Baden (Pittsburgh Titans 1)

“Coach,” Gage says in a jovial voice, “I may just be speaking for myself, but I would rather get to know my teammates on a more one-to-one basis. But beyond that, I think I can safely say that everyone in this room is eager to show you what we can do. Am I right?”

Gage looks around expectantly, and every single player nods with others voicing their assent.

“Hell yes.”

“Let’s play.”

Somebody in the back mutters loud enough for everyone to hear, “I sure as shit don’t want to do all this kumbaya stuff.”

Keller’s face flushes, and anger flattens his lips. He doesn’t like being questioned or called out. More than that, though, he was hoping to be the one responsible for bringing this team closer together, and it only goes to show he doesn’t know much about people. I guarantee not one person in this room thought what he was doing was a good idea.

But because so many of the players are making it clear they want out of here, he has no choice but to agree.

“Okay, men… it’s clear you want some action, and I’m ready to give it. Hit the locker room and suit up in practice gear. Everyone on the ice in fifteen minutes.”

?

When Dominik talked to me last week about taking this job, he reminded me that goalie coaches are more therapists than anything.

If you’re a professional goalie, you have the requisite technical strengths necessary to do the job. You’ve been tested and proven, and there’s not much to teach. Sure, I will keep a keen eye on whomever is in net, to the exclusion of the rest of the game, and I’ll take detailed notes to discuss at the next practice. I’ll watch to make sure strengths are up to par and if any bad habits in technique are developing.

But mostly, I reinforce positivity and mental strength. Goaltending is so specialized, Keller and the other coaches would never be able to relate to how the psyche requires working out as much as the physical body. I know exactly how it is.

I know how important the right frame of mind is to being a consistently good goalie, and it’s my job now to make sure our goalies understand that too. If I stay with this career, I’ll have to learn to balance handling green, unseasoned players while also motivating veterans.

Perhaps my biggest strength is not my success as a professional goalie but in my perseverance in overcoming my injuries. I know all about battling pressure and pulling myself out of dark places. Those are things goalies face all the time, and I’m confident in my ability to motivate.

It’s with this confidence in mind that I meet with my two goalies—Patrik Stenlund and Jesper Keane. Both are young—twenty-two and twenty-four, respectively—and both come from the minors. They’re solid players, probably the two best available to us outside of Drake McGinn, so I’m eager to see what they can do.

They have the skills—perfect stances, near-perfect positioning, and consistent edge work. Technically, they’re sound.

But because they’re young, and they’ve been pulled out of the minors onto a team that is a hot mess, it’s more important than ever we work on their confidence.

Patrik, Jesper, and I gather in one of the meeting rooms on the basement level, and we mostly talk. Neither are surprised that I know a lot about them. I’ve studied their stats, career trajectories, and recent film.

They are surprised we’re not hitting the ice today.

“Tomorrow,” I promise. “But for now, let’s talk about how we can best work together.”

I learn very quickly that while Patrik and Jesper are closely matched in skills, they are night and day in personality. Patrik is arrogant, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Jesper is chill and easygoing.

“I’m not here to teach you anything,” I advise them.

Their eyebrows shoot straight up.

“You’re both good enough to be here,” I explain, hoping to instill immediately my confidence in their abilities. “But I will be watching you closely and helping to keep you sharp. That might be with drills because I notice something in a game, or it might be in the extensive amount of work I do for you prior.”

“What do you mean?” Jesper asks.

“It’s my job to collect all necessary information against your opponents and relay it to you, so whoever is in goal will be prepared for what’s coming. I’ll study a lot of film against the opposing team’s offense, and we’ll discuss the best ways to adjust your save positioning for each player you might be up against. It’s going to be a lot of studying, along with work on the ice, but at this level of play, you’re going to have to do it.”

They both nod in understanding, but it’s Patrik who asks, “And just who is going to be the starting goalie for Friday’s game?”