7 Best Goalie Drills For Puck Tracking That Elite Goalies Master

You watch from the stands as your goalie makes a lightning-fast move across the crease, perfectly in position. But then the shot comes from a different angle, and they seem to lose sight of the puck for just a split second. Puck tracking is the single most important skill for a goaltender, the foundation upon which every save is built. This guide will help you understand the key drills and targeted tools that develop this skill, allowing you to make smart investments that match your child’s age and commitment level.

Foundations: Tracking with Bauer Hyperlite Skates

You just invested in a top-of-the-line set of pads, and now the coach mentions that your goalie’s skates might be holding them back. It can feel like a never-ending cycle of expensive upgrades. But when it comes to tracking, the foundation of every movement starts with the feet. If a goalie can’t get into the proper position to see the puck, even the best head-tracking skills are useless.

Modern goalie skates, like those in the Bauer Hyperlite line, are specifically engineered for the explosive, side-to-side movements required to stay square to a shooter. The stiffness of the boot and the shape of the blade (the "attack angle") directly impact how quickly a goalie can push across the crease and get set. A faster arrival means more time to see the release, read the play, and track the puck into their body. This isn’t about a brand name; it’s about how the technology supports the fundamental need to be in the right place at the right time.

However, this does not mean a new goalie needs elite-level skates. The key is matching the equipment to your child’s physical development and the speed of the game they play.

• Ages 8-10 (Beginner): At this stage, the focus is on learning a basic stance and executing T-pushes. A supportive, well-fitting goalie skate is all that’s needed. An overly stiff, expensive skate can actually hinder their ability to learn proper form.
• Ages 11-14 (Intermediate): As players get faster and shots get harder, the ability to beat the pass and get set becomes critical. This is where a mid-range skate with a stiffer boot can make a real difference. Consider high-quality used skates from an older player to get better technology without the brand-new price tag.
• Ages 14+ (Advanced/Competitive): For the highly committed teen playing at a high level, a top-tier skate becomes a true performance tool. The reduced weight and enhanced mobility can provide the split-second advantage needed to make a cross-crease save.

Off-Ice Focus with the SKLZ Reaction Ball Drill

It’s the middle of July, the local rink is closed for maintenance, and you want to keep your goalie’s skills sharp without committing to an expensive summer camp. How do you work on the core skills of goaltending when you don’t have any ice? This is where simple, effective off-ice tools become your best friend.

A reaction ball is one of the best investments you can make for a young athlete. Its six-sided design creates completely unpredictable bounces, forcing the user to react rather than anticipate. This directly trains the foundational skill of puck tracking: keeping the eyes locked on an object that changes direction without warning. It isolates the hand-eye coordination and focus that are essential for stopping a puck, all for less than the cost of a sheet of ice.

This is a perfect tool for every age and stage because the drills can be scaled up in difficulty. For a younger goalie (ages 7-10), simply dropping it and catching it against a garage door is a fun game that builds concentration. As they get older (11-14), you can have them get into their goalie stance before you toss it, forcing them to move their feet and react from a solid base. For advanced goalies, it’s a fantastic warm-up tool to get their eyes and hands dialed in before a game or practice. The value is in the consistency of use, not the price tag.

Mastering Bounces with an ACON Wave Training Puck

Your goalie makes a great initial save, but the rebound kicks out to a weird angle off the boards and they completely lose it. The resulting scramble and rebound goal is frustrating for them and for you. This is a common problem, as a frozen rubber puck rarely travels in a perfectly predictable path. It flutters, bounces, and takes strange caroms off sticks and boards.

An ACON Wave, or a similar training puck with an uneven, beveled edge, is designed to simulate this on-ice chaos in a controlled training environment. Its unpredictable wobble and bounce force a goalie to watch the puck all the way into their body or glove, eliminating the bad habit of assuming its path. It teaches them to stay focused through the entire process of the save, from the shot’s release to the final whistle covering the puck.

This is a tool for a goalie who has already mastered the basics of stopping a standard puck. It’s less about a specific age and more about the skill level. If your child is in their second or third year of competitive hockey and rebound control has become a consistent point of feedback from coaches, this is a very smart and targeted investment. It’s a specialized tool that directly addresses a common weakness in a developing goalie’s game.

Seeing Through Traffic with a HockeyShot Screen

You see it happen every game: there’s a crowd of players in front of the net, a shot comes from the point, and your goalie is left guessing. They are reacting to the sound of the puck hitting the stick, not actually seeing it. In today’s game, a huge percentage of goals are scored with the goalie’s vision impaired. Learning to see through traffic is no longer an advanced skill; it’s a mandatory one.

A goalie screen is a training tool that places a physical barrier between the shooter and the goalie, forcing them to find "seeing lanes" through or around the obstruction. This drill trains their eyes to actively search for the puck and their body to adjust to find a clear line of sight. It breaks the habit of passively waiting for the puck to appear and builds the active habit of fighting to see the release point.

