Hendrik Hilpert has been on teams that repeatedly put him through the same goalkeeping drills. The repetition left Hilpert unprepared in some cases, he said. A good goalie coach, Hilpert said, will always test him in practice, preparing him mentally and physically.

“No game is the same,” Hilpert said, “and no practice should be the same either.”

SU’s (6-8-2, 0-6-1 Atlantic Coast) goalie coaches, associate head coach Jukka Masalin and volunteer coach Andrew Coughlin, have instilled that mindset in Hilpert. Now a junior, Hilpert has never finished outside the top-30 in goals-against average. He credits his success to his coaches, who introduce new techniques and drills that use tennis balls, resistance bands and mannequins almost every practice.

Throughout 2017, Syracuse hasn’t found the success of past years and head coach Ian McIntyre has called out defensive players for “individual mistakes.” Yet McIntyre hasn’t once singled out his goalkeeper who ranks fifth in the ACC with 44 total saves.

“You try to bring something different,” McIntyre said. “Right now, we’re grinding. It’s nice for the guys to have something to look forward to.”

Coughlin spent three years in net at SU before transferring to Canisius in 2014. After a stint in the Major Arena Soccer League, he returned to Syracuse and joined McIntyre’s staff in 2016. Coughlin has worked with Masalin to orchestrate creative drills that build upon traditional techniques.

Practices begin with core stretches and footwork training before moving toward basic drills. A usual preliminary workout will have Hilpert on his knees catching tennis balls in each hand before dropping one and rapidly catching another. Another tennis ball drill requires him stopping a volley before catching a tennis ball that’s bounced in front of him off a rebounder. The varying sizes of each object improve hand-eye coordination, Hilpert said.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Coughlin said. “What can we add to drills … that can make it more engaging for a goalkeeper?”

Usually, Coughlin and Hilpert will have sessions that last between 15 and 45 minutes. After basic drills, the pair moves on to advanced sessions. One activity requires Hilpert to quickly bend down, touch a cone, jump over a small stick and make a diving stop before getting up and doing it again. The drills are planned in advance and adapt based off team’s schedule. On the weeks where the Orange only has one game, Coughlin will introduce more cardio drills.

“Doing the same drills over and over again becomes stale,” Coughlin said. “You don’t get better that way.”

Every few weeks, Hilpert will be tested with an older drill without warning. Sometimes, he’s pleased to do an exercise he excelled at. Most of the time, however, Hilpert is faced with something he couldn’t master at first.

Following a week in which SU ended a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 win at Ohio State, Coughlin brought out a green resistance band and tied it around Hilpert’s waist. The band, which is tethered near the goal line, limits Hilpert’s movement and makes it harder to make saves.

“We want to do creative things with our goalkeepers,” Coughlin said. “The game can’t be choreographed. You can’t just practice the same thing over and over again and expect it to happen in the game. Anything can happen.”

Published on October 24, 2017 at 10:23 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez