MOB — MOBILITY, WARM-UPS & STRETCHING LIBRARY

LAX Goalie Hub • Reference Library • v2

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HOW TO USE THIS LIBRARY

Every daily training email in the LAX Goalie Hub program names its movements by name and code — for example, "Dynamic 8 (MOB-01)" or "Static Stretch Set A (MOB-20)." This library is where you look those codes up. Read the entry once, learn the movement, and from then on the code in your email is all you need.

You do not have to read this document front to back. Use the index below, find your code, do that one entry.

The single most important rule in this library:

Dynamic movement goes BEFORE training. Static stretching goes AFTER training.

• BEFORE you train (THE WARM-UP block): you move through a range of motion. Nothing is held. Muscles get warm, joints get slippery, your nervous system wakes up, and your body gets ready to move fast. These are the entries marked Dynamic in the index — MOB-01 through MOB-19.
• AFTER you train (THE FINISH block): you hold a position still and breathe. This is where long-term flexibility is built and where your body switches from work mode into recovery mode. These are the entries marked Static — MOB-20 through MOB-32.
• Cool-down and recovery flows (MOB-33 through MOB-35) are done after training, after a game, or on Sunday.

Holding a long static stretch before a hard training session makes you slower and weaker for that session. It is not dangerous — it is just the wrong tool at the wrong time. Save it for the finish, when your muscles are already warm. That is when it works best anyway.

A note on age

Movements in this library carry a grade range. If a movement says "5th grade and up," a 3rd grader should skip it and use the regression listed in that entry. Younger athletes (grades 3–4) warm up mostly by playing and moving — see The Wiggle Warm-Up (MOB-02). Long static holds are kept short and light for grades 3–4 because young, growing bodies are already naturally flexible; the goal at that age is body awareness, not extra range.

A note on pain

Stretching should feel like a firm pull. It should never feel sharp, electric, tingly, or like something is pinching. Back off to where it feels like a firm pull and stay there. If a movement hurts a joint (knee, back, shoulder) rather than pulling a muscle, stop and tell a parent or coach.

How each entry is written

Every entry gives you: what it is for, what you need, how much space, who it is for, numbered step-by-step instructions, coaching cues, the mistakes people actually make, how to make it easier or harder, and how to know you are doing it right.

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QUICK-REFERENCE INDEX

Code	Name	Type	Grades	Time	Use it
MOB-01	The Dynamic 8	Routine — dynamic	5–12	8 min	Before training
MOB-02	The Wiggle Warm-Up	Routine — dynamic	3–4	5 min	Before training
MOB-03	The Three-Minute Warm-Up	Routine — dynamic	3–12	3 min	Before training, short on time
MOB-04	The Indoor Warm-Up	Routine — dynamic	3–12	6 min	Before training, small space
MOB-05	The Cage-Ready Pre-Game Warm-Up	Routine — dynamic	5–12	12 min	Before a game
MOB-06	Leg Swings	Dynamic	3–12	1–2 min	Warm-up
MOB-07	Inchworm Walkout	Dynamic	4–12	1–2 min	Warm-up
MOB-08	World's Greatest Stretch	Dynamic	6–12	2 min	Warm-up
MOB-09	Walking Lunge with Torso Twist	Dynamic	4–12	1–2 min	Warm-up
MOB-10	Squat-to-Stand	Dynamic	5–12	1 min	Warm-up
MOB-11	Ankle Rocks	Dynamic	3–12	1–2 min	Warm-up
MOB-12	Hip Opener Flow	Dynamic	5–12	3 min	Warm-up
MOB-13	Thoracic Rotations	Dynamic	5–12	2 min	Warm-up
MOB-14	Arm Circles and Shoulder Prep	Dynamic	3–12	2 min	Warm-up
MOB-15	Wrist and Hand Prep	Dynamic	3–12	2 min	Warm-up, before wall ball
MOB-16	Glute Bridge and Bridge March	Dynamic	4–12	2 min	Warm-up, activation
MOB-17	Lateral Shuffle and Carioca	Dynamic	4–12	2 min	Warm-up
MOB-18	The Skip Series	Dynamic	5–12	2–3 min	Warm-up, before plyos
MOB-19	Neck and Eye Warm-Up	Dynamic	4–12	2 min	Warm-up, before shots
MOB-20	Static Stretch Set A — Lower Body	Static set	3–12	5 min	THE FINISH
MOB-21	Static Stretch Set B — Hips and Groin	Static set	5–12	5 min	THE FINISH
MOB-22	Static Stretch Set C — Upper Body and Shoulders	Static set	3–12	5 min	THE FINISH
MOB-23	Static Stretch Set D — Full Body Long Hold	Static set	7–12	10–12 min	THE FINISH, Sunday
MOB-24	Hamstring Stretch	Static	3–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-25	Quad and Hip Flexor Stretch	Static	3–12	2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-26	Glute Figure-Four Stretch	Static	4–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-27	Calf and Achilles Stretch	Static	3–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-28	Groin and Adductor Stretch	Static	4–12	2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-29	Chest and Front-Shoulder Stretch	Static	4–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-30	Lat and Side-Body Stretch	Static	4–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-31	Forearm and Wrist Stretch	Static	3–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH, after wall ball
MOB-32	Neck and Upper Trap Stretch	Static	5–12	1–2 min	THE FINISH
MOB-33	The Cool-Down Walk	Recovery	3–12	2–4 min	THE FINISH, first thing
MOB-34	The Sunday Mobility Flow	Recovery	3–12	10–15 min	Sunday, always optional
MOB-35	The Post-Game Recovery Flow	Recovery	5–12	8–10 min	After a game

35 entries. Codes MOB-01 through MOB-35.

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PART 1 — WARM-UP ROUTINES

These are complete, ready-to-run sequences. When your daily email says "Dynamic 8 (MOB-01) — full sequence," you run everything in this entry, start to finish, without stopping to look anything up.

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MOB-01 — THE DYNAMIC 8

Category

Warm-up routine (dynamic) — the program's signature warm-up

Purpose

Raise body temperature, wake up the hips, shoulders, and ankles, and switch on your nervous system so that the very first save you make in a session is a good one. Cold goalies get beat low and get hurt. The Dynamic 8 is how every real training session in this program starts from 5th grade onward.

Equipment

None. A wall or fence is helpful for balance during leg swings.

Space needed

A lane about 20 yards long and 5 yards wide (roughly the width of the crease and the length of half a driveway). Grass, turf, gym floor, or driveway all work.

Grade range

5th–12th grade. Grades 3–4 use The Wiggle Warm-Up (MOB-02) instead.

Time

8 minutes.

How to do it

Do the eight movements in this exact order. The order matters: you go from easy and general to fast and specific. Do not rest between movements — walk back to your start line and go straight into the next one.

