I was looking at the “drawings section” of the website, in particular – the goalies.  I noticed the contents displayed had them; starting a game, stopping a shot, clearing the ball, looking relaxed, etc.  What was missing was a piece displaying a typical goalie defending the cage.  So I came up with “The Stare Down”

“Get comfortable in a uncomfortable position” – Vinnie Pfeifer (former NLL goalie, NY Saints)

Funny that quote comes from a guy named Vinnie, but I remember him presenting that at the 2007 US Lacrosse Convention in Philadelphia, PA.  While doing the piece, I remembered my days in boarding school, practicing my “goalie stance” in front of a mirror in my room.  I would spend mornings before breakfast doing the “invisible chair” or “Wall Sits” in the hallway of my dorm, just before my dorm mates woke up.  I made sure my arms/hands were not resting on my legs, rather held up in the air, out and in front – just like holding the stick.  Sometimes, I would get in my stance and walk a 3-5 point step (left to right & vice-versa), practicing side-to-side or what is a “pipe-to-pipe” shuffle-step.  My ‘top hand’ was always kept at eye level, acting as my guideline in tracing the ball from a pass, feed and eventually – a shot!  The routine back then is still found in me to this day, defending the cage and “staring down” the opposition.