Before you invest in a commercial product, start with a do-it-yourself version. Have a sibling or parent stand safely off to the side of the shooter to act as a screen. You can even use a large piece of cardboard with a hole cut out of it. The goal is simply to break that clean line of sight. If your goalie engages with the drill and you see the improvement on the ice, then a durable, dedicated screen can be a great investment for a committed player with a home training space.

Reacting to Tips with the Proguard Blade Buddy

It’s the most frustrating goal to watch. A slow-looking shot floats in from the blue line, looking like an easy save. Then, at the last second, a forward’s stick deflects it, changing the puck’s direction entirely and leaving your goalie frozen as it slides into the net. Reacting to tips and deflections is one of the most difficult skills to master.

A deflection tool like the Proguard Blade Buddy attaches directly to a player’s stick, allowing you to practice this exact scenario over and over. It trains the goalie’s eyes to track the puck through the potential point of deflection, rather than just to the front of the net. They learn to anticipate the change in direction and stay patient, reacting to the puck’s final path. This builds the mental discipline required to handle the chaos of a net-front scramble.

This is an intermediate to advanced drill. A beginner goalie is simply focused on stopping the initial shot. A more experienced goalie, however, must learn to read the play and manage the added complexity of a potential tip. This tool is most effective in a team practice or private lesson setting. For at-home use, it’s only valuable if you have a shooter who can consistently place shots in the right area. It’s a targeted solution for a very specific, and very common, scoring situation.

Peripheral Drills Using Green Biscuit Passing Pucks

The puck carrier is skating down the wing, and your goalie is perfectly square, laser-focused on the puck. But they have tunnel vision. They are completely surprised by a quick pass to a player on the back door, who has an open net for an easy tap-in. Elite goalies see the entire ice; they track the puck while simultaneously processing threats in their peripheral vision.

This is a skill you can build off the ice using simple passing pucks like the Green Biscuit. Because they slide so easily on pavement or training tiles, they are perfect for drills that expand a goalie’s field of vision. A great drill is to have the goalie focus on a ball you’re holding up in front of them (the primary threat). At the same time, have a second person slide a Green Biscuit back and forth across the ground in their lower peripheral vision. The goalie’s job is to call out "left" or "right" when they see the sliding puck, all without taking their eyes off the ball in your hand.

This drill directly trains their brain to process more than one piece of visual information at a time. Green Biscuits are a fantastic multi-purpose investment for any hockey family, as they are invaluable for stickhandling and passing practice for skaters, too. For your goalie, they unlock a critical training method for developing the ice awareness that separates good goalies from great ones.

Advanced Tracking with Senaptec Strobe Eyewear

Your teenage goalie is playing at a high level—AAA, prep school, or top-tier varsity. They are technically sound, athletic, and dedicated, but they’ve hit a plateau where improvements are measured in milliseconds. You’re looking for a tool that can provide a genuine competitive edge for a truly elite athlete.

This is where advanced sensory training tools like Senaptec Strobe Eyewear come into play. This is not a tool for beginners or young developing players. The eyewear uses liquid crystal technology to produce a flickering effect, intermittently blocking the user’s vision. This forces the athlete’s brain to work more efficiently, learning to capture and process visual information in shorter periods of time. It’s essentially strength training for the neural pathways between the eyes and the brain.

This is a significant investment and should be treated as such. This is a purchase to be made only after a discussion with your goalie’s professional coach. It is for the mature, highly dedicated athlete (typically 15 and older) who has mastered all other fundamentals. For the vast majority of goalies, that money is far better spent on more ice time or specialized coaching. But for the elite player looking to train their most important asset—their vision—it can be a powerful and transformative tool.

Stick Tracking with a Smarthockey Training Puck

Your goalie makes a fantastic pad save on a hard shot. The puck drops right in front of them, but in the ensuing chaos, they can’t find it to either cover it or steer it safely to the corner. A forward pounces on the loose puck and scores an easy second-chance goal. Puck tracking doesn’t end when the puck hits the goalie; it extends to controlling the rebound.

This is where "stick tracking" comes in, and a heavier, deadened training puck like a Smarthockey puck is the perfect tool to teach it. Because it doesn’t have the lively bounce of a frozen puck, it forces the goalie to be deliberate with their rebound control. The drill is simple: in a small area, shoot these pucks into the goalie’s pads and have them focus on one thing only—getting their stick on the rebound instantly and directing it to a target in the corner.

This drill builds the crucial habit of following the puck into the body and immediately controlling its next move. A Smarthockey puck is another great, low-cost investment for any hockey player, helping to develop stickhandling strength and puck control. For a goalie, it provides a simple, effective way to work on the often-neglected skill of managing the play after the save is made.

Building an elite skill like puck tracking is a long-term process, not a quick fix achieved with a single purchase. The most effective training tool is always the one that matches your child’s current developmental stage and is used with focus and consistency. Your role is to support their passion with smart, incremental investments that help them take the next logical step on their journey.