About the Goalie Academy

• Our Philosophy
• Our Instruction
• History of the Goalie Academy

“Many young goalies have extraordinary talent. By teaching them crucial concepts and specific exercises early in their careers, coaches can make sure that young goalies get more fun from their favorite sport and achieve higher levels of efficiency”
– Francois Allaire

Our Philosophy

First, and foremost, the Goalie Academy believes that goaltending should be fun!  Participation in any given sport is a matter of choice.  A goalie should ensure that they have choosen a sport, a position, and a level of competition that they enjoy.  When you are enjoying an athletic activity, you can learn so much more from the lessons the experience has to offer.  We strive to ensure that every training session is enjoyable, for both the goalie and the instructor.

We also firmly believe that advancement comes only with effort.  When you are willing to try, you have the opportunity to learn.  The more you are willing to try, the more knowledge you stand to gain.  From knowledge, comes confidence, and confidence leads to success.  We will always take the time to understand our student's goals.  Therefore, we shall always expect the student to provide the level of effort required for the successful achievement of their stated personal objectives.

Quality Instruction

All instruction at the Goalie Academy is conducted under the direction of CAHA certified coaches.  We believe that students benefit more from studying live shooters than simple repetition, so we do not rely strictly on machines for our shooting drills.  Our instruction focuses on tracking the puck; from the shot, to the save, to the rebound.

The Goalie Academy also expects all our instructors to adhere to our philosophy.  Should any of our instruction fail to meet your expectations, we will make every effort to correct the problem.

To view biographies of the Goalie Academy staff, please click the link below.

Goalie Academy Staff

History

The Goalie Academy was officially founded in 2009, however its roots go back more than 20 years.

The idea for a dedicated school for goaltenders began in 1984.  After working many summers as an instructor at hockey schools, the founder – Gavin Armstrong, realized there was a need for year-round goaltender instruction.  And so he created Great Western Goalies.

The concept behind Great Western Goalies was to provide goaltenders with specialized training through private tutoring, additional coaching at team practices, and organized group sessions.  While this approach was successful, the difficulty in obtaining ice time for private sessions proved limiting.  After investigating several options, Great Western Goalies decided to purchase the Edmonton operation of Goal Tec.

The Goal Tec - Edmonton purchase provided a dedicated training facility, and allowed for increased personal coaching, however the facility was less than ideal.  Faced with rising costs at the Sherwood Park location, Goal-Tec Edmonton was eventually closed and transformed into the Goalie Academy training center you see today.   As the Goalie Academy, we will continue to expand and improve our facilities, our services, and our instructors, in our ongoing effort to provide the best goaltender instruction possible.

If you have any questions regarding our philosophy, our instructors, or about the history of the Goalie Academy, please send us an email, or call the number listed on our Contact page.