Sense Arena | Is It Hype? | Updated 2021 Review

[@goalietraining]

Whenever you are ready here are 3 ways I can help you... 1. Get the FREE program that gives you a 2-5" wider butterfly in 14 days or less - @t 2. Subscribe to Goalie Training Pro TV on KZbin - @t If you have a specific are of your game that needs work - you will find a solution here. 3. See if you qualify to work with me in my online coaching program here - @t Step-by-step workout plans that transform your mobility, strength, speed and stamina on the ICE - this is how goalies go from untapped potential to confident and consistent.

[@BonesyTV]

Such an awesome system. I love that they continue to update things and make it better. I've always wanted to play goalie in my living room and we've finally made it!!

[@goalietraining]

Yeah, I cannot believe what they come up with on those updates. Now if only I could shut down more of those live shooters - - some of those drills are TOUGH!

[@BonesyTV]

@@goalietraining seriously! I like the 18 age group setting so that I can focus on doing the right things and then try to build my way up. But doing the pro drills will definitely show you the small things you’re doing wrong 😂

[@goalietraining]

@@BonesyTV I play at the 16yo level - -ha ha! When I try Pro it shows me I am doing EVERYTHING wrong :)

[@thatguy8514]

@@BonesyTV Based on both of your videos and my wife's blessing, I'll be getting one. Thanks to you both!

[@BonesyTV]

@@thatguy8514 nice man!! Better jump on their Black Friday deal quick. And don’t for get to use Maria’s promo code!

[@stephenkutrip6226]

Thanks for coming back and doing another review after you have used the system for some time. Our 11 uses the system with his goalie coach about once a month and that has inclined us towards getting if for him. Our two concerns were the price point of the subscription (which has come down now pretty significantly if you pay for a year); and making sure he is doing the drills correctly not just figuring out how to improve his stats. We didn't want him doing hundreds of reps incorrectly and ingraining bad habits. Having our local organization have the system and his coach work with him on it has helped alleviate some of those concerns. Depending on what if any black Friday deals they run this might be xmas for him this year.

[@goalietraining]

Great that he has had the chance to use it with his coach's supervision, that's an awesome way to integrate it.

[@imfstr1]

Great review, thank you for this. I have been on the fence for investing in this for the last year for my son, your review helps add some more "pro" reasons to pull the trigger. VR is a great technology and as you said will only improve as more advancement is made. Would still like to get the experience firsthand to actually see it in action.

[@goalietraining]

I appreciate that a test drive would be good before you invest in a system yourself. I had no idea what to expect when I ordered mine, I had never even tried VR before - I was pleasantly surprised for sure. Glad the review helped.

[@robertlong5040]

Being a goalie dad of a goalie starting out, they need to offer a free trial or even a cheap monthly trial to see if dads like it for their kiddo and if the kiddos enjoy it enough to pay the monthly subscription. I am very intrigued though.

[@goalietraining]

You can actually choose to pay monthly - so you might be able to use it for a month and decide if you like it. Double check with that first to see how it would work.

[@thatguy8514]

Thanks for the update!

[@goalietraining]

You are welcome!

[@blainebennett]

I'm still not sold on SA. Without being able to demo it myself, it seems like a lot of money to commit to something I actually worry could make your shot reads worse. Everyone that I hear talk about it sounds like they are being paid or just really enjoy the coolness of VR. Not hearing solid stories of "my glove saves are noticeably better". The video of these shots, look to me like pucks headed over the net. For seasoned goalies, shot reads are so "baked in" that looking at something slightly un-natural doesn't seem like a good idea. I am more interested in it for my 10 year old daughter however, and I think it makes more sense for that level of learning, but I think we are going to focus on catching arm mechanics for now.

[@goalietraining]

"my gloves saves ARE noticeably better" PERIOD. So is my depth management, my puck tracking, rebound control and more. I don't get paid a penny by Sense Arena. I have let some of the goalies I train try it and some have gone on to buy their own - including guys who play pro up to the NHL level. I don't play video games, had no interest in VR when I bought it 15 months ago. But I think I would rather see you and your 10 year old out in the driveway playing some road hockey - I would really wait until she was older (maybe 14+) before investing in something like this.

