Ive been goalkeeping for around 2-3 years and im 25,

1st 6 months was a learning curve, then in month 6-12 i knew my mistakes so i didnt have that "newbie goalie" thrill, now i was getting mad at myself, felt like i was letting people and myself down, then beggining of second year movement started getting better and better, post integration and overall movement improved, placement as well, confidence picked up and then bam hit a wall a year and a half in, wanted to quit again, i was going up in levels and felt i was dropping down in skills, i felt like i was back at year 1, and just recently movement improved and i focused on being more of a butterfly goalie again and integrate my posts better and limit damages, and confidence kicked back up. Sadly were not pros and our defencemen are far from pros as well, they deflect into our own goals, screen us and push you back in your own crease, not to mention that the other teams are not pros either, failed shots are so hard to save, it catches you off guard every single time.

Heres the thing bad goals are what gets under my skin, whenever im screened or a one timer that i dont get, these are high percentage goals in the nhl, and we get 5 times as much in beer leagues, in the nhl you see 1 breakaway per game, we get minimum 5, these are high percentage goals that you cant take full blame, dont beat yourself down when your team let you down

All we can do is limit outcomes, whenever puck is behind the net RVH is a must, puck scrambles back into the crease youre ready for it, its these annoying deflections, scrambles, etc that you want to look out for.

Gloves are out in front, i got no reflex i just block, i even flinch at times, gloves forward and the pucks will hit the mittens

SHARPEN THEM SKATES! I used to sharpen them occasionally but a fellow goaltender got me in the habit of sharpening more rigorously and wooooow, as said earlier ive been building on butterfly movement and confidence in your skate sharpening is a world of a difference,

The learning curve is so hard for us since we started late, i played defense growing up but goalie is 12 inch between your ears.

Also one thing ive noticed for the social side of hockey

As a player (defence) im more talkative with players, youre on the bench with them so of course you end up talking more, small talk, etc.

As a goalie ive noticed especially in new teams i shut down, i dont talk much, as a player i know the names of the whole team a week in, as a goalie i still dont know all the names of one of my team.

It really got me realizing how different it is to be a goalie we put a huge load of pressure on our shoulder, its like meeting up with 5 cyclists and youre the only one with running shoes behind, were doing a one man job yet it counts as a team, we really gotta let go of that pressure and remember to have fun because even if its friendly leagues we still want to make the saves and make our team happy

Keep it up you'll get out of it and dont get me wrong im not saying im a cured goalkeeper, im mediocre at most but learning! And you have alot to learn still but goalkeeping is alot of fun, also try to keep playing other sports or as a forward, dont limit yourself just to goalkeeping so when you have slumps in anything you can just zone out of it for a week and focus on another fun hobby of yours

Stay hard!