1. Easy jog — 2 lengths (about 40 yards total, 60 seconds). Jog at a comfortable, conversational pace. You should be able to talk in full sentences. Down and back. Arms loose, shoulders down. Goal: get warm, not tired.
2. High knees — 2 lengths (about 45 seconds). Travel forward. Drive one knee up until the thigh is level with the ground — think "belt buckle height" — then put that foot down and drive the other knee up. Stay tall, do not lean back. Land on the balls of your feet. Arms swing from the shoulder, elbows bent about 90 degrees. Take short, quick steps, not long ones.
3. Butt kicks — 2 lengths (about 45 seconds). Travel forward. Kick your heels back to touch or nearly touch your backside, one at a time, quickly. Keep your knees pointing down at the ground, not out in front. Stay tall. Quick feet.
4. Side shuffles — 2 lengths each direction (about 60 seconds). Get into an athletic stance: feet a little wider than your shoulders, knees bent, chest up, hands up in front of you like you are holding your stick. Push off your back foot and slide sideways. Do not let your feet click together, and do not cross your feet. Go down the lane leading with your right shoulder, come back leading with your left.
5. Lunge with a twist — 8 total (4 each leg, about 60 seconds). Step forward with your right foot into a big step — big enough that your back knee drops toward the ground and your front shin stays close to straight up and down. Front knee stays over your ankle, not way past your toes. Once you are down in the lunge, hold your hands out in front of your chest and slowly turn your chest and shoulders to the right, over the front leg. Turn until you feel a stretch across the front of your left hip. Turn back to center, stand up, step forward with the left foot, and twist left. Repeat, alternating, for 8 total steps.
6. Leg swings — 10 each direction, each leg (about 90 seconds). Stand next to a wall or fence and put one hand on it for balance. Swing your outside leg forward and backward like a pendulum, 10 times, keeping your upper body still. Then turn to face the wall, put both hands on it, and swing one leg side to side across your body, 10 times. Switch legs and repeat both directions. Start small and let each swing get a little bigger. Never force or bounce at the end of the swing. (Full detail: MOB-06.)
7. Arm circles — 10 forward, 10 backward, then 20 quick crossovers (about 45 seconds). Stand tall, arms straight out to the sides at shoulder height. Make 10 circles forward, starting small and growing to as big as you can make them. Then 10 backward the same way. Then swing both arms across your chest and back out wide, 20 quick reps. (Full detail: MOB-14.)
8. Explosive hops — 3 sets of 5 (about 45 seconds). Feet under your hips. Bend your knees a little, then hop straight up as high as you can, landing softly on the balls of your feet with knees bent — quiet landings only. Do 5, rest 15 seconds, repeat 3 times. On the last set, hop side to side over an imaginary line instead of straight up. This is the switch that turns your legs from "warm" to "ready to explode."

Coaching cues - "Get warm, do not get tired." You should finish the Dynamic 8 breathing a little harder and feeling springy, not gassed. - "Quiet feet." Every landing in this sequence should be soft. Loud landings mean stiff ankles. - "Grow the range." Every movement starts small and gets bigger. Never start at your maximum. - "Chest up, eyes forward." You warm up in the posture you want to play in.

Common mistakes - Skipping straight to the fast stuff. The jog is not optional — it is the thing that makes everything after it safe. - Leaning back during high knees. This turns a hip warm-up into a lower-back strain. - Crossing the feet during side shuffles. That is a habit that will follow you into the crease. - Bouncing at the end of leg swings to force more range. Range comes from repetitions, not from force. - Doing it in silence and half-asleep. Talk to yourself. Call out the movement. Warming up your voice matters for a goalie.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (5th–6th grade, or first two weeks doing it): cut every count in half — 1 length instead of 2, 5 leg swings instead of 10, 2 sets of hops instead of 3. Roughly 5 minutes. - Regression (tight space): see The Indoor Warm-Up (MOB-04), which converts the traveling movements to in-place versions. - Progression (9th–12th grade): add a second round of movements 2 through 4 at higher speed, and finish the explosive hops with 3 single-leg hops per side. Roughly 11 minutes. - Progression (pre-game): run MOB-05 instead, which layers stick and ball work on top of this base.

How to know it's right - The talk test: after the jog you can still talk in sentences. After the hops you cannot quite. - The sweat test: in normal weather you should have a light sweat or feel genuinely warm at the neck and lower back by movement 6. - The range test: your last leg swing on each side should travel noticeably higher than your first. If it does not, you went too fast or too hard too early. - The clock test: the whole thing takes 8 minutes. If it takes 4, you are rushing. If it takes 15, you are resting between movements.

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MOB-02 — THE WIGGLE WARM-UP

Category

Warm-up routine (dynamic) — young athlete version

Purpose

Get a 3rd or 4th grader warm, moving, laughing, and ready to catch a ball, without ever using the word "warm-up" in a way that makes it feel like homework. This builds the habit of preparing before you play, which is the actual long-term goal at this age. Physical literacy — hopping, skipping, balancing, twisting, crawling — is the curriculum here.

Equipment

None required. Optional: one ball, two cones or two shoes as markers.

Space needed

About 10 by 10 yards. A backyard, a driveway, a garage, or a living room with the coffee table moved works fine.

Grade range

3rd–4th grade. Also useful for any grade on a low-energy day or as a family warm-up.

Time

5 minutes.

How to do it

Eight quick moves. Each one lasts about 30 seconds. Count them out loud. Parents: do it with them if you can — it doubles the buy-in.

1. Shake it out — 20 seconds. Shake your right hand 8 times, left hand 8 times, right foot 8 times, left foot 8 times. Then 4 each. Then 2 each. Then 1 each. Yell the numbers.
2. Robot walk — 30 seconds. Walk forward with straight, stiff legs and straight arms, like a robot, lifting each leg as high as you can. Then walk backward the same way.
3. Sneaky steps — 30 seconds. Walk on your tiptoes as quietly as you possibly can, like you are sneaking up on someone. Ten steps forward. Then walk on your heels, toes pointed up at the sky, ten steps back.
4. Big monster steps — 30 seconds. Take the biggest steps you can, stepping forward and letting your back knee dip toward the ground. Growl if you want. Eight steps. This is a lunge, but nobody needs to know that.
5. Skip and reach — 45 seconds. Skip forward across your space. Every time your knee comes up, reach up with the opposite hand and try to grab a star out of the sky. Skip down and back.
6. Crab and bear — 45 seconds. Sit down, put your hands behind you, lift your hips up and walk like a crab for 10 steps. Then flip over onto your hands and feet, hips high, knees just off the ground, and walk like a bear for 10 steps.
7. Wiggle and freeze — 45 seconds. Wiggle everything — arms, legs, head, hips — as fast and as silly as you can. When your parent or coach yells "FREEZE," snap into your goalie stance and hold perfectly still for 3 seconds: feet a little wider than your shoulders, knees bent, hands up, eyes forward. Repeat 4 times. The freeze is the real drill.
8. Ten quick hops — 30 seconds. Ten small, fast, quiet hops on both feet. Then 5 hops on just the right foot, 5 on just the left. Land like a ninja — no stomping.

Coaching cues - "Land like a ninja, not like an elephant." Kids understand this instantly and it is genuinely the right cue for soft landings. - "Freeze means stance." Every freeze is a free repetition of the athletic position. - "Big and silly is fine. Lazy is not." - Parents: narrate what you see — "Great, your knees are bent!" — rather than correcting. At this stage, encouragement is the coaching.

Common mistakes - The adult treats it like a serious workout. It is not. If it stops being fun, it stops working. - Rushing the freezes. The freeze is the only part that has to be precise. Hold a full 3 seconds. - Locking the knees during bear and crab walks. Keep a soft bend everywhere. - Doing it for 90 seconds and calling it done. Set a 5-minute timer.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: cut to four moves — shake it out, big monster steps, wiggle and freeze, ten quick hops. About 2 minutes. Use this on a tired day or with a brand-new 3rd grader. - Progression (late 4th grade, preparing for 5th): add leg swings (MOB-06) and arm circles (MOB-14) after move 6, and start naming the movements by their real names — "these are lunges," "these are skips." This is the on-ramp to the Dynamic 8. - Progression (make it a game): have the parent call the moves in random order instead of running the list. Reaction plus movement is exactly the skill set a young goalie needs.

How to know it's right - The athlete is breathing a little harder and smiling. Both are required. - Every one of the four freezes lands in a real stance: knees bent, hands up, eyes forward. - The whole thing takes about 5 minutes and nobody had to be nagged through it. - The athlete can, after a few weeks, run it themselves without being told the order.

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MOB-03 — THE THREE-MINUTE WARM-UP

Category

Warm-up routine (dynamic) — abbreviated

Purpose

The version you do when you have almost no time — a school night that got away from you, a 20-minute in-season session, or the ten minutes before your team practice starts. It hits the four things you cannot skip: temperature, hips, shoulders, and one explosive switch. A short warm-up beats no warm-up every single time, and no session in this program should ever start cold.

Equipment

None.

Space needed

10 yards of space, or a single spot if you convert to in-place versions.

Grade range

3rd–12th grade, all phases. Standard fallback whenever an email says "Short on time."

Time

3 minutes.

How to do it

Four movements, 45 seconds each, no rest between them. Set a timer.

1. Jog or jog in place — 45 seconds. Easy pace. If you have room, jog a lane down and back. If you do not, jog in place, lifting your knees to about hip height for the last 15 seconds. Goal: warm, not winded.
2. Lunge with a twist — 45 seconds (about 8 steps). Step forward into a big lunge, back knee dropping toward the ground, front shin near vertical. Hold your hands in front of your chest and rotate your chest toward the front leg until you feel a pull across the front of the opposite hip. Rotate back, stand up, switch legs. Alternate.
3. Leg swings — 45 seconds (10 forward-and-back per leg, then 10 side-to-side per leg). Hand on a wall for balance. Swing loose and controlled. Start small, grow the range every rep.
4. Arm circles into 10 explosive hops — 45 seconds. 10 big arm circles forward, 10 backward, then immediately 10 hops in place — quick, light, quiet, landing on the balls of the feet with soft knees. The hops are the switch that tells your body training has started.

Coaching cues - "Three minutes is the floor, not the plan." Use it when you must, not as your default. - "The hops are non-negotiable." They are what separate a warm body from a ready body. - "Grow every rep." With this little volume, each repetition has to earn its place.

Common mistakes - Cutting it to two minutes by dropping the hops. Drop the jog before you drop the hops if you truly must cut something. - Doing it at half speed. Short warm-ups have to be crisp. - Using this before a game. Games need MOB-05 — you need more, not less, before live shots. - Using this before a heavy plyometric or strength day. Those days need the full MOB-01.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4): replace movements 2 and 3 with big monster steps and skip-and-reach from MOB-02. Same 3 minutes. - Progression: add 45 seconds of side shuffles between 3 and 4 to make it a 4-minute version. This is the preferred in-season standard for grades 7–12. - If you are already warm (you just came off the field or off a bike): drop to movements 3 and 4 only, 90 seconds, and go.

How to know it's right - You can feel warmth in your thighs and shoulders when you finish. - Your first hop and your tenth hop feel the same — springy, not heavy. - Timer says 3:00 and you did all four movements. If you finished at 1:40, you rushed.

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MOB-04 — THE INDOOR WARM-UP

Category

Warm-up routine (dynamic) — small space

Purpose

A complete dynamic warm-up that fits in a bedroom, a hallway, a garage, a hotel room, or a corner of a gym. Winter, rain, travel, and apartment living should never be the reason a session gets skipped. Every traveling movement from the Dynamic 8 has an in-place equivalent, and this is that translation.

Equipment

None. A wall is used for balance and for shoulder work.

Space needed

Roughly 6 feet by 6 feet — enough to lie down and to raise your arms overhead. Low ceilings are fine; there are no jumps overhead in the base version.

Grade range

3rd–12th grade.

Time

6 minutes.

How to do it

Eight movements. Move straight from one to the next.

1. March in place — 45 seconds. Stand tall. March, driving each knee to hip height, swinging opposite arm to opposite knee. Start slow, build to brisk over the 45 seconds.
2. Jog in place — 45 seconds. Light, quick feet, staying on the balls of your feet. Keep it quiet — if you are above someone, quiet is the point. Add small heel kicks for the final 15 seconds.
3. Bodyweight squats — 15 reps (about 45 seconds). Feet a little wider than your shoulders, toes turned slightly out. Push your hips back like you are sitting into a chair behind you, letting your knees bend and travel out over your toes. Go as low as you can while keeping your heels flat and your chest up. Stand all the way up and squeeze your backside at the top.
4. Reverse lunge with a twist — 8 total, 4 each side (about 60 seconds). Step backward with your right foot and lower your right knee toward the floor. Your front (left) shin stays close to vertical. In the bottom, hold your hands at chest height and rotate your chest to the left, over your front leg. Rotate back, push through your front heel to stand, switch sides. Stepping backward instead of forward means you never travel — you finish where you started.
5. Inchworm walkout — 6 reps (about 60 seconds). Stand tall, bend at the hips and put both hands on the floor (bend your knees as much as you need to get them there). Walk your hands forward until you are in a straight-arm plank — body in one straight line from head to heels. Hold 2 seconds. Then walk your hands back to your feet and stand up. Full detail: MOB-07.
6. Wall slides — 12 reps (about 45 seconds). Stand with your back flat against the wall, feet about a foot out from it. Press the back of your head, your upper back, your elbows, and the backs of your wrists into the wall, arms bent in a goalpost shape. Slide your arms slowly up the wall as high as you can while keeping every one of those contact points touching. Slide back down. Slow — 3 seconds up, 3 seconds down.
7. Leg swings, hand on wall — 10 each direction, each leg (about 60 seconds). Same as MOB-06. Forward and back first, then side to side.
8. In-place hops and quick feet — 45 seconds. 10 quiet two-foot hops. Then 10 seconds of fast, tiny, light feet in place, like you are running on hot sand. Then 10 lateral hops side to side over an imaginary line. Quiet landings throughout.

Coaching cues - "Quiet is a skill." Landing softly indoors is the same skill as absorbing a shot in the crease. - "The wall is your coach." In wall slides, if a contact point comes off the wall, you have found your limit — stop there and slide back down. - "No room is not a reason." Say it out loud on a rainy Tuesday in January.

