Cal Goalie Zach Blake on Finding Your Right Path – LGR Episode 166
By Coach Damon
August 12, 2022
This episode is brought to you by:
I always enjoy getting to talk with the next wave of goalies from my alma mater.
Previously from Cal men’s lacrosse I’ve spoken with Rob Warner – Episode 118, Nick Beattie – Episode 57, and Casey Keenan – Episode 86. On today’s Lax Goalie Rat Podcast episode, I sit down to chat with the current starting California Golden Bears goalie Zach Blake.
Zach is heading into his final year at Cal this coming season coming off of a pretty solid 2022 campaign.
He was named a 2022 2nd Team All-Conference Goalie in the WCLL and finished the season with a pretty impressive .617 save percentage helping lead Cal to a WCLL Championship final.
A native of New Haven, CT, Zach grew up exposed to lacrosse at a very young age. He was regular at Yale lacrosse games and credits watching the Bulldogs growing up for how he found his love for the game and the goalie position.
Chris learned the position from former UNC and MLL goalie Chris Madalon who served as his goalie coach growing up. Chris taught him the fundamentals of the position that helped develop Zach into the goalie he is today.
Zach had an interesting recruiting pathway. Originally Dartmouth was his first choice for school. Unfortunately, Blake did not get accepted into Dartmouth and only was receiving offers from small D3 schools after that point.
However, Zach was able to find his home on the west coast at Cal Berkeley, a choice that he looks back on now fondly and can’t imagine being anywhere else. A great lesson in appreciation of the phrase “everything happens for a reason”.
At Cal, Blake has been mentioned by former starting goalie for the Golden Bears and current assistant (and goalie) coach, Coach Casey Keenan. Zach credits Casey for helping teach him the mental game, focusing on the positives, building a scouting report of the shooters he would be facing, and replicating shooter tendencies in practice, as well as building a strong goalie unit on and off the field.
Heading into his final season at Cal, Zach is set to take on a new challenge in leadership as he was named a team captain for the 2022-23 season.
Zach joins the show today to talk about why he chose Cal, breaking through a slump, lessons learned from goalie coach Casey Keenan and much more!
Show Notes
Zach Gear Setup
Video Interview with Zach Blake
Pics of Zach Blake
P.S. – Ready to take the next step? Here are 3 powerful ways I can help you:
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