How to butterfly slide faster
Most ball hockey goalies use ball hockey goalie pads with plastic sliders, but they struggle to go down to proper butterfly or slide across the goalie crease. If you use proper ball hockey goalie pads and ball hockey goalie shoes, you should be able to slide quick and have a good push.
Ball hockey goalie - foot work
Many ball hockey goalies struggle during the slide, because they do not place the foot correctly before the push. Whenever you have to push from a butterfly position to a new spot, you have to pivot your whole body so you can have a strong butterfly slide. If you don’t have the proper foot work, either you have weak push or you are not square to the ball on the second shot. ReasonY Academy worked hard to prepare simple butterfly exercises that you can do at home within one minute. The 1 minute – Improve your slide challenge consists of 3 videos that you can perform over 3 days. Each day you will perform different butterfly slide exercise that will help you improve your mobility. These exercises can be used by ice hockey, inline and ball hockey goalies.
Butterfly slide - pivot
The second exercise is about pivoting your body and getting the proper foot placement for a better push. It is very important to place the foot under your body so you don’t slip during the push off.
Please make sure you warm up before the exercise, use some padding for your knees and go down to butterfly. Have your arms in the glove and blocker position. Pivot your head, shoulders and rest of your body so you are square to the next shot. Place your pushing foot under your body and return to the starting position. Having the goalie glove and blocker on your hands and holding the stick is also beneficial. If you need more challenge, put your hands behind your head and cross your fingers. Keep your chest up at all times, just like you should hold it during a game. Use your core muscles to have a good stability and do not hold your breath. Perform 10 reps on each leg.
Have you seen the first butterfly slide exercise? If not and you want to strengthen your legs, check out the first 1 minute Challenge video here.