Common mistakes - Heels lifting during squats. Widen your stance slightly, turn the toes out a bit more, and do not go as low. - Arching the lower back away from the wall during wall slides. Tuck your ribs down and bend your knees slightly. - Sagging hips in the inchworm plank. Squeeze your backside and your stomach and hold the line. - Doing this on a hard floor with bare feet, then landing hard. Wear shoes, land soft, or use a rug or mat.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4): drop wall slides and inchworms, replace with crab walk and bear walk in place from MOB-02. Cut to 4 minutes. - Progression (grades 9–12): add 30 seconds of split-squat jumps or 20 mountain climbers between movements 7 and 8, if the ceiling and the neighbors allow. - Hotel or truly tiny room: do movements 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 only. All five need less than a yard of space.

How to know it's right - You are warm and lightly sweating in a room-temperature space by the end. - Your squat at rep 15 is visibly deeper and smoother than rep 1. - In wall slides, you can name exactly where your arms stop — and that point gets higher over weeks. - Nobody downstairs came up to complain.

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MOB-05 — THE CAGE-READY PRE-GAME WARM-UP

Category

Warm-up routine (dynamic) — game day

Purpose

Arrive at the first whistle already sharp. A goalie who takes the first ten minutes of a game to warm up has given away the first ten minutes of the game. This routine takes you from car seat to game speed in a fixed, repeatable order — general movement, then goalie-specific movement, then hands, then live shots — so that your body and your eyes are both ready before the ball counts.

Equipment

Goalie stick, full gear, at least 6 balls, and a shooting partner (a coach, teammate, or parent). A wall is a useful backup if no partner is available.

Space needed

A goal and roughly 15 yards in front of it, plus a 20-yard lane for the movement portion.

Grade range

5th–12th grade. Grades 3–4 use a shortened version — see regressions.

Time

12 minutes, finishing 5 minutes before the opening whistle.

How to do it

Work backward from the start time. If the game starts at 10:00, you begin at 9:43 and are done at 9:55.

1. General warm-up — 5 minutes. Run The Dynamic 8 (MOB-01) without gear on, or in just your helmet and gloves if the sideline requires it. Do not shortcut this. Cut it to the 5-minute version if the schedule is tight.
2. Gear up and stance check — 1 minute. Put on your full gear. Take your stance in the middle of the crease. Check your checklist top to bottom: feet a little wider than your shoulders, weight on the balls of your feet, knees bent, chest tall, top hand at about eye level and slightly out in front, bottom hand relaxed, stick head up. Take three slow, deep breaths — in through the nose for 4 counts, out through the mouth for 6.
3. Pipe-to-pipe shuffles — 1 minute. In your stance, shuffle from one pipe to the other along your arc, 10 times total. Feet never cross. Stick stays up and in front the whole time. Get gradually faster. The last two trips should be at full game speed.
4. Shadow saves, no ball — 1 minute. Call out a location and make the save motion to it with no ball: "high right," step and drive the top hand out to high right. Then high left, low right, low left, hip right, hip left, stick side, off-stick. Two full rounds of eight. Move your feet on every single one — no arm-only saves.
5. Hands and eyes — 2 minutes. Have your partner toss you soft, underhand tennis balls or lacrosse balls from 10 feet away, one at a time, alternating sides, while you catch them in your stick with a soft, giving motion. About 30 catches. If no partner: 30 wall tosses. This wakes up your tracking before anything is coming at speed.
6. Live shots, building up — 3 minutes. Your shooter starts at 12 yards taking easy, placed shots and calls the location before shooting: "high right." You save it. Do 10 like that. Then 10 with no call, still at moderate pace, still placed. Then 10 at full game speed from realistic spots on the field. Roughly 30 shots.
7. Finishers — 1 minute. Take exactly 5 shots at full speed, then stop. Whatever happens on those five, stop there. Then make one clean outlet pass to a teammate. End on movement, not on a save you missed.
8. Reset and breathe — 1 minute. Stand in the crease alone. Three breaths, 4 counts in and 6 counts out. Say your one focus word for the game. Walk to the sideline. You are ready.

Coaching cues - "Warm up your eyes before you warm up your ego." The hands-and-eyes block matters more than the last hard shot. - "Build the speed, do not start at it." Nobody's first pre-game shot should be a rocket. - "End early, end well." Finishing five minutes before the whistle keeps you warm without draining you. - To shooters: "Your job is to get the goalie ready, not to score." A shooter who tries to embarrass a goalie in warm-ups has done real harm.

Common mistakes - Taking 60 hard shots and walking to the crease already tired. Thirty to forty total is the number. - Skipping the general warm-up and going straight to shots. This is where most preventable goalie injuries and most slow starts come from. - Ending on a bad rep. Always take the extra rep and finish with a save or a clean outlet. - Warming up and then sitting on a bench for 20 minutes. If there is a long delay, redo steps 3 and 4 right before you go in. - No shooting partner and no plan. Bring a wall drill in your back pocket — 30 wall tosses and shadow saves is enough.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4): 6 minutes total — Wiggle Warm-Up (MOB-02), stance check, 10 shadow saves, 15 easy tosses, 10 soft shots. That is plenty. - Regression (no partner): replace steps 5 and 6 with 40 wall tosses at increasing speed plus 20 shadow saves. Not as good, still enough. - Progression (grades 9–12): add a 60-second reaction block after step 6 — partner stands 8 yards out and shoots on a one-second delay from an unpredictable angle. Add one clearing outlet after every fifth save in step 6. - Cold weather: add 2 minutes to step 1, keep a jacket on until step 2, and repeat step 3 right before the whistle.

How to know it's right - Your first save of the game feels like your thirtieth save of warm-ups, not your first. - You are warm and breathing easily at the whistle, not gasping and not cooled off. - You finished with 5 minutes to spare, every time, in the same order. - Over a season, you can run this yourself without a coach reminding you of the sequence. That is the real goal.

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PART 2 — INDIVIDUAL DYNAMIC MOVEMENTS

These are the building blocks. They appear inside the routines above, and daily emails also call them individually — "Hip Opener Flow (MOB-12) — 2 rounds." All of these are done BEFORE training. Nothing here is held still for more than a couple of seconds.

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MOB-06 — LEG SWINGS

Category

Dynamic — hips, hamstrings, adductors

Purpose

Open the hips in both directions before you ask them to explode sideways. A goalie's first step is almost always lateral, and lateral movement comes from the hip. Leg swings are the cheapest, fastest way to buy hip range, and they are in almost every warm-up in this program.

Equipment

A wall, fence, goalpost, or a partner's shoulder for balance.

Space needed

One arm's length from a wall, about 4 feet of clearance to the side.

Grade range

3rd–12th grade.

Time

1–2 minutes.

