Ryan LaPlante won a national championship with the University of Denver in 2015, holds the program's career records for wins and saves, and went on to play for the Denver Outlaws in Major League Lacrosse.
He's now the goalie coach at DU and co-founder of the Goalie Evolution Academy in Denver alongside his longtime coach Trevor Tierney.
How Ryan got started
Ryan fell into the goalie position in fifth grade when nobody else would volunteer at a box lacrosse practice. He was playing with field gear and no proper pads — but made enough saves to fall in love with it. He continued playing attack alongside goalie through middle school before fully committing to the position.
The Trevor Tierney connection
Ryan first worked with Trevor Tierney in ninth grade after joining his club program in Boulder. Trevor's core philosophy: simplify the position. Wait. Be still. React to the ball. That foundation — along with the flat arc and side-to-side footwork — became the bedrock of Ryan's game. The two eventually reunited at DU and have worked together ever since.
The flat arc / sideways step approach
Rather than teaching goalies to explode toward the ball, Ryan and Trevor advocate for playing deep and flat, moving side-to-side instead of stepping aggressively at shots. The reasoning: stepping toward the ball reduces the time you have to react, not increase it. Playing flat gives you more time to read the shot and keep every save in front of your body. Ryan compares it to playing Pong — you move the paddle laterally, you don't lunge at the ball.
When working with goalies who are deeply ingrained in a different style, they start with stillness: stand there and catch it, then gradually introduce the 45-degree step, focusing on pushing off the back foot.
The mental game
This was the richest part of the conversation. A few key themes:
- Don't let the highs be too high or the lows be too low. Consistency in your mental state is what builds team trust. One big game followed by a rough stretch creates doubt. Steady reliability earns respect.
- Stop overthinking. Goalie is a reactionary position. The moment you start thinking during a game, you're playing outside your true ability. Ryan and Trevor used pre-game meditation — focused breathing — to help Ryan get out of his head and into a flow state before games.
- Your job is to stop the ball. Especially early in your career or when stepping into a new team, peel everything else back. Leadership, communication, organizing the defense — those come with time. Your job first is to make saves. Trust builds from there.
Ryan's senior-year slump
Heading into the 2015 championship season — his first year as the sole starter — Ryan struggled badly. He was gripping the stick too tight, trying to force saves, and carrying the weight of being "the guy." He was under 50% save percentage for a stretch of games. The turning point came after a rough loss to Ohio State when he and Trevor sat down and broke it down: he had stopped having fun. He was going into games scared of missing rather than focused on reacting. Getting back to playing loose and enjoying the position turned things around. He finished the year with a national championship.
What gives your team confidence
- Consistency over flash. Teammates don't need you to make highlight-reel saves — they need to know you'll show up every game.
- Extra work. Being the guy who's there early and stays late earns respect even before you've earned it on the field.
- Earn trust in practice first. The game is just an extension of what you've already shown.
MLL with the Denver Outlaws
After the 2015 title, Ryan spent two seasons with the Outlaws. He earned the starting job in 2016 and played in seven games. He described those nerves as actually worse than the national championship — it was something he'd dreamed of since fifth grade, and the weight of that reality affected his play early. He split time with Jack Kelly before Kelly took over and won Rookie of the Year and an MLL title. Ryan has nothing but praise for him.
Goalie Evolution Academy
Ryan and Trevor co-founded the Goalie Evolution Academy in Denver, where DU goalies also help with coaching. Their approach: every goalie is different — different sizes, different reaction speeds, different dominant attributes. They build curriculum around the individual while covering the technical fundamentals and the mental side of the position.
Follow the academy on Instagram: @GoalieEvolutionAcademy
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