The keeper of the great and holy expanse between the crossbar, posts and the back of the net.
Soccer goalies are attired as the rest of the players, except that they usually wear gloves, as they are the only ones allowed to use their hands in the normal course of play.
Hockey goalies are a different matter entirely. They are attired with special helmets, sticks, a glove and blocker ,and shin-pads that look like pillows, but which are reinforced with steel. The hockey goalie is an intimidating character.
All goalies, however, tend to share a certain psychology or spirit. Simply put, goaltenders are crazy kids--completely and totally nuts. You almost have to be, really, to volunteer to throw yourself in front of speeding projectiles for the sake of a game. Because of this, goalies tend to be some of the more interesting members of a hockey team

Many goaltenders are very superstitious. Patrick Roy, for example, jumps the blue lines and the red line whenever he skates on or off the ice. Some goalies talk to the goalposts, or their stick. A signed glove, or other piece of equiptment is lucky, and many professional players write the names of their families or children underneath the tape on their sticks.
Other superstitions include dressing in a certain manner, paranoia about who touches their equiptment, and systems of stretches, pole-tapping, and mental preparation.

Despite the superstitions, a goaltender needs to be the most athletic and fit player on the ice. Goalies usually play between 30 and 60 minutes of a 60-minute game, not including all the time they spend on the ice during stoppages. Contrary to popular belief, almost none of this time is rest. A good goalie is always watching the game: the players of both teams, the patterns and plays working out, but mostly the puck. The puck is the goalie's best friend and worst enemy. You want it to come to you, to imbed itself in the soft leather of your glove, but you also distrust it. If, for a single moment, you let down your guard, it will slip past you into the Forbidden Space between the crossbars. A goalie must ever be vigilant!
Goalie training usually includes strength, flexibility, quickness and, most of all, endurance. It wouldn't do much good to anyone if a goalie had the fastest glove in the NHL, but could only stay in peak condition for a 90 second shift (Which is a standard-length shift for forwards and defensemen.)

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