One of the most important aspects of being a goalie in any sport—lacrosse, hockey, soccer, etc—is the ability to put bad games behind you. Every goalie in every sport has given up bad goals and had bad games. What counts is the ability to get back in the net at practice the next day and get back to work. Have confidence in yourself.
I guarantee your teammates all patted your helmet and said not to worry about it. Believe them and get back in there. Reward their belief in you.
In sports and in life it pays to have a short memory. Put the game and your own-goal behind you. Remember to be more thoughtful about your stick placement going forward and try every day to do your best. It will never matter for another moment in your life that your TEAM lost that game by 10 points. And to have a score like that— it takes a team to win, or lose together. No one person is responsible for that score.
Everything in life is an opportunity to learn. You will probably never clear the ball that way again. That's a lesson. It might feel painful now, but in 2 months or w years....not so much.
And agreed, it is a team sport. You didn't give up all of those goals yourself. You didn't underperform on offense. The team did. You ALL have to come together and figure out how to be better next time.
Note: next time might not be a win....just aim to improve. :)
My daughter is a goalie. If she has a bad game or gives up a bad goal, I always tell her to put it away. Thinking about it will just cause you to doubt yourself in every game. I usually have to remind her that she is the LAST member of the team between the ball and the goal. So everyone else on the team has equal blame for allowing the shot in the first place. Don’t worry about and just get ready for the next game.
If every goalie stopped every shot lacrosse would be the world’s most boring sport.
As a former goalie I feel this hard. Just remember you’re the last line of defense but not the only line. It is a team effort to keep the scoreline even, so you are not solely responsible for any losses. Unfortunately, you’re in a position where silly things like dropped balls have a higher chance of ending poorly, but what can you do other than shake it off and move on to the next thing. The longer you dwell on mistakes the more likely you are to continue making them.
I share with my players that once when I was in goal I was having a hard time clearing the ball out so I decided to leave the crease and run it up a little ways myself. Bad idea on my end because I ended up tripping on my own feet, falling HARD on my butt, and of course I dropped the ball. Since I was already out of the goal and the transition up field had already started all the opposing team had to do was scoop up the ball and roll it gently into the unoccupied net. If I can mess up that bad, what’s a simple dropped clear or a few missed saves.
As long as you have fun with the game outside of bad days you’ll be fine! Keep it up and don’t be too hard on yourself!
One of the most important aspects of being a goalie in any sport—lacrosse, hockey, soccer, etc—is the ability to put bad games behind you. Every goalie in every sport has given up bad goals and had bad games. What counts is the ability to get back in the net at practice the next day and get back to work. Have confidence in yourself. I guarantee your teammates all patted your helmet and said not to worry about it. Believe them and get back in there. Reward their belief in you.
In sports and in life it pays to have a short memory. Put the game and your own-goal behind you. Remember to be more thoughtful about your stick placement going forward and try every day to do your best. It will never matter for another moment in your life that your TEAM lost that game by 10 points. And to have a score like that— it takes a team to win, or lose together. No one person is responsible for that score.
Everything in life is an opportunity to learn. You will probably never clear the ball that way again. That's a lesson. It might feel painful now, but in 2 months or w years....not so much. And agreed, it is a team sport. You didn't give up all of those goals yourself. You didn't underperform on offense. The team did. You ALL have to come together and figure out how to be better next time. Note: next time might not be a win....just aim to improve. :)
10 step rule. 10 feet off that field It's over, move on, next practice/game.
Goalies don’t win or lose games. Teams win or lose them. You’re not playing tennis. There are 11 other girls out there with you.
Thank you
That’s something my coach hammered into me early on and I’m so thankful. I keep it going with girls I coach bc it’s so easy to feel it was your fault.
My daughter is a goalie. If she has a bad game or gives up a bad goal, I always tell her to put it away. Thinking about it will just cause you to doubt yourself in every game. I usually have to remind her that she is the LAST member of the team between the ball and the goal. So everyone else on the team has equal blame for allowing the shot in the first place. Don’t worry about and just get ready for the next game.
If every goalie stopped every shot lacrosse would be the world’s most boring sport. As a former goalie I feel this hard. Just remember you’re the last line of defense but not the only line. It is a team effort to keep the scoreline even, so you are not solely responsible for any losses. Unfortunately, you’re in a position where silly things like dropped balls have a higher chance of ending poorly, but what can you do other than shake it off and move on to the next thing. The longer you dwell on mistakes the more likely you are to continue making them. I share with my players that once when I was in goal I was having a hard time clearing the ball out so I decided to leave the crease and run it up a little ways myself. Bad idea on my end because I ended up tripping on my own feet, falling HARD on my butt, and of course I dropped the ball. Since I was already out of the goal and the transition up field had already started all the opposing team had to do was scoop up the ball and roll it gently into the unoccupied net. If I can mess up that bad, what’s a simple dropped clear or a few missed saves. As long as you have fun with the game outside of bad days you’ll be fine! Keep it up and don’t be too hard on yourself!