How to do it

1. Forward and back. Stand with your left side facing a wall and place your left hand on it. Stand tall — shoulders stacked over hips, stomach lightly tight so your lower back does not arch.
2. Swing your right leg forward and backward like a pendulum hanging from your hip. Keep the leg mostly straight but not locked. Let it swing; do not throw it.
3. Start with small swings — about knee height in front. Each rep, let it go a little higher. By rep 10 you should be reaching hip height or higher in front and comfortably behind you.
4. Do 10 swings. Turn around, switch hands, and do 10 with the left leg.
5. Side to side. Now face the wall and put both hands on it, arms straight, feet under your hips.
6. Swing your right leg across the front of your body to the left, then back out to the right, like a windshield wiper. Keep your hips facing the wall the whole time — do not let your torso twist.
7. Again, start small and grow. Do 10, then switch legs and do 10.

Coaching cues - "Hang the leg from the hip." The leg is a rope, not a stick you are forcing. - "Chest quiet, leg loud." Your upper body should barely move. - "Grow it, do not force it." Every rep goes a little further than the last.

Common mistakes - Leaning back to swing the leg higher in front. Your lower back should not be doing this work. - Bouncing hard at the top to force range. That is how you strain a hamstring in a warm-up. - Twisting the hips during the side-to-side version, which turns it into a torso stretch instead of a hip stretch. - Going too fast. One swing every second is about right.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4, or poor balance): hold the wall with both hands and cut the height in half. Do 8 each direction. - Progression: add a light reach with the opposite arm during forward swings; or hold each end position for a half second before reversing. - Progression (grades 9–12): finish with 5 fast swings per direction at near-maximum range once fully warm.

How to know it's right - Rep 10 travels clearly higher than rep 1 in both directions. - Your standing leg stays quiet — no hopping, no shifting. - You feel it in the back of the thigh and the inside of the groin, not in the lower back.

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MOB-07 — INCHWORM WALKOUT

Category

Dynamic — hamstrings, calves, shoulders, core

Purpose

One movement that warms the entire back of your legs, your shoulders, and your core at the same time. It is the most efficient warm-up movement in this library per second spent. It also teaches you to hold a straight, braced body line, which is the same brace you need when a shot hits you.

Equipment

None.

Space needed

About 6 feet of floor. Any surface you are willing to put your hands on.

Grade range

4th–12th grade.

Time

1–2 minutes.

How to do it

1. Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart.
2. Keeping your legs as straight as you comfortably can, bend forward at the hips and reach your hands down to the floor. Bend your knees as much as you need to in order to get both palms flat on the ground. It is fine to bend a lot at first.
3. Keeping your feet where they are, walk your hands forward — right, left, right, left — one small step at a time, four to six steps, until your body is in a straight-arm plank: hands under your shoulders, body in one straight line from the top of your head to your heels.
4. Hold that plank for 2 seconds. Squeeze your backside and tighten your stomach so your hips do not sag toward the floor and do not pike up toward the ceiling.
5. Now keep your hands still and walk your feet forward in small steps toward your hands, letting your legs straighten as much as they can, until you are folded over with your hands near your feet again.
6. Stand up tall. That is 1 rep. Do 5 to 8 reps.

Coaching cues - "Straight line from ears to heels" in the plank position. - "Small hand steps." Big lunging steps skip the work. - "Let the knees bend on the way down, straighten them on the way back."

Common mistakes - Hips sagging toward the floor in the plank. This is the number one error and it puts stress on the lower back. Squeeze your backside. - Hips piking way up in the air, which turns it into a rest instead of a brace. - Bouncing at the bottom to try to touch the toes. No bouncing. - Rushing. Each rep should take about 8 to 10 seconds.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: walk the hands out only halfway, to a position between a plank and a fold. Or do the whole thing with hands on a bench or step instead of the floor. - Progression (7th grade and up): add 1 push-up at the plank position. - Progression (9th grade and up): add a "downward dog" pedal — at the plank, push your hips up and back and pedal your heels toward the floor one at a time, 4 times, before walking your feet in.

How to know it's right - A phone or a stick laid along your back in the plank position touches your head, your upper back, and your hips at the same time. - You feel a clear stretch in the back of your legs during the walk-in, not in your lower back. - By rep 5 your hands are landing closer to your feet at the start than they did on rep 1.

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MOB-08 — WORLD'S GREATEST STRETCH

Category

Dynamic — hips, hip flexors, groin, thoracic spine, hamstrings

Purpose

It is called the world's greatest stretch because it opens more useful areas in one movement than anything else you can do standing up. For a goalie it is close to perfect: it opens the hip you drive off, the groin you stretch into a low save, and the mid-back you rotate through on an outlet pass. This is a staple from 6th grade on.

Equipment

None.

Space needed

About 8 feet of floor in a line.

Grade range

6th–12th grade. It has multiple coordinated parts and younger athletes are better served by MOB-09 and MOB-12 until they can execute those cleanly.

Time

2 minutes.

How to do it

1. Start standing. Take a big step forward with your right foot into a deep lunge — big enough that your right knee is bent about 90 degrees and your left knee is close to the ground.
2. Place both hands flat on the floor on the inside of your right foot. Your right foot and both hands are now in a line. Let your left leg stay long behind you, knee just off the ground, toes tucked.
3. Part one — the hip settle. Gently push your hips down and forward toward the floor. You should feel a strong pull in the front of your left hip. Hold there and take 2 slow breaths, letting the hip sink a little further on each exhale.
4. Part two — the rotation. Keep your left hand planted on the floor. Take your right hand off the floor, and reach it straight up toward the sky, turning your chest and following the hand with your eyes. Your chest should end up facing to the right. Hold 2 seconds. Bring the hand back down to the floor. Repeat this reach 3 times.
5. Part three — the hamstring. Place both hands back on the floor. Keeping your hands where they are, push your hips back and straighten your right leg, pulling your right toes up toward your shin. You should feel a stretch in the back of your right thigh. Hold 2 seconds, then sink back into the lunge. Repeat 3 times.
6. Step your right foot back and stand up. That is 1 rep on the right side. Now do the whole sequence on the left. Do 2 to 3 reps per side.

Coaching cues - "Hands inside the front foot." That single detail is what makes it a hip opener instead of a lunge. - "Eyes follow the hand" during the rotation. Where the eyes go, the chest follows. - "Sink on the exhale." Breathing out is when range appears.

Common mistakes - Placing the hands outside the front foot. You lose most of the hip opening. - Letting the back knee drop all the way to the ground and resting there. Keep it just off the floor and keep tension. - Rotating from the lower back instead of the mid-back — you will feel a pinch. Keep the hips square and let the rotation come from the ribs up. - Rushing the rotation. Reach, look, hold, return.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: put the back knee down on a folded towel and skip part three. Or place the front-side hands on a low step or a book rather than the floor. - Progression (9th grade and up): at the top of the rotation, hold for 3 seconds and add a small extra reach; add a "drop the elbow to the instep" move before the reach. - Progression: perform it as a walking sequence, traveling forward one rep at a time down a 10-yard lane.

How to know it's right - In the settle, you feel it clearly in the front of the back hip — that is the hip flexor doing what a goalie needs. - In the rotation, your top arm ends up close to vertical and you can see your own hand without straining your neck. - Your back knee stays off the ground the whole time. - Rep 3 gets deeper and rotates further than rep 1.

