Scotty Rodgers on Goalie Leadership, Mental Toughness, and Building Your Own Style

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Lax Goalie Rat Podcast, Scotty Rodgers, known as “The Big Rig,” shares his journey from a young goalie on Long Island to a standout at Notre Dame and a professional lacrosse player. He discusses the lessons he learned from spending three years as a backup goalie, developing leadership skills, and building confidence through adversity.

Scotty also breaks down goalie positioning, defensive communication, reaction drills, recruiting, mental toughness, and the importance of developing your own style. Whether you are a young goalie, a backup looking for ways to improve, or an experienced player aiming to take your game to the next level, this episode offers practical advice you can apply on and off the field.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Developing a goalie mindset: Treat goaltending as a craft to master rather than simply a position to fill.

• Leading from the backup role: Learn how Scotty used his time behind Joey Kemp at Notre Dame to support his teammates and develop leadership skills.

• Building a strong defensive relationship: Understand how positioning, communication, and trust help goalies and defenders work together.

• Improving reaction time and footwork: Explore tennis-ball drills, hand-eye coordination exercises, and basketball-inspired footwork.

• Understanding goalie performance: Learn about Scotty’s three pillars: “should-have” saves, “could-have” saves, and “steals.”

• Choosing the right college: Consider a school’s defensive system, goalie coaching, player development, and academics instead of focusing on prestige alone.

• Recovering after a bad game: Discover how to rebuild confidence, stop negative momentum, and reset after allowing a goal.

• Training with purpose: Find out how strength training, wrist and forearm work, hand-eye coordination, and footwork can support goalie performance.

• Developing your own style: Learn why studying different goalies can help you build a style that suits your strengths.

Key Takeaways

• Do your job. Focus on your responsibilities and help your team succeed, whether you are the starting goalie or the backup.

• Make the routine saves. Consistently making “should-have” saves and adding a couple of “steals” can make a meaningful difference in a game.

• Communicate with your defence. A goalie’s positioning and direction can influence the shots the defence allows.

• Reset after every goal. Bring your defence together, take responsibility when appropriate, and move forward without pointing fingers.

• Build confidence through action. Sometimes, making one save is what you need to regain momentum and trust in yourself.

• Give yourself time to adjust. Moving to a higher level means adapting to faster shots, different systems, and new expectations.

• Train for the position. Strength matters, but goalie-specific movement, hand-eye coordination, and reaction speed should remain priorities.

• Learn from others without copying them completely. Take useful elements from goalies you admire and combine them into a style that works for you.

About Scotty Rodgers

Scotty Rodgers, nicknamed “The Big Rig,” is a Long Island native who began playing goalie at age seven. He went on to become a standout at the University of Notre Dame and built a professional lacrosse career, earning recognition through All-Star appearances, MVP honours, and championships.

His experiences as both a starting and backup goalie shaped his approach to leadership, resilience, and player development. Today, Scotty continues to play professionally and mentor goalies, helping them develop their skills, confidence, and individual playing styles.

Resources Mentioned

• Lax Goalie Rat Academy: https://laxgoalierat.com/academy

• Scotty Rodgers on Instagram and YouTube: Find his accounts for goalie drills and training tips.

• Book mentioned: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink.

Final Thoughts

Every goalie has a different build, skill set, and approach to the game. Study the players you admire, learn from their strengths, and keep developing your own style. As Scotty explains, the goal is to combine the parts that work for you and create something uniquely yours.

Thanks for listening to the Lax Goalie Rat Podcast!