The bruises you get are pretty intense. 

A little rubber ball is flying at you, sometimes at more than 100 miles per hour from less than 10 feet away. The goalie, standing there with a fishing net, a medieval suit of armor on the top half, and sweatpants on the bottom has to try to stop that ball from going through a bigger net.

However, sometimes the realization sets in that you have successfully stopped the shot. You see that little lemon-looking ball in your goalie net, or that soccer ball in your hands, you feel like a literal god.

Then you have to get that thing out of here. Throw it or punt it, it’s got to go. Once that ball is gone, and your defense passes it up, the pleasure sets in, and you do feel proud of yourself. Maybe all of that hard work really did pay off.

Scoring in situations like this is a crucial part of just about every sport. The more points you’ve got, the better you are (unless you play golf). In sports with goalies, such as soccer, water polo, or lacrosse, it becomes even more daunting for just one person to be the last line of defense. 

Being a goalie is one of the hardest things to be in a sport. While it may seem like they don’t really do anything the whole game until someone breaks through the defense, they’re doing way more than you think. They’re analyzing everything unfolding on the field, and they’re focusing on how to react. When things take a turn, and the opposing team gets possession of whatever it may be, the goalies are ready. The defense should be doing everything in its power to stop it from being one-on-one with the rival offense and goalie, but sometimes, the defense slips up, causing the interaction that all of the coaches dread. (This leads to a nice talk after the game).

A few things can happen. The offense scores, and the other team celebrates and goes crazy with their successful shot. The defending team might be upset or annoyed that they couldn’t stop the ball in time, and some may point their fingers at the goalie for not being able to block the shot.

I know this from personal experience, as I am a lacrosse goalie. An opponent scoring a goal on me on is one of the most humbling and frustrating things in the world of sports. It feels like everything you practiced could go down the drain in the first two minutes of the game, and the vibe of the entire game will be completely different. It’s hard to keep a positive attitude when the game has barely begun and the team is already falling behind, especially, when it is your job to stop that from happening.

Hector Cabrera, a former boys lacrosse goalie from 2023 spring season echoed this.

“When I get scored on, I try to see what went wrong,” Cabrera said. “For example, did it bounce off my teammate or was I not paying attention? I would not blame the team most of the time, because you are supposed to be 100 percent alert when you are a goalie.”

Sometimes the goalie is the eyes of the field as well.

The goalie has a first-hand experience of what’s happening,” girls lacrosse coach Elena Herman said. “What different offenses are trying to run against starting defense, goalies are able to see all of that unfold, whereas a lot of times are defenders are very focused on their girl or very focused on the ball. Our goalies are able to see everything. I think that players frequently look towards our goalies.”

I’d like to give a special shout out to all of the goalies at Elk Grove this spring season. If it’ss your first year and you just want to try something new, or if its your last year in high school and practically your job, thanks for being in front of the net this season. Fight on.