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MOB-09 — WALKING LUNGE WITH TORSO TWIST

Category

Dynamic — hips, hip flexors, quads, thoracic spine, balance

Purpose

The workhorse hip-opener of the Dynamic 8. It lengthens the front of the hip, which gets short and tight from sitting at a school desk all day, and it teaches rotation through the mid-back — the exact motion of turning to make an outlet pass after a save. It also builds single-leg balance, which every goalie needs and few practice.

Equipment

None. Optional: hold a stick horizontally across your chest with both hands.

Space needed

A 10-yard lane. Can be done in place as a reverse lunge if space is short (see MOB-04).

Grade range

4th–12th grade.

Time

1–2 minutes.

How to do it

1. Stand tall. Hold your hands together straight out in front of your chest, or hold your stick across your chest with both hands.
2. Take a big step forward with your right foot. Big means: when you lower down, your right shin is close to straight up and down and your right knee is roughly over your right ankle.
3. Lower yourself until your left knee is a few inches off the ground. Keep your chest tall — do not fold forward over your front leg. Your back heel will lift off the ground; that is fine.
4. Hold that bottom position and slowly rotate your chest, shoulders, and arms to the right — over your front leg. Turn as far as you comfortably can. You should feel a stretch across the front of your left hip and through your mid-back. Hold 1 second.
5. Rotate back to center.
6. Push through your right heel to stand up, and step directly forward into a lunge with your left foot. Rotate left this time.
7. Continue alternating for 8 to 10 total steps, or the length of your lane.

Coaching cues - "Twist over the front leg." Right foot forward, twist right. - "Shin up and down." That is what protects the knee and puts the work in the hip. - "Chest proud." The moment your chest drops toward your thigh, the hip stretch disappears.

Common mistakes - Steps that are too short, which puts all the pressure on the front knee and none of the stretch in the back hip. - Front knee sliding way out past the toes. Take a bigger step. - Twisting the wrong way. Front leg and twist direction always match. - Crashing the back knee into the ground. Lower under control; the knee hovers, it does not land. - Wobbling and grabbing something. Slow down and shorten the range until you are stable — balance is part of the exercise.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4): skip the twist entirely — just do "big monster steps" forward, 8 of them, standing tall. - Regression (balance issues): do them as reverse lunges, stepping backward, which is more stable. - Progression: hold the twisted position for 3 seconds instead of 1. - Progression (9th grade and up): hold a light medicine ball or a weight plate out in front of the chest, 4 to 8 pounds, while twisting.

How to know it's right - You feel it in the front of the hip of your back leg. If you only feel your front thigh burning, your steps are too short. - Your front shin, viewed from the side, is close to vertical at the bottom. - You can complete all 8 steps without touching a hand down or stumbling out of a rep.

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MOB-10 — SQUAT-TO-STAND

Category

Dynamic — hips, hamstrings, ankles, upper back

Purpose

A single movement that pries open the hips and ankles and teaches you to hold a tall chest at the bottom of a squat. Goalies live in a partially squatted position; this is the movement that keeps you comfortable and mobile down there instead of stiff and high.

Equipment

None.

Space needed

A single spot, about 3 feet square.

Grade range

5th–12th grade.

Time

1 minute.

How to do it

1. Stand with your feet a little wider than your shoulders, toes turned slightly out.
2. Keeping your legs as straight as you can, bend forward and grab underneath your toes with your hands — thumbs on top of the foot, fingers underneath. If you cannot reach your toes, grab your ankles or your shins instead.
3. Now, without letting go, drop your hips straight down into the bottom of a deep squat. Your hands stay on your toes the whole way down.
4. At the bottom, pull gently up on your toes and use that to lift your chest tall. Push your knees out with your elbows. Look straight ahead. You are now in the bottom of a deep squat with a tall chest. Hold for 2 seconds.
5. Let go with your hands, raise both arms straight overhead, and stand all the way up.
6. That is 1 rep. Do 5 to 8 reps, slow and controlled. Each rep should take about 6 seconds.

Coaching cues - "Pull yourself tall with your hands." The grip on the toes is what lets your chest come up. - "Knees out, chest up." - "Heels glued to the floor." If a heel lifts, widen your stance.

Common mistakes - Heels coming off the floor. Widen the stance, turn the toes out more, and do not go as deep. This gets better over weeks. - Rounding the back at the bottom and staring at the floor. Pull up on the toes and look forward. - Bouncing at the bottom. Hold still for 2 seconds. - Going fast. This is a slow, exploratory movement.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: hold onto a doorframe or a goalpost with both hands and use it to sit down into the squat while keeping your chest tall. This is the best option for anyone who cannot yet keep heels down. - Regression: put a small book or a folded towel under each heel. - Progression: hold the bottom position for 5 seconds and add 3 gentle side-to-side hip shifts. - Progression (9th grade and up): finish standing with the arms overhead and hold a light plate overhead for the last 3 reps.

How to know it's right - Both heels stay flat on the floor for every rep. - At the bottom, your chest is up enough that someone standing in front of you could read a word written on your shirt. - Rep 6 is visibly deeper than rep 1.

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MOB-11 — ANKLE ROCKS

Category

Dynamic — ankles, calves, Achilles

Purpose

Stiff ankles are one of the most common and most ignored limiters in goalie play. If your ankle cannot bend forward, your knee cannot travel forward, and if your knee cannot travel forward, you cannot get low fast on a bounce shot. Ankle rocks buy you that range in 90 seconds a day, and they are one of the highest-return movements in this entire library.

Equipment

A wall. Optional: a resistance band or a stick as a measuring reference.

Space needed

Two feet of floor in front of a wall.

Grade range

3rd–12th grade.

Time

1–2 minutes.

How to do it

1. Stand facing a wall, about a foot away. Put both hands on the wall at chest height.
2. Step your right foot forward so your toes are about 4 inches from the wall. Keep your right heel flat on the ground.
3. Keeping the heel down, drive your right knee straight forward toward the wall, trying to touch the wall with your kneecap. Your knee should travel straight over your second and third toes — not caving inward.
4. Touch or nearly touch the wall, then rock back. That is 1 rep. Do 10 slow reps.
5. Move your foot back about an inch from the wall and do 5 more reps at that harder distance. Keep the heel flat.
6. Switch feet and repeat.
7. Optional finisher: rise up onto the balls of both feet as high as you can and lower slowly, 10 times.

Coaching cues - "Heel is glued." The instant the heel lifts, the rep stops counting. - "Knee over the middle toes." Do not let the knee collapse inward. - "Chase the wall." Each set, try to move the foot a little further back and still touch.

Common mistakes - Letting the heel come up to get the knee to the wall. This is the whole error — you are now measuring nothing. - Knee caving inward toward the big toe. Push the knee out slightly. - Doing it fast. Two seconds forward, two seconds back. - Only doing the dominant side. Goalies are usually noticeably tighter on one ankle; do both and give the tight side an extra set.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: start with the toes 6 inches from the wall instead of 4. - Progression: move the foot back until you can just barely touch, and work there. Add 5 reps. - Progression (7th grade and up): loop a resistance band around the front of the ankle, anchored behind you at floor level, so the band pulls the ankle bone backward as you rock forward. - Progression: perform the rock in a half-kneeling position with the back knee on the floor.

