There are three requirements for achieving mastery of a subject.

First, one must get started.  This is as difficult as any other step.  It can take a significant amount of activation energy to put something in motion.

Second, one must practice.  This includes application and refinement of one’s skills.  It includes study and reflection.  It necessitates a considerable investment of time.

Third, one must be coached.  Learning in total isolation is nearly unprecedented.  The coach may be called many things: mentor, trainer, or advisor.  The coach must himself be a master of the art; that is necessary but not sufficient.  The coach must also be able to analyze, critique, and teach.  If the coach is a professional, his services may be quite expensive for the student.

Goaltending is one of the things that I would like to master someday.  I was a late starter, beginning only after my graduation in 2004.  I had some instruction at the beginning, but for the most part I was missing the third piece: I was self-taught.  A few weeks ago, I began taking instruction one-on-one from a professional goalie coach at a facility dedicated to training goalies (ah, the joys of Minnesota).

The most difficult part of the process has been unlearning my old habits.  Years of repetition reinforced sub-optimal behaviors, and replacing those with superior techniques is arduous.  The short-term effect has had a severe negative impact on me during games, as I find myself thinking about technique instead of reacting instinctively, and thus I find myself behind the play and open to embarrassing errors.  My hope is that the long-term payoff will be substantial.  I aim for the subconscious sublime.

This is like anything, I suppose.  It’s easier to do things the way they have always been done.  The belief in a green valley beyond the hump and the perseverance of sheer will must suffice until the new becomes the norm.

Thus, I’ll put up with the embarrassment of letting in a soft short-side goal while focusing on rebound control.  I’ll deal with the soreness of using muscles in ways I had not previously considered.  I’ll swallow my pride when I see kids a decade my junior skating proverbial circles around me in the other lanes while I’m being coached.  The frustration will be a small price for the future mastery.