In this Goalie Training Pro Thanksgiving Q&A session, Maria Mountain welcomed viewers for a special Thanksgiving edition. As a Canadian, Maria celebrated Thanksgiving back in October, but she was happy to chat with her American viewers about their Thanksgiving traditions. Maria noted that in the United States, it seems people tend to travel more for Thanksgiving, going home to spend the holiday with extended family. Then for Christmas, they may keep celebrations more intimate with their immediate family. She enjoys the American tradition of having football games on Thanksgiving Day, saying it’s a great way to give people something else to do.
Maria then reminded viewers about the free 5-day Butterfly Challenge Pro movement clinic starting the next day, Black Friday. She had pre-recorded the first three days to accommodate participants from around the world, but hoped to do some live sessions as the clinic progressed. The clinic will cover topics like the butterfly technique, breathing, and postural resets.
Diving into the Q&A, Maria first addressed a question about scheduling mobility and strength training sessions. Her advice was that it’s perfectly fine to split them up, doing one in the morning and one in the afternoon. However, she cautioned that the mobility work should not replace the dynamic warm-up before strength training, as they serve different purposes.
When asked about her favorite goalies, Maria named some all-time greats like Ken Dryden, as well as current stars like Marc-Andre Fleury, Carey Price, Jack Campbell, and Ilya Samsonov. She enjoys watching the Leafs’ goalies, Petr Mrazek and Erik Källgren, for their technical skills and ability to use their size effectively.
Maria then tackled a question about optimal hip warm-up time before going on the ice. She explained the “good, better, best” approach – the best scenario is to do your off-ice warm-up, then put on your gear and get on the ice. If time is limited, doing the warm-up right before putting on your gear is the next best option. As long as you’re not doing the warm-up too far in advance, the benefits should still transfer to your on-ice performance.
Other questions covered topics like the pros and cons of bungee vs. laced toe ties, managing sciatic nerve tension, and drills to improve hand speed for catching shots.
As always, if you have any questions for Maria, please reach out to help[at]goalietrainingpro.com
That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by. Catch you here next time!