[@msatz]

I have been looking at sense arena for awhile for my 10 year old daughter as well. While nothing will ever compare to real world experience, if someone already has the hardware for VR- would you think this is a beneficial tool to subscribe to or do you still think she would be too young yet?

[@goalietraining]

Personally, it would not be something I would be getting for my 10 year old... but full disclosure, I am giving parenting advice when I don't have any kids - - ha ha - so take that with a grain of salt. But even as an exercise physiologist, I would rather have my 10 year old out riding her bike, playing road hockey in the driveway, firing pucks in the basement... playing. I hope that helps.

[@msatz]

@@goalietraining Thank you! It really does help. Not many people have done a full in depth review recently as you have.

[@goalietraining]

Glad to help.

[@ZeroPucksGiven78]

Just wish they’d lower the subscription price. Tried it and it is great.

[@goalietraining]

Yeah, it definitely isn't within everyone's price range, but I also cannot fault them for what they charge - they do regular updates and it is a relatively small market, so it isn't like they are selling 1000 units a month. But who knows, maybe with time the technology will get cheaper.

[@jredmmoore]

@@goalietraining This has been my biggest hang up. I'm just a beer leaguer and justifying the monthly cost is my major hang up. If they offered a "reduced" subset I would be stoked.

[@goalietraining]

@@jredmmoore They are pretty responsive, might be worth reaching out to them with that suggestion.

[@carlmarineau1673]

I see that your are not using blocked and catcher with sens arena adaptor... do you thing those are something essential. I like to play both side and I was wondering if chose player I could still do goalie training whiteout those.

[@goalietraining]

I do use my glove and blocker sometimes, but if I am in a rush, I just use the controllers, so definitely you don't NEED the sleeves, but they do give a more realistic feel than just using the controllers.

[@colinlongren6263]

Do the AI shoots vary if you repeat a drill over and over? For example, if a drill is 4 shots, is it the same 4 shot placements or does the AI do a good job at making the shot patterns random for the same drill selection?

[@goalietraining]

Good question Colin - they.are different shots, different patterns, etc. No predictability.

[@scottodom2902]

How the heck do I keep them from digging up terribly?! After being on them for 10-15 minutes, they start to get all sorts of fogged up from the heat and sweating. What do you recommend?

[@goalietraining]

hmmmm - - I am not sure - mine will fog up sometimes if I need to download a new drill, so I just sort of pull them off my face so air can get in there and that seems to work. Have you tried like an old school sweatband? I wonder if that would create a little breathing space, but also keep some of the sweat out of it. Maybe someone else will have better ideas.

[@scottodom2902]

@@goalietraining I did try thin headbands, but without much luck. I’ll see if I can find the thicker sweatbands and give those a shot. Thanks for getting back to me!

[@goalietraining]

@@scottodom2902 yeah, try that - I think the key is creating a little space for air to circulate.

[@Lyezech]

Seems cool but the individual pricing is absurd even for a niche product. Not having the option of just buying the software outright also sucks, it's extremely consumer unfriendly. Some sort of 'beer league/warmup' package without all the cloud features for a set price would be great just to get some basic tracking exercises in without needing to hike it over to a stick and puck to set up a gopro or get a warmup in without guys ringing shots off your mask the whole time.

[@stephenkutrip6226]

Agree the price point is painful but the benefit of subscription software is that it should be continually updated. Pair that with the relatively small market that is the goalie world and its a pretty steep price point. I suspect the subscription for a skater version could be 1/3 as much while still bringing in 3X more revenue.

[@goalietraining]

Good idea, they are pretty responsive, so I would suggest reaching out to them on social to make that suggestion. You never know.

[@goalietraining]

@@stephenkutrip6226 good point there - they do a great job of continually updating the drills and performance.

