What comes to mind when you hear the word “goalie”?

When people were asked to describe goalies with adjectives they said, “Coordinated”, “confident”, “courageous”, “beastly”, and “agile”.

In sports, goalies play a huge role. Most people don’t know what it takes to be a goalie. “Goalie is the most important position on the field and there comes a lot of pressure with the position.” stated Emily Mikson. People can speculate and describe what they see, but there is more to being a goalie than what meets the eye.

Tory Ruggiero, a senior, is a lacrosse goalie. She has been a goalie ever since 6^th grade. Though she has been a goalie for seven years, she is unsure whether or not she wants to play in college. She claims that “it is a big commitment”. That just shows how demanding being a goalie can be; though Tory loves what she does and has been playing for so long, she does not know if it’s the kind of commitment she is willing to make. Every goalie has their own way of mentally preparing for games, for Tory, that means listening to 80s music. But, the perspective on being a goalie and the mentality changes depending on the type of person.

Another goalie, Emily Mikson, a senior, is a field hockey goalie. The difference between Emily and Tory, that may affect the mental aspect of being a goalie, is the classes they take and how long they have been goalie. Emily takes some AP classes, whereas Tory does not. Also, Emily has only been a goalie for five years, two less than Tory. This could affect the decision on whether or not they want to play in college, because they may be sick of the sports by the time they need to apply to colleges, or they could come to a better realization about how much of a commitment it is based on their experience. When Emily was asked the same questions as Tory, she had some pretty different responses. Unlike Tory, Emily hopes to continue her goalie career into college. She also has a different way of preparing mentally before games, she said, “I try to remind myself to give my all and not get down on myself because I know I can’t stop everything.” Emily certainly has a passion for being a goalie, as she said “I honestly couldn’t picture myself doing anything else.”

One thing they have in common is their love for making saves and being a goalie.