How Cal Goalie Zach Blake Built Confidence Through Competition, Leadership & Mental Toughness
What does it take to become an All-Conference college goalie after spending years as a backup?
In this episode of the Lax Goalie Rat Podcast, Coach Damon sits down with University of California goalie Zach Blake to discuss his journey from a youth goalie in Connecticut to becoming a captain at Cal. Zach shares lessons on mental toughness, leadership, recruiting, handling adversity, and why being a great goalie is about much more than making saves.
The conversation dives into the importance of competing without comparing yourself to others, building trust with your defense, staying positive after mistakes, and why extra work outside of practice creates confidence when game day arrives.
Whether you're a youth goalie, high school player hoping to play in college, or an experienced netminder looking to strengthen your mental game, this episode is packed with practical advice you can immediately apply.
In This Episode
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How Zach accidentally became a goalie after dreaming of playing hockey
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The impact of growing up around elite college lacrosse at Yale
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Lessons learned from training with professional goalie Chris Madalon
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Why competition is one of the best ways to improve as a goalie
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How to compete against shooters without comparing yourself to other goalies
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Building momentum during games and helping your team win—even on off days
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What Zach learned after missing out on Division I recruiting opportunities
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Why choosing the MCLA at Cal became one of the best decisions of his life
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Adjusting from high school to the faster pace of college lacrosse
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The importance of building strong relationships with your goalie teammates
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Why positive coaching creates more confident goalies
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What coaches can do to build a stronger goalie unit
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How to survive being a backup goalie while continuing to improve
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Zach's approach to breaking out of slumps
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Mental toughness techniques, breathing resets, and handling hostile crowds
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Summer training habits that keep him ready for college competition
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The advice he wishes he could give his younger self
Key Takeaways
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Your job isn't to post a certain save percentage—it's to help your team win.
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Extra work builds confidence long before it shows up in games.
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Don't compare yourself to the goalie at the other end of the field—focus on creating momentum for your team.
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Great goalie coaches teach the position with positivity while still demanding accountability.
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Goalies perform best when they trust their defense—and their defense trusts them.
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Whether you're the starter or the backup, your role is to help your team succeed.
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Stay even through both success and failure. Every game is an opportunity to learn.
Favorite Quote
"Remember that it's a game."
Timestamps
0:00 Why the goalie position demands positivity under pressure
0:48 Introducing Cal goalie Zach Blake
4:49 How Zach first became a goalie
7:13 Growing up around Yale lacrosse and finding a mentor
10:20 Training with Chris Madalon and competitive goalie drills
13:11 Competing without comparing yourself to other goalies
15:12 Why helping your team win matters more than save percentage
17:29 Recruiting, Dartmouth, and choosing Cal
20:41 Adjusting to college as a shorter goalie
22:48 Learning from Cal goalie coach Casey Keenan
25:35 Building strong relationships within the goalie unit
28:42 Why positive coaching matters for goalies
30:00 Reading shooter tendencies during games
33:25 Lessons from spending years as a backup goalie
37:06 Breaking out of slumps through extra work
39:09 Mental toughness, breathing resets, and handling trash talk
44:08 Zach's summer training routine
45:45 Advice he'd give his younger self
49:18 Final thoughts and closing message
Connect
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