[@Lyezech]

@@stephenkutrip6226 That's true. Looking more into the company and how many consultants they appear to put on I don't doubt the value of the software for pros. Just way too tough a pill to swallow as a hobbyist goalie when I could get brand new gear for less than 6 months of sense's service. I'm clearly not their target market at their rates but would be willing to give it a shot and buy the glove/blocker mounts if it were $20/mo or so. They must assume they won't get 5-6x more people onboard at a lower monthly rate though. I'll be watching sense closely to see if it ever drops in price but for now there's a couple of alternatives on steam for $0-20 I'll be sticking to instead

[@Goalier95]

No way a beer league goalie is going to pay $100 U.S. a month for this VR - only KZbin influencers and pro goalies can afford this.

[@goalietraining]

ha ha - - I appreciate that you think I am either A) a YT influencer (my account isn't even monetized FYI) or B) a pro goalie... both are very flattering. But you are right, it depends on your priorities and your perceived value. To me it is worth it because I need all the help I can get, but that doesn't mean everyone needs to use it. My purpose for this video is to help those who are wondering - 'yeah, but will I get bored with it' or 'but does it really help'. But thanks for your feedback Mr. Sphinc-ter ;)

[@Goalier95]

@@goalietraining We appreciate your videos everytime you upload techniques and gear overviews. I applaud you helping out the goalie community. I myself would really love to own and practice at home with such a unique training kit. Unfortunately, it's just out of reach for a lot of people, myself included. If S.A. could market this with a cheaper base rate and with regular updates (which I'm sure they do already) then I would seriously consider it. But for now, it seems like a luxury regular purchase. Lowly peasants like myself will have to do with throwing a tennis ball against the wall ... :)

[@goalietraining]

Agreed, not for everyone - we all have to decide where to spend our allowance. They definitely do regular updates - I actually go over the most recent updates in this video. Make sure you check out my videos giving you tips for doing ball off the wall! Be well.

[@RichardTurlington]

This looks so dumb. This could actually make you worse on ice. There's no substitute for physical touch with the puck. I'm calling it, this is a waste of money

[@goalietraining]

... have you actually tried it though? I thought it would be like a video game... until I made the effort to actually try and see for myself. Wow - was I wrong. And the goalies I work with who have had the chance to use it feel the same - it's incredible. I agree there, is no substitute for getting on the ice and stopping pucks, but we don't all have access to limitless ice, nor do we all have access to coaching. The fact that goalies in the NHL are using it regularly as part of their training suggests that it may have some value. I know not everyone will like it or choose to invest in it and that is okay too.

[@RichardTurlington]

@@goalietraining First, I'm a skater, my kids are skaters so I'll concede that it's possible this may be somewhat helpful for goalies. Though I don't buy the claim that professional goalies are using this regularly. Name the goalies. For training as a skater this is just silly to think it's going to increase your skill much. I could see possibly it helping to increase your hockey IQ and maybe your reaction time SOMEWHAT... but without the feel of a real puck coming to your stick, stopping it, dangling it, and shoving it off quickly as a pass, there's just no way this is worth what they're charging. Also mentioned having professional coaching at your disposal with this. Recorded people talking at you is not coaching. You can't get on the fly real-time corrections as you run through the drills. Not even close to the same. I do have plans on trying it though. At least they have a 30 day money back guarantee.

[@goalietraining]

@@RichardTurlington Grubauer, Merzlikins, Blackwood, Comrie, Francouz,Raanta… there are more, you could find it on the website. Sitting on advisory board are Thomas Magnusson (head of Swedish Goaltending development), Bill Ranford (LA Kings), Brian D’accord. Excited for you to have the chance to try it out and see for yourself. I cannot vouch for its efficacy with skaters at all, as that’s not my area of expertise, but you will be able to evaluate that for yourself.

[@RichardTurlington]

@@goalietraining I still doubt these goalies are using it daily. I am going to try it out. I am fully prepared to eat crow if I'm wrong. I'm not looking to be right in my opinion, just to disseminate what is accurate about this. My kids both have taken very intensive hockey training for years now. I will be honest about what we find, regardless which direction it takes us. I have a friend who is interested in the goalie version for their child, so we'll see how that works out too.

[@RichardTurlington]

It's on order. Waiting for player kit to arrive