle lane. Keep the first shots controlled and sufficiently unobstructed for the goalie to track. Have spare balls near an assistant.

Action: Before the release, the goalie finds a sightline around the screen. The shooter releases one ball. If it rebounds into a playable area, the assistant rolls a second ball nearby to prompt a locate-and-recover movement. The goalie covers it or directs it away from the middle before resetting.

Progress by allowing the screener to shift one step before the release. Do not begin with unpredictable, full-speed shots through traffic.

Checkpoint: The goalie looks around the screen without leaning far enough to open the opposite side of the net. After contact, the first response is to find the ball—not watch where the initial save went.

6. Turn the Save Into an Outlet

Setup: Position one outlet near the boards, one higher up the floor and one light forechecker between them.

Action: A shooter sends a controllable shot. After the save or recovery, the goalie gets the head up, calls an outlet and makes the simplest available pass. The forechecker initially shadows one lane, then applies active pressure as the goalie improves.

The goalie is part of the offence. The Lacrosse Canada community-coach manual introduces goaltender-initiated offence from a shot before a goalie-initiated fast break (community-coach appendix). Train that first pass separately instead of expecting it to appear during a scrimmage.

Checkpoint: The goalie scans before throwing and chooses an open teammate over the longest possible pass.

Run the Six Drills in 60 Minutes

Time	Work
0–8 minutes	Dynamic movement without balls, then full-equipment stick handling and easy passing
8–16 minutes	Stance-and-reset mirror
16–26 minutes	Three-angle positioning
26–36 minutes	Five-lane controlled saves
36–46 minutes	Pass-across lateral tracking
46–54 minutes	Screen, save and rebound
54–60 minutes	Save-to-outlet decisions

Use transitions for quick water breaks and equipment checks. Keep brief notes on three observable outcomes: whether the goalie arrived square, stayed balanced after contact and made a clear outlet decision.

At the next practice, change only one variable—shot speed, passing speed, a screen or forecheck pressure. That allows the goalie to preserve the technique while adapting to a more game-like problem.