How goalies train for a strong stable RVH

The RVH is not a good position for your body.  Let’s just get that straight right up front.

But we are not going to demonize it in anyway.

There are lots of things athletes do that are not good for their body.

Throwing a baseball 95mph is not good for the human shoulder.

Having another 375lbs human-being run full blast into you as fast as they can is not good for you.

Standing in front of a frozen puck getting fired out of a cannon is not good for you.

… so we look for ways to make these activities somewhat safer.

That is where this drill comes in.

I think if you are stronger and more stable in a position, even an awkward position, that you can reduce some wear and tear.  When I say “stronger” I don’t mean that your goal is to do this drill with the heaviest possible load, what I mean is “strong enough to support the movement”.

When you are in these awkward positions and unstable or fatigued, you tend to fall back on your supporting structures which puts added load on the joint and the connective tissues.  This contributes to wear and tear, but also makes you slow transitioning from that position.

So here is a drill that I want you to try:

Notice that I am not in a full RVH position.  You want some hip internal rotation similar to the way you have it in your RVH, but I don’t want you in that fully rotated position like you would on the ice.  If I had to give a number, I would say you should go for about 50% of the range.  

Cheers,
Maria