How to know it's right - The measurement: with the heel flat, measure how far your toes are from the wall when your knee can just touch it. Write the number down in inches. Retest monthly. Most athletes gain an inch or more in 6 to 8 weeks, and a difference of more than an inch between left and right is worth working on. - You feel a deep stretch in the back of the lower leg and around the front of the ankle joint. - Your heel never lifts.

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MOB-12 — HIP OPENER FLOW

Category

Dynamic — hips, groin, glutes

Purpose

A short, continuous sequence that takes the hip through every direction it moves: forward, backward, out to the side, in across the body, and in rotation. Goalies drive laterally off a bent hip on nearly every save; this flow is how you make sure that hip is available before you ask for it. This is the most frequently prescribed individual movement in the program after leg swings.

Equipment

None. A wall or goalpost for balance.

Space needed

A 3-foot square, plus a few feet to step forward.

Grade range

5th–12th grade.

Time

3 minutes for 2 rounds.

How to do it

One round is five movements done back to back. Do 2 rounds.

1. Knee circles — 5 each direction, each leg. Stand on your left leg with a hand on a wall. Lift your right knee to hip height in front of you. Now draw a big circle with that knee: out to the side, back, and around to the front again. Do 5 circles outward, then 5 circles the other direction (inward). Switch legs.
2. Open the gate, close the gate — 5 each way, each leg. Standing tall, lift your right knee to hip height in front of you, then swing it out to the side and set the foot down — like opening a gate. That is "open." Then reverse it: lift the knee out to the side and swing it around to the front — that is "close." Do 5 open and 5 close, then switch legs.
3. Deep squat hold with hip shifts — 20 seconds. Sink into a deep squat, feet a little wider than shoulders, toes slightly out, chest as tall as you can keep it, elbows pressing your knees outward. Shift your weight side to side, right hip to left hip, 6 times.
4. Half-kneeling hip flexor rock — 6 rocks each side. Kneel on your right knee with your left foot flat on the floor in front of you. Squeeze your right backside cheek and tuck your hips slightly under you — think of pointing your belt buckle up at your chin. Now rock forward an inch or two, feel the front of the right hip stretch, and rock back. Do 6 slow rocks, then switch sides. This is a rock, not a hold.
5. Lateral lunge — 5 each side. Stand with feet very wide, toes pointing forward. Shift your weight over your right leg, bending the right knee and pushing your hips back, while the left leg stays straight and the left foot stays flat. Sink until you feel a stretch along the inside of the straight left leg. Push back to center. Do 5, then shift to the other side and do 5.

Coaching cues - "Knee leads, foot follows" in the gate movements. - "Squeeze the back cheek" in the half-kneeling rock. Without that squeeze, you are stretching your lower back, not your hip. - "Flat feet, wide stance" in the lateral lunge. - "Flow, do not hold." This is a warm-up. Nothing here gets held longer than a couple of seconds.

Common mistakes - Arching the lower back in the half-kneeling rock. If you feel it in your back instead of the front of your hip, you did not tuck your hips. - Letting the foot lead in the gate movements — that turns it into a kick instead of a hip circle. - The straight leg's foot rolling onto its edge in the lateral lunge. Keep it flat. - Rushing through as if reps are the point. Two full rounds should take three minutes.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4, or first time): do movements 1, 2, and 3 only, one round. About 90 seconds. - Regression: hold a wall throughout for movements 1 and 2. - Progression (9th grade and up): add a 90/90 hip switch — sit on the floor with one leg bent at 90 degrees in front and the other bent at 90 degrees to the side, then rotate the knees over to the opposite side without using your hands. 6 switches. - Progression: add a resistance band around the knees during the deep squat hold.

How to know it's right - In the half-kneeling rock, you feel it in the front of the hip of the down leg — a strong, clear pull. If you feel your lower back, re-tuck. - In the lateral lunge, you feel the inside of the straight leg's thigh. - Your second round is smoother and deeper than the first everywhere. - Your standing leg stays quiet during knee circles and gates.

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MOB-13 — THORACIC ROTATIONS

Category

Dynamic — mid-back (thoracic spine), shoulders

Purpose

Your mid-back is where rotation is supposed to come from. When it is stiff — and it gets stiff from sitting, from backpacks, and from hunching — your lower back and your shoulders try to do the job instead, and both of them get sore. For a goalie, mid-back rotation is what lets you turn to clear the ball, drive your top hand across your body on an off-stick-side save, and keep your chest square while your hips move.

Equipment

None. A towel or a foam roller is optional.

Space needed

Enough floor to lie down on your side, about 6 feet by 3 feet.

Grade range

5th–12th grade.

Time

2 minutes.

How to do it

Two movements. Do both.

Movement 1 — Open Books, 8 each side. 1. Lie on your left side on the floor. Bend your knees up toward your chest until your thighs are at about 90 degrees to your body. Stack your knees on top of each other. 2. Stretch both arms straight out in front of your chest, palms together, at shoulder height. 3. Keep your knees pressed together and pinned to the floor — this is the part everyone forgets. If you have a foam roller or a rolled towel, put it between your knees and squeeze it. 4. Slowly lift your top (right) arm, sweeping it up and over like the cover of a book opening, and reach it toward the floor on the other side of your body. Follow your hand with your eyes and let your chest and head turn with it. 5. Go as far as you can while your knees stay stacked and down. Pause 2 seconds at the end. Breathe out. 6. Sweep the arm back to the start. Do 8. Roll over and do 8 on the other side.

Movement 2 — Quadruped Reach-Through, 8 each side. 1. Get on your hands and knees: hands under your shoulders, knees under your hips. 2. Put your right hand behind your head, elbow pointing out to the side. 3. Rotate your chest and right elbow up toward the ceiling, following your elbow with your eyes. Go as far as you can. Pause 1 second. 4. Then rotate the other way, reaching your right elbow down and through the gap under your left arm. Pause 1 second. 5. That is 1 rep. Do 8, then switch hands and do 8.

Coaching cues - "Knees glued" in Open Books. The instant the knees separate, you are rotating from your lower back. - "Eyes follow the hand." Your vision leads the rotation. - "Breathe out at the end range." You will gain an inch on every exhale. - "Slow. Two seconds each direction."

Common mistakes - Letting the top knee lift in Open Books. This is the single most common error and it removes almost all the benefit. - Rushing and flopping the arm over instead of reaching it. - Letting the hips rotate in the quadruped version. Hips stay square to the floor; only the chest turns. - Holding the breath. Rotation improves when you breathe out.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: do Open Books only, 6 per side, with the knees resting against a wall so they cannot lift. - Regression (grades 3–4, if prescribed): do it seated in a chair — arms crossed over the chest, turn side to side slowly, 8 each way. - Progression: hold the end position of the Open Book for 3 breaths on the final rep of each side. - Progression (9th grade and up): perform the quadruped version from a half-kneeling position, which adds a hip stability demand.

