WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Goaltending is a complex position. It demands a skill set that is hard to acquire.
What You Need To Know
- Bernie Desrosiers holds free goalie clinics to help youth players acquire skills
- He’s sharing his knowledge with the next generation, and even has coached some NHL pro
- Desrosiers currently trains 52 goalies across North America, and his home rink is right here in Tampa Bay
That’s where Bernie Desrosiers comes in.
“I address three things: skating is one, conditioning is two and three is puck work,” Desrosiers explained.
His experience playing and coaching spans over 50 years. He’s worked with over 500 goalies throughout the United States and Canada.
Several former students, like Jonathan Quick, have gone on to find success in the NHL.
“This is a sport that requires a certain skill. The main thing is keeping them excited at every level,” Desrosiers said.
He currently trains 52 goalies across North America, and his home rink is right here in Tampa Bay.
“It’s just such a joy. I couldn’t be happier, we built the program from nothing,” the coach recounted.
Desrosiers specializes in one-on-one goalie training, from five to 19 years old.
He volunteers his time for his students to reach their goals.
“To move them up even a notch, some can’t even stand up, some can’t even skate, some can’t even do a butterfly,” he said.
In the past five years, he’s seen an increase in the popularity of the position, especially among girls, who are now almost half of his goalies.
It’s a rise he feels can be attributed to the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I think winning back-to-back Stanley Cups helps because now all of a sudden, they see from a local perspective, that someone like Vasy, I have the quickness of that,” Desrosiers said.
Sibylla Rubalcaba-Williams is one of his students.
“The most amazing thing about being a goalie is when you make that glove save, you feel so alive,” she says.
Rubalcaba-Williams has big goals in the sport, and one day hopes to play for USA Hockey.
“He’s helped me a lot, I think he’s the best coach I’ve ever worked with,” she said.
For others, like Noah Negri, Desrosiers has introduced the position.
“He’s a very good coach, he’s the one who got me started playing hockey,” Negri said.
Among all the lessons Desrosiers teaches, there’s one that’s above the rest: to enjoy the sport.
“Hockey coaching tends to be a lot of people that are either good teachers or they’re good players, and there are maybe some who are a little too intense, I’m not,” he said with a smile.
That joy is present in every practice.
“He brings the fun into it, he screams, he cheers for you and I’ve done a couple private lessons with him, so fun,” Rubalcaba-Williams said.
Desrosiers feels an environment that’s positive is the name of the game.
Creating confidence, that leads to wins on and off the ice.
“You can’t put a value on it, it’s just so gratifying.”
