Seth Broderick is the type of goaltender who loves hockey so much that he is usually the last one to leave the ice after practice. In July, he received the opportunity of a lifetime to refine his skills when he was invited to attend the Stop It Goaltending GCG Prospects Event in Boston.
The week-long event is designed for elite male and female US, Canadian, and European goalies. It features leading NHL and NCAA goalie coaches and uses advanced training techniques to help goalies maximize their potential. The event is also held at the New England Sports Centre in Woburn, Mass.
Broderick, who is from Logy Bay and played for the AAA U13 Hitmen last year, said he enjoys many things about hockey. The camaraderie and respect from his teammates, the adrenaline rush of saving a breakaway shot, and the responsibility of having a team count on you to win a game. At the week-long camp, he said working with Brian Daccord taught him a lot about how goaltenders play and how to implement those strategies into his game.
Brian Daccord, who played professionally in Switzerland and is the father of Seattle Kracken’s Joey Daccord, started the program more than 25 years ago to create a more structured program that could teach kids, adults and professional goaltenders the skills needed to succeed at any hockey level.
On average, about 10 percent of NHL goaltenders have gone through Daccord’s program, notably Joey Daccord, former Montreal Canadians goaltender Mike Condon and former New Jersey Devils goaltender Corey Schneider.
“I started Stop It Goaltending because I had some great goalie coaches growing up, but there was no consistency. So, back in the day, a goalie coach would come in and work with the team one day, and then you wouldn’t see him until three months later. There wasn’t any structure in place to help goalies, so my goal was to set up a program with structure, curriculum, coaching, and consistency so that kids could get better at being goaltenders instead of just going in there and trying to stop pucks.”
For goaltenders lucky enough to be invited to the program, its structure involves teaching, philosophy, mechanics, systems and structure. Once the techniques and mechanics are in place, coaches then teach goaltenders how to play the game.
“Instead of just starting with a three-on-two drill, let's start with how to make a glove save. There are five core saves in goaltending, and we must learn how to make those saves before moving on. So mobility is the first thing we address, followed by the mechanics, the structure, then reading the play.”
A few weeks after his week of training had ended at the prospects camp, Broderick was fortunate to be invited back to attend Stop It Goaltending’s Bridge Academy Program. It is a year-long program that runs from September to May. The program combines focused academic studies with intensive athletic training to develop young goaltenders' educational and athletic skills.
Broderick learned he would be invited to the Bridge Program while attending the week-long camp. He said he was psyched to have the chance to participate in the program.
Daccord said the Bridge Program Academy is housed in a two-level, 15,000-square-foot facility, including eight hockey rinks and everything a goalie would need to help advance them to the next level.
“We treat every goalie here like they have never played goalie before and try to build the foundation for success. We take 16 goalies a year, and they do online learning, daily training on the ice, off the ice, and yoga. We have $100,000 worth of training equipment here. It is a detailed, all-encompassing curriculum.”
Part of the Bridge Program involves pairing goaltenders with advanced teams in their age group to test what they have learned. Broderick currently plays for the Boston Junior Eagles. He continues to be amazed by the experience and awestruck by the professional hockey players who are coaches on the opposing teams he plays against.
“Playing with (and against) the top kids in the USA is so cool. Walking in (and playing in) the Warrior Rink (the rink where the NHL’s Boston Bruins practice) felt surreal. I saw former NHL players like Zdeno Chara at the rink as they are part of the Eagles organization (he coaches his kid’s team). I have played against a team from Florida coached by Vincent Lecavalier.”
Daccord said Broderick was the first Canadian in the program among goaltenders from Florida, Dallas, Maine and Tokyo.
“I think it’s fun for him because it is a different style of hockey here. He plays on a team that won the EHF Eastern Hockey Federation Championship last year. The Boston Junior Eagles have a solid and high-end program. He travelled from Newfoundland and adapted to our hockey culture here, and I think he has played well.”
Broderick said it is an excellent opportunity to be coached by a respected Junior Eagles coach, Bill Kelleher, who taught him what it means to be a professional player. He also said his goal is to eventually play at the college level one day and constantly challenge himself to improve.
Daccord says the program's advantage is that it helps goaltenders maximize their potential.
“If we can get them to where they need to be, we’ve done our job, whether that’s a starting goalie for an NHL club, prep school, or junior team. We are just trying to do everything possible to ensure that goalie maxes out their potential.”
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