How to know it's right - In Open Books, at your end position, your top shoulder blade touches or nearly touches the floor while both knees are still stacked and down. - You feel it across the middle of your back and the front of your chest, not in your lower back or your neck. - Rep 8 rotates noticeably further than rep 1. - Both sides should be about equal. Most goalies are tighter rotating away from their stick side — give that side an extra 4 reps.

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MOB-14 — ARM CIRCLES AND SHOULDER PREP

Category

Dynamic — shoulders, upper back

Purpose

Get blood into the shoulder joint and wake up the muscles that hold your shoulder blade in place before you ask your arms to drive a stick at a ball traveling 60 miles an hour. A goalie's top hand does hundreds of fast, forceful reaches per session. This is a two-minute insurance policy on that shoulder, and it is part of the Dynamic 8.

Equipment

None. Optional: a light resistance band or a stick.

Space needed

Enough room to swing both arms in a full circle without hitting anything. About 6 feet square.

Grade range

3rd–12th grade.

Time

2 minutes.

How to do it

Four movements in order.

1. Arm circles — 10 forward, 10 backward. Stand tall, feet hip-width, arms straight out to the sides at shoulder height, palms down. Make circles with your hands about the size of a dinner plate. Every circle, make them a little bigger, until by rep 10 you are making the biggest circles you can. Then reverse for 10 backward, again starting small and growing.
2. Crossovers — 20 reps. Swing both arms across the front of your chest so they cross — right over left — then swing them back out wide behind you. Alternate which arm is on top each rep. Keep them at about chest height. Quick and rhythmic, about one rep per second.
3. Shoulder rolls — 10 back, 10 forward. Let your arms hang loose at your sides. Shrug your shoulders up toward your ears, roll them back, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and drop them down. That is 1. Do 10 backward, then 10 forward.
4. Wall angels or stick pass-throughs — 8 reps. Wall angels: stand with your back against a wall, feet a foot away, and press your head, upper back, elbows, and wrists into the wall with your arms bent in a goalpost shape. Slide your arms slowly up and back down without letting any contact point leave the wall. Stick pass-throughs: hold a stick with both hands, very wide — wider than shoulder width by a lot — in front of your thighs, arms straight. Keeping your arms straight, lift the stick up over your head and back behind you as far as it will comfortably go, then bring it back. If it will not go behind you, widen your grip. Do 8 slow reps.

Coaching cues - "Start small, grow big." Never start with the biggest circle. - "Shoulders down and back" is the default posture between movements. - "If it pinches, stop." Shoulder pinching means you went past your available range. Narrow the range or widen the grip.

Common mistakes - Windmilling giant circles from rep one. This is where shoulders get irritated. - Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears during circles. Keep them pressed down. - Gripping the stick too narrow in pass-throughs, forcing the shoulder into a bad position. Wider is safer. - Arching the lower back away from the wall during wall angels. Tuck the ribs down, bend the knees slightly.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4): movements 1 and 2 only, 10 reps each. About 45 seconds. - Regression (shoulder feels tight or sore): shoulder rolls and wall angels only, no circles. - Progression (7th grade and up): add band pull-aparts — hold a light resistance band in front of you at chest height with straight arms and pull it apart until your hands are wide, squeezing the shoulder blades. 12 reps. - Progression (9th grade and up): add 10 band external rotations per arm with the elbow tucked at your side.

How to know it's right - No pinching anywhere in the shoulder at any point. - Your last forward circle is at least twice the diameter of your first. - In wall angels, you can slide higher over the course of weeks — note the highest point you can reach with all contact points intact. - In stick pass-throughs, you can gradually narrow your grip over months while still getting the stick behind you. Mark your grip width with tape on the stick and track it.

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MOB-15 — WRIST AND HAND PREP

Category

Dynamic — wrists, forearms, hands, fingers

Purpose

Nobody warms up their hands, and goalies use their hands more than anyone on the field. Cold, stiff wrists make for slow, stiff stick movement and a hard, bouncy catch. Two minutes here makes your hands quicker, your catch softer, and your forearms far less likely to get sore from a long wall ball session. Do this before every wall ball day and before every session where you will take shots.

Equipment

None. Optional: your stick, or a tennis ball.

Space needed

A single spot. Can be done sitting in a car on the way to practice.

Grade range

3rd–12th grade.

Time

2 minutes.

How to do it

1. Fist and spread — 20 reps. Make a tight fist with both hands, squeeze for 1 second, then spread your fingers as wide as they will go and hold 1 second. Alternate for 20 total.
2. Wrist circles — 10 each direction. Hold your arms out in front of you, hands in loose fists. Draw circles with your fists using only your wrists, keeping your forearms still. 10 one way, 10 the other.
3. Wrist waves — 10 each direction. Arms out in front, palms down, fingers relaxed. Lift your hands up as if pressing a wall, then drop them down, 10 times. Then turn palms up and do the same 10 times.
4. Prayer and reverse prayer — 15 seconds each. Press your palms together in front of your chest, fingers up, and lower your hands toward your waist until you feel a stretch in the front of your forearms. Hold 15 seconds while still gently pressing. Then flip: press the backs of your hands together, fingers down, in front of your waist and lift until you feel it on the top of your forearms. Hold 15 seconds. This is a brief stretch, not a long hold — keep it under 20 seconds each so it stays a warm-up.
5. Finger rolls — 10 each hand. Starting with a flat hand, curl your fingertips, then your knuckles, then your whole hand into a fist, one joint at a time. Then unroll the same way. Slow and deliberate.
6. Stick spins — 20 seconds. Hold your goalie stick with your top hand only, near the throat. Rotate the head of the stick back and forth, wrist only, as quickly as you can control. Then switch to the bottom hand. This is the closest thing to a sport-specific finish for your hands.

Coaching cues - "Wake the hands, do not tire them." Nothing here should burn. - "Forearms still, wrists moving" in the circles and waves. - "Slow on the prayer stretch." Never force the wrist.

Common mistakes - Skipping this entirely, which is nearly universal. - Turning it into a long static stretch. The prayer holds stay under 20 seconds before training; the long version belongs in MOB-31 after training. - Cranking hard on the prayer stretch. The wrist joint does not respond well to force. - Moving the whole forearm instead of the wrist during circles.

Progressions and regressions - Regression (grades 3–4): movements 1, 2, and 6 only, about 60 seconds. Make the fist-and-spread a counting game. - Progression (7th grade and up): add 20 seconds of tennis ball squeezes per hand, and 10 seconds of ball rolling under the palm. - Progression (9th grade and up): add wrist rolls with a light weight or a stick held at one end, 8 each direction. - Before a heavy wall ball day: double movement 6 to 40 seconds per hand.

How to know it's right - Your hands feel warm and loose, never burning or pumped. - Your first ten wall ball reps feel soft, not clanky. - Your grip pressure on the stick is lighter after doing this. That lighter grip is the actual goal — a soft catch requires soft hands.

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