My daughter is a goalie. She picked up her first goalie stick in September of 2022, but she has been training her [Censored] off for the past 10 months, often 4, 5, and 6 days a week with the team's goalie program, private goalie coach, and Goaliesmith. I got her a complete set of goalie equipment for about $200 off the Facebook marketplace and have been slowly replacing them with her customized equipment to fit her playing style. You can find some used goalie equipment relatively inexpensive, so I would go that route, then slowly buy the equipment that's tailored to her.
With regard to tryout and playing for a club team. Goalies are hard to come by, not a lot of girls have the fortitude and tenacity to stand in front of a ball throwing at you at 45 MPH+. I don't think you'll find a club that's looking for a dedicated goalie, especially if she is not afraid of taking shots, she'll do fine. With that said, I would also go try out for as many club teams as possible, but also inquire about their goalie program. In order for a goalie to be really good, she needs to participate in a goalie program that'll teach her the fundamentals, footwork, stickwork, and cage awareness. If she trains hard, she can be good and effective in 4-5 months and compete at a high level; however, you absolutely need to bring a lot of resources to get her there. This means private coaching sessions, and possibly multiple turns in a good goalie camp. I think I've probably spent close to four to five thousand dollars on her private coaching and Goaliesmith training alone in the past 10 months, but she's probably one of the best goalies for her age group despite that she's only been a goalie for 10 months.
Good feedback
#1 you don’t need goaliesmith at this age, plus the earliest age they were taking this summer is 2029. That’s girls going into 7th grade. Otherwise Def need to work on fundamentals. Went to a couple of GS sessions over the last year and think you need to have some experience before going to goaliesmith. They are generally shooting pretty hard at all girls and difficultly level is a bit much for elementary school age kids.
#2 try finding a college level goalie. We use a senior D1 goalie from the tristate she is also a coach for one of the big programs. Charges 55 an hour.
#3 ask the club about goalie program and goalie coaches.
#4 check our lax goalie rate website and podcast and start with all the femal goalie podcasts
