The goaltending position can easily be misunderstood. Whether it’s a function of most teams having just two netminders amidst a roster of 23 players or old adages about not understanding why a player wants pucks fired at them, finding those who love to play in net and then giving them the opportunity to develop their game isn’t always easy.

But Julia Takatsuka is working to change that beginning at the grassroots level.

Takatsuka started playing hockey at age nine. She started as a skater but liked the gear she saw goaltenders wear, and as she realized she was faster than a lot of the people on the ice with her, she decided she needed a new challenge.

“I pretty much told my mom one day that I wanted to play goalie,” Takatsuka said. “She said ‘no,’ and I said ‘yes,’ and she said ‘no.’ I had also just switched (where I was playing). The president of the association asked me what position I played, and I told her I wanted to be a goalie. She said, ‘Well, we have some gear you can borrow.’ And mom said ‘no,’ and I said ‘yes,’ and then mom said, ‘okay.’”

That determination wouldn’t just serve Takatsuka well; it would trickle down to a lot of future goaltenders.

By age 14, the Lynnwood native was playing in net full time. She played through middle school, attended USA Hockey select camps as a teen, and still plays in adult leagues and tournaments, including the Seattle Pride Classic.

Along the way, her passion for the position caught the eye of others, and she was asked if she wanted to start coaching.

“I said ‘no,’ and they said ‘yes,’ and I said, ‘okay,’ so that’s how I got into it,” Takatsuka said smiling.

While there are endless resources for coaching hockey skaters, Takatsuka quickly became frustrated with the coaching community’s lack of knowledge about goaltending.

“I was making it all up on my own as I was going,” Takatsuka said. “I went to the level one USA Hockey coaching certification, and I’m in this room with all these coaches, and they never talked about goalie. And I’m like, none of this applies to me. I’m not coaching skaters; I’m only coaching the goalies. Where’s my content?”

But she persevered. Takatsuka continued to attend trainings and camps and found the goalie community that was nestled within. The young coach’s network grew as did her comfort working with kids on the ice. As USA Hockey piloted coaching training specific to goaltending, Takatsuka was in attendance, and this season, in the first year it was offered, she was one of just 30 individuals to complete gold level training – the highest level available.

Along the way, the Kraken came calling. The organization was building Kraken Community Iceplex (KCI) – envisioned to be an ice sports hub for the Seattle area where growing the game was a priority. Takatsuka joined the staff as an on-ice coach, and she saw a unique opportunity to build the position of goaltender into something that wasn’t overlooked or misunderstood.

Over the next three years, Takatsuka developed a plan that has grown the number of players who wanted to be in net by making goaltending accessible at all levels of youth hockey with the support of knowledgeable coaching.

Takatsuka calls it “Kraken Goalie World.”

As young players are introduced to hockey through grassroots and 8U programming, they have access to “quick change” gear at practices and games – it goes over skater gear in a change that takes less than a minute. Participants rotate in net every seven minutes. “They either love it or they don’t, but at least they’ve tried it,” Takatsuka said.

When players hit the 10U level, they have gear bags with all the necessary equipment that can rotate among goalies at each practice or game. There’s even gear that matches the setups of Kraken goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord and Team USA’s Nicole Hensley (Takatsuka made these herself using Padskinz).

There are weekly goalie clinics, private lessons and weekend-long goalie camps – the fourth of which was held last weekend at KCI with 51 participants. Camps take goalies through on-ice and video work.

“Coaches are floating around with an iPad during drills,” Takatsuka said. “Then we can show a specific rep and say, ‘here’s what we can do better or you.’ We’re filming the skating, and then we’re all able to watch it and have all the videos up at the same time, so everyone can watch themselves and see what they want to work on for the next drill.”

But it’s not just about providing gear and technical training. Takatsuka has taken steps to address the support structure around budding goaltenders, as well.

From a coaching perspective, after serving as the only goalie instructor in the first year of the program, Takatsuka has involved a parent-coach in training and is starting to provide team coach education on “creating a productive practice environment for all players (skaters and goalies)” as well as a goalie drill of the week. Coaches are also given crease markers to use on the ice to facilitate practice space. Takatsuka says coaches don’t need to be goaltending experts, but they do need to learn how to interact with and understand the position.

And for young goaltenders, coaches aren’t the only piece of their support structure Takatsuka focuses on, she involves parents too.

“The other big thing we want to address (at our camps) is the idea of parents not really knowing anything (about the position), so we’re bringing them in a little bit more,” Takatsuka said. “The first day, we do a big parent meeting and just go over gear and sizing at a basic level. And we’ve invited our local hockey gear store over to join and listen in so that we can all be on the same page. Then it’s easy for us to send the kids right to that store to get gear because before, we were sending them to Canada to get sized and fit.”

But even with gear and coaching, Takatsuka knew that for goaltending to continue to flourish, she needed to build the culture around the position. Her plan accounts for that too.

By the time Takatsuka started bringing Goalie World to life at KCI, she had already been working with the kids who were coming in every day. Having those relationships – as well as capitalizing on a new hockey program at KCI being built from scratch – are integral pieces of gaining acceptance (and hopefully enthusiasm!) about playing in net.

“Being the person that is the go-to grassroots person, and seeing every single kid that walks into the building was a huge part of it,” Takatsuka said. “A lot of the players, a lot of the parents and a lot of the other coaches didn’t even know I was a part of the goalie program when they first met me. So, they trust me as the skill development person who’s been coaching their kid for a year.

“Now, we’re bringing this goalie thing in, and I can say ‘oh yeah, also, I’m a goalie.’ So, we already have the buy-in. Parents feel like ‘we trust you to do right by our kids.’ And they’re up on the glass with cameras because their kids are playing in net for the first time, and they’re so excited.”

Takatsuka’s plan is comprehensive, but she’s not done with it yet. It didn’t come into its present form until after she finished her gold certification, and she already has some details she wants to add in. But at the very least, she’s hopeful that at least some—if not all—of the elements can be tools other programs can leverage to destigmatize the position of goaltender and gain more participation.

And while there’s still lots to do, the fruits of Takatsuka’s labor are already starting to show. This year’s 10U teams (made up of the first wave of players to go through the goalie program) just had tryouts and for the first time, there were so many netminders that there was depth to choose from. Takatsuka said 15 goalies in the 10U program have gone out and acquired their own gear because they like playing the position so much. Some adult players are even switching from skating out to playing in goal.

And that’s what success looks like to Takatsuka: More goalies who can better their game and love every second of it.

“We’re lucky to have Julia lead our goaltending program; she is driven and passionate, not only about the position, but also sharing it with future generations,” said Martin Hlinka, Kraken Youth Hockey Association director. “That, and her commitment to developing herself as a coach through classes and certifications, sets her apart. She’s worked hard to create an environment that welcomes new goalies, where they can feel safe to try the position and have fun doing it.”

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